1st time Elk Hunter, got a Manti tag...

B

bbentley392t

Guest
How goes it,
Well a few days ago I ended up with a CC hit for $285, and immediately I knew that I had drawn out for Manti archery Elk. My initial reaction was pretty much disbelief, because statistically I knew that I shouldn't have drawn...and I sincerely had no expectation to draw. Couple that with an additional $40 charge for the Thousand Lakes archery Deer tag that I also drew out on, for the 3rd time in 8 years...and I've found myself in quite the little predicament. In the 16 years that I've been bowhunting since turning of legal age, all I've ever known is Mule Deer (Pronghorn once in '09)...I've never hunted Elk before, never even tagged along with someone else on their Elk hunt. ANY Elk hunt!

So with all of that being said, I'm at a complete loss right now...I'm nervous, concerned, a bit scared - because I simply have no knowledge and/or experience when it comes to Elk. I have no idea where to start, where & how to begin the process of scouting for Elk...and eventually coming up with a game plan.The reason I bring up the Thousand Lakes Deer tag, is because I'm wondering if it's worth it to try and juggle two hunts in units that are going to be about 150-200 miles apart...or if I should just surrender the Deer tag and focus solely on Elk and ONLY on Elk?

It seems like about 75% of the people I've talked with personally so far all pretty much agree and offer the same advice, that being..."don't even waste your time during the first half of the hunt - your chances aren't very good until the last 2 weeks". While the other 25% have said, "Hunt hard all day every day the entire duration of the season". So, who do I believe??? Don't get me wrong, I understand that the Elk permit takes priority and is #1...but if the majority of these folks are right and you were in my position, would you try to fill your Deer tag during the first week or two and then chase Elk towards the end in September -OR- concentrate on Elk from the beginning and never look back?

I fully understand & acknowledge that being a 1st time Elk hunter, I've got a lot to learn about these animals in a very short amount of time between now and then...but I'm willing to listen to everything you people have to say, in an effort to help me harvest a bull. I appreciate anything that is shared here , and sincerely look forward to extending this conversation...thanks for your guys' time.
 
How much time can you spend hunting? If you can spend the whole hunt on the mountain, that's what I would do. Even if you don't spend 15 hours/day actively hunting, locating and pursuing different herds is half the fun.
 
Congrats!

Disclaimer: I prefer elk over deer, primarily because I am a meat hunter and elk have more meat. So that's my bias.

With that said, personally, I'd set aside the last two weeks of the season to go 100% all day everyday and make sure nothing got in the way of that. But the first two weeks, I'd call 'optional'. It can get done with early season techniques (silent calling, etc.), but the pre-rut is just not as fun as the full rut. So, I'd suggest going deer hunting. But if you find that L.E. tag burning a hole in your pocket, then try some elk hunting to satisfy your desire. But whatever you do, don't sacrifice any of the final two weeks of the season to deer or girlfriends.
 
If it were me, and I have had that Manti archery tag twice, I would turn in your archery deer tag, and hunt AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE for your elk. Get points back for gen deer and draw that tag next year. Your tag is awesome and you will have a blast. Use your whole time wisely. The elk will move a bit from opening weekend to rut time. I was into elk all the time when I had my tags, early and late in the season. Dont waste time on deer.

When I had my tags, I actually had deer tags for the same time and place and even saw a few shooter bucks while hunting, and planned on going after one if seen. BUT I DID see them and chose to go after elk instead.

GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN, I know you will.

Landon
 
+1 especially with an archery tag. You will want as much time as possible to get a good shot opportunity on a bull and it may take the whole hunt to get it. You will see lots of elk and bulls, but it is a whole other thing to have them within bow range for a good ethical shot. Give yourself all the time you have to make it happen on the elk. The deer tag can wait a year.

Best of luck to you - you will become an elkoholic pretty quick with that tag!!
 
Thanks to those of you who've responded, I really do appreciate & value what others have to say...specifically to those who've been there and done it before. I still need to have a few conversations with the close friends & family who might be available to help me during the hunts, and talk it over with them to see what they think...but I still don't know, I just don't want to make the wrong decision and regret it. As I hinted towards in the original post, I drew this Elk tag with very minimal points - so it's not like I have years & years of time & money invested. I want to be successful just as anyone else wants to be, I'm just torn as to how to go about making it happen...Mule Deer are what I love and what I know and I'd love to bring home another, but I also realize the value of an LE Elk tag as well. Looking forward to more insight & opinions, keep em' coming guys...thanks!
 
LAST EDITED ON May-20-15 AT 09:51AM (MST)[p]My thoughts . . .

You are going to need at least one of two things, if not both: 1) someone experienced to hunt with, and 2) all the time you can get in the field to get the feel for how elk are different to hunt than deer - esp with archery. They most certainly can be taken in the early season, even if its not as 'video worthy' with the readily bugling bulls.

Archery for elk can be difficult if you are on your own. Even harder if you aren't familiar with their behavior. You really ought to have an experienced caller with you helping out. Perhaps if you are going to focus on water/wallows, you won't need the assistance of a caller, but if you are focusing on sitting over water/wallows, then you really ought to be out there every chance you can in the early part of the season while it is hottest.

I don't think you should write off the early part of the season. If nothing else, it would be highly time-relevant scouting for when bulls may become more vocal.

"A man who chases two rabbits catches neither." Confucius Choose your preference for this year, and give it your all. Drop the idea of the other tag. Perhaps pick up an OTC tag as backup if you are lucky enough to fill the one of your choice early. But otherwise save your points by turning one back in. If either tag is worth having to you, then it worth giving your full attention, and having the satisfaction of knowing you gave it your best. It's disappointing (at least to me) to look back and see my attention split to much to achieve the goals I wanted.

It's been a long time since I chased elk with archery, and I don't have a lot of availability (weekends only), but if you don't have a caller to help you out, I'd be willing to do so.
 
I prefer hunting deer over elk.

HOWEVER, you'll have very few mature elk tags, in Utah, in your life time.

IF......... you want a mature bull, this is one of very few really good opportunities your going to have. AND, even if you were a good elk hunter, it's not going to be a "drop dead guarantee" that you'll kill a mature bull.

I'd turn the deer tag back. Why?

You've said you don't know anything about elk or elk hunting.

Take every opportunity, between now and the end of the elk season to learn how to find and stock/ambush elk. INCLUDING THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF THE ELK HUNT.

Yes, the deeper into the elk hunt you get, the more likely the elk will be bugling and finding elk is much more difficult if they are not bugling. However, they will bugle some early in the hunt and they still move from feeding areas to bedding and drinking areas, every day, early in the morning and in the late evening. (Elk travel further to feed and water than deer do, so if you on a well known "elk area" before day light and just before dark, early in the season, you'll have an opportunity to learn their behavior and learn were they live, while your waiting for the best part of the season to get heated up. Like you said, you don't know much about elk or elk hunting. When are you going to learn, if not actually out in the field, learning what works and what doesn't.

Elk are not dispersed across an entire mountain, like deer tend to be. They are more "pocket" species, that live together in groups rather than as individuals, like deer do, during the early fall. Finding and patterning elk pockets is much more time consuming and challenging than locating deer. It takes time to learn where elk live and how they behave. Elk live differently than deer. But......elk are habitual, habitual about the areas they like to live in and not live in and habitual about there daily patterns. So are deer but not in the same way as deer are. Deer wander, elk don't.

You won't learn much about elk hunting if your hunting deer on the Thousand Lake.

Or.......hire a guide, he'll pick you up at the motel and put you on elk, and you won't need to learn much of anything.

This seems like any easy choice to me. Turn in the deer tag. You'll have lots of deer hunts in your life time. I Utah, I wouldn't squander a single day of LE elk hunting on a general season deer tag, but that's just me.

DC
 
"Charina" and "2lumpy", I genuinely appreciate & value both of your responses...thank you for the wisdom & insight that you've offered. Sincerely!
 
Deer hunting is fun, a lot of fun.

But, there is nothing like elk hunting.

Focus on the elk hunt. Not saying you have to turn your deer tag in as you could tag out early, but you should be focusing on elk.
 
To me it's a easy decision, keep the deer tag, however, I'd focus my whole effort on the elk hunt until I've either filled the tag or the season ends. For me I can always hunt deer during the extended archery season. L.E. elk tags don't come around too often make that your 1st priority and main focus.
The Manti is a good unit with plenty of elk. Archery hunting mature bulls is a challenge but at the same time a whole lot of fun. Dedicate a much time as you can to the hunt. Yes the last 2 weeks are in my estimation better, however, don't dismiss the early part of the season.
It takes hard work and persistence to get that shot opportunity, you may only get one, so be prepared to make it count.
Back in 2003 I drew a Wasatch tag, back then you could purchase a $20 auxiliary tag which allowed you to hunt all 3 weapon seasons. I was inexperienced with hunting mature bulls. The only shot opportunity I had during the archery season was on opening day, I called a bull into 20 yards, unfortunately that bull was saved by an unseen branch. Fast forward to 2014. As a much more experienced archery hunter, I once again drew a Wasatch tag for archery. I ended up getting 2 shot opportunities both during the last week of the hunt. The first shot the bull was at 20 yards and again my arrow was deflected by a small twig. The second shot was on the 2nd to last day. My arrow found it's mark this time.
Enjoy the experience. Learn all you can about the unit. For early season a good strategy is to sit on water holes. When the elk turn more vocal, locate the bulls by listening or getting them to respond from a distance to either cow calls or small bull bugles then get in as close as possible, I'm talking inside 100 yards before getting serious about calling to them. My experience with the Manti has been the bulls seem to respond pretty well to calling.
Good Luck and enjoy!
 
Bentley,

You said you prefer deer over elk, but that you've never elk hunted.

AFTER this archery elk hunt, I want your opinion on that.

Hunting elk in the rut is my most favorite hunting, but it wasn't always so.

I grew up archery deer hunting pre-compound days when you couldn't find another archery hunter. I loved it and thought it the best hunting ever.

Then I got into elk, in the rut!!!!! Lying in bed at night having bugling bulls serenade you to sleep. Getting close while they are screaming at you, yet hanging up just behind something. Or a minor shift of the wind and game over.

The daily excitement, coupled with the "mistakes" we make, gives you a great sense of satisfaction when successful.

I believe you'll change your mind about deer versus elk sometime this September.

As far as turning in the deer tag? You've gotten great advice. My Murphy's law decision would be that if I turn in the tag, I'll finish the elk hunt early and regret it. If I kept the deer tag, I'd hunt elk all season and end up with a deer tag I never had a chance to fill.

Good luck with your decision, and on your hunt.
 
Whoever told you not to waste your time on the first half of the hunt are complete idiots.
Pre rut is the best time to hunt bulls IMHO. The bulls are looking for cows and they have less eyes and noses with them to bust you.
You need to talk to smarter people.



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