like.2.fly
Well-Known Member
My first post... Life time hunter, with lots of tree stand experience. But never a saddle. Want to change that and give it a try this year. Just hoping to connect with a few locals.
Nice bull! Love the Uintahs. I pretty much grew up there.
UT is definitely a beautiful state with some great places to hunt. But the seasons are early and short (archery starting mid Aug, ending early-mid Sept). Resident general deer tags are limited and take 2 or 3 years to draw in the area I hunt. Resident general elk is over the counter, which is nice. But limited deer & elk take many years to draw (15-20 for the premium areas). So not a lot of opportunities for the best hunts, or anything during the rut season for either species (except for the very small and limited "extended" archery areas along the Wasatch front, plus Uintah basin and Sanpete county lowlands which are mostly private land). At least I can chase general elk every year, for now. I'm truly envious of the states that have 3 - 5 month deer seasons, and multiple bag limits with multiple weapons.
Nice bull! Love the Uintahs. I pretty much grew up there.
UT is definitely a beautiful state with some great places to hunt. But the seasons are early and short (archery starting mid Aug, ending early-mid Sept). Resident general deer tags are limited and take 2 or 3 years to draw in the area I hunt. Resident general elk is over the counter, which is nice. But limited deer & elk take many years to draw (15-20 for the premium areas). So not a lot of opportunities for the best hunts, or anything during the rut season for either species (except for the very small and limited "extended" archery areas along the Wasatch front, plus Uintah basin and Sanpete county lowlands which are mostly private land). At least I can chase general elk every year, for now. I'm truly envious of the states that have 3 - 5 month deer seasons, and multiple bag limits with multiple weapons.
I am a Utah hunter (though currently residing in central Mexico) and definitely plan on taking the saddle out with me this coming year (coming home for 2 weeks late august / early september). Last year both my elk and buck were taken from tree stands, so i like the idea of hunting high. BU this year i plan to hunt using a mobile spike camp, so the saddle will be a good option for weight but still have the option of a tree in case I come across a wallow or water source. Plus, I am a vetran rock climber, so I have half the equipment already, just had to get a sitdrag really... Anyways, best of luck everyone!
I have climbed Aspens, Ponderosa Pines, Scrub Oak, and a few other trees that I don't know the species but I would describe as similar to scrub oak, meaning medium in size with lots of branches. I come from a rock climbing and tree trimming background, so I am pretty comfortable moving around in trees. I do not own sticks, and have generally climbed trees using branches, and when i have no other options, a screw in step, but VERY FEW. I was not really familiar with climbing sticks until I found this site. Seems like in Utah, even on public land, most people just use screw ins, too many of them in my opinion, but given how wide spread they are, I assume it is legal on public land. They are also heavy for mobile hunting, so I don't plan on bringing them. I wish i had a better recommendation. It is totally true that aspens have soft bark...@shmcleod - What type of trees have you climbed in Utah? Anything other than aspens? I have WE steps and Helium sticks, and the steps really dig in DEEP on those soft aspen trunks, and they are so soft that the steps want to move even when they're in deep. Haven't tried the sticks yet, but it seems they might work a bit better?