# Harvest Data is out!!!



## CROC (Sep 12, 2007)

https://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting-i...ting/big-game/1348-big-game-harvest-data.html

I usually hunt the same area but I like to see how it all compares.


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## tander123 (Sep 21, 2007)

CROC said:


> https://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting-i...ting/big-game/1348-big-game-harvest-data.html
> 
> I usually hunt the same area but I like to see how it all compares.


Thanks for sharing!

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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

Nice, thanks. 
Some interesting numbers for sure.


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## grizzly (Jun 3, 2012)

Statewide Moose & Bison hunters didn't even hunt?

Desert Bighorn success rates improved dramatically... great news there.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Thanks, that's always fun stuff to look through.

I hope they update the success rates on the Wild Horse Bench bison hunt once it ends and the data is collected. I'm really curious to see how success was there, and if crowds were bad enough to affect success. For one area, that's quite a few tags (though the 6-month season probably didn't hurt).


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## NVDuckin (Apr 18, 2016)

Wew, 11% success rate for Wasatch West Archery. That makes me feel better about my tag soup...


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## tallbuck (Apr 30, 2009)

Happy I was one of the successful on my LE bull tag. Why do you think archery elk success numbers are so low? Is it that the personal expectations are to high? Just wondering.


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## MooseMeat (Dec 27, 2017)

tallbuck said:


> Happy I was one of the successful on my LE bull tag. Why do you think archery elk success numbers are so low? Is it that the personal expectations are to high? Just wondering.


I bet it's because you usually need common sense and a little skill to kill elk with a bow. Most hunters in Utah lack that. Combine that with elk hate roads and it's almost impossible to run hunt them with archery equipment... I think that's why you have low success


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## callofthewild (Sep 7, 2007)

what is up with the numbers on the henry mountains any weapon deer hunt? 25 of 25 for 100% success but there was only a 3.9 on the hunters experience. maybe i am missing something but just having that tag in hand would be a higher rating for me than a 3 or 4. anyone hear of any negative experiences there? or was it because all the 200" monsters were not hanging out off of the main road in.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

callofthewild said:


> what is up with the numbers on the henry mountains any weapon deer hunt? 25 of 25 for 100% success but there was only a 3.9 on the hunters experience. maybe i am missing something but just having that tag in hand would be a higher rating for me than a 3 or 4. anyone hear of any negative experiences there? or was it because all the 200" monsters were not hanging out off of the main road in.


I think when people draw a "legendary" tag like the Henry Mountains, they go into it with false expectations, hence lower satisfaction when they find out how much work it still takes to find the big ones. I'm quite surprised to see that the rifle hunters gave lower satisfaction ratings than archery, muzzleloader, or management hunters did though.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

NVDuckin said:


> Wew, 11% success rate for Wasatch West Archery. That makes me feel better about my tag soup...


All the low harvest percentages for WW shock me. I'd guess alot of people will start going other places.

Also really surprised at CWMU's getting a satisfaction of only 2. lol

-DallanC


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

DallanC said:


> All the low harvest percentages for WW shock me. I'd guess alot of people will start going other places.
> 
> Also really surprised at CWMU's getting a satisfaction of only 2. lol


I never know what to think about the satisfaction ratings. Take the Dutton mountain goat hunter for example. He harvested after hunting for only 2 days and gave a satisfaction rating of 3. I'd have absolutely rated it a 5 if I were able to successfully tag a mountain goat, especially after only 2 days. And with my doe pronghorn hunt this year, Dad and I both had tags and hunted together all 3 days, but I think I gave it a 4 and he gave it a 2. Same experience, different feeling I guess.

And I think WW has such low success rate because it's the road hunting capital of the state. Starting at about 3:30 - 4:00 PM on weekdays and all day on weekends, you can count on an orange-clad driver coming up any sort of major road every 5-10 minutes. There's just way too much traffic for that tactic to be effective for most of them. It's close and easy, though, so I think a lot of people are inclined to stick with it.

We hunt that unit every year, but never have issues with crowding if we can get a mile or so from the roads. My dad and a few neighbors hunted it this year and reported decent deer numbers. Not quite as good as last year, but pretty good.


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

How about the moose hunter that killed his bull and gave SJ Ranch a 1!? Ouch. Maybe was confused how the rating worked.

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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

I think part of the deal on a hunt like the Henries deer hunt is that the "pressure" is very high. 
At least in your own mind. Everyone expects you to get a monster. 
Plus, throw in the fact that most think there is a monster buck on every knoll. 

When I had the Paunsy muzzle deer tag a couple of the guys I ran into were complaining about the lack of big deer.......I thought it was a great hunt. Had a blast.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

3arabians said:


> How about the moose hunter that killed his bull and gave SJ Ranch a 1!? Ouch. Maybe was confused how the rating worked.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


Yeah I saw that and it made me wonder. Then again, he hunted 4 days, CWMU is only required to give him 5, maybe they were total jerks and he shot the only bull he saw, a yearling spike? Or maybe he just has a giant stick up his rectum?

Hard to say why people give the reports they give. I've heard people say they purposefully only give a 3 max so that it won't look to other people like a great place to try, thereby "improving" the hunter's odds of drawing that hunt again etc.


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

johnnycake said:


> Yeah I saw that and it made me wonder. Then again, he hunted 4 days, CWMU is only required to give him 5, maybe they were total jerks and he shot the only bull he saw, a yearling spike? Or maybe he just has a giant stick up his rectum?
> 
> Hard to say why people give the reports they give. I've heard people say they purposefully only give a 3 max so that it won't look to other people like a great place to try, thereby "improving" the hunter's odds of drawing that hunt again etc.


I was thinking it had to be a "Hell ya! That was awesome SJ Ranch is #1!!"

Then the ranch called and said "What the hell did you do that for jerkface!!"

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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

johnnycake said:


> 3arabians said:
> 
> 
> > How about the moose hunter that killed his bull and gave SJ Ranch a 1!? Ouch. Maybe was confused how the rating worked.
> ...


In all fairness that tag pretty much relies on a transient moose wondering through. It doesn't hold them all the time.


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## Don K (Mar 27, 2016)

Interesting stats this year


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## Truelife (Feb 6, 2009)

callofthewild said:


> what is up with the numbers on the henry mountains any weapon deer hunt? 25 of 25 for 100% success but there was only a 3.9 on the hunters experience. maybe i am missing something but just having that tag in hand would be a higher rating for me than a 3 or 4. anyone hear of any negative experiences there? or was it because all the 200" monsters were not hanging out off of the main road in.


Something else I think is important to take note of especially in this case is the number of days afield. They all tagged out in 3 an average of 3 days but weren't very satisfied.

Sounds to me like they expected giant bucks to be standing on the road.

I wonder how many people put in for that unit and have never set foot on the mountains there.


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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

Lots of talk about the Henry's. I spend time there, and was on it for the hunt this year. Let me shed light on why I would give this lower than 5 satisfaction:

-Guides. 1 tag literally is equalling around 9-10 people. Some camps had 4+ wall tents to them. There are people on the mountain, and then the rest of the group drives around in side by sides and 4 wheelers. Guides will also hike up with spotters and camera's in the middle of the hunting area with no hunter or tag while others are hunting. The nicest guy we met was actually from Mossback. But when it's time for them to get "their deer" they don't play around. They literally sleep on the animal.

-Management tags. These were by far some of the LARGEST groups and gave 0 s***'s about the premium hunters. Running this just 3 days into the hunt causes chaos and they roll in early as well. So for the opener you also have management hunters all over the place

-Expectation. It is hard. There are 200" deer but I can't tell you how hard it is to actually get one. Over the years, what I see occurring anyways, is the parity increases. You use to have more 180-200" deer. Now there is like 6-10 210"+ deer and a bunch of 160-180". The in between seems to have shrunk. Not bad to deal with if you ignore social media judgement, but it is mental. Some people wouldn't think the deer we got was a "Henry" buck but I think they are so **** cool. This year I have seen most the deer taken and, at least IMO, they were smaller than years past collectively. Now again, smaller is still freaking HUGE! However, the deer quality IN COMPARISON seemed down. Although we thought it was freaking awesome.

There really are a couple areas that hold the biggest deer and the pressure is actually really high (see the above "massive groups" section). There are good deer all over, but if you plan on hiking out Ellen trail opening morning, good luck getting past Mossback. They have every deer photographed and literally send their clients a picture and they pick a deer, and 98/100 that's the deer the client gets. Sounds like hunting right? That isn't an expression either. They have clients miss opening day because it is no big deal. They can come in, and shoot their deer at their convenience. It really is something when you witness it.

This unit is a blast to hunt. However, it is very clear when you are there that it is favorably a guide unit. It really isn't a large unit at all and access can be limited and the pressure (mental and physical) is insane.

This is a really long post but I have to end it with the fact that I wouldn't put any unit above it to drive around and see 3-5 year old 4+ points all over. When you can't feel score hunting becomes a down right daunting task. The fact is each year if 40 are taken, you are going to see 10 that put an image in your head and the other 30 you don't see are just kick*** mature mule deer that anyone should be proud to have shot. The important thing is to make an experience out of it. Spend some time their, travel the unit, do some hiking, take in the Buffalo, etc... It's your hunt and it's likely only happening once. If you put 20 years into the tag so what. If you are going to beat yourself up over it, I would recommend hunting 2 or 3 other units in that 20 year span instead.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

^^Spread the word: The HENRY's is DEAD...Everybody should just apply for some other unit.... Might make my NR odds go from 1: LOL to 1:aww, cute


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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

johnnycake said:


> ^^Spread the word: The HENRY's is DEAD...Everybody should just apply for some other unit.... Might make my NR odds go from 1: LOL to 1:aww, cute


It certainly isn't dead. But 20 years of points IS going to change how you feel about a unit. It is a OIAL hunt.

We had a blast and will be going back annually. However, If you aren't buying a guide, don't go down a ton year over year, and are going to beat yourself up if you don't shoot a 220".... I suggest you put in for units you can draw with lower point and hunt more than once.

If you understand what you are getting into, and are ok waiting 20+ years (and climbing fast) then do it! It's an amazing hunt, and a wonderful place.

Just for fun I looked at draw odds, because last year I remember the pools would get bigger. Given everyone stays in the same weapon, Archery has 4 bonus pool tags and will have 4 with 19 points next year. After that, the group right below has 12 people. It will take 4 years to move them out moving them to 21 points req.

Rifle has 11 bonus tags, and will have 15 with 21 next year and 41 with 20. That point pool will move to 25 points just to clear them out (if I math correctly.) 5+ years.

Muzzy has 4 bonus pool tags, and will have 6 people with 21 and 17 with 20. That would also move to 25 to clear that group out. Almost 5+ years.

Again, for the top guys with those points its hard to imagine not seeing it through. If you are in the top 2 pools you are looking at 4-6 years to be guaranteed to draw. Below that you are looking at a decade+. There are variables but it goes without saying, that changes perspective. Depending on what your perspective is, your satisfaction level will vary.

The best advice we got was take family, don't hurry or stress, and enjoy yourself. We did just that!


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

C'mon man! Yer killin' me! Help spread the word that it is dead and I'll cut your family in for 25% of the tags...


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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

johnnycake said:


> C'mon man! Yer killin' me! Help spread the word that it is dead and I'll cut your family in for 25% of the tags...


Ok but if you draw it, I want an invite!


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## Steve G (Nov 29, 2016)

Does the DWR report on the class of deer taken?


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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

Steve G said:


> Does the DWR report on the class of deer taken?


Not size: it's not practical to have them all measured and submitted and some people frankly don't care about inches just want a good animal.

They do report on average age harvested which can be a correlative indicator in ways.


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## Steve G (Nov 29, 2016)

RandomElk16 said:


> Not size: it's not practical to have them all measured and submitted and some people frankly don't care about inches just want a good animal.
> 
> They do report on average age harvested which can be a correlative indicator in ways.


Age, in my opinion, is a better indicator of trophy than inches. It is more indicative of how long an animal has outwitted predators including man.

Can you tell me where to find the reports?


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