Hey fellas, trying to plan an elk trip next year with two of my friends. We are new to hunting elk but not new to hunting the west. We are prepared for rough country and will go the extra miles for a great hunt. Our work schedules allow us to be on the mountain for 7 to 9 days and our trophy expectations are not very high. We get our thrills from stick and string and have been thinking of trying Utah's North Slope general season archery just south of Wyoming. Would we be waisting our time there? Any insight or thoughts are appreciated.
Utah North Slope?
- Thread starter Bailey17
- Start date
clifhunter
New Member
- Dec 14, 2013
- 23
- 0
I wouldn't waste your time hunting the north slope as a non resident. Very low success rates and not a hole lot of elk. I would look at Colorado, idaho or try drawing a general tag in wy.
I hunted the north slope a few years back. I'm young and in shape and thought I would just out hike everyone. That would have worked great until everyone showed up with horses and set up their campsite 10 miles in. If you're hunting the general rifle season, make opening morning count, after the first shot all the elk go straight up and you'll never see them again in that rough terrain. I covered about 10-15 miles a day still hunting and glassed even more over two separate 3 day trips. Never saw or heard any bulls after opening morning. Also, watch out for the weather. I ended up leaving the second trip a day early due to a blizzard that dropped about 8" of snow. Had I stayed a few hours more, my truck would have been there until spring.
Pick the most random back road you can find, look for some hard to reach bowls, and be prepared to hike your butt off. Good luck.
Pick the most random back road you can find, look for some hard to reach bowls, and be prepared to hike your butt off. Good luck.
I never hunted the south slope, was only in Utah for one hunting season. I'd imagine the south slope would have more pressure based off the proximity to Salt Lake City and the surrounding area. Something like 90% of Utah's population lives within 50 miles of the center of SLC. It's pretty tough to get away from pressure anywhere near that area. Probably similar to hunting over the counter anywhere near Denver or similar places.
I'm not saying don't go, just make sure you manage your expectations. The success rate for over the counter rifle tags are pretty low. In the 65 miles of back country I covered, I only heard one bull and saw two cows, but it was also my first year elk hunting. It is gorgeous country and a great place to camp and hike.
I'm not saying don't go, just make sure you manage your expectations. The success rate for over the counter rifle tags are pretty low. In the 65 miles of back country I covered, I only heard one bull and saw two cows, but it was also my first year elk hunting. It is gorgeous country and a great place to camp and hike.
clacklin009
Active Member
I hunt the North Slope elk unit and have done so for years. The archery hunt is quite early in the year, and I have only seen one other archer in the area I hunt and he was on horseback. When Rifle hunting I have only seen one other group of hunters and they were on horseback. As has been stated guys get in on horse on the elk hunt. I have had camera in the area over the last 4 years and do not have any pictures of other people. If you are sticking close to maintained trails you will run into other hunters, however if you get off trail, and it doesn't have to be far, you can find some solitude. The biggest problem with the Uintas is the access to water-there is so much that it is hard to get a fix on where the elk will be, most reports will always state that elk are spread throughout the area. Rifle season has a lot more pressure than archery, and as Smokin found out there is a good chance you will find snow.