Some of the many elk we saw while hunting Durst Mtn.
2025 was my year to draw hunting tags. With twelve points, I drew a muzzleloader Henry Mountain mule deer tag and with seven points, I drew a Durst Mountain CWMU cow elk tag.
For many years, our family was drawing cow elk tags for the East Canyon unit every year by putting in as a group of four. We were also filling all of our tags in Red Rock Canyon, usually with just one trip out hunting.
The draw system used to have it so that all four hunters had a ticket in the draw and if any one of us drew we all drew. They changed this a few years ago and now if you put in as a group you only get a single ticket in the draw... that is, if none of the hunters had any points.
About the same time, they changed the drawing system the elk that would pile into Red Rock Canyon completely changed their wintering location. The last few years we put in for East Canyon we had to work really hard to find a single cow elk let alone fill any of our tags in Red Rock Canyon.
With the elk changing their habits and the draw system changing, my family has been putting in for Durst Mountain CWMU cow elk permits. This CWMU is located near us and the core property for Durst Mountain is my family's original homestead property for a hundred years, from 1863 to 1963. Durst Mountain is also home to a large elk population. Hunting close to home, on a mountain full of elk and getting to travel around the property my ancestors lived on for a century is a win-win for me.
Dallen hunted Durst Mountain in 2019 for mule deer and took an even better buck than I did while hunting the Henry Mountains. You can learn more about the Smith family history of Durst Mountain in the article for Dallen's deer hunt.
Kaden was the first to draw a cow elk hunt on Durst Mountain back in 2023 where he was finally able to get his first-ever elk. We have had a really hard time getting into the elk in the Unita Mountains for many years now... not for the lack of trying. You can read Kaden's article on our 2025 Muzzleloader Bull Elk Hunt.
With Kaden, Dallen and now my experience hunting on Durst, I have really liked the way it is operated for public hunters. For cow elk hunters, they had 25 permits but I think this year it moved up to 30 public cow elk tags. The operator sends you all information on a website and on a specified date, you will pick your hunting dates on a first come first serve basis to reserve your three days to hunt. They slot five hunters to hunt every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, starting with the first slot around the second week of November with five different hunters coming in every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The operator will fill you in on the rules, tells you how to access the property and you have to sign liability documents. You are allowed one person to come along with you on your hunt. No guides to tip, or be your nanny for the hunt and you can access the whole property if needed. When we have been up there, we have enjoyed swinging by the two original Smith homestead cabins up on top of the mountain.
On Kaden's cow elk hunt in 2023 we stopped by the Smith homestead cabins at the Head where I told Kaden story after story passed down about his ancestors that lived there.
Some of the elk I watched the week before my hunt from the Morgan valley.
As for my cow elk hunt. It went pretty fast. I had been glassing the mountain from across the valley in the Milton area for the week leading up to my Thursday opener. There were hundreds of elk on the mountain. The cow elk were hanging out below the Taggart section of property in the middle of the Durst Mtn CWMU. This Taggart property was part of the original Smith ranch, with it being the section of property that my great-great-uncle Harvey homesteaded. He didn't sell his piece with my Great Grandfather and the property was passed down to his daughter, Marjorie, who married a Taggart. Anyhow, back to the hunt.
Opening morning Kaden and I parked the Jeep and slipped down the ridge above a bunch of elk. In the process, someone below us shot a cow in the bottom of Big Hollow before we could get down the ridge to where I wanted to be. As we were getting into position, the elk started coming our way and piling up on the ridge in front of us. Around 30 cows dropped down into a draw and stopped to look back on the other side with my Vortex Viper HD 3000 reading in at 211 yards. As they stopped, I started scanning them through my rifle scope, starting at the back of the herd with the cow closest to me. I worked my way through the elk with all of them giving me a terrible shot angle, being pointed almost straight away, their head turned back looking at us, until I got to the lead cow. She was almost perfectly broadside. Just a little bit of force on my X-Bolt II trigger and a 180 Gr VLD was sent through the lead cow's lungs. Moments later, she tipped over.
X-Bolt 2 in 28 Nosler with my 2025 Durst Mtn CWMU cow elk.
Where to find the cow elk
The cow elk, for the most part, have learned to run to the Taggart property for safety when they start getting shot at. If you hunt around the Taggart piece of property, you are bound to find cows. We have found a lot of smaller bulls with them in this area as well. During these late hunts, the big bulls on the property are off by themselves, often at the top of Mahogany Canyon, in Yence Canyon, to Coopers and Dry Creek.
Some of the many bull elk we saw on Kaden's cow elk hunt in 2023 on Durst Mtn.
If you are reading this article thinking about putting in for Durst Mtn, DO NOT! You really wouldn't want to put in for cow elk, bull elk, mule deer or moose tags on Durst because my personal odds of drawing would lower if you did... I mean, because the hunting is terrible up there. ;)
For this hunt, I was using a new rifle. I purchased an X-Bolt II Speed rifle in 28 Nosler and I acquired a pre-production X-Bolt II Pro carbon fiber stock that required a little modification before it could be used. I bedded the rifle with JB Weld using Hornady One Shot Case Lube for my release agent. I removed the muzzle break and added a Leupold VX-6 3-18x50, a sling and medium integrated rings. The total carry weight of this rifle with the sling is 8 pounds 10 ounces. Not too bad for a long action with a 26-inch long barrel and a heavier rifle scope. I love the carbon fiber Pro stocks. These stocks look amazing, are lightweight and very rigid. My 180 VLD hand load is running at 3236 fps from this rifle and shooting sub-MOA groups.
The 180 VLD was reduced to 33.6 grains after being shot into my cow elk at 211 yards with my 28 Nosler X-Bolt 2 rifle. The bullet went between two ribs through the lung area and was resting under the opposite side shoulder. This may not look great, but this bullet penetrated through a very large cow elk and destroyed the boiler room.
Where we parked my Jeep to hike down after the cow elk.
A quick selfie right after putting the cow elk down.