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Fort Hunter Liggett Elk Hunt

Anybody hunt there? How is it? Thinking about going in 2013

From what I've heard, its a slam dunk. Tons of elk and they'll point you in the right direction.

Tough draw though. If you dont have max points its a long shot for a bull tag.

I was drawn two years ago for the archery only antlerless end of Sept. That hunt is not a gimmee. We had 1 of 5 fill his tag. It depends on the activities on the base, which can include a very popular late rifle junior buck hunt and a late season Monterrey either sex as well as an archery only eother sex deer hunt. They may not be assigned to your particular zones but there is a heck of a lot of traffic believe it or not. Also bear in mind that the weather can be extremely hot during the antlerless season. It was over 110F both weekends I was there and they had full day and night military excercises the second weekend including blackhawks strafing with tracers and transport touchdowns during the day and night. Pretty amazing to see close up but not neccessarily conducive to a good hunt. No matter, I love the place and will be back!

Yeah, if you look at the success rates, some of the different antlerless tags aren't nearly as high as the bull rut tags. I talked with a guy that hunted bulls during the rut and he said he had his pick of several bulls every day which is what I was basing my opinion on.

Yeah, I missed a year so I couldn't accumulate the full potential preference points and that puts you in the 10% general tag allotment for most hunts. Then I saw in the draw stats that the antlerless tags were going to less than max points in all cases. So I knew I had about a 25% chance and took my points off the table. All in it costs about $475 for the tag with the requistite annual pass to the fort. Still a good deal for a cow elk hunt.

I was there this year with an ES Monterey late season deer tag. The 1st weekend I was there, the elk hunters were really discouraged as the open units the FHL designated for elk hunting were terrible with nobody seeing any elk.....2 weekends later, the total opposite, especially the unit open to black powder elk hunters that weekend...lots of animals and bulls !! The FHL game officer (Sgt. Robert Look) is a great resource but the real secret is knowing what open unit to hunt and you can't find out what units will be available till Thursday evening. Very interesting place....I saw way more bull Tule Elk than buck deer !! LOL PM me and I can give you some contact numbers on the base.

Joe

Are there any special considerations for active military to hunt Fort Hunter Liggett?

There are military specific special draw tags that historically have been an equal allottment to what DFG consigned to the general public draws.

I just drew the Antlerless elk tag

I drew the antlerless tag several years ago. Bowhunters had to stand in line with the rifle hunters to prove no lead ammo was in possession. This took an hour every morning, as some college kids were running things. They also put everyone in the same 40 acre area to hunt. Almost got nailed by six 200 yard Hail Mary shots. Idiots. Never want to hunt there ever again. Stayed at the campground on base where kids on dirt bikes raised hell until midnight every night.

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