Spike Elk UTAH OTC

[Jake538]

Is that true? You can tag a cow on a spike only tag?

You can harvest a cow while archery hunting the Elk general season. The Rifle spike tag is for spike elk only.

 

[WasatchRanger]

Ah. Archery. Ok that makes sense. Any weapon Spike can NOT be used on a cow then correct?

Correct

 

[Short Track]

I'm surprised they have this. Are there that many Elk out there ?

 

[Sellers77]

I'm surprised they have this. Are there that many Elk out there ?

I don’t know about every unit but the unit I was in, I was in elk daily. Only issue was you can’t call them in because it’s way before the rut. And I was chasing larger groups. I got lucky that a herd of about 80 decided to hit a wallow up against a cliff. I was able to get up on the cliff and shoot down. Pretty cool hunt though. Killed my first elk solo. The pack out was a major bitch. Made me wish my buddy could make it on the second trip out haha.

 

[DoubleA]

No, you cannot shoot a cow with a spike tag during the rifle hunt, only during archery.

The main benefit of the spike tag IMO is getting to hunt premium units that would take you 20 years to draw a bull tag. Can be a great excuse to scout for future draw opportunities, or just to get to be amongst some amazing elk populations. But it can be insanely crowded depending on where you go.
If I were coming from out of state, I think honestly money would be better spent on an OTC hunt in Colorado.