WMU 416,417,418 elk

[Trapper12]

It seems hard to find anything on these areas for elk. I know the tag #'s are low and points are high to hunt it but the success rate in 418 was 100% last year. Ive hunted the area once and killed a nice 6x6 that scored 353 Gross. I just cant seem to find any other stories or hunters. We had lots of action and saw another group that had a bull bigger then mine. We saw 4 grizzlies, a sow and cub then 2 yearlings together possibly her last years cubs. Is 417 or 416 similar with lots of walking and pockets of elk? so if you've hunted any of these 3 zones please feel free to reply or message me.

[501s]

We just spent a week in 416 hiking and literally didn’t see a single animal, other then a single muley doe. Zero Elk sign, zero bear sign, zero sheep sign. The area looks amazing so we expected to at least see some game but alas, nothing.

[7magtime]

Originally Posted by Trapper12

It seems hard to find anything on these areas for elk. I know the tag #'s are low and points are high to hunt it but the success rate in 418 was 100% last year. Ive hunted the area once and killed a nice 6x6 that scored 353 Gross. I just cant seem to find any other stories or hunters. We had lots of action and saw another group that had a bull bigger then mine. We saw 4 grizzlies, a sow and cub then 2 yearlings together possibly her last years cubs. Is 417 or 416 similar with lots of walking and pockets of elk? so if you've hunted any of these 3 zones please feel free to reply or message me.

How many years ago did you kill that 6x6 bull?
The numbers and quality of elk in that area have decreased over the past 10 years just like a lot of the mountain elk zones have.....

[Trapper12]

Yes it was less then 10 years ago, thats all i keep hearing is that the elk around their are dwindling drastically but when you actually hunt it, walk it, ride it, there seems to be plenty of fresh elk sign. Like it might be a lot worse then before but to me it seems good, thats why i was wondering if anybody else has been hunting it or how the surrounding zones are. We saw roughly 80 elk in 2 full days camped at Yaha Tinda, smaller groups of 15-20 mostly.

[MooseRiverTrapper]

Did you hunt 418 with horses?

[Torkdiesel]

Originally Posted by Trapper12

Yes it was less then 10 years ago, thats all i keep hearing is that the elk around their are dwindling drastically but when you actually hunt it, walk it, ride it, there seems to be plenty of fresh elk sign. Like it might be a lot worse then before but to me it seems good, thats why i was wondering if anybody else has been hunting it or how the surrounding zones are. We saw roughly 80 elk in 2 full days camped at Yaha Tinda, smaller groups of 15-20 mostly.

Well if you had a tag in 418 less then 10 years ago don’t worry about hunting it again anytime soon. Best case right now it will likely be 20 years before you can hunt it again.
The other 2 zones I’ve never been in, but 418 twenty years ago was something to see, I’ve heard that’s changed considerably.

[Trapper12]

Originally Posted by Torkdiesel

Well if you had a tag in 418 less then 10 years ago don’t worry about hunting it again anytime soon. Best case right now it will likely be 20 years before you can hunt it again.
The other 2 zones I’ve never been in, but 418 twenty years ago was something to see, I’ve heard that’s changed considerably.

im not worried about hunting it, friends and family can though. 20 years ago is all anybody says which means nothing to me.

[Trapper12]

Originally Posted by MooseRiverTrapper

Did you hunt 418 with horses?

did not hunt with horses but we swore up and down the next time we would. i believe it was 3.7 or 4.7km from the parking lot i forget which one but not terribly bad i had help.