Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Utah non-resident elk tag increase...

Am I reading my application correctly? Last year I unsuccessfully put in for a Book Cliffs elk tag that would have cost me just under $500 had I drawn. On the app. I just got in the mail it looks like it's going to be just a bit higher, more to the tune of $795.

Ouch!! Just shot out of my price range.

Ya gotta draw first. If your putting in for one of the hard-to-draw rut hunts it'll be worth it. Start saving.

The chance of me drawing the elk tag I just applied for there lie somewhere slim and none, but I tried anyway. If by way of a miracle I should draw my wife likely kill me before I can use the tag. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I had to apply though. Those limited entry elk hunts in Utah are world class. The odds of killing a trophy bull are very high if you draw the tag. It's worth every penny of $795.00 and in reality a bargain compared to what you'd pay for an equal opportunity for a bull over 330 B+C points.

Muleshoe, you are right on the prices. They really upped the prices this year. Shoot, even for me as a resident, it costs $280 for a tag!!!!!! That is pure horseshit, but I will gladly pay it to hunt these big brutes.

Troy....shhhhh....stop telling everyone about the big elk <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Flinch

Wow!!! Wishing I had drawn a tag last year... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

Concidering the cost of some other states, that isn't out of line. If you want unfair, try NM. $1516 for a non-res Oryx or Ibex tag. Residents pay $109 for Oryx and $69 for Ibex.

ktg
And my White sands Oryx tag was for a one-day hunt! there were a number of folks thinking they were lucky to have drawn the tag, only to fail to fill it...
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Sitka, Ya, my wife was one of them who didn't connect on our 1 day, once in a life time, $1516 hunt. I guess that happens sometimes.

ouch! I apologize for bringing that up...

Sitka, no need. That's why they call it hunting.

Not only in UT upping the prices (I'm in for $508 if draw as I put in for the 'premium' tag), but their changing the management of the elk. Many units now being managed for 6-7 or 7-8 yr old bulls will be managed for 5-6yr old bulls. I'm predicting there'll be lots of toads coming out of UT the next couple of years, but start going down hill after that. Don't get me wrong, there will still be big bulls, just not in the numbers there are now.

I don't mind the cost of the tags as much as I mind the, IMO, screwy ways UT and many other states draw the tags. I like bonus pts where your name goes in the hat that many more times or where there's no points and everyone has the same chance. I don't like saving 50% of the tags or the top points folks or other some such nonsense.

Well I up and put in for it anyway.

Utah has become the premier state for trophy bulls OFF public land. No need to buy a $8000 Ranch hunt. Just play the Elk Lottery every year and by time you draw a tag in 12-15 years the $795 price of todays tag will seem cheap.

It has really become a once or maybe twice in a lifetime opportunity.

Here are some pictures of the Bulls we shot last fall. All are off Public land. All of them required some serious hunting.

Nice.

The bull in the first picture, how many points? You have another shot of him?

Try this angle. He's a 7x8

NICE BULLS!! Looks like your group won the tag lottery!!! Congrats. If you don't mind me asking, what unit?

It's pictures like those that have me worried that UDWR is gonna be making a big mistake with thier new elk management strategies. IMO, it shifts the focus a bit to quantity over quality.

I've got 11 points and can't seem to draw. But for some reason always seem to get invited to come along with somebody who does draw out. Probably because I bring a trailer full of horses. We usually go in about 7 miles to get away from the foot hunters and the ATV's.

I keep hoping I get drawn before all the 7 yo bulls are gone and I have to settle for a 5yo. These bulls were 6&7 years old based on their teeth. They came from central Utah.

Thanks! Getting away from the ATVs is getting a bit more difficult in UT.

With the price increase, one's odds ought to be a bit better at drawing a tag. Years ago, Idaho's non-resident deer tags sold out by Feb. Since they upped the price about 6 years ago, one can go over the counter right up to the season. 1Minute

Yup, that's what I'm afraid of. Because this will probably be the toughest year for me to scrape up the funds, I'll probably up and draw.

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