we went last year and hunted plains game using 2 howa 1500 in 300 win mag and 7mm mag. Farthest shot was 300 yards. Both worked great. The most important thing is to use a rifle you’re comfortable with and good shot placement.
Feel like it would be a shame if you didn’t consider the high uintahs too. Not really rivers but the fly fishing in the alpine lakes is pretty amazing, especially if you can hike a few miles.
a DIY bear hunt in Idaho or Colorado would be a great first western hunt, just keep in mind most of the hunts in the fall won’t have you covered in ticks like spring bears. Antlerless hunts are great first hunts too.
We hunted the week and saw 2 bears in a week. We hunted the upper third of the mountain, not a lot of scat on the closed roads where we usually see them.
I have used the landowner access program while hunting deer and antelope in the north Easter part of the state with some success. Are there any participating landowners in your unit?
OTC tags in Utah can be pretty tough, would definitely recommend looking somewhere else to get the most bang for your buck if you are coming from out of state