Edumacate me on Utah elk permits

[Grayrock]

My brother has offered to put me in touch with friends who elk hunt in Utah. My job is to get the tag/ permit/ license. I quickly scanned the Utah state website but have more questions than they answered. Out-of-state bull fee is $800 if drawn. Am I correct in assuming that it only costs $5 to try to draw? Or do I have to fork over the $800, then have $795 reimbursed if I am NOT drawn? Do I have to apply for a particular area, or is a tag good for the whole state? What about dates? Is a tag only good for a particular date or can I hunt anytime during the season if drawn? BTW- when IS elk season? Is a tag only good for 1 person/1 elk? So if I want to hunt with a buddy we BOTH have to get drawn? Or is a tag community property and several guys can go and the 1st one to shoot the elk gets to use the tag? My brother's friend said he has been applying for 12 years and this is the 1st time he got drawn, and he got a nice elk for his patience (at least to my uneducated eyes). The state website had some disclaimer about private property- that they could not guarantee access to land, to contact the landowner. Does that mean I could draw a tag for a particular area and have the landowner decline to allow me to hunt there? Do I get my $ back if I don't use my tag? Can I sell it to someone else? Lastly, if I did get anything, how much does an elk mount cost (just head) and would I have a Utah local do it and ship me the finished mount or do I transport the hide and rack back to Texas to have my regular taxidermist mount it? I'm an inquisitive one, aren't I?

 

[Grayrock]

Come on- someone HAS to have some insight here.

 

[USMC_2674]

It would be a lot easier to answer all of your questions if you had numbered them in the first place.

You have to send in a credit card number with your application for a draw. They don't charge it until the draw results is my understanding. So if you draw, they charge the full price... if not they charge $5. Not sure of this, but it is my understanding.

I don't do draws. I just buy over the counter tags. My resident elk tag for open bull is $65.

Elk season has come and gone. Try earlier next year. The draw applications open in January and are only open for a few weeks.

Elk Season for Rifle, Archery, and Blackpowder are different times. You didn't state which one.

You have so many questions and obviously have no idea... so call the division and ask them one at a time and they'll put you straight.

OR, read the Big Game Proclamation from start to finish and then maybe you'll have a few questions left that will be intelligent questions (you just dno't know enough at this point to ask the right questions).

There is no party hunting with a tag. It is for YOU only. Can't have a buddy shoot with you and then fill it.

Private property is private property. You can't go on without permission. So, yes... you could draw for an area and not be able to hunt there. Get permission first.

If you don't use your tag or if you don't get an elk after trying... you do NOT get your money back. Use it or lose it.

If you have questions after actually reading the proclamation (which answers a lot of your questions) then send me an email.

Semper Fidelis,

Kent

 

[Grayrock]

I am obviously an "out-of state" hunter. Let me number my questions better.

1. Do I have to apply for a particular area, or is a tag good for the whole state?

2. What about dates? Is a tag only good for a particular date or can I hunt anytime during the (rifle) season if drawn?

3. When IS elk RIFLE season?

4. So if I want to hunt with a buddy we BOTH have to get drawn? What are the odds of that? If I book with an outfitter, do I still have to draw a tag?

5. If I did get anything, how much does an elk mount cost (just head) and would I have a Utah local do it and ship me the finished mount or do I transport the hide and rack back to Texas to have my regular taxidermist mount it?

6.

Private property is private property. You can't go on without permission. So, yes... you could draw for an area and not be able to hunt there. Get permission first.

So if I am looking at a map of a potential hunting area, how do I find out who the owner is and how to contact him? Or do I have to drive there from down here in Texas and drive around until I see a house, then go knock on the front door, get permission (in writing I presume), then drive back to Texas, then put in for a tag drawing?

7.

I don't do draws. I just buy over the counter tags. My resident elk tag for open bull is $65.

Is that available to out of state hunters?

You have so many questions and obviously have no idea... then maybe you'll have a few questions left that will be intelligent questions (you just dno't know enough at this point to ask the right questions).

I am sorry that I wasted your time by asking frivolous questions. I was under the impression that the only stupid question was the one left unasked. I'll try to not make that error again. I guess I'll have to RTFM.

 

[USMC_2674]

1. Do I have to apply for a particular area, or is a tag good for the whole state?

An over the counter open bull tag is good for all open bull & spike areas (but only for killing a spike in a spike area) areas (i.e. statewide). An over the counter spike tag is good for all spike areas only for spikes (statewide). Limited Draws etc are good for specific areas that you are drawing out for that area only (specfic section of the state only).

http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/proclamations/2006_biggame/2006_big_game.pdf

2. What about dates? Is a tag only good for a particular date or can I hunt anytime during the (rifle) season if drawn?

A tag is good for the dates that it is listed for. Over the counter tags are good for the dates they are listed for. I don't know how to answer this beyond that.

http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/proclamations/2006_biggame/2006_big_game.pdf

3. When IS elk RIFLE season?

Spike season is Oct 7-15. Open Bull is Oct 7-19.

http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/proclamations/2006_biggame/2006_big_game.pdf

4. So if I want to hunt with a buddy we BOTH have to get drawn? What are the odds of that? If I book with an outfitter, do I still have to draw a tag?

You seem fixated on drawing a tag. YOU CAN just buy a tag over the counter. No draw, no luck.

Yes, if your buddy wants to actually SHOOT at an elk, then he needs his own tag. If he just wants to walk with you (and not carry a rifle), then he does not need a tag. Some outfitters can provide a tag for you (for a price obviously). So, if you found an outfitter you liked, he would take care of all of that for you most likely.

http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/proclamations/2006_biggame/2006_big_game.pdf

5. If I did get anything, how much does an elk mount cost (just head) and would I have a Utah local do it and ship me the finished mount or do I transport the hide and rack back to Texas to have my regular taxidermist mount it?

Price varies per taxerdermist. $500 is a good average here in Utah. You CAN get them for less and they CAN cost a lot more. You COULD have a local do it, or you COULD drive it back to Texas and have them do it. Whichever you wanted to do.

So if I am looking at a map of a potential hunting area, how do I find out who the owner is and how to contact him? Or do I have to drive there from down here in Texas and drive around until I see a house, then go knock on the front door, get permission (in writing I presume), then drive back to Texas, then put in for a tag drawing?

I have never hunted elk on private property. There is just so much public land in Utah that I don't think it is necessary. I have hunted rabbit on private property (farm lands) and I simply walk up to the farm house and ask. Utah does require permission in writing.

I am sure there is a way involving maps, satellites, etc to figure out who owns what... but you'll have to find someone who does that kind of stuff, as I don't hunt private land.

http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/proclamations/2006_biggame/2006_big_game.pdf

Is that available to out of state hunters?

Over the counter elk tags for non-residents are $388.

http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/proclamations/2006_biggame/2006_big_game.pdf

I am sorry that I wasted your time by asking frivolous questions. I was under the impression that the only stupid question was the one left unasked. I'll try to not make that error again. I guess I'll have to RTFM.

RTFM?

You aren't asking frivolous questions. But, you could have done 2 minutes of reading to answer most of the above questions or used common sense to know that you can't hunt on private property without their permission.

The only stupid question is the one left unasked. In your case you could have asked a better question... "Where can I find the rules and regulations for hunting Elk in Utah?" and then gotten a MUCH better answer.

I never meant to insult. I am one of those people who prefer to at least try to do due diligence prior to asking someone else to take their time answering questions for me... that is all.

I hope the above helps.

http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/proclamations/2006_biggame/2006_big_game.pdf

 

[Desk Jockey]

RTFM?

I believe that's shorthand for "read the friggin' manual".

 

[grizz]

I'm not sure if it's easier to get permits in Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, or Montana, but if I were a non-resident I'd try those states first as I'm pretty sure the elk hunting is better there than it is here (in Utah). Maybe I'm not looking in the right places, but I really haven't seen all that many elk here.

I'm sure there must be some good places to hunt elk in Utah, but (IMO) unless you own good private land, or a horses to pack way into the Uinta Mountains, or draw out on a Limited Entry Tag, or are wealthy enough to pay for a CWMU tag, Utah isn't the best place for elk hunting.

 

[USMC_2674]

That is interesting. I never fail to see plenty of elk on my hunts here in Utah, and I have hunted on all private land with over the counter tags.

Strawberry, Price, Nephi, Fillmore, etc all have plenty of elk. Only strawberry is a draw area that I know of.

 

[grizz]

Maybe I should try those areas. I've only lived in Utah 4 years and have only tried Northern areas. Aren't all those areas spike only?