I have hunted Elk in the mountains and foothills for 40 years from the South way up to the North.
402 along with all the other east slope areas has been decimated by Wolves and bears. The draw and 6 point rules have made it worse for some zones like 402 which gets a tremendous amount of pressure.
My observation is that in these general zones pressure is heavy and Elk are scarce and reclusive.
Some of the six point draw zones could have a limited number of 5 point tags given out, and perhaps some of them should go back to general. this would spread out the hunting pressure and at the very least make for a more enjoyable hunting experience.
I mentioned 430 in my last post,there were huntable numbers of Elk there up until around 12 years ago, if you knew where to look.. The herd bulls I see now are BIG 5 pointers with the odd small six satellite bull hanging around.
Not a single bull was recorded in the harvest report in 2018 in 430.
I can see the day coming when it all gets put on draw in all the mountain zones, and just like 328 and 429 last year we have a reduced season for the rest of the foothills.
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