Contributors to this thread:
My girl and I have a solid opportunity on the outside of Salt Lake for a new restaurant opportunity. I don't know much about Utah for hunting so I had a few questions. I know I'm going to be to late for the drawings but I was curious to see how long it takes to establish residency, will I be able to at least hunt whitetail or mule deer doe, how is the hunting opportunities and is it fairly easy to gain access to land? How are animal numbers? I was wanting to see if it would just be worth getting my basic tags in Montana and hunting here this season even if I take the job in Utah? I look forward to hearing from all of you.
Scott
Scott, you won't find whitetail here. It takes six months to establish residency. I moved here in Oct and I'll be hunting mostly whitetail in Idaho.
Brew, Is there anything that I will be able to hunt? Is there any antlerless mule deer or cow elk tags I can get?
Yes you can apply for the antlerless hunts in about 2 months I believe. You are not to late to get a deer tag. you have about another week to put in for the draw. Get any deer tag you can draw and you can hunt the extended wasatch front until the end of Nov. Starting mid Sep. Good Luck
Are you able to hunt deer every year in Utah or do you have to put in for tags for everything? Is there any OTC for residents at all when you do become one? How is hunting pressure statewide? If I take this job it will be on the outskirts of Salt Lake.
Archery elk is otc but most of the state is spike bull/cow only. Everything else is draw.
Archery elk is Spike and Cow only and a bull tag is draw? All of the deer including antlerless is draw only as well? How is hunting pressure out there during archery? Do you see many animals or are they hard to come by?
Scott
Archery is big here but places to get away. You can hunt spikes and cows on draw units and a few units are any bull. You can avg a deer tag every other year depending on unit you choose. High country mule deer is awesome that time of year.
Cool man!!!! I am originally from the East Coast so hunting pressure there versus out here is quite different but I would imagine Utah is very similar in hunting popularity as Montana. Sounds like it has a bigger archery draw for folks there. Do you see a lot of critters when you are out? Is it easy to find land access or private land if need be? I see the state manages game for some high quality animals. It looks like a beautiful place to live so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Plenty of public land and fair amount of oppertunity. You have to choose your weapon season here so it splits the pressure some. We have great draw tags still low draw odds for residents
So you have to put in for a gun or a bow tag there? You can't do both or can you mix it up between the species? So are you only mule deer in that area and no whitetail?
Only mule deer you can choose which season for which species. There is a program where you can hunt all deer season for three years its called dicated hunter program.
Sounds good. How are the draw odds for residents for deer and elk permits? I know here in Montana it can go either way. Sometimes it happens a good bit and other times you could sitting on your hands with just your general tag for a while. Do you all have good antelope numbers? How is the upland bird and small game hunting?
Scott, I just moved to SLC from MT last spring. I sent you a private message with my number if you like to give me a call.
How easy is it to draw the antlerless deer,elk and antlerless antelope tags? Can that be a yearly tag or are they hard to draw?
Anterless deer are only hunted in a few small areas. Last year only about 300 doe tags were drawn in 6 units I think. I also think only 2 of the units are in the north. Depending on the unit it could take a few years to draw a cow tag. My wife and I had 2 points going into last season and we did not draw. I bought a leftover cow tag for another unit. We also had 2 points for doe 'lope and did not draw.
Is it hard just to get an antlerless tag for meat? My lady and I are not trophy hunters at all. We are meat hunters first and foremost so will that be attainable in Utah or is it really hard to even do that?
SCott
It depends on the unit. There are always some leftover tags for elk but they may in units where it is hard to hunt or find a cow. Go to the DNR site and look at the draw odds for antlerless. It will show how many points applicants had in each unit.
I'll give them a call on Monday. If I do this I'd be working around Sugarhouse and living around Kamas or close to that area. Is there decent hunting around Kamas or Heber?
Maybe it's just a Sunday afternoon, but some of the replies made my head hurt. Hahahaaa.
6 months to earn residency.
General Archery elk is over the counter and is either sex, BUT, there are "any elk" units and spike/cow only units.
Limited Entry Bull Elk take years to draw.
Cow tags are on a draw system, application will be due later this spring/early summer. Some units take several points to draw, some you could get every year(research)
All Utah Buck deer is on a draw system. You have "general buck deer units" and "Limited entry units" A few General archery buck deer units you could draw every year, some take multiple years to draw.
Limited Entry Buck deer units typically take years to draw.
All Antelope is draw only. years to draw
Doe muley tags are few and far between.
Cow elk tags, depending on the unit, could be had almost yearly, or take years to draw.
There are exceptions to what i've stated above(random tags, landowner tags) But this is where research comes into play, (DWR website, odds,draw proceedures, CWMU's)
Plenty of public land in most units, but some are locked up tight with private.
Good luck on the move, and hunting in Utah is generally pretty good, archery wise.
The commute from Kamas to Sugarhouse WOULD SUCK!! LOL.
Thanks man. That is good info and I appreciate it. I drive an hour and half one way to work now on a good day and if it snows or I hit Yellowstone traffic it can take twice that. The only problem is that I have some livestock and 4 indoor cats so it makes it hard for a lot of folks to want to rent even though I have solid references. Rent is usually cheaper but I spend it in gas. Any place closer to look at that might be a good option for rural living that is close to the hills? Why is it so hard to draw a mulie doe tag? Do you not have many deer? Are they just managing for trophy potential? Now will I be able to hunt any of what you all have told me about as a non resident if I take the job? I know in Montana if you miss the draw deadline as a NR unless there is any leftovers you can only buy a NR whitetail doe OTC.
The reason for no doe mule deer tags is that the statewide population is under objective so the DWR only issues doe tags for depredation situations.
If you did not get in the draw this year, there are usually leftover deer tags for the northern units that go on sale in the summer. Usually there are archery, muzzleloader, and rifle tags, but not many, so you have to be quick the day they go on sale. These are general tags, but can be good hunts if you put some scouting time in. For elk you can buy them over the counter for archery, rifle, and muzzleloader.
If you are simply looking for a fill the freezer type hunt, you can hunt every year and have pretty good success. The archery elk tags are OTC and if you get a spike/cow tag, you can hunt many of the Limited entry units that have higher elk populations and a much easier hunt for a cow than an OTC unit (just have to shoot a spike/cow instead of a trophy bull).
If I were in your shoes I would apply for the limited hunts each year and then fill the freezer with the OTC elk tags. In addition to the OTC tags, you can also apply for antlerless tags in the antlerless draw, potentially getting two cow elk each year, one from an OTC tag and one from a draw tag. As has been stated, some cow tags can be drawn every year. Just have to research a bit.
All in all, Utah has some great opportunity for deer and elk, the limited hunts can take years to draw or can be drawn first year if you are lucky, just depends on the unit. There is actually some pretty decent hunting around Kamas and a lot of public ground so get out and explore a bit.
That sounds really solid. How is the living there? Is the Salt Lake area a huge metro city or is it mainly sprawl? I haven't spent a whole lot of time in that area but the job market is way better than here in Montana for chefs and the cost of living makes a lot more sense then here as well. Are there no whitetails in Utah?
Scott
Utah is a pretty great place, born and raised in the SLC area. Downtown is pretty metro, however it is fairly spread out. You're right, the chef market is pretty good. No whitetail, only Muleys, and arguably some of the best muley hunting in the country. Great place for an outdoorsman! The deer population has been hurting as of late though, but the elk is growing well. Depending on what you like to hunt.
I like to hunt anything really. I am mostly all bow but this year with a move looming I may have to gun hunt to fill the freezer unless I can find an area I can scout that has a lot of cows near by then i'll go with my bow. I love to upland bird and small game hunt as well so that would be something I would like to find a good amount to do. Fishing as well. So are you only able to use weapon for the whole year if you pick bow or gun on a species? I hunt a lot of deer but what I may do since I have some good whitetail hunting in Montana and plenty back east is to just drive over here to doe hunt as it's pretty reasonable.
Scott
Are there some good archery shops in and around Salt Lake? Is trad shooting popular too? Any good rifle ranges or gun clubs to join? Would love to meet up with some of you all to do some shooting and get started on the right foot in the area.
Do you any of you know how the hunting is up over by Logan and Cache County? May have found a good rental up that way and so far it seems like a really cool spot.
SCott
Deer hunting in the Cache unit is not too bad. If you put in a little time on the archery hunt, you will find bucks. Buck populations and age class are down a little bit, but there are some good bucks killed every year. Elk hunting is limited entry or you can get a spike tag.
All hunts in Utah are choose your weapon.
Logan would be quite a drive for you to get to work, probably pushing two hours one way with traffic. Just something to think about. I love Logan and Cache county, I would move there in a heartbeat if it was closer to work. Some great fishing in the area too.
There are a few great archery shops around Salt Lake, I personally use Wilde Arrow in Centerville. Great guys, very knowledgeable and helpful.
