Utah: Manti, Wasatch or Deep Creeks

[BridgerLake]

I've realized that the waiting game for a top tier LE Elk hunt isn't in the cards for me. I'm now trying to figure out which second tier unit would be the best bang for my buck. I've done a fair amount of research on foot and via the internet and narrowed it to these three units. I am looking for some advise from people who have hunted the units recently. I'm looking for the best opportunity to see/harvest a 350 class bull. If I've missed a unit that holds better opportunity in the 13-15 point range let me know.

PM's are welcome.

Thanks.

 

[one_dryboot]

I love the Deeps but no way in hell I'd burn 13+points on it. Too many tags and it is dependent on if the Indian bulls cross the fence. 5 years ago I'd say do it

 

[Sherlock]

PM sent

 

[dlelk1]

I will give you my opinion, my daughter had the deeps tag in 2011 we hunted hard and long finally killed a 349 bull the second to last day. In previous years they gave out fewer tags and the deeps were awesome but since the increase in tags the caliber has gone down.(thats when I quit putting in there) I drew the wasatch this year and once again hunted extremely hard and killed a nice 336 bull and I had the same hope of a 350 bull like you. The rifle hunt was tough with all the rain but looked at a lot of nice bulls just not 350 plus. With that said my opinion is don't get hung up on score go out with the attitude of finding a nice bull you would be happy with because at the end of the day theres not a lot of difference in 10-20 points. Remember its not about the score but about the experience!!!!!

 

[Backpacker01]

I had your same problem this year with 14 pts. , I searched over every unit taking into consideration of what unit holds the best bulls for the points I had, and I'll tell ya, if you are wanting the best bull for any of these units that you speak of , consider how much scouting time you can really spend on a particular unit. Which one unit do you like the best , I mean let's face it , you're chances are not likely to kill a 400pt bull ,so you might as well be hunting an area you thoroughly enjoy !
I ended up drawing a tag for my hometown unit that I grew up in and have hunted all my life , knowing that the quality of bulls may not be as well as some other units in the state , and I still had a blast , killed a nice bull , and I know in the future it's some place that I can say , " hey son I killed my bull down in that canyon " . Unlike some places that you may never return , it'll just be some long lost memory in a place where you once killed a bull. Any way good luck deciding !