[APD]

What elevations have you been seeing elk? i'm specifically looking in the uintas but having a difficult time this year as they seem pretty spread out with the lack of snow. back in november there were herds down low in the private areas already but it seems they turned around and went back for more elevation. since then i haven't seen anything but deer, lost cattle and the occasional moose. even the deer seem to still be higher than i'd expect with lower than normal numbers on the winter grounds.

it's always been a bit difficult in the years where it's too low snow to run a snowmobile this late in the year but for some reason this year seems more difficult to me.

 

[Ray]

You hunting a CWMU? My buddy got a Weber/Florence creek tag, with no snow finding them has been difficult

 

[APD]

You hunting a CWMU? My buddy got a Weber/Florence creek tag, with no snow finding them has been difficult

no, it's the kamas/oakley tag. i've started putting my wife in for cwmu tags so we can hopefully guarantee meat on years that i can't put in much time. so far i was lucky enough to get a deer and an antelope but missed my chance on archery elk when i pushed a bull in my spot. i cow called and heard a poor at best attempt to bugle from out past the bull i was after. that poor at best bugle made it's way to me as i slipped off. i was able to evade the caller but unfortunately it was a bull. note to self, sometimes an off sounding tuba noise is an elk.

anyhow, i'm looking forward to some snow in the very near future. in the meantime i'll keep glassing and putting boots on the ground in areas i can't glass. if we can get a foot of snow to stick around in the 7000' range then i can put the skis back on and really go hunting for them. i've taken a couple elk on skis and can say it's a lot of fun.

 

[APD]

As luck would have it, I found 4 bulls tonight on one of the spots I normally hunt cows. Still makes me wonder where the cows are.

edit: not sure why it's rotated and small.

 

[Critter]

As luck would have it, I found 4 bulls tonight on one of the spots I normally hunt cows. Still makes me wonder where the cows are. View attachment 145687

edit: not sure why it's rotated and small.

I would say that it is because you posted it from your phone as a attachment from the phone.

But if you click on it the picture will enlarge but is still sideways.

 

[KineKilla]

Without snow I think I'd look a little higher than the bulls. My $.02

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[MooseMeat]

I’m seeing cows at 8500’ or higher. They are higher than the bulls currently are

 

[BigT]

You hunting a CWMU? My buddy got a Weber/Florence creek tag, with no snow finding them has been difficult

Where is he hunting at? I might be able to offer some thoughts on this one.

On a side note, I was in a different area last week and saw quite a good number of elk at around 6500 feet or so. But I saw a good number of track even lower. I think it was the same herd, just moving up and down.

 

[1Bigbull]

What elk hunts are still open? I wasn't aware of any current hunts other than CWMU, Private lands and Extended Archery. Thanks!

 

[silentstalker]

Cow elk are open well into January.

 

[Brettski7]

What elk hunts are still open? I wasn't aware of any current hunts other than CWMU, Private lands and Extended Archery. Thanks!

Extended archery are closed. Unless you drew a tag there isn't anything open or at least OTC.

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[MooseMeat]

Extended archery are closed. Unless you drew a tag there isn't anything open or at least OTC.

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Uh, you sure about that? Private land tags are OTC and they are going until January 31.

 

[Brettski7]

Uh, you sure about that? Private land tags are OTC and they are going until January 31.

Ah yes I forget about those as they are usually expensive (more than I'm willing to pay at least) unless you own the land, neither of which I have access to or a desire to pay so I don't think about them. My bad.

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[APD]

Well, I put a herd to bed last night and had to wait them out as they were about to come off private land. Unfortunately someone else decided to cash in their tag and had better access than I did. I only saw 2 bulls move over from that herd. I put 7 miles in the snow and couldn't catch up with anything. Although part of that was following tracks of paws with no claws, so maybe it's good I didn't catch up.
The good news is they were down low grazing like usual for this time of year. The herd was smaller at about 30 head or so. I'm going to check my usual spot tonight and see if they've moved in recently but I'm already beat. It's funny when you're early alarm for elk goes off at 5:00 and it's actually like sleeping in for another hour and 15 compared to work days.


Anyhow, this is definitely been a hard year for cow hunting. Hopefully others are having success. If not it'll certainly be a rebuilding year for the herd.

 

[APD]

Well, I finally sealed the deal. Spotted some out around 1600 yards and 2 ridges back. They were moving quick but I was able to close the distance and setup an ambush where I hoped they would pop out. They came out quick and one shot did the trick.


Fwiw, I chased cows all over this country and came to the conclusion this hunt has become much harder over the last 8 years. It seems the extra cow tags have done the trick. It might be time to start putting in for cow tags down south if I want meat and want to keep my day job.

 

[3arabians]

Hell ya! Way to go!


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[Pinetree]

Nice job! It has not been easy this year, Congrats!

 

[cdbright]

finally paid off , good job !!!!!!!!!!, did you see any bulls this time around?

 

[APD]

finally paid off , good job !!!!!!!!!!, did you see any bulls this time around?

thanks

not out of that herd but everywhere else i looked there were bulls. when i filed the harvest survey i did indicate that while i'm appreciative of the opportunity to get a cow tag or even control tag up the road, i feel like we've hit them hard over the last decade. the past 5 years it's been slim pickins.

i do pay attention since i'm in the area so often and the old way of getting a cow is a thing of the past unless you have more that 3 feet of snow on the ground.

fwiw, i usually watch for a while before taking the shot. this year i wasn't going to take a chance and i took the first clean shot i could get. i was surprised to see the cows stick around for a bit and walk into the woods after a minute. they hung out until i had to approach for quartering/packing out. if it wasn't getting dark soon i would have waited and watched.