Map 1. Utah General Season Elk Units. Note that white areas include NPS, DOD, Native Lands or other closed areas. (not all sub-units shown)
Currently updating this post for 2020 Utah’s General Elk Season permits are not called “Over-the-counter (OTC) permits but they are available OTC for both residents and non-residents on a first come first serve basis.
The Utah Division of Wildlife (UDWR) manages elk in 30 management units in the state, but these units are sub-divided in such a way, there are really 48 elk sub units.
Utah Any Bull Elk or Spike Only OTC Permits
There are two types of General Season Elk permits that can be purchased over the counter (or online) for Archery, Rifle (or any legal weapon) and Muzzleloader seasons.
- Any Bull Elk Permits
- Spike Bull Elk Permits
Map 2. Utah General Season Any Bull Elk Units (light grey). White areas include NPS, DOD, Native Lands or other closed areas.
The Spike Bull Only Units are in areas where elk are managed for older aged bulls and where Limited Entry Hunts occurs. That is why they want to leave mature elk for the Limited Entry hunters.
The Any Bull units are not specifically managed for trophy bulls, but there are plenty of elk including mature bulls in those units.
If hunting during the rifle or muzzleloader seasons, you must choose to hunt in either Spike only units or Any Bull Units, but are not limited to any individual unit.
Map 3. Utah General Season Spike Elk Units (yellowish). White areas include NPS, DOD, Native Lands or other closed areas. Note that the Monroe Unit is open for Archery or Muzzleloader, but not open to Rifle.
With the General Season Archery tag, you can hunt in any unit (Any Bull or Spike Only) and the archery permits allow the taking of cow elk, so in an any Bull Unit, the permit is essentially an “Any Elk permit”.
In Spike Elk only units, the permit allows Spike Bull elk or any antlerless elk (cow or calf) to be taken.
See more details about the General Season Elk tags in Table 1.
Table 1. General Season Elk Permits Available to Residents and Non-residents in Utah for 2020
| General Season | Allowed Harvest | Bull Elk Units | Sub-Units | N Permits | 2020 Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | Any Bull or antlerless | Any Bull | 22 | Unlimited | Aug15-Sep11 |
| Rifle (ALW*) | Any Bull | 15,000 combined | Oct. 3 – 15 | ||
| Muzzleloader | Any Bull | Oct 28-Nov 5 | |||
| Archery | Spike or antlerless | Spike Only | 28 | Unlimited | Aug 15-Sep 4 |
| Rifle (ALW*) | Spike Only | 27 | 15,000 combined | Oct. 3 – 15 | |
| Muzzleloader | Spike Only | 28 | Oct 28-Nov 5 |
*ALW = Any Legal Weapon can be used during the “Rifle” season.
Also, anyone that obtains a multi-season permit (learn more below) for general-season bull elk, can also hunt during the extended-archery elk season.
The Rifle (ALW) and muzzleloader permits only allow taking bull elk. I also apply for cow elk tags, so about every other season, I have both a cow elk permit and a General Season Elk Permit. Now that we can hunt multiple seasons, I will get a multi-season permit so I can hunt during all three seasons.
The General Season rifle and muzzleloader permits are first come first come first serve and are limited to a combined 15,000 permits and go on sale July 16 in 2019.
Some years, permits for rifle or muzzleloader are still available almost up until the rifle hunt starts. Archery tags are unlimited.
Check here for available permits at the UDWR website.
If you get an Any Bull Permit, you can hunt on any of the 22 Any Bull Elk Units, as shown in light gray in Map 2. These are units that are not managed for trophy elk, but these areas do have mature bull elk on them. There is some amazing country in these units, especially on the North and South Slopes of the Uinta Mountains (in my humble opinion).
The Spike Elk permits may be used on any of 27 or 28 Spike Elk Units (depending upon weapon), as shown in the yellowish color in Map 3. Note that the reason for the different number of units is the Monroe Unit Spike Only hunt is for archery and muzzleloader only.
When hunting General Season units, it is important to realize that Limited Entry Archery hunts are going on at the same time in the Spike Only Units and if hunting the rifle or muzzleloader seasons, that the Limited Entry hunts have already taken place before the General Season hunt begins. The Any Bull units have no prior elk hunt except the archery hunt.
Multi-Season General Elk Permits in Utah
The new multi-season general permit started in 2018 and will continue. Utah now allows elk hunters to hunt all three general elk seasons; Archery, Rifle (Any legal Weapon) and Muzzleloader (hunt dates shown in Table 1 above).
The total cost for Non-residents for a single season permit is still $393 for the Elk permit plus $65 for a Hunting License for a total of $458.
The fee for Resident hunters will be three times the single season fee; $50 for single season and $150 for multi-season permits (plus Hunting License), but the fee only increases from $393 to $700 for Non-residents (plus $65 for Hunting License).
Latest Utah Elk Harvest Report
Utah is one of the slowest states for reporting the previous last year’s harvest data, so at the beginning of 2020 we are still waiting on the 2018 General Season Elk harvest data.
The elk harvest in Utah has been increasing and the total 2017 General Elk harvest was 5,240 elk (see Table 2). This is the first decrease since 2.
Table 2. 2017 Utah General Elk Harvest and Hunting Success
| Weapon | Utah Elk Hunts | Hunters | Total Elk | Success | Days per Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Total General Elk (OTC) | 41,071 | 5,240 | 12.7% | 41.2 |
| Rifle | Spike Bull Elk (OTC) | 12,412 | 1,420 | 11.4% | 45.5 |
| Any Bull Elk (OTC) | 11,935 | 1,877 | 15.7% | 32.4 | |
| Muzzleloader | Spike Bull Elk (OTC) | 1,287 | 152 | 11.8% | 42.3 |
| Any Bull Elk (OTC) | 1,621 | 257 | 15.9% | 30.9 | |
| Archery | General Bull Elk* (OTC) | 10,922 | 710 | 12.4% | 50.1 |
| antlerless harvest | 618 |
*Any elk may be taken with archery equipment as “Hunter’s Choice” (cow or bull) on Any Bull or Spike elk Units. In 2015 General Archery hunters harvested 761 Bull elk and 729 antlerless elk (1,490 total elk).
There were 5,240 elk harvested by 41,071 hunters with General elk Tags (OTC) in 2017. Hunter success were highest in the Any Bull Units with muzzleloader success at 15.9% and rifle success at 15.7%. Hunter success in the Spike Only units was also higher in the muzzleloader hunt with 11.8% and 11.4% during the rifle (ALW) hunt.
Archery hunters can take either bulls or antlerless and overall success was 12.4%.
UDWR reports hunter effort, so I use that data to get the average days hunted to harvest. Those numbers range from 30.9 days per Bull elk in Any Bull units with muzzleloader to 50.1 days for archery hunters. If the Rife hunt is 13 days and the hunt averages 32.4 days per harvest, you can see that it will take the average hunter (32.4 /13) = 2.5 years days to harvest a Bull Elk if they hunt everyday.
We all know General Elk seasons can be crowded and have low hunter success, but how else can we hunt elk every year?
Muzzleloader hunters in Any Bull units accounted for 52.4% of the Bull elk with 55.3% of the hunters and 57.9 % of the hunting effort. Muzzleloader hunters in Spike units accounted for 47.6% of the Bull elk with only 44.7% of the hunters and 42.1% of the hunting effort.
Archery hunters accounted for 66.4% of elk (Spikes or cows) in Spike Only Units with 62.7% of the hunters and 59.3% of the hunting effort and accounted for 33.6% of elk with 37.3% of hunters and 40.7% of the hunt effort.
Tables 3 and 4 show how Utah’s elk populations and harvest wis still increasing until 2017. Prior to 2017, may antlerless tags were issued to keep the elk population below objective. Also, more Limited Entry tags have been issued.
Table 3. Total Elk Harvested and Hunter Success in Utah 2008 – 2017
| Year | Bull Elk | Cow Elk | Total Elk | Hunters | Success |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 6,217 | 6,229 | 12,464 | 49,742 | 25.0% |
| 2009 | 7,565 | 8,003 | 15,568 | 53,872 | 28.9% |
| 2010 | 7,702 | 7,878 | 15,580 | 53,288 | 29.2% |
| 2011 | 6,923 | 6,024 | 12,947 | 57,241 | 22.6% |
| 2012 | 7,683 | 8,649 | 16,332 | 59,157 | 27.6% |
| 2013 | 8,131 | 8,748 | 16,879 | 66,374 | 25.4% |
| 2014 | 7,659 | 9,474 | 17,133 | 69,503 | 24.7% |
| 2015 | 8,090 | 11,204 | 19,294 | 71,175 | 27.1% |
| 2016 | 8,084 | 10,908 | 18,992 | 68,896 | 27.6% |
| 2017 | 7,338 | 6,402 | 13,740 | 64,277 | 21.3% |
| 3 Yr AVG. | 7,837 | 9,505 | 17,342 | 68,116 | 25.4% |
I included Table 5 to contrast hunter success between the General Season Hunts from the Limited Entry Hunts. Note that Antlerless Elk (Cows and calves) were harvested only with Archery equipment during General Season, but “cow tags” are limited entry and must be drawn to hunt with rifle (any legal weapon) or muzzleloader.
Table 4. Elk Harvested and Hunter Success in Utah 2008 – 2017
(currently updating tables to include 2016 data)
| General Season | Limited Entry | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Bull Elk | Cow Elk | Hunters | Success | Bull Elk | Cow Elk | Hunters | Success | ||
| 2008 | 3,818 | 654 | 33,388 | 13.4% | 2,399 | 5,575 | 16,354 | 48.8% | ||
| 2009 | 4,956 | 901 | 36,312 | 16.1% | 2,609 | 7,102 | 17,560 | 55.3% | ||
| 2010 | 4,941 | 722 | 36,562 | 15.5% | 2,761 | 7,156 | 16,726 | 59.3% | ||
| 2011 | 4,207 | 568 | 37,944 | 12.6% | 2,716 | 5,456 | 19,297 | 42.3% | ||
| 2012 | 5,020 | 689 | 36,437 | 15.7% | 2,663 | 7,960 | 22,720 | 46.8% | ||
| 2013 | 5,401 | 576 | 39,583 | 25.4% | 2,730 | 8,172 | 26,791 | 40.7% | ||
| 2014 | 4,910 | 686 | 39,790 | 14.1% | 2,749 | 8,788 | 29,713 | 38.8% | ||
| 2015 | 5,304 | 777 | 40,397 | 15.1% | 2,786 | 10,427 | 30,778 | 42.9% | ||
| 2016 | 5,427 | 762 | 41,737 | 14.8% | 2,657 | 10,146 | 27,159 | 47.1% | ||
| 2017 | 4,609 | 631 | 41,071 | 12.8% | 2,729 | 5,771 | 23,206 | 36.6% | ||
| 3 Yr Avg. | 5,113 | 723 | 41,068 | 14.2% | 2,724 | 8,781 | 27,048 | 42.54% | ||
Utah Limited Entry Cow Elk and Antlerless-Control tags
Limited Entry Cow tags can be drawn about every other year in Utah, so with a cow tag and a General Elk tag, you can hunt any elk in the Any Bull Elk units or you can hunt spike elk and cow elk in the Spike Elk Units and have a much higher chance of success.
A few Antlerless-Control tags will be available in some units in Utah, so that is another way to increase your chance of success even if you don’t draw a cow elk tag.
Just remember that cow tags and Antlerless-Control tags are issued for specific units and can not be used in any unit like the Spike Bull Elk or the Any Bull Elk tags can. These tags can be used in any season you have any other valid tag.
Spike Elk a Small Portion of the Elk Population
Hunting Success is expected to be lower in the Spike Elk only units because spike elk only make up a small portion of the elk populations.
If the average bull to cow ration is 20/100 (5 year avg of 2 units) and 50.6 (Utah’s last 5 year avg.) out of 100 cows have a calf, and survival of calves to their 2nd year (age 1½) averages about 40%, and half of those 1½ year old elk will be spikes, then only about 8.4% (1 per 11.6) of the elk population will be spikes.
In an any Bull unit, if the bull/cow ratio is 20/100, then 16.7% (20/120) of the population will be mature bulls plus the 8.4% that we expect to be spikes, for a total of about 25.1% bull elk (1 per 4).
So it makes sense that hunter success is higher in the Any Bull units than the Spike Only units for the “rifle” (Any legal weapon) season (Table 2).
Hunter success was about the same for muzzleloaders in 2015, but was actually higher in the Spike Only units. This might be an accident due to small sample sizes. The muzzleloader season occurs after both the archery and rifle seasons, but not sure how that might explain higher success in Spike units over Any Bull units. Success in the Any Bull units is the same as the rifle season.
Elk Habitat in Utah
Map 4. Map of Utah Ecoregions showing that Elk Habitat (in red), closely matches the Wasatch & Uintah Mountains and the higher elevations of the Colorado Plateau.
In Utah, most elk habitat is in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains and in the higher elevations of the Colorado Plateau. Elk habitat is shown in red in Map 2, along with the major Ecoregions found in Utah.
The Wasatch Mountain Range runs North-South the length of the state along the east side of Interstate 15.
The Uinta Mountains runs from the Wasatch Range to the Colorado Border along the Northern Utah border with Wyoming. The North Slope of the Uinta range drains toward Wyoming and the South Slope into the Uinta Basin.
Public Land in Utah
There is plenty of public land to hunt in Utah, with over 8.1 million acres of U.S. Forest Service land, 22.8 million acres of BLM land and over 3.8 million acres of state lands open to hunting for a total of over 34.7 million acres, which is 66% of the entire state.
Much of the elk habitat in Utah is on the 8.1 million acres of US Forest Service land. A conservative estimate assumes an equal amount of BLM and Utah State lands are also elk habitat, then if each of the 57,241 elk hunters in 2011 hunted public land, there were 282 acres for each hunter.
Remember that many hunters don’t hunt public land and most hunters never get more than ¼ mile from a road. Plus, the hunting pressure is spread out between the various hunt seasons (archery, rifle/any weapon and muzzleloader), so there is much more room per hunter, especially if you hunt away from the roads.
In Utah, there are five National Parks and six National Monuments, where hunting is not allowed, but most of the southern Utah parks are not in prime elk habitat.
Utah also has 1.7 million acres of DOD lands (Dugway Proving Grounds and the Utah Test and Training Range), where hunting is not allowed, but there are no elk on the mud flats and low elevation deserts that make up most of these military lands.
As with any place that has private lands mixed with public lands, make sure you have good maps and GPS when hunting near private or Tribal lands.
National Parks, Military Lands and Tribal Lands are included with the no hunting units shown in white in Figure 1.
Looking to find out when over-the-counter tags are available for non-resident bow hunting elk tags. Is this something I can purchase online?
I like to get an Any Bull tag but more than willing to get a Spike Only or cow elk tag.
I would greatly be appreciated the information. Thank you for your time and help with this matter.
Audie: This year, Utah General Elk tags go on sale July 12, 2016. And yes, you can buy them online here
Application for cow elk tags start May 26 and end on June 16 (results available July 7th), but you can also get an antlerless elk control permit with your general elk (Any Bull or Spike only) tag (read more about Utah’s antlerless elk control permit program).
Remember, if you buy an Any Bull elk tag, you can harvest any bull elk, but you can hunt only in any of the 16 Any bull elk units. If you get a Spike only tag, you can hunt only in the 20 Spike only units. Not all units will have antlerless elk control permits, so you will have to check at the UDWR website.
I believe you are wrong about the General Elk Tags. I called the state and they said the Date is July 11 at 8 AM.
Yes Rick, General Elk tags go on sale this year (2017) on July 11. I believe you are responding to a comment about last year (July 12th). But not to worry, they never sell out the first week and usually don’t sell out until Sept. or October.
Thanks for the clarity!!
I’m trying to figure out how/if I can buy an OTC bull or either sex tag. Archery is preferred but will take rifle if available. All I can find online are antlerless tags… Is this because there is none left of the other or am I just going to the wrong spot? Thanks -Justin Cowley
Justin: The general-season bull elk permits went on sale July 12th… I just checked and you can still buy Archery Tags (unlimited) and there are still over 8,000 Any bull tags and over 10,000 Spike only tags (rifle). If you want to buy tags online, you have to go here: https://secure.utah.gov/hflo/main/serv1/index.html?server=serv1
Go to the bottom of the page and enter your login info or create an account. Then, you will see the general elk tags…
Good Luck
Is there an elk season in which nonresidents may hunt cows, and when is it? Also, the deadline to apply and cost. Thank you.
Yes, but the cow elk tags (called antlerless elk tags) must be drawn. The antlerless application this year will be May 25–June 15, 2017. In Utah, you have to choose a unit and a season (three choices), but remember the cow elk can be taken during any other big game season if it is taken in the correct unit.
You can basically draw an antlerless elk tag every other year. Everyone that fails to draw gets a bonus point, then everyone with a bonus point gets drawn first the next year.
For locals, I think the best strategy is to apply for a cow elk hunt that occurs after the general elk season (rifle hunt is Oct 7 – 19 in 2017) so they can hunt the unit with the cow elk tag during the general elk season. That way they can harvest a cow and/or a bull elk. If you failed to harvest then, you still have another hunt season for the cow elk later. Travel could be a problem for non-residents, but the opportunity is there.
The cost of a non-resident antlerless elk tag is $188 plus the cost of a hunting license $65 ($253 total).
There are also some areas that will have antlerless control tags in Utah again in 2017 ($93). They can be used during any other big game hunt (such as general elk or general deer hunt), but they have to be within specific units.
I’m interested in an OTC non resident archery elk tag for Utah. Ideally, either sex is best choice. Is this possible for 2017? And if so, do I need to apply right away?
Curt: Part of the reason I wrote the DIY Elk Hunting Guide is because learning everything required to hunt in Western states is very confusing for non-residents.
First, OTC stands for over-the-counter. They don’t technically call the hunts that in Utah like they do in other states, but that is what they are.
You want to purchase a General Elk Archery Tag when they go on sale July 11 (2017). You will first need a hunting or a combination hunting/fishing license. Archery tags are not limited, so they will not sell out. The rifle and muzzleloader tags are limited (first come first serve), but they usually don’t sell out until just before the seasons start.
Before you buy a tag, you need to decide if you want to hunt in the Any Bull units or the Spike Bull only units. General Archery Elk Hunts are Hunter’s choice meaning archery hunters can take a bull elk or an antlerless elk. You can take any bull in an “Any Bull” unit, but you can only take spike bulls in the “Spike Bull” units.
In Utah, you are not limited to hunt in a single unit during the General Elk Hunt. You can hunt in any the Any Bull units or any of the Spike only units, but not both.
(Download pdf to see Utah general elk hunt units on page 36-37)
You can also see the costs for tags in the pdf, but hunting license for non-resident in Utah is $65 ($85 for combo hunt/fish) and the general elk license is $393 for a total of $458 ($478 if you want to fish).
Good luck.
Excellent information! Thank you!!! Great site!
Thanks for the information. My son and I are considering Utah general elk otc archery. I want to know if it makes sense to try for limited area to gain preference points. Wondering how many points it would take to get into a good limited area?
Rich: If you ever want to hunt with a Limited Entry tag, the odds dictate that you will have to start building bonus points in Utah.
I have a friend that has 22 points and still may not draw the tag he wants this year (San Juan Unit). But I also have a friend that drew a Book Cliffs tag with zero points, so everyone has a chance. I have 8 points and figure I have a 50:50 chance for some of the “less coveted” units.
With the recent changes in preference / bonus point system does purchasing a non-resident OTC general elk permit (starting 11 July 2017) affect accumulated preference/bonus points?
Thanks for your time and consideration regarding this request. (Sure appreciate the site!!!)
Mike
No Mike, buying a General Season Tags in Utah does not affect your bonus points.
Thanks for the article, looking at either Utah or Idaho this year for archery elk OTC! In MN and ND my father never had to have his Hunters Safety Certificate (born before 1961) will he need to have this prior to hunting archery elk in those states?
Mike:
In Utah, I am “Grandfathered” (December 31, 1965) so I never had to have a hunter safety.
Idaho requires all hunters born after December 31, 1974, so he has that covered.
So your Dad is good to hunt in Utah or Idaho (and others), but may need to pass a Hunter Ed/Safety course to Hunt Colorado.
In Colorado, Hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1949, need hunter education, so he may need it there.
He will be OK to hunt in the other “General Elk Tag” states:
Montana requires Hunter safety if born after January 1, 1985.
Wyoming – anyone born after Jan. 1, 1966.
Oregon and Washington only require hunters younger than 18 years to have hunter safety.
Good Luck on you hunt and let me know how it turns out.
I am planning to get spike elk permit in Utah (Panguitch lake). I have not hunt in that area before. Can anybody can give me some opinion or info about hunting spike bull at that area. Thanks so much.
Since the Archery Hunt is already underway, I assume you are hunting the rifle season.
I can tell you the Panuguitch Lake unit ranked 10th out of 25 Spike Only units for total Harvest (62 spikes harvested) in 2015 (I haven’t had time to look at 2016 data yet).
The unit also ranked 13th (just under state-wide average) for hunter success at 13.2%. Read the post where I ranked the General Utah elk units here.
Panguitch Lake also ranked 10th for hunter effort, where 468 hunters spent 5.1 days hunting (2,387 hunter-days).
I assume you know you can also hunt the other nearby Spike Units (Mt Dutton & East Beaver).
Lots of beetle killed conifers in the area. Will be very good elk habitat in the future, but for now good cover with poor food. Look for places with good vegetation and aspen and get off the roads away from people and you will have a chance.
Good Luck on your hunt.
Is Brighton in any bull? I have a friend that lives there and want me to come out elk hunting. Can I also get a mule deer buck tag there for bow?
Brighton as in the Ski Resort is in the Wasatch Limited Entry unit, so that is a Spike Only Unit. All 15,000 of the Any Bull tags have sold out, but Spike only tags are still available (just checked – see here to check on available tags).
The Archery hunt is on right now and no mule deer buck tags are available. There are a few muzzleloader tags left in the Chalk Creek/East Canyon/Morgan, South Rich unit.
What is the chances or probability to harvest a spike bull at the spike bull only area in Utah? Why Utah give out so much spike bull tag this year? I am thinking to get spike bull tag at San Juan Area.
If you read the post, it tells you the exact probability of all Spike elk hunters in 2015.
Have you hunted elk before? Will you ride the roads or get off the roads and look for elk in the tough places? Will you sight in you rifle and practice shooting before the season or will you hope for the best? Will you hunt hard all day everyday or hang around camp most of the time? You should know better than me what your chances are.
In 2015, 12,872 hunters harvested 1,706 spike elk in spike elk units. That is 13.3% success. Based on the average days hunted, it took 39.2 hunter days on average for each elk harvested. The odd have improved slightly based on 2016 harvest data. in 2016, 1,853 elk were harvested by 12,595 hunters for a hunter success of 14.7%. The average hunter hunted 5.2 days, so that totals 65,494 hunter-days or 34 hunter days per spike elk harvested.
That’s not bad considering that spikes make us a small portion of the elk population. Spike elk are last year’s baby boys. So for 2018, the spikes were born in 2017. About half the elk calves born are males.
The average hunter in 2016 only hunted about 40% of the days. Obviously if you killed an elk the first day, you can’t hunt anymore, but only 14.7% of the hunters killed an elk and only a small percentage of that got the elk the first day. I think tags sold out in 2015 and 2016, so that is over a thousand hunters each year with tag that did not even hunt.
The General Season tags are not limited to one unit. A Spike Elk tag is good in all spike elk units, so you can hunt in the San Juan unit or the Panquitch unit you asked about before.
Better stop thinking about it and buy a tag, they usually sell out. As of 10:00 pm Sept 7 there are still tags available, but don’t know how many.
Good luck on your hunt and let me where you hunted and how you did.
You might benefit from buying my DIY Elk Hunting Guide.
Need more information on planning an Archery Elk hunt for my husband!!
I guess so. Is this a surprise trip for your husband? Or does he know he is going hunting? Or has he asked you to do the leg work?
Your comment here is on one of my posts about hunting in Utah. Do you plan for him to hunt in Utah or another state?
I wrote the DIY Elk Hunting Guide to provide more information on where to hunt, how to get tags and information on where and how to find elk.
Good luck on your efforts and good luck to him on his hunt
What Archery LE elk units don’t have cow/spike hunts going on during the LE hunts?
Thanks
I was going to say only the Monroe Unit, but it has only been the rifle and ML seasons that don’t allow the take of Spikes in the Monroe unit. But the spike hunter’s last day this year will be Sept 6. LE can hunt in 2019 until Sept 13, so you would have the last week closest to the rut without interference.
Good luck on your draw and your hunt.
Great website and tons of info to explain all the options. My son will be attending a college in Provo starting in the summer of 2021 and wants to jump right into the elk archery season, then roll into the elk general rifle season his first year. He has a hunters education card issued by the State of Hawaii now. If he arrives in Utah in August of 2021, can he participate in any of the OTC hunting that summer/fall? We were also told he should start buildings points ASAP to help qualify him for his first couple of years in Utah. I was told he could buy a non-resident Utah hunting license starting next year (since we’ve already missed the window this year) and points, without actually being drawn for a hunt. Is this true, and if so, how do we go about doing that?
Yes, too late for bonus point for this year. Big game application deadlines in Utah are early March and bonus points are mid March.
To get a bonus point, he will have to buy a license and then simply apply for the bonus point before the deadline.
He will be able to hunt Archery with General tag and if he buys multi tag, will also be able to hunt Rifle (late Oct) and ML (early Nov) General Elk seasons. He should also apply for cow elk tags.
He will jump right into it, if he arrives in August since the General Archery starts in mid August.
I would first like to say how much I have appreciate all the information you have provided it’s has helped a first time archery elk hunter out a great deal in simple to understand terms thank you.
I’m looking to go on my first out of state OTC archery elk hunt in Utah backpack hunt, mainly for cow elk as I don’t have a lot of experience elk hunting yet. Would you be able to suggest a couple of general units that I could narrow down my research on?
I have looked at the Monroe archery only unit but there is only about 1000 elk there and seems like too many roads. I have no problem hiking miles back any help or suggestions you can provide would be most helpful.
Thanks again for taking the time to help us OTC elk hunters out.
Hi Dale. First, lack of experience is no reason you should limit yourself to a cow elk hunt. In fact, depending upon time of season, cow elk may be more difficult than a bull elk.
You will not be limited by the Archery Tag in Utah, so you are putting that restriction on yourself.
If you don’t mind hiking and want to get away from the roads, you might want to take a look at the North or South Slope units on the Uinta Mountains.
Both units are “Any Bull:” units which for archery means Any Elk is legal to take.
And you can hunt North Slope one day and South Slope the next day if you wanted to, but I would concentrate on the Yellowstone and Vernal sub-units on the South Slope.
I wrote the DIY Elk Hunting guide for beginning hunters like you.
Good luck on your hunt.
During the Archery Season, you could find elk anywhere between about 7,500 to over 10,000 feet.
I had the opportunity to help a Veterans group from Michigan starting in 2017. I directed them to the same area. They had a chance at elk the first year, but one of their guys harvested a 4X4 bull the second year.
What are the requirements to get the multi-season general elk tag for a non-resident? Are they available just like the archery, ALW, and muzzleloader? What are the odds of getting one? I live in Nevada and got skunked here so I am looking for a good out of state OTC tag close by.
Yes, you can get the multi-season general elk tag. The archery tags are unlimited, but there are limits (15,000 each for the any bull units and for the spike only units (rifle or ML and now also multi-season tags). They usually don’t sell out until Sept, but I always buy mine the first day they are available…
You just have to pick and hunt the Any Bull units or the Spike Only units.
There are more elk in Utah than Nevada, but you are driving past elk to find elk… Seems to me if you put in the work close to home you could find elk there easier than you could in a place you don’t know.
Good luck on your hunt.
Dale,
Any chance I can talk to you off line about hunting elk in Utah? Our group of hunters has traditionally hunted in Colorado and we want to move our hunt to Utah.
Sure, but after hunting season… I have one more chance at cow elk in Colorado…