# Wasatch Early Rifle Bull Elk



## Hunterman1966 (May 20, 2017)

I checked the credit card this morning and I had a pending charge for $285. It looks like my wife finally drew her tag on the Wasatch after 15 years. I have a pretty good idea on where to hunt after hunting the Wasatch for 35 years, but any help would be appreciated on finding one closer to the road, since we're now in our 50's.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

1..


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Wouldn't touch that permit with a ten foot pole!

Unless you've got access to private ground, because elk on public are few and far between right now. 

Have spent 20 days this spring hunting bears on the south end of the unit, 
Never seen so few elk in 40 years.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

What I will say is that if you've been hunting the Wasatch for 35 years, you're going to be way ahead of 95% of the hunters with the same tag. 

Elk are harder to come by than they were in the not too distant past. But stay positive, and go have a great hunt!


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## nickpan (May 6, 2008)

Yes they are harder to come by, but I've seen more 350+ bulls the last 5 years than ever before. And many bulls pushing 370+. Been seeing more elk and less deer in the areas I hunt the last 5 years. If you know the area you'll do fine 


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## hazmat (Apr 23, 2009)

I agree with goofy.people who go into a Wasatch hunt thinking they will be passing on bulls left and right and non stop rut action are in for a disheartening suprise.

I can not count how many hunters I had ask me for a point in the right direction mid way through their hunts. saying how tough of a year it was last year.that includes some of the local guides.

If you go into it with reasonable expectations and do your homework and work your butt off during your hunt you will have a good time and a decent chance at success.

If you think simply because it's a limited entry unit that you will be into elk everywhere it simply is not true just my two cents


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## Hunterman1966 (May 20, 2017)

Thanks for the replies. I've got some private ground to hunt on in Currant Creek.


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## hazmat (Apr 23, 2009)

Hunterman1966 said:


> Thanks for the replies. I've got some private ground to hunt on in Currant Creek.


Buckhorn or little red creek??


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

Not every one looking for a 400+ inch bull. if you are a good guide or know elk very well you will find them with out a problem on any unite. yes you got to work hard to do it. it elk hunting it not easy. Im so sick of people bitching about no big bulls on the wasatch unit. 

Good luck on your hunt. hope you get a great bull.


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## hazmat (Apr 23, 2009)

dkhntrdstn said:


> Not every one looking for a 400+ inch bull. if you are a good guide or know elk very well you will find them with out a problem on any unite. yes you got to work hard to do it. it elk hunting it not easy. Im so sick of people bitching about no big bulls on the wasatch unit.
> 
> Good luck on your hunt. hope you get a great bull.


Not sure anyone was bitching in this thread maybe you are just so used to people doing it that you assume everyone who sets a reasonable expectation for the unit is complaining. 
And no believe me even some of the guys with Years of elk hunting and guiding struggled on the unit last year.
It's a simple numbers game.
If elk hunting came down to just flat out hard work and years of experience I would tag out every year with a north slope bull.
Luck and elk numbers play a huge role


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## dibb03 (Dec 17, 2007)

I had the rifle tag last year (also had the tag in 2008 ). I will say last year was a lot tougher than 2008. There were far less cows and the rut activity was definitely not as intense as 2008. I hunted the same area and noticed a difference between the two years. We hunted an area close to private property. Last year a lot of the elk were on the private property and they would rut all day non-stop on the property. 

I did not end up punching my tag last year as I was not able to make it happen on the couple bulls I had targeted throughout my summer and fall scouting. Having said all that we had a great time on the mountain and I did end up passing 15-20 different bulls throughout my hunt. Most of them were in the 270-320 range with one or two pushing 340. I had my mind set on a bull that we put between 360-370. Had some opportunities but just couldn't put it together. 

Good luck to your wife! you should have a great time in the mountains being able to locate some elk and have an opportunity to harvest a great bull no matter the score or size. Having access to some private property should help increase your chances as well. My dad has a Muzzy tag this year. If all of you with archery and rifle tags could leave a few bulls for us I would much appreciate it! ;-)


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

If you were chasing a 370 bull and you passed up many bulls with a couple pushing 340 on the Wasatch, it sounds like you had a good experience. That may not be the glory days some yearn for, but that is also tough to complain about for a "non-premium" elk unit. 

Drawing two LE elk tags in less than 10 years? I guess you have the right to be a little picky. Good on ya!


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## dibb03 (Dec 17, 2007)

Yeah, I'm not complaining about my experience. I had a great time with family and friends and got into some elk. Getting the adrenaline pumping a few times is worth it to me even if I didn't kill. The 08 tag was an expo tag and last year I drew it with my points. I killed a 320 bull the second to last day of the hunt in 08 so I had lofty goals last year.


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## Tbowman25 (Jul 19, 2016)

My dad won a elk tag at the expo this year. Multi season wasatch unit. The last couple weeks I have been up driving roads doing a little pre scouting and I already seen more elk then I saw all of last year I saw a group of about 15 and a group of 12 looked like all cows. All was on public land. Last year I think I maybe saw 8 cows all year and about 12 bulls. So far this year has seemed better but a lot of it I think is lack of pressure up there over the next month the pressure will increase and I think spread the elk out and push them on to private property with all the camping and riding up there. But we will see.


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## berrysblaster (Nov 27, 2013)

Well this all seems...depressing.

Here's some pictures that make things look a little better then some guys would believe. Some of the bulls from last year from 320"-375".






































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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

the first elk is cool.


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## Deuce (Oct 18, 2007)

Those pics sure did brighten things up for me! I'll agree with the rest, last year was the toughest I've seen in a long time. A few elk here and there, but nothing like I'm used to finding with some good hard work. I'm chalking it up to a rough year that's past us. Hopefully they'll start to re-appear and some nice elk will come out of that unit this year. ...It won't come without some solid work though.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Hate to be the barer of bad news,
But,
The Wasatch has not come close yet to rock bottom. ...quality wise.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

The reduction in cow tags will help some long term. Hopefully it will start to trend back in the right direction.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

I agree TS.
Building the overall numbers back up is going to help big time !
But it's going to take years. 

Mean while, 
1000 LE bull permits, plus spike hunting, 
Will hurt the Wasatch quality even more. 

It hasn't 'bottom ' out yet,
And it could take almost a decade to recover once it does.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Let's hope not. I certainly don't claim to have the answers for the unit. I think it's pretty unique and needs to be managed that way. It can't be managed like other units that do not have the same dynamics. I think the DWR has realized that, and we're seeing small changes. 

Again, hopefully they will help. Fingers crossed!


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