Unit 2A/2B (St. Johns limited-opportunity elk)

Elk habitat is intermixed through most of this country rather than concentrated in a range or a drainage, which means you're hunting a density gradient rather than a place.

The southern portion is the better half

Between the Salt Lake Road — the road running easterly from St. Johns to New Mexico — and Highway 60, there is generally a greater concentration of elk. Numerous roads crisscross the country between those two, which is what makes it workable.

The northern portion is thinner and harder

Between the Salt Lake Road east of St. Johns and the Navajo Reservation's New Lands, elk density is low, access is limited, and some lands are currently closed to hunting. Much of that northern country has also been subdivided over recent years.

Where to get in

Access from Highway 191 is almost non-existent. Come in off Highway 60, or off the Salt Lake Road. Those are the two realistic entries, and between them the road network is reasonable.

The land status

Most of this country is checkerboard: alternating sections of private with State Trust, or private with BLM. There's a strip of mostly State land along the southern border of 2B, though with small private parcels inside it. Hunting is legal on all State Trust and BLM land, but access is not guaranteed and you need permission to cross private ground to reach the public sections.

What the hunt is for

The management goal here is to reduce the resident elk population. That tells you what kind of hunt you've drawn: a cull on scattered animals in difficult-access country, not a rut hunt in the pines. Plan accordingly and you'll enjoy it more.

The reservation edge

The New Lands — the newer part of the Navajo Reservation — are not always posted and are not open on a state permit. Know where that boundary runs before you hunt the northern end.

This is a limited-opportunity hunt with success expected to be very low and no trophy expectation. The hunters who do well treat it as an access problem with an elk at the end of it.

Scout, because the agency says it changes the odds

Scouting the unit before the hunt will increase your chances of success. On intermixed habitat in checkerboard country, that means two things: finding where elk are actually using, and working out which public sections you can legally reach.

Start south of the Salt Lake Road

Greater elk concentration and a usable road network between the Salt Lake Road and Highway 60. Don't waste days in the northern half, where density is low, access is limited and some ground is closed.

Hunt sign and glass the openings

Scattered elk in open grass and juniper means cutting for fresh tracks in road dust and droppings at water, then glassing the openings at first and last light from any rise you can find. These animals are not tied to a wallow you can learn in advance.

Permission, asked properly

Ask before the season, be specific about dates and vehicles, and accept a no gracefully. Some ranches have been closed in the past. The relationship is what gets you across a deeded section to the BLM ground behind it.

The behaviour that keeps this open

The most common landowner complaint in these units is off-road driving. It is illegal with any vehicle, ATVs included, on State and BLM lands, and criminal charges can follow for damage to private land. An OHV under 1,800 pounds needs a decal for State or Federal ground. Stay on existing roads, close gates, and this hunt continues to exist.