Utah Elk 2021 changes

[Kiddross]

Looks like Utah made some changes this year. Adding/changing around some archery hunts to go Sept. 1 to Sept. 30th. I am in no mans land for points. Digging Into this to see if any of the units may be worth considering to dump points on.

Correct me if I am wrong but there is no way to know how many NR tags will be available for these new hunts until April? I.e you would have to put in for the hunt not knowing how many tags are available ?



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[nobody]

Looks like Utah made some changes this year. Adding/changing around some archery hunts to go Sept. 1 to Sept. 30th. I am in no mans land for points. Digging Into this to see if any of the units may be worth considering to dump points on.

Correct me if I am wrong but there is no way to know how many NR tags will be available for these new hunts until April? I.e you would have to put in for the hunt not knowing how many tags are available ?



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Yes, that assumption is correct. It sucks for all of us, but especially for the non residents.

 

[ElkArcher918]

Yeah, the NR LE elk tags got bumped up to $1,000. I've got enough points to draw an archery tag but even 2021 dates suck. Banking on drawing a muzzy tag sometime soon and dumping my double digit bonus points. Done with Utah.

 

[nobody]

Unfortunately, lots of western states have really started to stick it to non-residents it seems. There's not a state that I would say is super affordable anymore, so it's not just Utah. Some of these prices I can understand, given the track record of quality animals. But some of them (Looking at you, Idaho) just don't give the ROI that other states do, so the price doesn't necessarily reflect the experience you will have. Unfortunately, out of state hunting is becoming a rich man's game.

Below are the price for just the elk tag for most of the main Western States we talk about with elk hunting. What's nuts to me is the price of a New Mexico tag relative to the quality of bulls you can routinely take out there.

Nevada: $1,200
Wyoming Special (Draw) Elk: $1,055
Utah: $1,000
Montana Elk: $888
Colorado: $670.25
Arizona: $665
Idaho Elk: $651.75 (Up from $416.75 last year)
New Mexico: $548

 

[BigT]

Those non-resident prices don't include the cost of the hunting license do they? Assuming not, that's another $100-200 I would imagine. Would be nice if they would allow you to buy a point, or apply without purchasing the hunting license. Then purchase after... I think that's the case in Wyoming, but not sure on the others.

 

[dirtytough]

Unfortunately, lots of western states have really started to stick it to non-residents it seems. There's not a state that I would say is super affordable anymore, so it's not just Utah. Some of these prices I can understand, given the track record of quality animals. But some of them (Looking at you, Idaho) just don't give the ROI that other states do, so the price doesn't necessarily reflect the experience you will have. Unfortunately, out of state hunting is becoming a rich man's game.

Below are the price for just the elk tag for most of the main Western States we talk about with elk hunting. What's nuts to me is the price of a New Mexico tag relative to the quality of bulls you can routinely take out there.

Nevada: $1,200
Wyoming Special (Draw) Elk: $1,055
Utah: $1,000
Montana Elk: $888
Colorado: $670.25
Arizona: $665
Idaho Elk: $651.75 (Up from $416.75 last year)
New Mexico: $548

Pretty sure the Wyoming special is almost $1300. And New Mexico has two prices as well. The more expensive is still only $7xx something though. NM is still cheap though relatively speaking.

 

[nobody]

Pretty sure the Wyoming special is almost $1300. And New Mexico has two prices as well. The more expensive is still only $7xx something though. NM is still cheap though relatively speaking.

Yeah my numbers were just from a quick, 2 minute google search. But still, eye opening to say the least. I still say there are some states I'm willing to pay good money to hunt in. But there's NO WAY I'm paying the same amount for an Idaho tag as what I would pay for a New Mexico tag. Based upon animal quality and opportunity alone the Idaho tag is worth about half of what a New Mexico tag should be.

Even Montana is a questionable investment after seeing the caliber of bull my Father in Law killed after 16 years of waiting to draw what is supposedly the most coveted Montana elk tag. He sure was proud of his 290 class 6 point from unit 380 (to clarify, I don't look down on anybody's trophy. But it was odd to me that he had talked so highly of the huge bulls that come off of unit 380, then he comes home all excited to show off his 290 bull. 290 isn't huge by any stretch of the imagination, but maybe it is for Montana...). But at $888 plus the cost of a hunting license, I can hunt mule deer in Colorado twice and have chances at some of the biggest mule deer in the Western US. Some of these western states are a little too proud of their "opportunities" if you ask me.

 

[slick]

Edit to simplify:

No unit 33 in MT. Try again.

 

[dirtytough]

Yeah my numbers were just from a quick, 2 minute google search. But still, eye opening to say the least. I still say there are some states I'm willing to pay good money to hunt in. But there's NO WAY I'm paying the same amount for an Idaho tag as what I would pay for a New Mexico tag. Based upon animal quality and opportunity alone the Idaho tag is worth about half of what a New Mexico tag should be.

Even Montana is a questionable investment after seeing the caliber of bull my Father in Law killed after 16 years of waiting to draw what is supposedly the most coveted Montana elk tag. He sure was proud of his 290 class 6 point from unit 33 (to clarify, I don't look down on anybody's trophy. But it was odd to me that he had talked so highly of the huge bulls that come off of unit 33, then he comes home all excited to show off his 290 bull. 290 isn't huge by any stretch of the imagination, but maybe it is for Montana...). But at $888 plus the cost of a hunting license, I can hunt mule deer in Colorado twice and have chances at some of the biggest mule deer in the Western US. Some of these western states are a little too proud of their "opportunities" if you ask me.

I live next door to MT and don’t hunt it if that says anything. Elk also isn’t high on my priority list. Unless I draw a good tag I would rather play the otc elk game in Colorado than have to apply early and hunt a general season tag in MT, WY, etc.

MT has some huge bulls especially in the SE part of the state. The archery tag isn’t that tough to draw as a non res. Better plan on spending a good amount of time there or paying for private access though.

Back to Utah. I would apply for one of those new hunts if it lined up with my schedule. Especially if I wanted to hunt elk later in September there with a bow.

 

[nobody]

Edit to fix unit number. It was 380.

 

[Mygoaliselk]

Is Utah doing unlimited archery tags still?

 

[Silentstalker]

Is Utah doing unlimited archery tags still?

Yes, for general season.

 

[Wapitiaddict]

As an Idaho resident, I agree....All nonresidents shouldn't waste their time on hunting elk, or deer for that matter, in idaho. The animal quality and quantity sucks. Way to crowded. There's much better animals elsewhere....you'll have better luck in wy, az, mt, nv, ut, or nm.

 

[Researcher]

As an Idaho resident, I agree....All nonresidents shouldn't waste their time on hunting elk, or deer for that matter, in idaho. The animal quality and quantity sucks. Way to crowded. There's much better animals elsewhere....you'll have better luck in wy, az, mt, nv, ut, or nm.

Excellent move, now you need to stop the flood of refugees and you might knock the number of people out in the woods down. It will be interesting to see how the new caps and prices change things in Idaho.

 

[sneaky]

Unfortunately, lots of western states have really started to stick it to non-residents it seems. There's not a state that I would say is super affordable anymore, so it's not just Utah. Some of these prices I can understand, given the track record of quality animals. But some of them (Looking at you, Idaho) just don't give the ROI that other states do, so the price doesn't necessarily reflect the experience you will have. Unfortunately, out of state hunting is becoming a rich man's game.

Below are the price for just the elk tag for most of the main Western States we talk about with elk hunting. What's nuts to me is the price of a New Mexico tag relative to the quality of bulls you can routinely take out there.

Nevada: $1,200
Wyoming Special (Draw) Elk: $1,055
Utah: $1,000
Montana Elk: $888
Colorado: $670.25
Arizona: $665
Idaho Elk: $651.75 (Up from $416.75 last year)
New Mexico: $548

Idaho raised their elk tag price for the first time in over 20 years. What else were you doing at the price from 20 years ago? Guess what? You can hunt wilderness areas as a NR without a chaperone too (looking at you Wyoming). Idaho raised their price to adjust for the higher cost of managing game and hiring enough COs and Biologists. Also, Utah raised their regular NR elk tag prices too, and there's way fewer any bull units in Utah than Idaho. While everyone was complaining about Idaho, Utah said "hold our 7 Up" and jacked prices across the board. Look at what a NR general deer tag costs in Utah now.

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[nobody]

Idaho raised their elk tag price for the first time in over 20 years. What else were you doing at the price from 20 years ago? Guess what? You can hunt wilderness areas as a NR without a chaperone too (looking at you Wyoming). Idaho raised their price to adjust for the higher cost of managing game and hiring enough COs and Biologists. Also, Utah raised their regular NR elk tag prices too, and there's way fewer any bull units in Utah than Idaho. While everyone was complaining about Idaho, Utah said "hold our 7 Up" and jacked prices across the board. Look at what a NR general deer tag costs in Utah now.

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Yup, you are correct that Utah has jacked their prices as well for non residents. The important point I was trying to make was that ALL western states are pricing themselves out of the financial reach of a large percentage of hunters. And to your point, while we are here bickering about who is hurting non-resident opportunities worse, Montana is going "hold my beer" and trying to push through a law requiring non-residents to hunt with a guide, period (if I'm understanding correctly). We could throw every state I rattled off under the bus and the point would be just as valid. Out of state Western hunting is becoming a rich man's game, and its not right. For another example, see my reply in post #6 to @dirtytough post.

One thing I do think we can all agree on though is how nuts the cost of a tag in New Mexico is. To hunt a place like that for elk as a non-resident and to have it NOT cost an arm and a leg is awesome!

I'm sorry I singled out Idaho, I'll single someone else out next time!

 

[CAElkhunter]

Elk hunting has become a big money maker for Western states. Get used to it, it won't change.

 

[wmr89]

To answer the question of if any of the units will be worth it:
Box Elder, Cache, Nine Mile, Oquirrh, and West Desert all had 1 non resident tag last year so it will likely be the same this year. However, most of those units didn't have a ton of non-resident applicants so the odds aren't bad compared to most Utah units. Since it is just one tag, it is a bonus point draw.

I believe most the units above were the units the DWR discussed making general units this year instead of limited entry. So that gives you an idea of trophy class. It isn't great but it would probably be a great hunt during the entire rut without much pressure. Plus, if you are in a position to take a lot of time off, you could definitely take your time and be picky then a 300 class bull would be a good possibility. If you are putting in for points in Utah looking for a 350+ bull, these are probably not your units.

Southwest (2) has a few more tags but lots more applicants.
Plateau has new unit boundaries so it is a bit hard to predict what will happen there.

If you want to burn the points, you should give it a shot. Personally, I would be most interested in Oquirrh, Nine Mile or Cache.

 

[wmr89]

With a quick look at the hunt tables, it looks like they no longer have the muzzleloader and rifle hunts that would have occurred in these units in past years. They just have the archery hunts from Sep 1-30 and the new HAMS hunt from Oct 1-Nov 15. So I would guess there will be more tags and more applicants. But a some of rifle and muzzleloader hunters that were putting in for this unit will probably not be interested in an archery hunt.

 

[Jaker_cc]

Yeah my numbers were just from a quick, 2 minute google search. But still, eye opening to say the least. I still say there are some states I'm willing to pay good money to hunt in. But there's NO WAY I'm paying the same amount for an Idaho tag as what I would pay for a New Mexico tag. Based upon animal quality and opportunity alone the Idaho tag is worth about half of what a New Mexico tag should be.

Even Montana is a questionable investment after seeing the caliber of bull my Father in Law killed after 16 years of waiting to draw what is supposedly the most coveted Montana elk tag. He sure was proud of his 290 class 6 point from unit 380 (to clarify, I don't look down on anybody's trophy. But it was odd to me that he had talked so highly of the huge bulls that come off of unit 380, then he comes home all excited to show off his 290 bull. 290 isn't huge by any stretch of the imagination, but maybe it is for Montana...). But at $888 plus the cost of a hunting license, I can hunt mule deer in Colorado twice and have chances at some of the biggest mule deer in the Western US. Some of these western states are a little too proud of their "opportunities" if you ask me.

Lol if you don’t think there are GIANT bulls in 380 then you are fooling yourself. Because your FIL didn’t kill one on public land doesn’t make them non existent. I spent a lot of time in that unit, I’ve seen the dinosaurs that live there. I still don’t put in for that unit, but if I drew it that would be the easiest 370” bull I’ve ever hunted.