Fall 21/22 Days Afield Thread

[gretch6364]

Starting a new thread for the coming seasons on a most wonderful day. Struck out on New Mexico tags this season, but a few hours ago found out I drew the one lonely non-resident tag for elk archery in Utah's Central Mountains (Mt. Nebo) unit. Hell yeah! Now the odd practice starts of hoping I DIDN'T draw anything in WY or CO Elk.

Any mags draw a good NM tag this season? What draws are you all most excited for?

I wish everyone luck in the draws and a fun, safe and successful (however you define it) hunting season this fall. If any mags have experience in the Nebo unit, or live close, would love to buy you a beer during scouting, send some whisky your way for help, or a guest bed and 50% off coupons for the coming ski season. The drive is about 6 hours from Basalt...hoping to get out a couple times. It is a long season, so may be scouting late August with my bow.

[Creeker]

Just came into possession of my Grandfather’s 60+ year old Remington 760 Gamemaster in .270 and am looking forward to getting it in front of some Blacktail or pig later this year.

Rifle hasn’t been shot in 20 years or so and am thinking of having a gunsmith look it over. What say the Mags with infinitely more experience than me?

[gretch6364]

Probably better posted in the GUNS thread..but if it’s not rusted to shit, the bolt locks down and the pin fires...I would just shoot it.

I have much older guns then that...no issues.


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[The Reverend Floater]

Just came into possession of my Grandfather’s 60+ year old Remington 760 Gamemaster in .270 and am looking forward to getting it in front of some Blacktail or pig later this year.

Rifle hasn’t been shot in 20 years or so and am thinking of having a gunsmith look it over. What say the Mags with infinitely more experience than me?

Agreed with Gretch. I have a early 1900's Marlin levr gun that shoots just fine.

[Conundrum]

Might take a look down the barrel and run a couple patches through it if needed.

[MakersTeleMark]

Might take a look down the barrel and run a couple patches through it if needed.

I have a couple old gamemasters and I just feel like I'm holding a very good dog that would never cross me.

[thebirdhunter]

Starting a new thread for the coming seasons on a most wonderful day. Struck out on New Mexico tags this season, but a few hours ago found out I drew the one lonely non-resident tag for elk archery in Utah's Central Mountains (Mt. Nebo) unit. Hell yeah! Now the odd practice starts of hoping I DIDN'T draw anything in WY or CO Elk.

Any mags draw a good NM tag this season? What draws are you all most excited for?

I wish everyone luck in the draws and a fun, safe and successful (however you define it) hunting season this fall. If any mags have experience in the Nebo unit, or live close, would love to buy you a beer during scouting, send some whisky your way for help, or a guest bed and 50% off coupons for the coming ski season. The drive is about 6 hours from Basalt...hoping to get out a couple times. It is a long season, so may be scouting late August with my bow.

Hate to burst your bubble but Nebo sucks. I'd turn that tag back in if you draw anything in Wyoming and there's better places in Colorado in OTC units than Nebo. You may have the only nonresident tag but there will be thousands of Utards lobbing arrows at every 2 point deer within 150 yards at the same time you're trying to elk hunt. Hope you didn't burn too many points. Don't plan on hunting rutting bulls. The way the seasons are structured in Utah your hunt will be over right when the bulls start rutting. When does your season start, 3rd week of August and is over 1st week of Sept. or so? The rifle hunt starts Sept. 15th. Good luck.

Edited: Just checked the dates. They changed it within the last couple years. You get until Sept 17, rifle hunt starts the 18th. That's not too bad. Still better places in Colorado than Nebo. JMO.
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[gretch6364]

Have you been to Colorado lately? It’s almost not worth hunting OTC. Also, 12 archery tags per year, last year had 67% success rate (on all tags - 55% on archery) on 45 tags. The year before 54%. Target population is 1,450 and current actual is 1,900.

It has been steadily increasing since the burn. Out of the 30 bulls shot last year, there was a couple in the 350” to 360”, a 390” and two over 400”.

I drew with three points...but Utah has the 5 year freeze after drawing. I had a 2.4% chance of drawing. Not a chance in hell I am turning the tag back in...lol.

The canyons are dark, steep and deep. Not sure if you are trying to keep the info off the internet or being genuine...but it is all over the other hunting forums, so I am not burning a spot or contributing to point creep for residents.

Colorado OTC is literally the worst elk hunting in the country outside of the coastal states. Record applicants in every state makes tags harder to get...except Colorado. It will be another year of record OTC sales. It has gotten so bad, they have had to start making more and more units limited draw to try to get populations back up and slow crowding. Also, the extreme increase in outdoor recreation during the pandemic is causing calving numbers to drop fast.


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[Creeker]

Agreed with Gretch. I have a early 1900's Marlin levr gun that shoots just fine.

Good advice all around. Thanks Gretch, Conundrum and RF.

[hatchgreenchile]

Already got my rejection notice for bighorn, I'm sure the seasons choice moose will soon follow.

Keeping it simple with DIY OTC Archery either sex elk and 3rd/4th buck tags. I'm sure I'll grab a leftover 3rd/4th cow tag. Looking forward to seeing some velvet racks on the trail cam in the coming months!

Last year's 321" archery bull. Gretch is right, Colorado OTC is not worth it and literally the worst.

[gretch6364]

Already got my rejection notice for bighorn, I'm sure the seasons choice moose will soon follow.

Keeping it simple with DIY OTC Archery either sex elk and 3rd/4th buck tags. I'm sure I'll grab a leftover 3rd/4th cow tag. Looking forward to seeing some velvet racks on the trail cam in the coming months!

Last year's 321" archery bull. Gretch is right, Colorado OTC is not worth it and literally the worst.

Congrats on the nice bull. Yes, there are certainly still some good bulls out there...however, CO sold 212,667 elk tags in 2020 and 39,014 elk were harvested. Social media and information availability has ruined western hunting. Colorado is by far the worst state at taking care of its resident hunters. They are so worried about their revenue, they do anything they can to pump up license sales. They really should double the cost of a non-resident tag and increase the cost of a resident tag 5 fold.

It has gotten bad enough that for the second year in a row there has been a bill introduced to prevent the CPW from allocating more then 1/3rd of draw licenses to non-residents. The bill failed.

[hatchgreenchile]

I'm just here to see some ungulates hitting the ground, and hopefully contributing as well!

But sure, go ahead and rant about how we need to price everyone out, and how the sport is "ruined", just like everything else in the West.

[gretch6364]

But sure, go ahead and rant about how we need to price everyone out, and how the sport is "ruined", just like everything else in the West.

I didn't start the rant. I also was not suggesting we price everyone out. I am suggesting we double the cost for non-residents and sell half as many non-resident tags. As for residents, you provide them a better experience, they will happily pay $285 for a tag versus $57. If you can only afford $57 for a tag with a 17% success rate...you should be spending your money on food at the store...not a hobby that requires gear, travel, etc.

We already have wolves on the way. Ask the Idaho and Wyoming hunters how much their hunting has improved since wolves were introduced. Record applications and point creep are not helping any.

[Conundrum]

Just put my apps in. One of the slimmest to draw, 2nd choice on a local cow tag and then off to OTC. My local cow zone has a big prescribed burn coming up so will be interesting to see their behavior. Guessing it will be dead for a season and then pretty fun again. Probably actually better than it is now. Way to much underbrush growing right now.

[Hopeless Sinner]

Put in for an Idaho mule deer gun hunt which occurs during the rut w a slightly less that 1% chance of drawing - the good news is applications are steady and haven't been increasing the past few years like some hunts. In reality hoping to get a doe and cow or bull w my bow. I'm really looking forward to archery season.

[John_B]

Rifle bear, deer and elk in Washington for me. I'm putting in for some draw tags but slim odds at best for me. I'm really counting on that bison hunt with the NOS. Only 45000 apps for 25 slots so I'm basically a shoe in for that one.

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[Phall]

Nice! got the dedicated hunter for the same old unit here in Utah, will be hunting OTC elk, hoping for some WY love on the doe pronghorn tags, then lots of ducks.

Birdhunter the season is 8/21-9/17 this year, so he may get into some bulls, depending. you are right about every nephi-ite chasing spikes and fork-horned bucks but if you get off the road a ways, you should find some elk. I'm not familiar with the area, but would be hunting the E side of the mountain proper as far in as you can.

I'll do some asking around and see if I can dig up any details.

[highangle]

Currently day hunting brown things and black things. Packing an RB300 tag and black bear is open year-round on the KPB.
Took a run at a big ol blackie last weekend, but ended up watching swans at my ambush point for two hours. Prob winded me. It was swirling down there were the river bottom meets the toe of the mountain.

Packed a rifle, 10lbs of optics, and a bunch of warm clothes a couple miles up a nice drainage last night, meaning to get up high above the budding alders and hunt down. Didn't get as far up as I wanted - Access_Denied by snow bridges.
Didn't pack muh 2lb machete and didn't feel like fighting alder against the grain up a 60-degree, so I settled for a lower spot and glassed up, since I was a bit invested already. Did see some white things, which was nice, but gotta wait until fall for them.
Did find a den [single set of tracks leading from a spot in the middle of a snowfield], but it could be days old. Lotta moose shit in a couple areas, but that's prob all winter's accumulation...

Spoke to a woman at the parking area who's husband had lost a dog last month skiing in this drainage. I feel bad for them and the dog, but that drainage is a giant V terrain trap interspersed with debris fields that the main flow cuts through. The bottom often stays snowbridged year-round with the main flow roaring unseen through half mile long snow tunnels. Death on a stick. It could have just as easily been him that didn't come back. n00bz...

Don't quote me on this, but this may be "One of them skeeter years", when a tribe of the slowest and dumbest mozzies you ever saw hatches in such profusion you have to net up to check your mail. Thank fuck it was cool enough I needed to layer up to glass - little fuckers were hatching out of the wet grass by the billions, and digging up through the snow to get at me...

[zion zig zag]

Me and my kid each drew a buck tag basically out the back door. Opportunity hunt for before/after work/weekends. Other than that we'll do an OTC bull elk and an antlerless control tag.

We spent five days last week backpacking in ID looking for bears. None seen but still a good trip. Lots of elk, deer, grouse and chukars in the area.

[gretch6364]

Great pics Zion. Really wish CO had a spring bear season.

Nice! got the dedicated hunter for the same old unit here in Utah, will be hunting OTC elk, hoping for some WY love on the doe pronghorn tags, then lots of ducks.

Birdhunter the season is 8/21-9/17 this year, so he may get into some bulls, depending. you are right about every nephi-ite chasing spikes and fork-horned bucks but if you get off the road a ways, you should find some elk. I'm not familiar with the area, but would be hunting the E side of the mountain proper as far in as you can.

I'll do some asking around and see if I can dig up any details.

Thanks Phall. I did meet a guy that lives in the unit and had the tag a couple years ago. Been really great and willing to help. Utah surveys say 550 reported hunting at least one day in the unit for deer (all seasons). Manti next door was 1,300.

based on how we hunt and that terrain, I have know doubt we will find elk and get away from people. The big decision right now, do i even bother hunter labor day weekend or schedule around it.

Good luck to all the mags on the rest of the draws! Half hoping I don't draw WY or CO elk tags now.

[Creeker]

I have a couple old gamemasters and I just feel like I'm holding a very good dog that would never cross me.

Barrel confirms August 1957 manufacture date. No rust and a very clean action. Looking forward to reacquainting myself with this rifle.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Didn't draw anything special. Somewhat stupidly put in for a mulie tag in a unit that has 100% draw odd and forces me to hunt that unit. No idea what its like. I have driven past on the highway and thats it. Pretty open and glassable. Heading out there this weekend with a buddy to hike around and see what we see.

Got a 3D target so I'll be flinging arrows in earnest this summer getting ready for deer/elk opener.

[yeahman]

I stupidly spaced out the deadline for the elk permit I wanted, doh. Still trying for a cow tag close to home. Other than that I'll be back at deer camp this year now that I'm vaxxed. Really missed that gathering last year.

[highangle]

Great pics Zion. Really wish CO had a spring bear season.



Thanks Phall. I did meet a guy that lives in the unit and had the tag a couple years ago. Been really great and willing to help. Utah surveys say 550 reported hunting at least one day in the unit for deer (all seasons). Manti next door was 1,300.

based on how we hunt and that terrain, I have know doubt we will find elk and get away from people. The big decision right now, do i even bother hunter labor day weekend or schedule around it.

Good luck to all the mags on the rest of the draws! Half hoping I don't draw WY or CO elk tags now.

I think some of you guys dealing with high prices and frustrating tag games should think about meat-hauling Mississippi & Alabama. Whitetail seasons run October until February. The rut is in late December. There's public land. Plenty of deer. Cheap licenses. Liberal limits. Bear tags.
It's a different game than western hunting, but so easy them ol redneck boys can do it. Plenty of deer to be killed in Mississippi - millions. Some good guiding operations too, if you want to pay to learn how to slay deer in different habitats




Ducks too, lots of ducks. Mississippy Flyway, Nash Buckingham & Robert Ruark, yo? Mixed bags?

[gretch6364]

With the overall decline in hunter numbers, whitetail hunting is really coming back strong. Tons of deer versus when I was young and hunting them. If December wasn’t ski season, it would definitely be tempting!


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