Margret Archery Bull Expectations

[TMortensen]

Hey all I'm pretty new on here and was wondering about what a realistic expectation would be for a bull in the Margret...Ive drawn the archery tag this year and know the unit quite well but having a hard time deciding what caliber of bull to set the bar at. I scouted a couple bulls today that will go in the 260 to 280 range, but do I have a realistic chance at holding out for a 300+ bull? . Thanks Travis

[swwaoutdoorsman]

I'd consider 260-280 to be trophies outta that unit and would have hard time passing on them. 300 bulls do exist though. I'd let your scouting dictate your standards. If you don't see any larger bulls before the season I wouldn't hold out for one. 

[sirmissalot]

Seems like if you know the unit well you'd be able to tell us a realistic expectation. 260-280 would be a shooter in there with a bow tag if it were me

[SkookumHntr]

You should see some good ones!! I definetly wouldnt shoot anything less then a mature 6x6!

[Mudman]

280 is a great bull.  Shoot it!  Bigger ones are there but rare and probably not where you can hunt em.  5x5 all day long.  Anything bigger is sweet!  Go high!

[elkslayer069]

Had your sights set on weyco being closed due to fire danger.

[sirmissalot]

You should see some good ones!! I definetly wouldnt shoot anything less then a mature 6x6!

Have you ever been in the Margaret unit

[Bullkllr]

Last time I had a permit, between scouting & hunting I looked at probably 200 bulls and could not put a sixth point on any of them. Serious.

[TMortensen]

Seems like if you know the unit well you'd be able to tell us a realistic expectation. 260-280 would be a shooter in there with a bow tag if it were me

I do know the unit and I think 260/280 is an easy goal. Ive seen 300 in the past but was hoping for insight from others, just dont want to set the bar to low is all.

[TMortensen]

Last time I had a permit, between scouting & hunting I looked at probably 200 bulls and could not put a sixth point on any of them. Serious.

When was the last time you hunted the unit and did you hunt east or west? I seen one bull yesterday scouting that will be a 6 point out of a dozen on the west end

[MADMAX]

Dont pass on a heavy 5pt, you'll regret it if you do.
early hunt = fire closures
late hunt = access and snow issues
 

[furbearer365]

If I were you, I would expect to just shoot one.  There are good bulls but the ratio of dinks to giants is extreme.  You will  see tons of rags and maybe only see 1 or 2 great (Margaret) bulls, but seeing and taking a great bull are not the same thing.  I wouldn't set your goal at 300 and if you stumble into one and are lucky enough to take it, consider yourself one of the lucky ones.  If you don't know what mark you should shoot for, then you don't know the Margaret that well.  I have lived at the bottom of the hill from it all my life and I would not set my goal at 300 for sure.  Shoot for that 260-280 range and hope you get lucky.  Have fun though, you will see lots of elk

[TMortensen]

If I were you, I would expect to just shoot one.  There are good bulls but the ratio of dinks to giants is extreme.  You will  see tons of rags and maybe only see 1 or 2 great (Margaret) bulls, but seeing and taking a great bull are not the same thing.  I wouldn't set your goal at 300 and if you stumble into one and are lucky enough to take it, consider yourself one of the lucky ones.  If you don't know what mark you should shoot for, then you don't know the Margaret that well.  I have lived at the bottom of the hill from it all my life and I would not set my goal at 300 for sure.  Shoot for that 260-280 range and hope you get lucky.  Have fun though, you will see lots of elk

I know the unit but havent been in it much the last 5 years. alot has changed, big chunk of private now. more tags etc. what sucks is the area I want to hunt is now privately owned. so thats why I was wondering where my target size should be.

[PolarBear]

You should see some good ones!! I definetly wouldnt shoot anything less then a mature 6x6!

20 years ago maybe, not so much now.

[Bullkllr]

Last time I had a permit, between scouting & hunting I looked at probably 200 bulls and could not put a sixth point on any of them. Serious.

When was the last time you hunted the unit and did you hunt east or west? I seen one bull yesterday scouting that will be a 6 point out of a dozen on the west end

That was about 12 years ago. I do think the grown up reprod in the west could be a good thing for growing bigger bulls. The 5 point I ended up shooting was an older bull.

I think a lot of them just don't grow large antlers or lots of points. Bigger ones are there. How long are you going to have to hunt? You could easily end up looking at a lot of bulls, and still taking a nice 5x on the last day. If the bigger ones were common, more of them would be getting killed. My 

BTW I have the same tag. I am stoked about the hunt.