Carbon County residents are reminded not to wait to get their bull elk permit. Utah’s general rifle elk hunt begins Oct. 9 and Division of Wildlife Resources officials are encouraging hunters to buy their permit now.
The reason is a change in Utah’s general muzzleloader bull elk hunt, which begins in November.
In the past, general any bull elk muzzleloader permits have been capped at 1,300. The cap has been removed this year, however, and general any bull muzzleloader permits are now included with rifle permits in the same 14,300 cap.
More than 6,000 hunters applied for a general any bull elk muzzleloader permit in 2003. If most of those hunters decide to buy a general muzzleloader elk permit, the total number of general any bull elk permits should sell out this year, according to the DWR.
“Any bull elk permits have come close to selling out in the past, and I think there’s a good chance they’ll sell out this year,” said Judi Tutorow, wildlife licensing coordinator for the DWR. “I would encourage hunters to buy their permit now. If they don’t, they may not be hunting branch-antlered elk this year.”
DWR asserts that this season should be a good one to hunt branch-antlered bulls in Utah because there are plenty of mature bulls in the state.
In addition, bull elk calves born during the spring of 2003 have enjoyed good forage conditions since then and there has been very little winter loss. Many of these calves will be available to hunters as branch-antlered bulls this fall.
The easiest way to obtain a permit is on the DWR website. Hunters who buy a permit on the web are reminded that it will take about a week for their permit to arrive in the mail and to buy it far enough in advance that they’ll receive their permit before the hunt starts.
Hunters may also buy permits at DWR offices. Hunters who decide to buy a permit from a license agent are encouraged to visit the DWR Web site to learn which agents are selling general bull elk permits this year.
For more information, contact the Price DWR office.
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