Muley Hunt

C

cunanse

New member
Here's a tale for you.
I'm going hunting with a bunch of friends this fall. It's a new hunt in Utah where you go into the "Any Bull Elk" units in the northern region of the state during the General Elk season with both a statewide Bull tag and a Buck tag. You can take either animal or both that you see. There will be eight of us in camp, spreading out in opposite directions using the buddy system. It's the first big game hunt for all of us but my little brother, who has been on the whitetail hunt in Iowa and the muley hunt in Utah, but been skunked both times. We'll be hitting the back country pretty hard to compensate for any road hunting going on. The crazy part will be the line up of weapons. This is what I know so far:

Me: 1978 Ruger m77 in 7mm Remington Mag
Buddy: 1953 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in .30-06
Buddy: 2007 Weatherby Vanguard Synthetic in 7mm Remington Mag
Buddy: Panther Arms AR-15 chambered in .308 (NOT an AR-10) shooting 160-gr Federal Fusion
Buddy: 8mm-06 (make/model unknown)
Brother: Remington Model 700 in .300 Win Mag
Brother: Browning A-Bolt II in .338 Win Mag
I have another brother and buddy who will probably be taking .30-06 and 7mm Rem Mag, respectively.

So, do you think it will be interesting to see who comes home with the bacon? Will any of you guys be interested in hearing the results of the hunt? It seems like a neat chance to see how much the gun factors into everything. Of course, if you can't shoot, you can't shoot.
 
FWB-

It's called the Buck-Bull combination hunt. This is Utah's first year doing it. There were 2,000 pairs of tags available, and, because it was new, only 2,600 people applied for the hunt. Most, though not all hunters in Utah, are content to get their buck and not bother with Elk. So chances were 1 to 1.4 Everyone with the exception of one of my brothers entered in a group application. I have a gut feeling that this hunt will get very popular in years to come.
 
Wow- That's a great deal. I have seen some huge elk up near Park City. My firend lives in that area and somedays, you can see elk on the ridges, outlined against the sky...Congratulations and good luck.
 
About 28 years ago, I put together a mule deer hunt in Wyoming for my USAF buddies. There was a wide diversement in hunting rifles as many of the guys were from the Great Lakes region. One young man still stands out in my memory.

His name was Jimmy Swift and he proudly uncased a new Marlin 30-30 with 4X Glenfield scope. Some of the other guys said unkind things about his carbine. But at the end of the hunt, Jimmy's buck was the largest by far. A wide racked 4 X 4 that almost made B & C standards. He located the buck with K-Mart sale priced Bushnell binoculars and made the stalk wearing USAF issue boots. The buck was toppled with one shot. He cleaned his trophy with a worn pocket knife. Back at the base, Jimmy mounted the antlers onto a shield shaped board crafted from wood he found in the dumpster.

In summary, the best equipment rarely makes up for poor hunting skills. The memory of hunting fun shared with your friends will be the "trophy" you'll cherish most in years to come.

Good hunting to you all.
Jack
 
Wow - those 2600 who knew about the program really lucked out (most of them). Sounds fantastic & good luck. I think you have the firepower covered. Now get to scouting!
 
Not too shabby sounds like no-one is under gunned although I would not be the guy who took the .308 may be a 7mm Mag.
 
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