# Uintas Elk Cred Thread



## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

I'm not seeing a lot of Uintas general elk hunt success threads going (even though everyone gives advice on how to get it done :grin so...here is my bull I shot on opening day. Me and a good friend packed up the ponies last Friday and went in steep and deep. Got some weather on the way in but it wasn't too bad. Dang cold up high for sure--water freezing every night, even under the tent's awning. I'm not going to get into my super secret ways of hunting bulls in the uintas but I will say it was public land wilderness and NO baiting or trail cameras were involved--just my rifle, my pony, and me...as the song goes...and also my good buddy...gotta have a good buddy

We hunted another day for my buddy but struck out, decided one was enough and packed up the ponies and hit the trail. 12 miles later, or was it 15 miles, or maybe 20, hell...I don't even know if I was huntin the south slope or north slope--anyways the fine steeds did a great job. I decided to haul off the antlers and head myself because...exercise? Plus the horses had enough boned out elk meat and gear--I've always had a soft spot for big dumb farm animals.

This will be my third Uintas elk and my second best bull--gonna be hard to top my 2013 bull. Coulda shoulda had several others but trading in the struggle stick for the thunder stick has helped some.

So there ya go--feel free to post up your successful Uintas elk pics on this thread so the forum doesn't get overran with new threads--this will keep it nice and clean! 

Archery and muzzy success threads deserve their own as those guys are the real deal and much cred given!


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Soooo calling that a 6x6? 

Congrats on the hard work paying off.


-DallanC


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## hazmat (Apr 23, 2009)

Here are my uinta bulls


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## Ray (May 10, 2018)

Congrats brother, a Uintas bull is a true trophy.


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## USMARINEhuntinfool (Sep 15, 2007)

And you didn't even post the best picture? Where's the pack string? I had intended to start hunting out there this year with my boys. Unfortunately I suffered a shoulder injury and c'est la vie. Maybe next year I'll have some cool pic's, pack string included ;-) .


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

Oh hell ya!! Uinta bulls and ptarmigan. I wonder how many hunters can say they have knocked down Uintas ptarmigan and bull elk!? That’s a triple cred points bonus 


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

USMARINEhuntinfool said:


> And you didn't even post the best picture? Where's the pack string? I had intended to start hunting out there this year with my boys. Unfortunately I suffered a shoulder injury and c'est la vie. Maybe next year I'll have some cool pic's, pack string included ;-) .


Honestly, I am no cowboy and when I get the horses lined out and on the trail I don't have pics on the mind--I just want to keep the dang things moving, doing my best not to have a rodeo.

I did take a couple pics before hitting the trail and I am attaching them here. Ole Bullet and Buckshot (two aptly named ponies!) are dang good horses--who says gaited Tennessee Walkers don't make good mountain pack horses!

You will have to excuse my horse packing skills. Most cowboys would throw up a little looking at my work but I have a scale and make sure the loads are balanced and everything is tied down right. I may not know how to tie a double diamond knot but with enough mule tape and granny knots--that load ain't going nowhere!

Old Bullet packed out the boned out meat and that horse was carrying 170+ lbs of literal dead weight and did a great job. Buckshot had 130lbs of stuff packed high and also did admirably. I always get a kick outa walking behind pack horses on a nasty trail and seeing the sparks kick off their shoes on the rocks. Seeing them have a heavy load and make a quarter inch toe hold on a rock stepping down two feet with all that weight is a testament to their strength and balance. I love horses! (and kinda hate em too!)


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## Wire (Nov 2, 2017)

Congrats on a great bull. Those big dumb farm animals make it nice but still a lot of work. Most people that don't own horses have no clue how much work and "maintenance" it takes to have them.


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

Congratulations on a successful hunt. Sounds like you had a great time.


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Nice bull.
I like horses, I just don't know why they don't like me. Too many close calls to even think about it now.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Congrats man!


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## flyfisher20 (Aug 5, 2011)

Congrats. I was also "somewhere" in the Uintas on opening day. We jumped up what we will call a very large bull while hiking through some thick pines Saturday afternoon. Amazing how such a large animal can jump up 30 yards away and get away without a shot fired in those thick pines. If nothing else I think I've found a new spot to frequent. Also, we had no horses and ran into a couple of guys on some that basically said we were dumb for being where we were without horses. Once I made it back to the truck that night I was thinking they were right. But something about those dang elk I'm sure will keep me heading back in there. Congrats again on a great bull.


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

Airborne said:


> Honestly, I am no cowboy and when I get the horses lined out and on the trail I don't have pics on the mind--I just want to keep the dang things moving, doing my best not to have a rodeo.
> 
> I did take a couple pics before hitting the trail and I am attaching them here. Ole Bullet and Buckshot (two aptly named ponies!) are dang good horses--who says gaited Tennessee Walkers don't make good mountain pack horses!
> 
> ...


Didn't go with the Arabians this time!?? Docking it down to a double bonus cred points earned here.

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## cdbright (Aug 24, 2016)

flyfisher20 said:


> Congrats. I was also "somewhere" in the Uintas on opening day. We jumped up what we will call a very large bull while hiking through some thick pines Saturday afternoon. Amazing how such a large animal can jump up 30 yards away and get away without a shot fired in those thick pines. If nothing else I think I've found a new spot to frequent. Also, we had no horses and ran into a couple of guys on some that basically said we were dumb for being where we were without horses. Once I made it back to the truck that night I was thinking they were right. But something about those dang elk I'm sure will keep me heading back in there. Congrats again on a great bull.


I was about 12 miles from my truck one year and ran into a group of guys with horses and told me the same thing, i agreed :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:


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## Bradthorup (May 27, 2018)

Awesome job on the bull. We hunted the south slope the last 6 days with no success, saw lots of deer and tons of hunters. The elk have migrated that's for sure, and it seemed everytime we hiked into an area marked no motorized vehicles someone would come ripping by on a sxs or wheeler. Kinda puts a damper on things but it was a ton of fun to get out and join the rat race.


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## KRH (Jul 27, 2015)

Opening day 2019 bull. Still rutting hard, was able to call him in real close. Similar to Airborne I can't remember if I was on the North or South slope 8)8)


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## Slap That Quack (Mar 2, 2017)

Well I took horses into the south slope. All I saw was one big buck and 3 mountain goats. So I guess that's minus crowd points for me. ☹


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

3arabians said:


> Didn't go with the Arabians this time!??


No, he wanted to enjoy his horse ride - not loathe it! Also, he probably didn't want anyone to wash his mouth out with soap from all the naughty words he said while dealing with those hard-headed Arabians . . .


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

Nice bull Airborne!! Packing in on horse is a blast but, definitely lots of work..

I’ve got about 6 or 7 bulls from the Unitas from over the years, all archery. Can I joined the uintah elk cred club??? Please!!!!


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## american_jackal (Mar 1, 2017)

Great job. Thanks for the write up and pics.


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

goosefreak said:


> Nice bull Airborne!! Packing in on horse is a blast but, definitely lots of work..
> 
> I've got about 6 or 7 bulls from the Unitas from over the years, all archery. Can I joined the uintah elk cred club??? Please!!!!


You are lightyears ahead of me in the Cred department!


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Very well done guys!


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

3arabians said:


> Didn't go with the Arabians this time!?? Docking it down to a double bonus cred points earned here.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Didn't you give up your Arabians?! Yeah--those 'spirited' ponies are ok--lookin sideways at ya all the time like they want to stomp your brains out!

My choice of breed is dependent on who I can get to lend me their horses! Beggars can't be choosers as they say or maybe don't look a gift horse in the mouth HA!


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

Airborne said:


> You are lightyears ahead of me in the Cred department!


And, you, Airborne are lightyears ahead of me...

...but, the guys that have the most credibility are the ones that can kill bulls off the West Beaver unit or the Zion unit without hunting on private land.

The Uintas are a piece of cake compared to those units....

...that's not even mentioning the Henry's or the Pine Valley units.


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

CPAjeff said:


> No, he wanted to enjoy his horse ride - not loathe it! Also, he probably didn't want anyone to wash his mouth out with soap from all the naughty words he said while dealing with those hard-headed Arabians . . .


I want to debate with you on this backcountry style Jeff! I really do. I just....ugh..... I need to rest up for the deer hunt. haha


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

Airborne said:


> Didn't you give up your Arabians?! Yeah--those 'spirited' ponies are ok--lookin sideways at ya all the time like they want to stomp your brains out!
> 
> My choice of breed is dependent on who I can get to lend me their horses! Beggars can't be choosers as they say or maybe don't look a gift horse in the mouth HA!


Sadly yes. Actually my last one got old on me and I finally had to put him down for health reasons this year. I am now 0arabians. They are a pain with all their spirit but they make up for it in a lot of other areas in my opinion. You're spot on with the side glare comment. They are making sure they keep you honest when they do that haha. I may have one more horse in me at my age and a Tennessee Walker is one of the breeds I am considering. Or I may just buy a side by side and call it a day. Congrats again!!


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## wadedylan2 (Apr 22, 2019)

Hiked about a total of 30+ miles over 4 days on the rifle hunt, did come across any elk. Saw some deer and moose (big bull), as is par for the course up there at least for me. I helped my buddy knock one down during archery season on SS, definitely not in horse country though, stayed lower than that. I gotta say, you earn every elk you get out there, no gimmes in the Uintas!


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## ShedyGaGa (Oct 12, 2019)

Took my dad out elk hunting in the Uintas this week. I usually hunt along-side him but I drew an LE tag this year. We were in bugling bulls every day of our four-day hunt. Unfortunately, we were not able to capitalize on any of the encounters. Dad's eyes at the age of 72 are not the best, nor is his hearing. I had one of the largest 6x6 bulls I have ever seen on public land at 40 yards screaming right at us but dad was in a position that he could not see him due to the dense pines. I got a rag 4 point at 300 yards at first light on another day but it was too dark for dad to put the shot on him. Then the last day we hunted, we pushed a pine tree ridge top where we always see big bulls. We were about 30 yards apart walking parallel when a 6x6 stands up at 50 yards, gives me the middle finger and walks off. I could have shot him 5 times before he vanished. Dad could not get to me in time before the bull disappeared into the timber. What a fun hunt! Called a couple of bulls to within 100 yards but we could never lay eyes on them because of the dense timber.


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## APD (Nov 16, 2008)

Found mine today (control tag). Harder to come by in recent years. 

This is my first general rifle hunt and got lucky on my second day out. Bumped some in deadfall timber and tried to cut them off on an escape route. They beat me there but reappeared about an hour later. All Uinta hunts are difficult to me. I can't help but wonder how often people get lucky just driving around on the general rifle? Sure seems like a low probability of success but so many people are doing it. I guess being a bow hunter I just don't get it.


edit to add: ran into a guy with his 2 little ones in the woods today. pretty cool to see the youngsters out in the woods learning to hunt. when i heard them coming i was thinking elk. they were trying to be quiet but it's loud out there right now. 20 minutes later i'm hearing the same thing from a different direction and this time it was elk!


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