utah MRS in EBJ

[gon4elk]

So being from Utah Im naturally interested to see what they have said about specific units and the quality. Take South Slope Diamond Mtn Elk. They listed the quality as "good" for the any weapon hunts. OK ill go with that, but on the following page they list the quality for archery and muzz as "Excellent". Hummmmm. How does that work? The quality of bulls changes from one hunt to the next? NOT!!! This is just one example, there are many more like this in the Utah MRS. Looks to me like They flipped a coin. As a resident I feel I know what to expect in these units but for the Non Res who relies on this info to plan a hunt wow in my opinion Eastmans really have come up short.

 

[Musket Man]

I think the different ratings for different hunts in the same unit comes from the dates of the hunts, success rates, success on 6 point bulls, ect. Its not that the quality of bulls has changed but it it probably harder to find them on the rifle hunt.

 

[marcusvdk]

I have to second what Musket Man. I think it's not that the quality of elk are changing its the fact that the dates of the hunt are different and have different success rates. So It might be "easier" to locate the elk during certain dates versus other based on rut, weather, moon phases, hunting pressure.....etc. all be it this is my guess not saying that for sure why the ratings are different.

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

The point gone4elk makes is on point and his specific example is a good one.

Musket and Marcus, your answers would normally be right on. For example, in most states the archery elk hunt gets the prime rut dates. In Utah however, the early rifle elk hunt is positioned on the prime rut dates each year, and are clearly recognized as the premium season in Utah. The archery hunt precedes the prime dates (mid to late September), and the muzzleloader follows the early rifle hunt.

To further reinforce gone4elk's example about South Slope Diamond Mountain, even the "Premium" tag is listed as "Good" in the MRS. The odd thing is the premium tag can hunt all of the seasons (archery, early rifle, muzzleloader, late rife). Yet as gone4elk brought up the archery only and muzzleloader were given an "excellent" rating.

On several occasions, the very best unit in the state has either been completely left out of the MRS or it was included and rated as "good". In the current UT MRS an elk hunt rated as "good" may well be the best state draw tag in the entire US for elk. These kinds of obvious oversights have shaken my confidence in the MRS information.

When charging people for information and when recommending hunts that a person may spend thousands of dollars on, the accountability for thoroughness and accuracy is very high.

 

[marcusvdk]

Ok Yeah i didn't know was going of a hunch, But this is a great example of why you never rely on a magazine or articles for your hunting information. Nothing beats doing your own research online, calling biolgists, and if your able to do some foot work. The MRS is just a tool to help with other research. Thanks for Pointing out some of the flaws in this MRS Gon4elk and Umpqua Hunter hopefully it helps people out.

 

[Musket Man]

Maybe that will help the drawing odds for some good hunts atleast! lol. You make some good points Umpqua. I dont know that much about UT elk seasons. I have seen some very nice bulls there when I was deer hunting in ML season though. Had a 6x6 and 7x7 pass 50 yards from me one year! I have noticed the same with the CO MRS. The first rifle hunt will be a blue chip that takes many points to draw and the ML hunt for the same area isnt even on the chart.

 

[clacklin009]

I would never want to be the one putting together a state MRS report and I'm grateful to all those that do the work. I also want to tell UH that I'm very impressed with your observations. That is some spot on info for a state you're not a resident.

 

[Musket Man]

I just got my mag today and Im not very impressed with the UT MRS. It seems like its written mostly off of B&C and DWR stats and not alot of info of details in it compared to other states MRS's. Also would be helpful to have unit #'s on the deer charts so you could tell where they were on the map.

 

[shedhead]

After looking the MRS over it looks like whoever put it together was a little mixed up when putting the Marginal/Good/Excellent ratings. Some of the Good are colored blue and some of the marginal were marked green. Also, with many of the rifle hunts, the excellent rating is on the late hunts and the good rating is on the early hunts, that should be switched around. As a Utah resident, I'm disappointed in some of the information portrayed here, maybe just a mix up in some editing, but to call the Boulder early rifle elk hunt marginal in trophy quality is off the mark by a mile!

 

[Breshears]

Hey guys, thanks for the input and thoughts, I personally wrote the Utah MRS and can understand your concerns. I cannot address each post here but in general I will hit the nail on the head the best I can. First, the question about the South Slope hunt being "good" on several charts and "excellent" on the archery. This is probably off for more than one reason, however, my thoughts for a good rifle hunt vs. an excellent archery hunt are typically based on trophy quality differences. For example, a rifle hunter will have a higher standard for quality than an archery hunter on average. The other thought is the time of year, terrain/cover, do the elk move to private land during rifle or muzzleloader?, etc. 2nd. I am starting over with chart standards for this state and have plans to implement a new system for 2015. With that said, I have written the Utah MRS for 2 years and haven't had the time to really do it justice at least to the standard I would like to see it. My plan is to revise the entire state and start with a clean slate for 2015. There is still a ton of good info in there, and I spend a ton of time asking hard questions and trying to keep good data in there. I won't try to make excuses, I will continue to learn the state and improve my information, I am going to be hunting down there more and more and continue to utilize and search for solid information from guys that live there and are out there experiencing it first hand as you guys can understand none of us can truly cover all of the regions in a state even if we hunt, hike and fish year round. Keep the info coming! Your thoughts are valid and helpful, I am never above correction or learning something new! PM me, email me or post more on this thread and I will keep honing my knowledge and improving the MRS. Thanks again guys. Good luck and send me pics and stories! jordan.b@eastmans.com

 

[HeartElk1]

I appreciate what all you guys at Eastmans do in trying to provide helpful info and doing your best. I also appreciate your honesty and openness here and have no doubt that things will only continue to improve with a great attitude like yours. Thanks!