Jarbidge Elk Archery Hunt Areas
Elk
Okay. I drew a really good elk tag in Nevada with only 5 points. Was not expecting to draw for at least another 5 years. The good news is I'm 34 and get to hunt this vertical wilderness still fairly young. I live in northern Ca and have been active on bowsite for about 6 years now. This may be the only Nevada elk tag I ever get.
The reason for my post is strictly homework based for my upcoming hunt Aug 16th-31st. I will hunt the wilderness with a long time buddy of mine who is about my age.
Never been in the Jarbidge before but I have hunted the Ruby's twice and area 6 for deer.
I want to a find a 350" bull. Is that unrealistic? As hard as it is to draw the tag, I think (could be Wrong), but a tag that likely takes a decade or longer to draw based on the odds, should be worth of holding such elk.
I bought a new Big Agnes Fly Creek 2 tent today. I plan on camping close to water and back packing in 3-6 miles to a base camp that is TBD. I've got a half dozen spots already picked out but I hear the older age class of bulls has been beat up the last few years with the increase in tags. One thing is for certain, I want nothing to do with other hunters and will go a couple more miles to be by myself.
I'm looking to talk anyone and everyone about locations and logistics, pitfalls and gear.
Thanks a ton in advance and please do not pm any spots.
Good luck Tony. It sounds like it will be a great adventure.
A scouting trip might be worth it for you. The wilderness there is VERY steep and rugged. Even with mules getting an elk out in the heat is difficult. My brother had the muzzy tag there last year and saw several bulls over the 350" mark. There are plenty of elk not in the wilderness as well.
Part of my homework will be getting someone lined for the extraction, horsies or mules. I'm not trying to prove anything by getting it out myself, if I can get some horsepower it will be part of the game plan.
I didn't get into the wilderness a whole lot. At one of the parking areas to the wilderness on the NE side, there was a sign advertising a local ranch for elk packing. I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the outfit advertising.
I ate my tag after 13 days. I saw two bulls that would equal or break the 350 mark, both outside of the wilderness. I saw multiple big bulls 2 to 3 miles or more into the wilderness, but I couldn't tell you how big they were. One bull was dogging a harem of well over 100 cows. I couldn't hear him, cause I was too far away, but I could see him bugling through the glass
If I could do it again, I'd make two trips there. I'd get there a day or two before season began, and hunt the first week. Then if I didn't kill, I'd head home and then come back for the last 7-10 days of the season.
I had to cut my trip 2 days short, because of work stuff, but they were just starting to bugle at the very end of the season last year.
Good luck. It's a fun tag to have. Lots of wild and vertical country
With that early season may be worth packing some trail cameras in on water to determine where to hunt? Never hunted Nevada but common elk logic is to hunt where the elk are and be prepared to move! I would let your scouting, camera, tell you what size animal to shoot. A 350" bull is huge! you may have to be ready to go home empty handed if you hold out...
Hey Brandon, would that be the famous Kelly Mingus!LOL
I always have a packer lined up just in case. A good source for names/numbers of packers is the local warden. I know there's at least one outfitter in the area that packs people in and has drop camps because I researched it a couple years ago for a potential future deer hunt. I'm sure he'd offer pack-out services. Just google Jarbidge outfitters - the name was something like that.
If I had this tag, I'd get there 5ish days before season opener so that I was hitting the ground running on opening day and I'd have at least 14 hunt days planned, probably more. You could go decades and not draw as good a tag anywhere.
I found differing results from Ike when I looked hard at the Jarbridge. There are 2 outfitters that have guided in there for decades. When I talked to them, they weren't interested in packing your animal.....and only one would consider a drop camp....and then it was a maybe. They kept telling me a drop wasn't a good idea as you really need horses in there to get around.
The good news...... There are good areas outside and on the fringe of the jarbridge without having to go way back in there.
People walk to the top of Mt Everest and walk from Mexico to Canada along the PCT every year. The Jarbidge is certainly remote and rugged, but sounds to me like they don't want to support DIY hunters. I did definitely talk to a guy a couple years ago that had a couple drop camps set up in the wilderness that were available for guided hunts or a drop camp, but perhaps your only bet for a packer is the one posted on the fence that Bake spoke of. Perhaps a quick weekend scouting trip could help you locate a packer.
Cottonwood dude ranch will haul it out for u.
Ike - I've been talking to some pretty quality DIY hunters who have been in the Jarbidge last couple years hunting elk. I am getting the same theme, tons of 6x's in the 280-310" range. Not many elk over 330". This unit from the homework I have done has shot out a lot of the older bulls with NDOW increasing tags....I'll be lining up a packer for sure.... I did get some topo maps and have about 4-5 options for where to get started. I am planning on a scouting trip for the non-wilderness areas in early Aug. Depending on what I see I will make a decision as to whether or not to start in the Wildo. Hopefully the earlier dates in Aug will quiet some of the hunters running around blowing calls.
You can have a great hunt outside the wilderness....and you will see some really nice bulls to ;)
What a great tag. I can't help you, other than wish you the best of luck.
Was in there on a horseback buck hunt that was early November. Saw what would have been a 350 class bull though was spike on one side. A hunter with a bull tag passed on that and a couple of 330ish bulls. You will be in there much earlier than we were so not sure if helpful. Getting meat out in warm weather would be challenging but with two of you might be able to get boned meat and your camp out in 3 trips each without having to deal with 120 pound packs. Beautiful country though steep as some mountain goat country I have hiked.
Great tag Tony!!! Congrats
