Back from trip

[BuckSnort]

Well we got back this sat from a trip into N.E. Utah for an antlerless elk hunt. We filled 3 of of our 4 tags and had an awesome hunt for our first elk hunt. We also saw alot of game while we were elk hunting I got some good pics of some moose,and the deer were at full rut so I was able to snap some shots of some decent bucks also. I also glassed up a 350 class bull and we were able to watch him for well over an hour with the spotting scope.

Here is my buddy JJ's elk

Here is my brothers elk

And here is mine

Each one got harder to pack back to the truck but it was awesome. I will post some pics of the game we saw on our hunt.

 

[BuckSnort]

Here are some moose pics from the trip

 

[BuckSnort]

More pics

 

[wmidbrook]

Great photos! Glad you guys had such a successful and enjoyable hunt. Way to go!

 

[Kim]

Nice pics Bucksnort.... Congrats on the successful hunt. You're not kiddin alot of meat for the freezer.

 

[spectr17]

Awesome pics Jason, glad your hutn went safe and so well.

Them moose always look like they have crazy eyes. Did ya feed them any carrots and pet them?

 

[FTTPOW]

Nice job. Great pictures, too. What's for supper?

 

[prohunter]

Congrats on the elk! Thse are really nice pics.

 

[Honk1186]

great lookin country. Congrats

 

[DanD]

Well done BuckSnort. Congratulations!!! That Elk hunting is quite addictive, I'm guessing your hooked now. Looks like you guys had a great time and not to much snow to deal with.

Way to go.

 

[Tominator]

Congrats, it's obvious y'all had a great time and the pics are incredible!
Tominator

 

[BuckSnort]

Thanks guys it was a great trip. If I lived close I would have a feild day with all of the game there,I would probably kill myself looking for them moose sheds also.

DanD, Your right I am hooked,I'm already thinking about planning a bull elk hunt for next year,I'm just clueless of where....maybe Colorado?

 

[Bill in SD]

Hi Bucksnort, that is excellent!!! Congratulations on your hunt.

My wife and I just got back from NE Utah for a antlerless elk hunt yesterday.

We drew the Millville-face hunt near Logan.

Unfortunately we did not see any elk. We did run accross some sign, mostly old though.

It seemed that the elk were way up high in their summer range. The locals all seemed to be waiting on snow to push them down off their summer range.

What hunt did you go on? Were the elk up high?

Our hunt lasts until the end of the month and we are thinking of going back after Christmas for a few days.

Take care
Bill

 

[BuckSnort]

Bill, we hunted the South slope East Yellowstone unit. The elk seemed to be spread from thier summer range clear down to open sage foothills. The area got a pretty good flurry of snow about a week before we got there and it seemed to push the majority of them down but we noticed as the snow melted some were moving back up.

This was our first elk hunt and the first thing we noticed is how much easier they are to spot than muleys,not just because of their size,but their color as well,you can spot thier rump from over a mile away with just 8X bino's.

Did you do any glassing for them? This is how we found all three of our elk. We would find a good vantage point and let our eyes do the hiking.

In my opinion I would rather hunt the lower country even if the numbers are low just because you can cover so much ground with the bino's and spotting scope.Where we hunted just above the sage and junipers it gets really thick with aspens,making it almost impossible for spot and stalk.

If you decide to go back hopefully it gets some weather to push them down.Good luck to you and your wife and let me know how you guys do.

 

[Bill in SD]

BuckSnort, thanks for the information.

I have a pair of Swarovski 15x56s that I used alot to glass the lower country.

My other pair is a pair of Leica 8x32s I used when we hiked up high and far in the canyons, the 15x56s with a tripod are really heavy to carry long distances!!!!

I started out glassing everywhere I could, which included the faces of the mountains. I saw some deer but not any elk.

And as you know the elk are pretty easy to see, especially compared to deer.

I tried hunting in the canyons and the timber on the north and east facing slopes and did not see any elk, however saw some relatively fresh sign a couple of days old.

Most of the people that hunt my unit are locals that wait until the end of the month or after a really big snow storm to push the elk down.

The biologist told me that the success for this particular hunt is pretty low and that it is comparable to a rifle bull hunt as far as difficulty. The reason is that there had been several different elk hunts in the same area and the elk are really buggered and on the top of the mountain.

If I was totally committed to getting a cow elk, I would grab my backpack, a tent, a sleeping bag and a week's worth of provisions and head up to the top of the mountain until I got something.

The elk seem to know that if they come down to the lower elevations where it is very open that they will get blasted.

If the area gets a lot more snow I may be heading back up there.

It is one of those late season migration type of hunts that is an extremely difficult hunt without snow.

On the other hand if it snows alot, it would not be easy to walk in crotch deep snow after the elk. However, if I could see them at least, I would be willing to go after them.

It is truely beautiful country, there are moose, some nice bucks, and some really huge bulls. The area is one of the best in Utah for trophy bull elk. The catch is the odds are about 50 to 1 to draw.

Happy Hunting
Bill