Another one of those...

ARCHER11

Member
Messages
26
Hey guys! Well, it's another one of those threads you see the month before the Utah big game application. What do ya'll think? I have 6 points and plan on applying for an archery elk tag this year. I have yet to kill a bull so i'm not looking to kill a monster. I'd like more of a quantity type hunt. I don't want to deal with too many utards screwing up my hunt! (tough in utah, I know, but the fewer people I see the better) I want it to be more of a back country experience, so good amounts of "roadless" area would be ideal! Here's what i'm thinking so far... It's a toss up between Manti and Bookcliffs Roadless.

I should be able to draw Manti with the points I have(ya never know though). I live in Salt Lake so it's closer, which will make scouting easier on the wallet and I have hunted the area twice before. Correct me if i'm wrong but Manti also has more elk per acreage than the books. From what I hear it gets a little more pressure not only by hunters but a lot of recreational use as well. When I hunted there last, we just hunted the roads so i'm not sure what the back country potential is like. It would be great to hear from some who have archery hunted the unit in the past.

The books would require a few more years to draw, unless I got lucky (highly unlikely). This is appealing to me because of the true backcountry feel and hopefully fewer encounters with people. (stupid utards) but I could be wrong. This would also be advantageous in a scouting aspect. Once I burn my elk points I will start putting in for books deer. The elk hunt would give me some pretty good knowledge of the area giving me a good place to start once I draw the deer tag. I wouldn't be able to do much pre-season scouting except for maybe one quick banzai trip but I plan on staying the last ten days of the season so maybe that wouldn't be a big deal. Again, anyone with experience in this area, I would love to hear what you have to say.

I have access to horses so that shouldn't be an issue. Maybe theres a unit out there i'm overlooking... any other suggestions would be welcome as well. I just don't want to wait 15 years for an archery tag. So... what do you guys think? My brain is melting over this silly decision haha
 
With an attitude like that towards people from Utah I'd say stay at home... No help from me.
 
>With an attitude like that towards
>people from Utah I'd say
>stay at home... No help
>from me.

+1

Go hunt Wyoming.
 
Geez, he's from right there in SLC,made one little crack that all the guys in Utah make all the time, and you guys are coming down on him like he poked your wife or something, LOL!!!
 
I wouldnt go with either....but if I had to choose between boook cliffs or manti I would go with book cliffs. I think manti would be a tougher archery hunt. If it was me I would go with wasatch because it is so close to home and I could scout it way more for my money. Plus all my buddys that have drawn over the last 5 years have killed nice bulls. Smallest being a 310 going all the way to a 385 bull.
 
If your having that many Utards screw your hunt up as you say and you see too many of them maybe your the tard and not far enough off the road. On my LE archery tag last year I hunted for 20+ days and ran into 2 or 3 other hunters at the most.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jan-25-12 AT 01:38PM (MST)[p]Drew the wasatch archery last year with like 4 points had a great time. weather didn't cooperate and the rut didn't really take off like we had hoped but had a good time. my first ever elk hunt period so I didn't have big expectations. Didn't see a lot of big bulls but got in on a few. Finally had a small six come right to my call and couldn't pass it up with my sliver slinger. Good luck. Know a lot of rifle hunters who took some very nice bulls the next weekend once the rut picked up so the unit does hold some nice bulls just a matter of getting in on them.
 
If you look through the old posts in the elk forum from around september you will see that many people had a very hard hunt on the wasatch this year (and the last few years) with few trophy bulls seen or taken, manti wasn't much better. Both units have a lot of roads and tons of people doing everything from looking at leaves to hunting grouse, spike elk, deer etc.

If you are planning on applying for deer in the books you would probably be better off hunting elk there as well to get to know the area well.

If you don't want to wait for the books tag, apply for the deep creeks. There are a handful of giant bulls out there if you are willing to go after them, very few roads, plenty of backcountry and you wont likely run into any of those big bad scary utards you seem to be so afraid of.
 
Haha wow... tough crowd... gotta say I wasn't expecting to get crap for that one. Having lived in Utah all my life I consider myself a utard loud and proud. Running into people really isn't as big of a deal to me as it seems I have made it sound. On any general season unit I welcome the opportunity to talk to a fellow outdoorsman. Having hunted the wasatch front for the past 8 years, seeing lots of people is something i'm used to and completely fine with. I've never had a negative experience with anyone out on the front. I'm simply looking for a little different experience out of my LE tag. Does that mean i'm going to be a jerk to any and all human beings I see on an LE hunt? Heck no! No need to get your panties in a bunch.

Thanks for the opinions guys. I might have to look into the Wasatch a little more. I too have got the impression that the wasatch is on a downward trend but if its possible to get away from the crowds it might be something worth considering. I never even considered Deep Creeks. I'll have to do a little more research on that. Anyone have more opinions on deep creek they'd be willing to share? Or any other units for that matter? Again, thanks for the comments.
 
What LE tag did you have? I've never had one and like I said only hunted manti twice and it was just for the day so I really don't know what to expect. I'm by no means a road hunter. I'm used to hunting the wasatch front where youre going to run into people just about anywhere, doesn't matter how far away from the road you are. There are a few places where you can get away from the people but for the most part youll always run into someone. Just curious if its the same in other areas of the state. I'm assuming on the wasatch and manti LE areas its pretty similar. Correct me if i'm wrong.
 
I drew the wasatch elk tag. Would do it again in a heart beat. Lots and lots of bulls. Was into bulls everyday. Had lots of close calls. Passed on alot of bulls. And finally last morning of the hunt I had my chance and I shot underneath my bull. A very frustrating moment but you learn to live with it. Like I said I very seldom ran into another hunter unless it was my buddy I was hunting with.
 
The Books would be my vote if you want to get remote BUT you've got to remember, Manti is a huge unit with lots of hide-E-holes where you can get away from other HUNTERS.

The Wasatch would be another good hunt. It is a great experience with lots of elk but still a tough hunt.

I have to admit, the utard thing is getting a bit old. It was funny the first 10,000+ times I heard it.....NOT. I fail to see the gain by using language to show our false sense of superiority.

Good luck elk hunter,
Zeke
 
Hey archer11, one more thing.
The LE Wasatch and Manti for archery elk are nothing like your experience on the "front".
You'll have a great, private time in either one if you get a little "remote". It sounds like you're willing to do that so you'd have a great hunt.
Good luck, Zeke
 
Thanks for all the replies guys! I have some decisions to make...

Sorry to those of you I offended with the utard remarks. Didn't mean to offend anyone.

Good luck with the draws!
 
I would say book cliffs so you 801ers stay out of southern utah just givin ya crap but really im sure for back country experience i would do books but probably see more on manti
 
It's easy to go for days on the wasatch without seeing anybody.


I'll tell you who it was . . . it was that D@MN Sasquatch!
 
So Kawboy, how did you end up running into me? You must be unlucky that way! LOL

+1 to Kawboy, lots of area on the Wasatch where you'll find elk and zero hunters. You've got to be able to hike like Kawboy & justr86 though.

Zeke
 
Archer11,
I helped my son archery hunt the Wasatch this year. After that experience I would first ask you how much time you have to scout and actually hunt before making your decision. The archery season is very long and the Books are a long way from SLC.
My son spent a solid 14 days hunting before he even knocked an arrow on the Wasatch. And unless you want to wait for the last week to let the rut heat up, you will be hunting in a tree over water, or just stumbling around hoping to get lucky.
It was a great experience overall, but much tougher and different than we expected. He was one of the 28% that connected (320" bull) on the Wasatch this year and we had a great time.
Regardless of what you do, go into it with your eyes wide open so you are not disappointed.
Good Luck...you stupid utard! lol
 
Well, I ended up putting in for a Wasatch tag. If I draw i'm sure it will be a great hunt! I have some good help and it's close so I should have some good time to scout and make the most of it. What did everyone else decide to do? I'm happy to help anywhere I can.

Quick question... So, if I ended last year with 6 points will I go into this year with 7 or come out with 7?

Thanks for everyone's help and advice. Looking forward to this years hunts!
 
Having archery hunted the book cliffs, IMHO it is far superior to the wasatch. A lot less people, plenty of places to get off the road and enough big bulls to chase every day. Look at the statistics from the last three years, more LE archery hunters fill their tags on average in the roadless or bitter creek than on the wasatch.

I hunted it for 20 days in 2010. I only ran into a total of one hunter off the road. Ran into a few when I was not very far off the main roads. The bulls were not call shy on the books like you find on areas that have more hunters or pressure.
 
Archer11,
If you ended with 6 points last year after the drawing, you'll go into the drawing this year with 6 points and end up with 7... if you're unsuccessful. Next year you'll go into the drawing with 7 points and end up with 8 if unsuccessful.

If you're looking at the drawing stats from last year then remember that you had 5 points going into the drawing so compare yourself with that bunch to calculate your odds for this year. It will give you false hope if you don't compare the points correctly.

Clear as mud?

Zeke
 
Clear as mud! Thanks Zeke

I figured if I can get lucky and draw a Wasatch tag with 6 points that would be well worth it. If I don't draw, no biggie i'll just shoot for the Book's and play the waiting game for a few more years. That will give me some time to make a few trips down there and maybe even do a cow hunt or two. We'll see how it plays out. I'll be stoked either way!
 

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos
Back
Top Bottom