Free: Contests & Raffles.
Sounds awesome! I meant antelope are almost available every year OTC. This elk oppty sounded much less a certainty every year.
So is this going to cancel your goal of a 280+ bull in western wa ? I was really excited to see what you could come up with
Who butters the bread and will your wife be welcome to attend the hunt in Utah?
OPTION 1: Unbelievable limited entry Utah trophy bull elk hunt. No wife, almost no WA elk season, two weeks or more away from business and you'll likely leave home tired, hunt tired and come home even more tired with a pile of screw ups and quarterly taxes to fix.OPTION 2: Shoot a goat. August season with the wife, dang near 100% success, miss out on no other season, better eating, only one week away from business and quarterly taxes are still a month away.Let me think about it and I'll get back to you....... There is some food for thought. Though either Del, Lorraine or myself are committed to the Utah hunt now.
I hear ya.But some of those Utah bulls are huge....... and hard to kill.I wouldn't go with anything less than a 375 H&H AI.
I knew asking this question on H-W would lead to a large number of "Choose Utah" responses. Though I am surprised out how many chose to leave the wife in the dust for an animal I could shoot any year here in Washington. Is an extra 30" of antler growth really that much more appealing than spending time with the wife hunting an animal we do not have in Washington? Granted it is one we tag every other year, but still we can't hunt in our back yard.I do have 30 elk that have spent time in the freezer. A few big, a few small and most in-between. I have one Oregon antelope and three WY antelope. I have laid plans to get serious about Washington this year. That should mean a 280-300 bull rather easily with an upper limit around 350 I expect. We do not have enough freezer space left for two bulls let alone three so meat really is not a factor even though I'm sure we could donate some. Timing of Utah should allow me to guide the wife enough in WA for her to tag out. And possibly enough time to make sure CL tags out as well. It does interfere with the best bear hunting times. That is a BIG disadvantage as the wife and I both were really looking forward to getting back into the high country for some boar slaying. I was even planning to go after "Melon Head" who could be top ten or better in the state. Utah would definitely ruin our chances at hunting elk with our bows during Muzzy season which is something we have been discussing.Antelope hunting happens weeks before WA archery season opens. So that does not effect anything but early bear hunting opportunities. And honestly those early bear hunts aren't all that good. WY is a hard one day drive. Utah probably going to be a two day drive and might even work into a two plus if I decide to tow the trailer over. Than means even more time away from work. Paid vacation is a different thing to the self employed. Means we pay double to take a vacation and then we pay again when we get back and have to fix all the crap done wrong while we were gone. Rarely does it work out to be worth it.
Now in a few years when both daughters of mine start hunting my time in the field for myself will be cut short I'm sure but i'll be okay with it.
Did you have to ask us just to tease ? as Drock said in page one that's not even a question .
