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Jesse's Hunting > Hunting Articles > Hunting Articles Archives > Putting Advice into Practice - Utah Hunt
Putting Advice into Practice - Utah Hunt
Dave Blake - JHO ProStaff
- L.A., CA
October 06, 2006
In keeping with my out-of-state hunting series of articles I thought I would share my personal experience with out of state hunting this year. I find myself with two unfilled Utah tags: one for archery deer and one for archery elk.
After two trips I have learned that Utah is literally covered with vast areas of public land. The particular area I’ve been focused on is within the Uinta National Forest on the East side of the Wasatch Mountain range.
Utah big game habitat
The abundance of awesome habitat and public land in Utah make it hard to decide just where to hunt. |
My first day hunting was August 22nd, three days after the deer season opener. My friends in Utah, Steve and Matt, had promised to take me to an area they knew of where deer were active and plentiful.
After dropping Steve and Matt off at their chosen spots, I decided to drive around and get to know the area. In an area like this it is hard to decide where to hunt because everything looks good. Water was plentiful and thick forest was broken up by sage hillsides in every direction.
I settled on a canyon that was visible from the road. The canyon held aspens, dark pine timber and sage hillsides. As I hiked in, I spotted a beaver pond that wasn’t visible from the road. I picked a spot to settle down and wait for a nice buck to move out as the sun fell. What I didn’t expect was the sound of an elk bugle from the back of the canyon. The further the sun dropped toward the horizon, the more elk sounds I began to hear.
Cows mewing and elk bugling all around me really got my heart racing. It wasn’t long before I heard loud cracking in the trees behind me. Upon turning around I was rewarded by the sight of about eight elk coming down the hill about 20 yards away. Elk season was two days away, so I couldn’t shoot one, but I knew where I would be sitting in two days.
Two days later I found myself sitting on the same hillside just at the end of blue light. The air was cool and still. The alarm had gone off quite early, so I was still groggy and having to fight to stay awake.
My grogginess faded quickly, however, when what sounded like storm troopers began coming loudly up the hill. The “storm troopers” materialized into elk and approached to 10 yards on the other side of a large pine tree. About that time I felt the breeze touch the back of my neck.
The elk turned quickly and thundered back down the hill. My first opportunity at an elk was gone in an instant.
I’ll be back for another round in the fall!
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