I have always believed that thereisa"hunters ladder". What that means is that when most peoplestart hunting are just happy to harvest something, even if it's alittle spike. Once you harvest a few smaller bucks/bulls/boars/etc and start to feel a little mastery of the animal you are hunting then you climb a stepon the ladder and some personal challenge kicks in and you want to "hold out" for a personal best passing upsome animals. Once you take some "mid-rangers" then you climb another step and become a bit more conservation minded and stop thinking about harvesting the smaller animals at all. Then your personal challenge kicks up a notch and you start thinking of "throphy" animals.

The problem with elk is in some areas they can be very tough to hunt.On publicland there can be lots of pressure from other hunters, and weather and drought conditions can move herds out of some areas completely and it can take days just to figure out where the elk are. Throw in archery and you make this even tougher on yourself. This means for some, myself included, you are just lucky to getone shot opportunity on an elk in a season in some units. Meaning you never get the chance to climb the ladder to hunting "trophies".

Every year I put in for draw units here in Utah. If I ever draw I wouldn't settle for anything less than a 360 inch bull. But until I draw I'll be hunting public land general areas with every other hunter and his dog. And if I'm hunting with a stick and string then I'm taking the first bull I can because it may be my only opprtunity that season.

Long answer but that's only way I could answer your question.