We already have a lot of mature bulls on the landscape. My personal goal is to not shoot anything less than a 6 point bull. I think it makes me a better hunter because I lose the pressure of making every opportunity count. I approach each encounter more aggressively and assume the bull will not be a shooter. I pass on a lot of shot opportunity’s this way.
I have no desire to shoot a rag horn or spike, my wife and kids also get elk tags so our freezer is full either way. IMO we are in the hay days if elk hunting and most units in every state have good bulls for the taking.
So far I’m liking the 6 point or better rule I’ve set for myself. I have been practicing it for 7 years and have shot 4 6 point bulls in that time and passed up countless smaller bulls. I have several cameras that are in bull summer range that I will have 25+ 6 point bulls on, all in general OTC units.
What I have learned is that elk hunting is hard and takes a lot of dedication year round to be consistently successful. We are currently under attack in OR, a good portion of the hunting community want to get rid of OTC archery hunting and go 100% draw because they think it will be easier for them to kill elk. The fact is the elk are already there for the taking and even if it goes to a draw the same people will be getting the elk. All limiting our opportunity does is make it even harder for the ones who are already out there putting in the work and the ones who want to hit the easy button will still not be punching tags.
2018-2020 none are over 320” but I would be happy to take bulls like this every year for the rest of my life. (That is also a goal I have
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