# Pine Valley Cow Elk



## bnorth (Feb 2, 2014)

How is the elk population in the pine valley unit. I drew cow elk and general season rifle deer for this unit. I have heard it contains a few good bucks and some elk. Was thinking of hunting near the Utah Nevada border in the north west corner of the unit. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.


----------



## hnt4food (Oct 28, 2009)

Thats a good area for deer. You'll have a tough time finding elk though. Last time I checked the DWR's elk count for that area they estimated something like 30-50.


----------



## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

I would recommend taking Highway 56 towards Leach Canyon if you are coming from the North watch to your left for a road called Bumble Dr. once you are on Bumble Dr. take an immediate right onto a road that heads South West. If you get to Pinto Road you have gone too far. As soon as you arrive to a gate you can open that gate as it just permits access to BLM land from Forest Service land anyways this road that you are on leads you into the middle of the Harmony Mountains which are pretty much the only mountains in the entire unit that have any presence of elk at all. That is the location where the DNR intends for the 25 tag holders to locate their elk and in the early mornings the elk are actually very low and almost right off of the road that comes off of Bumble Dr. in the chained areas. In the day time I have no idea where they are and you would have to kick them up from the cedars and some how get a shot on them before they are gone. 

Early mornings and first light is key for this unit. These are prairie elk and you have to catch them as they are crossing the Chained and seeded areas. The elk population is really low but the chained and seeded areas are so large and wide that the elk kinda dig their own graves in the early mornings or after shooting light in the evenings by coming out in the open. As far as finding them in the Cedars or chasing them in the Cedars you might as well be in the pursuit of chupacabras cause there is very small changes in elevation and visibility is horrible and elk can cover a lot of country when it is flat or slightly sloping. The elk density is so low that finding them in the cedars with 50 yards of visibility at a time is futile. 

As far as the North West Corner goes.... You are going to run into a lot of wild horses and livestock and you might just get into a scrimmage or gunfight with the local cowboys. Getting mixed up in all that doesn't seem worth an elk to me.

November is the best time to hunt for the elk. As far as your deer tag goes. There are deer pretty much everywhere and picking out a deer that you want is entirely up to you. Deer habitat is easier to come by than elk habitat in this unit so pretty much anywhere you should be able to get a deer.


----------



## RoosterKiller (May 27, 2011)

Nambaster said:


> I would recommend taking Highway 56 towards Leach Canyon if you are coming from the North watch to your left for a road called Bumble Dr. once you are on Bumble Dr. take an immediate right onto a road that heads South West. If you get to Pinto Road you have gone too far. As soon as you arrive to a gate you can open that gate as it just permits access to BLM land from Forest Service land anyways this road that you are on leads you into the middle of the Harmony Mountains which are pretty much the only mountains in the entire unit that have any presence of elk at all. That is the location where the DNR intends for the 25 tag holders to locate their elk and in the early mornings the elk are actually very low and almost right off of the road that comes off of Bumble Dr. in the chained areas. In the day time I have no idea where they are and you would have to kick them up from the cedars and some how get a shot on them before they are gone.
> 
> Early mornings and first light is key for this unit. These are prairie elk and you have to catch them as they are crossing the Chained and seeded areas. The elk population is really low but the chained and seeded areas are so large and wide that the elk kinda dig their own graves in the early mornings or after shooting light in the evenings by coming out in the open. As far as finding them in the Cedars or chasing them in the Cedars you might as well be in the pursuit of chupacabras cause there is very small changes in elevation and visibility is horrible and elk can cover a lot of country when it is flat or slightly sloping. The elk density is so low that finding them in the cedars with 50 yards of visibility at a time is futile.
> 
> ...


^^^^ Now that"s what I call sharing!^^^^^^


----------



## elkfromabove (Apr 20, 2008)

Nambaster pretty well covered it, but just as a heads up, there are 6 fairly new BLM wilderness areas in that unit per the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 signed by Obama and almost all of the new 130,000 acres is deer habitat that isn't as hunted as much as the rest of the unit. And there are 3 that border Nevada. Though I've never hunted them, it might be worth looking into if you're up to hiking in.


----------



## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

I wonder if we will ever hear from bnorth again.....


----------



## bnorth (Feb 2, 2014)

Thanks for all the info it has been very helpful and yes you will hear from me again, been tied up at work. I look forward to hunting in Utah it will be a great change of scenery.


----------



## elkfromabove (Apr 20, 2008)

bnorth said:


> Thanks for all the info it has been very helpful and yes you will hear from me again, been tied up at work. I look forward to hunting in Utah it will be a great change of scenery.


If nothing more, you owe us an update on the hunt. We take sharing our info quite seriously and we want to know that it's not being ignored. And, remember, we offer no guarantees. Those animals can make the wisest of us look like fools.


----------



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Good luck on your hunt. One word of caution on your way there. I you take Utah Hwy 21 down to I-15 watch out for cows and horses between Garrison and Milford. I know of 3 people that have hit one or the other and the outcomes are usually quite bad with one of them being a fatality.


----------



## bnorth (Feb 2, 2014)

elkfromabove said:


> If nothing more, you owe us an update on the hunt. We take sharing our info quite seriously and we want to know that it's not being ignored. And, remember, we offer no guarantees. Those animals can make the wisest of us look like fools.[/QUOTE
> 
> I will keep you updated for sure, and I take your info very seriously and greatly appreciate all you guys do. I will tell you one thing them cow elk are smarter than people give them credit for, I have been made to look foolish whilst archery hunting them more than once.


----------



## jbhunter22 (Oct 6, 2014)

Has anyone gotten anything out of this area yet this season? I spent the day scoping out the area and will be there before the sun in the morning trying to fill my tag.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Nambaster said:


> I would recommend taking Highway 56 towards Leach Canyon if you are coming from the North watch to your left for a road called Bumble Dr. once you are on Bumble Dr. take an immediate right onto a road that heads South West. If you get to Pinto Road you have gone too far. As soon as you arrive to a gate you can open that gate as it just permits access to BLM land from Forest Service land anyways this road that you are on leads you into the middle of the Harmony Mountains which are pretty much the only mountains in the entire unit that have any presence of elk at all. That is the location where the DNR intends for the 25 tag holders to locate their elk and in the early mornings the elk are actually very low and almost right off of the road that comes off of Bumble Dr. in the chained areas. In the day time I have no idea where they are and you would have to kick them up from the cedars and some how get a shot on them before they are gone.
> 
> Early mornings and first light is key for this unit. These are prairie elk and you have to catch them as they are crossing the Chained and seeded areas. The elk population is really low but the chained and seeded areas are so large and wide that the elk kinda dig their own graves in the early mornings or after shooting light in the evenings by coming out in the open. As far as finding them in the Cedars or chasing them in the Cedars you might as well be in the pursuit of chupacabras cause there is very small changes in elevation and visibility is horrible and elk can cover a lot of country when it is flat or slightly sloping. The elk density is so low that finding them in the cedars with 50 yards of visibility at a time is futile.
> 
> ...


Most of the time when I read about places on this forum it is far away places where I have never heard of, but I know exactly where you are talking about! I used to hunt deer here a little bit as a teenager with my dad and brother. We never did see any elk here. If we did I probably wouldn't have been able to believe my eyes. I've always heard that pine valley held a few elk, but i didn't know that this was the part of the unit where they actually hang. But yeah, I figure hunting elk anywhere on the pine valley unit would be about like hunting chupacabras. Hell, hunting them no the Zion unit can be about like hunting chupacabras!


----------



## bnorth (Feb 2, 2014)

Here is an update on my hunting. I am a little slow on posting but I figured I would wait until I was done hunting. I went down to the unit for the general deer season in October and after 4 days was successful in tagging a small 4 point buck. After that I spent the rest of the time hunting cow elk and was not able to see any although I had found tracks around the dirt tanks and had a pretty good idea where to find them. I believe they were for the most part nocturnal at the time due to all the pressure from the general bull season and deer season so I figured I would wait and come back later in the season. I went back the 20th thru the 24th of December and was able to locate a small bunch of about ten cows on the second day but they got in the thick trees before I could get a shot. I then hunted a couple more days before I ran into another group of about fifteen cows and one small bull. I followed and stalked them for over an hour and got a great shot at one of them but was unable to tell if it was a cow or the bull so I waited for a bit and it finally showed its head and sure enough it was the bull. Right at the end I got a couple shots at a cow but for whatever reason I shot over her both shots and they ran off into the trees and it was all over. Looking forward to hunting there again now that I have learned more about the area and wish to thank everyone on here for the information you have given me it has been very usefull and I appreciate it all. Happy new years everyone.


----------

