UT general bull advice

[TheSleepyHunter]

My dad and I are looking forward to our first try at bull elk this year, we have Utah's general bull tags. Our only elk experience came last year when we had cow tags but we cannot hunt that same unit with the tags we got this year. I woildnt expect anyone to share exact places etc but does anyone have any helpful tips narrowing down a unit? There are several 'general' units we can choose from, I live in Logan so we're thinking any applicable unit from Slc on up. We have the x-maps to help navigate, we're not afraid to hike and looking to stay away from the crowds...no horse or atv for us, just foot power Appreciate any advice!

 

[OriginalOscar]

Any bull or spike?

 

[TheDudeAbides]

We have the x-maps to help navigate, we're not afraid to hike and looking to stay away from the crowds...no horse or atv for us, just foot power Appreciate any advice!

Open Bull - With the open bull it is best to still hunt in my opinion. People will push the elk and it is a matter of them pushing them to you. Look for refuges that the elk can go to get away from the people. Elk can be in mountain goat territory, but can also be down in the thick timber.

A few areas I would look into

East Canyon - Without horses, I would rule out East Canyon.

Chalk Creek - If you can get access, it would be the area to go.

Monty Cristo - Land Access Issues, but an option that many people take each year.

Nine Mile Range Creek, San Juan Montezuma Canyon, Filmore Oak Creek, West Desert, San Rafael North, Hansel Mountain - Don't know of many that hunt these, but it might be worth looking into. Range Creek looks very appealing.

East Rich - I have seen elk come down from the hills to the lake, but they would be difficult to find. A muzzy tag would be an interesting hunt in the area with some moving in from Wyoming.

Zion - Elk sometimes cross the border from Panguitch or the Pauns into the Zion unit. The issue with the Zion unit is land access.

Pine Valley - I have never seen an elk there, but I hear that they live there.

Henry Mountains - Supposedly has a few elk running around.

South Slope Yellowstone - Land Access Issues, but if you can get into the area it is worth hunting.

Kamas/Soapstone - A lot of people. A lot of elk move from the Open Bull Side to the LE Wasatch side seemingly overnight.

Elizabeth Pass - I love this area. Lym Lake was the lake where I caught my first fish. It can be a nice area to go on opening day. The elk are pushed off of here into deep dark canyons, private, and I am pretty sure some run all the way to Wyoming. Tons of pine chickens in the pockets of pines, which can make for a good time.

Black's Fork / Lyman Lakes - Pretty Easy ground to get around on, but it is heavily pined. The elk will move through this area when pressured.

Henry's Fork Trailhead - A decent area without a lot of road access. A few horse trailers will be seen in this area.

Spirit Lake / Manilla - Probably the area with the most elk killed on the general tag. Elk get pushed every which way, but it has a lot of good country to hunt.

It is a really tough tag and those that know how to hunt it will be tighter lipped than those in Cache Valley with wood duck spots.

 

[1_pointer]

If you're up for a scouting trip, take a drive to the east side of Bear Lake and check out the Crawford Mtns. As I was moving out of UT, some of the local ranchers had told me some elk that wintered there had decided to stay and they were seeing them through the summer. Not too many folks get up into that range until late in the year. The Cache-South spike unit gets pretty crowded, but I know of folks kill elk there every year. If I were to hunt that I would start looking above/near the CWMUs in Round Valley.

 

[TheSleepyHunter]

We have the any bull tag. Thanks for all the information, we're going to head out this weekend to check some out

 

[treedagain]

south slope, Ashley white rocks
PLENTY of public ground to hunt. lots of elk, with the normal lots of hunters. this would be my choice

Crawford mtn, any elk during the open bull will be on the westside of the MTN on private. I antelope hunted last year in both UT and Wyo and never saw any that were on public, but they do love the river bottom on the westside. a bunch of good mulies with more than a couple whitetails. the late cow hunt would be good on the north end. north of sage creek junction up to Idaho and along the border could be good during the nov muzzleloader hunt.