Central Mountains Nebo Elk

ElkLover said:

Planning on hunting Elk this year in the Central Mountains - Nebo unit with my bow. Never hunted the unit before, but chose it because it's 10 minutes from where I just moved and finally had the points.

I'm fairly inexperienced (self-taught mostly from you-tube videos as my family is vehemently against hunting).

Would appreciate any tips, especially unit-specific ones. Anything helps! Thanks.

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Congrats on the tag. I was hoping to draw that tag this year but lady luck wasn't on my side. The biggest unknown right now is the fire damage. I know where there use to be elk, but I have no idea if they're still there. I rode up Payson canyon as far as I could last week. I was amazed how barren a lot of the burn areas still were. There is some new vegetation, but with all of the rain we've received, I thought there would be more. It'll be interesting to see what the top looks like. If I were you I'd focus on the areas with new growth.

As far as the unit goes..... if your planning on hunting from the loop then everything is basically down hill from the road and it's steep. Just be prepared and get into the best shape you can. I'll be up there hunting deer and cow/spike elk. If you need someone to hunt with or need help finding a bull, shoot me a PM.

gretch6364 said:

Hi everyone. How did things pan for those with tags in 2019 and last year? Couple more years removed from the burn, so hopefully there is lots of food and it looks like the success rates were up last year.

Just found out today I lucked into drawing a Nebo elk archery tag this year. Super excited to check out the unit and thanks for any help/info!

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Joined 15 minutes ago, emails haven’t even all been sent out yet and already fishing for info... so it begins!

archery is a tough hunt for that unit. Steep, hot, tons of people, tons of cattle and only about half the unit has good access. You’ll definitely earn any success you’ll find.

I killed a mid 350s bull last year. That’s the upper end of what you can expect to find, but 2 400s were killed too. If a 320s walked infront of me with a bow in my hand, I wouldn’t let him walk away. The majority of the ‘big’ bulls got killed during the previous years hunts, however few nice bulls made it through last year, they should be upper tier bulls this year. But drought and lack of feed is something to consider. Find consistent water and feed, you’ll find elk. Find a place away from the main traffic and they’ll likely stay there after opening day.

gretch6364 said:

I did get my email...lol. But yes, "it begins." I am sure the standard stuff from most steep western US units apply. I do really appreciate the response. To be upfront, yes, I am the one that got the single non-resident tag. I live in Basalt, CO and deal a lot of with out state hunters and tourist in general....but work my butt off out there during the season and this is my first time drawing a Utah tag. Out of curiosity, where do the tons of people come from? Hunting spikes? There are only 12 tags for the unit.

Anyhow, it was snowing hard today in town...hopefully the Utah snow back is doing better this year and hope people had success in the draw! Thanks

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There’s a paved road right through the middle of the unit. Everyone and their dog goes up there to camp, hike, fish, horse ride, bike ride, dirtbike ride, etc. then you have the cattle moochers that are always pushing cows all over causing problems for hunters. Then there’s the archery deer hunters (way more than 12) and the archery spike/cow elk hunters (who knows how many of those there are, but it’s a lot.) those 12 archery bull tag hunters will all have helpers with them. Then you got guys scouting for their later season tags, rifle/muzzy. And don’t forget to mention the bear hunters that’ll be out chasing them around.

it’s a busy unit. Don’t just think you’ll have 12 other tag holders to deal with. You have all of southern utah county to deal with, especially on the weekends.

im not trying to scare you, I just don’t want you shocked when you show up and see people everywhere and the trail head parking lots packed with vehicles.

after hunting the unit my whole life, here’s the best advice I can give you. Find a good water source way out of the way. Camp on it for the first 2 weeks of the hunt. Those bulls will water twice a day most times when it’s hot. I wouldn’t consider chasing a bugle until September 5.