Possible residency in Utah..... how bad is the OTC elk units

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I keep hearing how bad the elk units are online, however people I talk to around in the state say oh it’s great hunting... I’m a big bow hunter as most of us are...... however I’m looking to hunt bulls every year and not just spikes..... I’ll take a spike just not every year for the rest of my young adult life..... idgaf about someone’s unit but are the otc units in archery really that bad?
 
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The units aren't necessarily bad its the fact Utah chops up the seasons...the archery elk opens mid August and closes usually around 11-13th September. They close the season right when the rut starts - Utah is more interested in selling as many tags as possible - hunt quality is the last thing they care about!
 
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Utah in general sucks for elk hunting. You could wait 15-20 years for a LE elk tag and the any bull units are tough to be successful in. I do know guys that kill a bull fairly regularly during rifle but the grew up hunting the units. The archery dates are a joke.
 
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BeastOfTheTrees
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So what I’m gathering is go through hell and back and might get a bull.... I’ve only ever hunted southwest Colorado for elk where the vastness always holds some elk..... are there parts of Utah with a ton of remote mountain ranges? I got a buddy in Orem but he generally stays in the Wasatch
 

CorbLand

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The Any Bull Tag in Utah is nothing more than giving people the illusion that they get to hunt elk every year. Utah is not an opportunity state. You can pretty much bank on atleast 5 years to get a LE Elk tag and about 2 years to get a rifle deer tag, depending on unit.
 
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I moved to UT from WY
The first few years sucked.
The next couple were ok.
It's not great now but over the last 4-5 years I've harvested a few bulls with both bow and rifle and had multiple encounters every year.
Its definitely a struggle and likely always will be.
 

CorbLand

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Its not impossible. I know a couple guys that kill an elk at least every other year on the any bull units but its not a weekend warrior type of hunt and will require lots of time and energy to be successful repeatably. Most of the people that think Utah is great for hunting see all the big bucks and bulls that are killed and associate that with good hunting. What they don't realize is that it took 20 years to draw that tag and you will likely not ever get it again.

Its not a terrible state to live in but if you have the choice it would be one of the lower ones on the list.
 
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BeastOfTheTrees
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Its not impossible. I know a couple guys that kill an elk at least every other year on the any bull units but its not a weekend warrior type of hunt and will require lots of time and energy to be successful repeatably. Most of the people that think Utah is great for hunting see all the big bucks and bulls that are killed and associate that with good hunting. What they don't realize is that it took 20 years to draw that tag and you will likely not ever get it again.

Its not a terrible state to live in but if you have the choice it would be one of the lower ones on the list.

That’s the thing man might not have a choice of another elk state.....I’m in Colorado right now being in the Army.... I get out of the Army this coming winter and this past season was my first time bowhunting elk and I’m hooked.... a buddy of mine might be able to get me a police job in Utah but besides that if I don’t have anything lined up so might be my only chance at settling in an elk state.......beautiful state too I just visited this past weekend.... just trying to see what the situation in Utah is for elk hunting each year
 

CorbLand

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You wouldn't be terribly far from some decent hunting so that wouldn't be to bad. You could also start putting in for Wyoming and plan on doing some hunts there when you draw.
 

sneaky

"DADDY"
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Alright so you go hunt and essentially pray to see elk got it
Oh, you can see cows and spikes. You can even screw up someone else's LE tag by chasing cows and spikes in LE units, which I think is absolutely stupid. There's bulls in Any Bull units, but they get pressured hard. You CAN hunt elk every year in Utah, but be realistic. It's a high competition meat hunt with stupid dates for the archery tags.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
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BeastOfTheTrees
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You wouldn't be terribly far from some decent hunting so that wouldn't be to bad. You could also start putting in for Wyoming and plan on doing some hunts there when you draw.

I thought about starting that this year but ended up applying to Arizona to get that started..... it just kind of angers me that I’d have to have a guide for wilderness areas in Wyoming I think that’s dumb as hell
 
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Utah general elk hunts...lol I lived in Utah for a few years. I think it's a joke that guys have to wait 20-30 years now with the waiting period for many of the limited entry hunts.
 

Sled

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It's not all that bad here but yes the limited entry system and archery dates suck. I would prefer to have archery in the rut. Doesn't take a 1000 yard rifle shot to take a bull on Sept 20th. That said, you now have a 3 season option that includes archery, muzzy, rifle and extended archery. So, if you have the time and drive, you can harvest yearly. Most once in a lifetime tags are only for a lucky few. Limited entry is now close to once in a lifetime if rifle is your weapon of choice. I do see from the news that the poaching is pretty good in this state. Not my bag but seems pretty popular here. Even had a cop get busted a year or so back.
 
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