It was day 9 hunting on the Manti tag and I was there until I tagged out or the season ended. I had worked into a couple bulls the night before and had a 5x6 at 24 yards broadside for about 10 min while another bull raked a tree less than 100 yards away but I never did get a look at him. As we hiked out that night bulls were firing off all over in the canyon. Just as we got back to the wheelers a bull that just sounded gnarly fired off a couple hundred yards away and so that is where we decided we'd start in the morning.
He was there first thing and I almost got a chance at him. I caught his cows filing through a meadow so I got in front of them and had his cows coming through at 40 yards. Wind was bad and swirling so I suspect that they caught wind of me, either that or one of the cows caught my movement, either way they were out of there. We tailed them for most of the morning breaking off to check out a couple other bulls that were fired up in the canyon. I was able to sneak within 45 yards of a small 6pt but couldn't bring myself to take a shot at him. Had another raghorn that fed right by me at 5 yards which was quite exciting.
The bull we were after was responding to any and all bugles but he would always push his cows away from them. By this time it was about 10:45 and we debated whether to give it one last push or let the bulls bed down and wait until they fired up again. I never have been much for patiently waiting on a bull that I think I have a chance to get on so I had my callers sit down in the meadow below the hill they were on and bugle at him every 10-15 min to keep him vocal so I could slip in on him and slip an arrow in on him in his bed. I got within about 100 yards of him and the plan fell apart. He had cows everywhere and I got busted pretty quick. I continued to tail them as they headed out hoping that he would be on the end of the herd rounding up cows. Next bugle i heard he was 300-400 yards away and pulling away. I heard him bugle on the back side of the mountain and thought it was over. I almost headed back down to my callers but then he gave another bugle on back on the side that I was on. I worked my way over just as fast as I could throwing out cow calls to make him think he had lost some cows. I was able to get much closer this time and busted his cows once again. I did however get into him quickly and ranged him at 46 yards. He turned and started walking away and I chirped at him. He was quartering away so I settled my 50 yard pin right behind the ribcage and released, the arrow disappeared right where I wanted it and he tore off. After a flurry of cow calls and a bugle I heard the crashing, I looked around the tree just in time to see him crash into the tree. He made it less than 50 yards in 15 seconds before going down.
It was all high fives, pictures and packing from there on out. It was about the easiest packout I've had, even though we had chased him for a few miles he ended up going down within a half mile of the nearest road.