To really get down to analyzing harvest data, we really have to examine individual hunt units (aka districts or zones) and include the total amount of public land and it would help if states keep track of hunter effort. Montana has recently stopped reporting hunter effort, so that data will be missing in the future.
Most of us will hunt Limited Entry (AKA Controlled Hunts) when we get the chance, but few of us will ever buy private land hunts. Luckily, most of us can still DIY elk hunt every year on public land with General Elk Tags.
I ranked the state harvest data in the tables below by the total number of hunter days per elk harvest (Days Per Harvest). Since and Oregon and Washington do not (or no longer) report of total hunting days, they are ranked last, then by hunter success. Montana will also…
Table 1. 2017 General Elk Harvest in Six Western States
| State | OTC Tags | Bull Elk | Cow Elk | Total Elk | Total Hunters | Total Hunter Days | Hunter Success | Days per Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | R | 7,278 | 2,964 | 10,242 | 37,236 | 229,328 | 27.5% | 22.4 |
| Idaho | R&NR | 10,388 | 3,568 | 13,956 | 76,897 | 490,803 | 18.1% | 35.2 |
| Utah | R&NR | 5,371 | 716 | 6,087 | 39,100 | 219,654 | 15.6% | 36.1 |
| Colorado | R&NR | 10,401 | 6,158 | 16,559 | 138,841 | 765,379 | 11.9% | 46.2 |
| Oregon | R&NR | 5,673 | 527 | 6,200 | 59,436 | ??? | 10.4% | ??? |
| Washington | R&NR | 3,543 | 1,356 | 4,899 | 58,212 | ??? | 8.4% | ??? |
As always, Colorado had the most total elk harvested during the General (Colorado calls it OTC tags). But Colorado did not beat Idaho by much for most Bull Elk harvested during the 2017 General Season.
Hunter success and the number of Hunter-days (effort) required to harvest an elk (General Season) is always lowest in Wyoming.
And because there are so many hunters in Colorado, Idaho and Utah beat Colorado for both Hunter Success and less effort needed to harvest an elk.
Based upon the way harvest data is reported in Montana, the General Harvest data can not be obtained, so Montana data is not shown.
The next table shows just the General Rifle (or Any Legal Weapon – ALW) seasons. Again, ranked by Hunter Effort (Days per harvest).
Since Wyoming does not separate Rifle or Archery Harvest from the total General Elk Harvest, Wyoming elk harvest data is not included.
Table 2. 2017 General Elk Rifle Harvest from Five Western States
| State | OTC Tags | Bull Elk | Cow Elk | Total Elk | Total Hunters | Total Hunter Days | Hunter Success | Days per Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho | R&NR | 7,218 | 2,062 | 9,280 | 52,117 | 270,699 | 17.8% | 29.2 |
| Utah | R&NR | 4,140 | 0 | 4,140 | 24,600 | 127,920 | 16.8% | 30.9 |
| Colorado | R&NR | 7,894 | 4,863 | 12,757 | 98,385 | 481,260 | 13.0% | 37.7 |
| Oregon | R&NR | 2,652 | 137 | 2,789 | 31,957 | ??? | 8.7% | ??? |
| Washington | R&NR | 2,044 | 201 | 2,245 | 34,045 | ??? | 6.6% | ??? |
This basically shows the same thing the previous table showed. Colorado had the biggest elk harvest, but also has the most hunters.
Idaho and Utah offer higher hunter success with less effort required per person to harvest an elk.
The next table continues with just the General Archery Elk harvest data.
Table 1. 2017 General Elk Archery Harvest from Five Western States
| State | OTC Tags | Bull Elk | Cow Elk | Total Elk | Total Hunters | Total Hunter Days | Hunter Success | Days per Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho | R&NR | 3,061 | 721 | 3,782 | 25,579 | 195,053 | 14.8% | 51.6 |
| Utah | R&NR | 681 | 716 | 1,397 | 11,024 | 74,963 | 13.0% | 53.7 |
| Colorado | R&NR | 2,507 | 1,295 | 3,802 | 40,456 | 284,119 | 9.4% | 74.7 |
| Oregon | R&NR | 3,021 | 390 | 3,411 | 27,479 | ??? | 12.4% | ??? |
| Washington | R&NR | 780 | 977 | 1,757 | 15,640 | ??? | 11.2% | ??? |
Again, Colorado has the most archery hunters and the most elk harvested. But Idaho and Oregon actually had more bull elk harvested by archers in 2017.
Idaho and Utah again had higher hunter success and fewer hunter-days to harvest an elk.
The next few tables show that more hunters harvest fewer elk in most of these states compared to Limited Entry (or Controlled) hunts.
Proportions of Elk Harvested during Limited Entry and General Seasons by State
| State | Limited | General |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | 67.9% | 32.1% |
| Oregon | 64.5% | 35.5% |
| Wyoming | 60.4% | 39.6% |
| Colorado | 57.9% | 42.1% |
| Idaho | 34.6% | 65.4% |
| Washington | 27.9% | 72.1% |
Most elk are harvested during Limited Entry hunts in Utah, Oregon, Wyoming and Colorado. Most elk are harvested during the General Season hunts in Idaho and Washington.
Proportions of Elk Hunters during Limited Entry and General Elk Seasons by State
| State | Limited | General |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 8.4% | 91.6% |
| Idaho | 19.0% | 81.0% |
| Wyoming | 36.0% | 64.0% |
| Colorado | 37.9% | 62.1% |
| Oregon | 43.0% | 57.0% |
| Utah | 43.2% | 56.8% |
Proportions of Total Hunter Recreation Days during Limited Entry and General Elk Seasons by State
| State | Limited | General |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho | 17.1% | 82.9% |
| Colorado | 35.1% | 64.9% |
| Utah | 42.0% | 58.0% |
| Wyoming | 51.5% | 48.5% |
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