# Son's First Elk - Deseret



## allremington (Nov 11, 2007)

My son, who is 13, drew a cow tag for Deseret and we spent last Saturday on a great adventure. We spent several hours this summer at the Bountiful Lions Club range punching holes in paper, printing photos of cow elk and talking about shot placement, and just enjoying each others company. I have taken him hunting on many occasions so he has seen the other side of the coin, and he was excited at "what might be" for his hunt.

Honestly, in the beginning I was a little perturbed at paying for the guide, but at the end of the day I can look back and see that it was well worth it. That is an amazing place, and our guide was a consummate professional. I'm sure that we'll apply for that hunt again, while the youth factor is still in-play.

To make a long story short, the elk came quickly and he made a great shot on a nice young cow at 117 yds with his 7mm-08. She went about 50 yds and piled up. I was grateful that he didn't have much time to think about what he was going to do, he just reacted and got it done! Thanks also to the folks at Deseret and Wild Country Outfitters!


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

That right there is what it is all about! Good work.


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## Buckfinder (May 23, 2009)

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Great job.


-DallanC


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## hunting777 (May 3, 2009)

Sweet, Congrats on the elk.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Thanks for sharing and congratulations to both of you.

That second picture is magazine quality, wow.

.


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## El Casador (Aug 27, 2009)

Congrats! nothing but good times!


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## tander123 (Sep 21, 2007)

Brings back some great memories. My son was able to get his first elk there. What a great opportunity!


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## silentstalker (Feb 19, 2008)

Congrats and great shot!


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## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

And great table fare to go along with it. It never gets old!!


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## manysteps (Sep 28, 2009)

Congrats to your boy! The guides up there are really great guys. Who was your guide?


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## provider (Jan 17, 2011)

Great post. Congratulations. 

What is the make and model of your 7mm 08? How do you like it? I need a youth rifle. 

Also, how much are the guide fees?


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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

provider said:


> Great post. Congratulations.
> 
> What is the make and model of your 7mm 08? How do you like it? I need a youth rifle.
> 
> Also, how much are the guide fees?


Guide fees are 200 + Utah Tax. Around $212.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

provider said:


> What is the make and model of your 7mm 08? How do you like it? I need a youth rifle.


My boy bought a left handed Savage Axis Youth model in 7mm-08 and its been fantastic. Bought a used Nikon Buckmaster scope off ebay for another $100... very impressed with the entire rig.

He's killed two elk and three antelope with it in 2 years. All DRT.

-DallanC


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## allremington (Nov 11, 2007)

Manysteps-
Our guide was Dave Dingman, and we were around another guy named Hyrum and his two hunters most of the day, too. A guy named Bryce brought the Ranger to us after the smoke cleared - he seemed to be the big dog of the bunch and coordinated our "assault" on the herd. 

Provider, DallanC-
I bought a Remington 700 BDL several years ago, hoping I'd have a hunting buddy who would be interested in using it. It's a real sweet rig to shoot, not a lot of recoil, very accurate. My son is tall and skinny (5'-9", 120 lbs) and he handles it well. I didn't want that nice wood stock to take a beating so I found a used synthetic stock to put on it. 


(I love my Remington rifles, hence the "Allremington" tag)


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## manysteps (Sep 28, 2009)

Yeah, Bryce is the boss. (he was my guide last year when I bagged my cow)


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

So is a guide required if you get a Deseret tag?


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## manysteps (Sep 28, 2009)

No, but I don't think you'd enjoy the hunt even nearly as much without one. (Not to mention your odds of even finding the elk DIY are extremely slim)


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

manysteps said:


> No, but I don't think you'd enjoy the hunt even nearly as much without one. (Not to mention your odds of even finding the elk DIY are extremely slim)


Is it one of those deals where you can't get in and scout before you can hunt?


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## manysteps (Sep 28, 2009)

The way they're doing it now is different from what it was last year.

Last year, you followed a guide in your own truck.

From what I understand now, you're completely on your own, you get two days to play... no scouting time.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Before the changes this year there were two options if you drew a cow elk tag at Deseret: 

1- Guided Option: Pay $150 and you and another hunter would go with one guide in his truck. He'd be responsible for helping you find elk, cleaning the elk, and getting it back to and loading it in your vehicle. You didn't get to bring a guest unless you were a woman or a minor. 

2- Hosted Option: You pay nothing, and you are assigned a "host." Basically what it ended up being in reality was the guided hunt, only in your own truck and you had to clean and load your own animal. You were able to bring one guest along with you. You'd follow a guide around that had a client with him and he'd put you on the elk anyway. (The reality is that Deseret wants these cow tags filled, so they worked hard to help you do that.) 

Enough people that did not like Deseret's way of doing things complained about not having a "real" hunting opportunity so they completely revamped their process this year. You can get a guide for $200 or you can go at it alone for a DIY hunt. I still believe the same rules apply for the guided hunt as far as guests go. For the DIY hunt I believe you get one guest still. You get two consecutive days to hunt with no scouting before hand. 

I'll be interested to see what the harvest rates end up being this year on the DIY hunts. Hopefully someone here is connected enough to get us that information.


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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

TS is correct. The funny thing is that the DWR was promoting the prior tactics because they put a hard # on DLL to fill. 

With the guided hunt, you are scheduled for 1 day, and that is usually all you need. If you are unsuccessful, you are scheduled for a 2nd day. If you can hike, and can hit paper at 200, chances are you get your shot(s). No guest, unless it is a minor or a female tagholder. You meet at the gate and have a taxi, scout, and personal animal cleaner/loader. Success rates are very high (they were over 90% last year and that is with youth, first time hunters, senior citizens, disabled, etc... all in the mix.)

With unguided, you bring one guest and stay on designated roads. You can't use your vehicle to retrieve the animal and can't go on any roads that are currently closed. If you know the area and hunt hard, then you could get an elk. The largest benefit with guides is constant communication through the area. It is 2 consecutive days. In my mind there is no way the success rate is over 40%. Probably sit around 20-30%. It isn't going to be THAT much larger than public because the elk still have a mind of their own.


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

RandomElk16 said:


> TS is correct. The funny thing is that the DWR was promoting the prior tactics because they put a hard # on DLL to fill.
> 
> With the guided hunt, you are scheduled for 1 day, and that is usually all you need. If you are unsuccessful, you are scheduled for a 2nd day. If you can hike, and can hit paper at 200, chances are you get your shot(s). No guest, unless it is a minor or a female tagholder. You meet at the gate and have a taxi, scout, and personal animal cleaner/loader. Success rates are very high (they were over 90% last year and that is with youth, first time hunters, senior citizens, disabled, etc... all in the mix.)
> 
> With unguided, you bring one guest and stay on designated roads. You can't use your vehicle to retrieve the animal and can't go on any roads that are currently closed. If you know the area and hunt hard, then you could get an elk. The largest benefit with guides is constant communication through the area. It is 2 consecutive days. In my mind there is no way the success rate is over 40%. Probably sit around 20-30%. It isn't going to be THAT much larger than public because the elk still have a mind of their own.


Is it cows only?


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## manysteps (Sep 28, 2009)

The hunt we've been discussing here is a cow only hunt... I'll bet their bull hunts are even more fun!


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

If you draw a bull tag, if things are still the same as they've historically been, you get a 5 day hunt, you get to stay in their lodge up there for that 5 day hunt, and they provide a guide to you for the 5 days. 

Honestly, for the bad rap DL&L gets from people around the hunting world, they really do take care of the public draw hunters. My dad drew a bull tag there in 2008 and had serious health issues that were going to make the hunt pretty difficult. They paid no mind to that, bent over backwards and did everything they could to help him harvest a great mature 6 point bull. They even had two guides there and they made it happen. I have nothing but good things to say about the crew up there from our experiences.


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

TS30 said:


> If you draw a bull tag, if things are still the same as they've historically been, you get a 5 day hunt, you get to stay in their lodge up there for that 5 day hunt, and they provide a guide to you for the 5 days.
> 
> Honestly, for the bad rap DL&L gets from people around the hunting world, they really do take care of the public draw hunters. My dad drew a bull tag there in 2008 and had serious health issues that were going to make the hunt pretty difficult. They paid no mind to that, bent over backwards and did everything they could to help him harvest a great mature 6 point bull. They even had two guides there and they made it happen. I have nothing but good things to say about the crew up there from our experiences.


I have zero experience with them so I am asking questions. Is the 5 day lodge and guide included with the bull tag or for a decent extra price?


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Provided, as long as things haven't changed. It is definitely cosher to tip any guide in any situation.


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## RobK (Jul 3, 2008)

very nice


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## goforbroke (Jan 4, 2009)

awesome. My 12 yo. has a panguitch lake cow tag for December. I hope we have the same results


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