Question about Utah Elk Hunting

I just introduced myself in the Roll Call forum but let me once again say how much I appreciate this site. I've learned a lot from it and hope to be able to contribute somewhat in the future. At the moment I find myself in the position of needing some guidance from the knowledgeable members of this site. It looks like my work will require me to relocate to central Utah (Richfield area) soon. It will be tough for me to leave Montana but I've heard a lot of great things about big game hunting in central Utah. I'm beginning to familiarize myself with Utah's hunting regulations and was hoping that some of you Utahns might be able to provide me with answers to some questions:

-It looks like Utah's general elk tag is for spike only - correct?
-How difficult is it to draw an antlerless elk tag in the management units around Richfield? I'm primarily interested in rifle hunting.
-I know this varies a lot for different management units and with the luck of the draw, but in general about how many years do you expect to have to wait to draw a brow-tined bull elk tag for a good unit? Again, I'm mainly interested in rifle, not archery or muzzleloader.
-Is there any advice you'd give a new resident in who is attempting to learn the in's and out's of Utah's hunting regulations?

Thanks in advance for the help.
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Prepare to be confused. (???)
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MuleyMadness
Be careful, that's where the Spider Bull was killed. Something in the water up there. lol

Just kidding, WELCOME!! Great hunting for Elk close to you. :thumb

I'd check wildlife.utah.gov and read the proclamation. TONS of other good info on their website under the big game hunting section.
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"Cutthroat" wrote:
-It looks like Utah's general elk tag is for spike only - correct?
-How difficult is it to draw an antlerless elk tag in the management units around Richfield? I'm primarily interested in rifle hunting.
-I know this varies a lot for different management units and with the luck of the draw, but in general about how many years do you expect to have to wait to draw a brow-tined bull elk tag for a good unit? Again, I'm mainly interested in rifle, not archery or muzzleloader.
-Is there any advice you'd give a new resident in who is attempting to learn the in's and out's of Utah's hunting regulations?

Thanks in advance for the help.
I have hunted my whole life around Richfield

-Utah has a tag for Any bull hunting as well as spike hunting, around Richfield there are only Spike Units.
-No clue on the anterless but im sure its not overly difficult.
- My guess would be around 7-9 points for a good bull, for most around Richfield (i.e. Monroe) you will need the full 15 points to have any decent chance. (Utah DWR site has list of odds)
- Just read the proclamation, most of the stuff is just common sense, one thing is to make sure you are wearing enough Orange.

Your more than welcome to PM me if you have any questions about specific places around Richfield.
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Loafer
The spike units are the Limited Entry Elk Units. The general season any bull elk units take some time to get to know, there are not any close to Richfield. As far as drawing a LE tag depending on your area it could take 15-20 years or longer. The elk units around Richfield are some of the best in the state. The anterless draw is fairly easy worst case you would hunt every other year. Richfield is a great area for outdoor activity.
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The Ox
"Loafer" wrote:The spike units are the Limited Entry Elk Units. The general season any bull elk units take some time to get to know, there are not any close to Richfield. As far as drawing a LE tag depending on your area it could take 15-20 years or longer. The elk units around Richfield are some of the best in the state. The anterless draw is fairly easy worst case you would hunt every other year. Richfield is a great area for outdoor activity.

+1
you may get lucky and draw earlier so just gotta keep trying. it does happen!
unfortunatley there are not very many over the counter options for utah and not very successful if they are.spike hunts or anterless are your best way to be able to hunt elk every year.
the dwr site does have drawing and harvest stats on ther so dg around on the big game area lie mm said.
goodluck!
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I wish my job would wanted me to relocate to Richfield, Utah. I would be happy with Montana too. I am stuck in California. I do most of my hunting in Utah though. I have be lucky enough to get drawn for Fishlake/Thousand Lake Anterless Elk for the last three years. I have hunted there or The Boulder for anterless elk since 2001. I think I have only mist getting drawn twice. I was fortunate enough to get drawn for a LE Elk in the Fishlake/Thousand Lake unit last year. I was only putting in for four years. Good luck to you.
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I live 6 miles from Richfield, in Glenwood, Utah. Hunted nearly every unit with in 50 miles for 34 years. I'll show you every nook and cranny I've found for elk and deer. There is a great deal of wildlife in South Central Utah but as you most likely already know from your previous hunting adventures, there's not a elk nor a deer behind every cedar tree however, if you know where to look there are tremendous opportunities to be had near in Richfield.

Utah is somewhere near 70 percent federal land which means you will have millions of acres of free hunting access. Richfield is surrounded on all sides with federal land.

It took me the first fifteen years I lived here and 50,000 miles of back country roads to learn where deer and elk are and more importantly where they are not.

Call me if your interested 435-979-5521. No strings attached to the offer, I enjoy helping other sportsmen as others in my past have helped me.
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I appreciate all of the helpful information, including PMs. Can't wait to start exploring the terrain down there. 2lumpy thank you for your generous offer, I'll take you up on it! Thanks to all.
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a_bow_nut
Here is a link that will take you into the draw results tables. It will show you how many people are putting in for and how many points they have. The hunt number and the unit name are in the upper left hand corner of each hunt table. One thing to watch is the they have all three type of weapon hunts listed for each unit so make sure that the hunt number also matches the unit name. You can find the unit names and hunt numbers in the guide books.

Hope that this information helps.

http://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting/biggame/pdf/09_stats/
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