| Indian Peaks, Monroe, Oak
Creek, San Juan, Fillmore-Pahvant, these are some of the best places in North America to
hunt trophy elk. What's so unbelievable is that they are all in the State of Utah. No
fewer than five years ago this was the best kept secret in hunting. Today, that's no
longer the case. As a past Chairman of the Board of Rocky Mountain Elk, I relished
in the terrific job the staff and volunteers were accomplishing in protecting elk and
other wildlife habitat, especially in the western states. Utah volunteers have done their
share. In tandem with the efforts of conservation groups and the foresight of the State
Department of Wildlife, it is my belief Utah now offers more accessible trophy
opportunities than any state in the nation. In truth though, it is a tough draw. My first sojourn was in 1995 when I hooked up
with Mayben Crane of MD Guide Service and purchased a state elk tag. The only area we
hunted was Monroe Mountain since it was near Mayben's back door of Salina. After years of
hunting Montana and New Mexico, it was a thrill to see elk in a relaxed state, benefiting
from mild winters and low harvests. Mayben called in more elk over a 10-day period than I
had seen in the previous four years out of state. In Montana a bull with two or three cows
was a very proud one. In Utah they feel inferior unless they have 20 or 30 cows in their
harem. We caught up with one on the eleventh day of my hunt and after working through
three satellites took a handsome six point. What I didn't know at the time was that these
elk are bigger than I was used to taking elsewhere. This elk scored in the high 370s and
is still adorning my wall at home. In subsequent years I hunted Monroe another time and
took a magnificent 7X7.
I then began hunting in the Southwest
Desert unit known as Indian Peak. This area is large, with many different terrains to deal
with. I believe this area probably holds the largest elk in the state. The problem is that
it is difficult to work the entire district without many eyes looking on your behalf. I
hunted Indian Peaks for four years, looking at hundreds of 350+ class bulls and only twice
did I take bulls worthy of placement in my home. In 2000 I was fortunate to once again
purchase a governor's tag, but this time it was a great deal more expensive.
Mayben was still available and he teamed
up with Doyle Moss of MossBack Productions to help me locate another opportunity in Utah.
Doyle, in my estimation, is one of this country's best wildlife videographers. He packs
his tripod and video camera around the mountains like it's nothing. I had the best of both
worlds. Both live to be on the mountain locating that tough-to-find elk. Doyle works at
getting close enough to film the bulls, which allows us to really analyze the animals.
Both he and Mayben spend all spring and summer locating bulls. The one thing that I've
learned from this is you might see a bull on his summer range for 90 days, but come Sept
1, he disappears.
In the year 2000 this team got me onto a
bull that was not in the "inventory" and after a 4000-foot elevation stalk I
took this bull and it scored 400 1/2 and netted 393 5/8.
In 2001, Doyle and I hoped to once again
secure an elk tag and fortunately one was obtained. Mayben already had two hunters set for
his camp so Doyle and I planned to be mobile and cover the entire unit. After another
summer finding and filming many elk, Sept 1 approached and on cue the bulls started
disappearing. We had planned to focus on the northern end of the unit as the terrain was
more severe and, we thought, would hold some mature bulls. There were many in full rut and
we called elk in daily, but they were all freshman and sophomores, no senior classmen.
This country required long view spotting and was a great reminder that this is a hunt, not
just a shoot. For 10 days we scoped, stalked and came up empty handed. As always, however,
the joy was being there and knowing that perhaps we would get lucky.
I told Doyle that on the next to last
day of the hunt I would like to go to the south end of the unit where the hunting was a
bit easier. If we didn't find anything I would head home, happy and fully satisfied with
the experience. David Owens, a talented local guide, had filled his hunter's tag and told
us that a large bull on the south end had been shot at 12 times and left his cows. I told
Doyle that maybe if we were in position at first light, the bull might come back and try
to retrieve his harem.
Having just arrived at the appointed
hour and talking about the morning hunt, I looked some 1000 yards to the south and saw the
strangest sight. After watching the backside of hundreds of elk over the past 10 days,
here comes one running right at us! We were standing flat-footed with no cover and the
wind at our back, but this lovesick elk just kept coming. Doyle quickly set up his
spotting scope and assured me that this bull was the big 6X6 David told us about and it
had no broken tines. We closed in on the bull and set up. Finally at about 250 yards he
hit the brakes and, while his brain was flipping from fancy to flight, I was able to get
off a shot that luckily made solid contact.
As always, Doyle had his camera rolling
and the memories of this spectacular hunt were caught on tape ("MossBack's Screaming
Bulls"). With the sun peeking over the eastern horizon, Doyle, Dave and I marveled at
this beautiful animal. Sweeping main beams, this heavy six-point scored right at 390 Boone
and Crockett. While probably only five and-a-half years old, it forever emphasized that
Utah, while no longer a secret, still produces some outstanding animals.
For hunt information contact: Ron Lara
at MossBack's Western Wildlife Adventures at 1-408-748-1277.  The Score Sheet |
