Whats up with the Manti?

berg · Oct 2, 2005

LAST EDITED ON Oct-02-05 AT 09:09AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Oct-02-05 AT 09:07 AM (MST)

I've been out of MZL hunting for about 10-12 years. I decided to go back again this year and hunted the Manti Lasal just off the Skyline near the top of 12 mile Canyon and six mile canyon . First 2 days were wet with snow on the first day. Ideal conditions to say the least. We hiked and hunted each day dilegently. We hunted some heavy timber and rocky areas. I glassed some large bowl that should have held deer. Conditions were perfect day one. I did see lots of elk sign and one 6x bull had been take this week.
I saw very few deer tracks. There were still sheep and cattle out and about.
I probably saw 50 doe/fawns and not one buck. As I came down the canyon last night to come home I saw only one small buck hanging. I saw lots of road hunters (quad riders) as I left.. Is it that the Manti is too accessible with roads? I was not looking for a monarch but even any buck would have been a good sign.

So whats up with the Manti?.... I heard the deer had made somewhat of a comeback but you could of fooled me.
Anyone have better experience anywhere on the Manti from spanish fork to I-70?

Prism · Oct 2, 2005

After the extreem harvest of last season due to the snow during the rifle hunt, it's my opinion that Utah's deer herd is in worse shape now than it's been in over 10 years.

I'm hearing the same stories from Kanab to Logan.

Good luck, I know there's a couple left out there, but not many!

Extex · Oct 2, 2005

They are in the oak brush eating all those acorns. With water nearby they don't have to move far. I saw plenty of deer - they were really scattered and not in patterns from the dry years past. I have never seen so many acorns.

out4elk · Oct 2, 2005

I experienced the same thing. We pushed a lot of pine patches at the top of the mountain with lots of does, spikes, and small two's but nothing larger. It was mentioned that last years harvest hurt things this year and that has been my theory so far. I was going to investigate the lower elevation idea this next week. I will get back to this post with any new findings.

Tuffbucker · Oct 5, 2005

Im not sure how it is this year, but during my LE Elk hunt last year, I saw a ton of bucks. I hunted mostly up 12 mile, and actually saw some real bruisers. I saw a real nice hean=vy 3 point and a 170 class 4x4 with a cheater off his right side. I saw quite a few smaller bucks as well.

SCOTT

predator · Oct 6, 2005

Tuff, that was last year. I have been putting 6-13 miles a day on my boots, glassing all the stuff I usually glass. And guess what I'm seeing? 30-40 does, no bucks. Not even spikes or 2-pts with the does. It appears to me that last year's rifle slaughter and the winter had a bigger impact that folks give credit for; I'm really concerned about recruitment.

I have never seen so many does without yearling bucks mixed in!

I've got the heel blisters to prove it, and I think permanent rings around my eyeballs! One last try tonight, then I'm gonna tell all my rifle pals to hang it up, cuz there are no bucks left to kill.

out4elk · Oct 6, 2005

The last four days of this hunt have been a lot better than the first days of the hunt. I had a lot more luck spotting the bucks once the pressure was gone. I agree that there still isn't the amount of intermediate bucks there was last year during the ML hunt but there were bucks out.

I only got out in the mornings and evenings this week and I saw 3 or so bucks each day, most of them smaller. Missed my chance at a nice 3X4 this morning, I am pretty ticked at myself but I will get over it.

baldbull · Oct 6, 2005

you guys hit it right on the head. the dwr has been raving that this is one great year but after hunting down south by the town of Loa for four days, yes I did pass on some little guys, I still was surprised and disppointed on how this year varied so much from years past. Low numbers of bucks I believe were due to the huge snowstorms that must have killed off many of the deer and bigger bucks.

yoyobiged · Oct 6, 2005

I have been hunting 12 mile for 16 years and have not seen as many buck in the last several years. This year I hunted up Fairview canyon just off of the skyline and saw lots of big deer. I ended up shooting a 22 inch three point.

bgolebulls · Oct 21, 2005

Iv'e been bow hunting the Manti for several years now , and Iv'e also rifle and muzzled it a few times. The bowhunt on the Manti is awesome, we always see alot of good bucks, well just a lot of bucks. Our party this year did okay, we did shoot one 4 by 4 that was 25 wide and about 23 tall.Iv'e noticed that when the muzzleloader comes around the deer start getting really hard to find. I don't know why. Maybe its the pressure they get from all the bowhunters. This year I saw the most bow hunters i have ever seen up there.About the rifle season the bucks start gettting even harder to find. I dont know where they go but I swear they know whats going on. Once all those people move in , the bucks are gone. There are just to many roads.

tylercreek2 · Oct 30, 2005

we rifle hunted up fairview the last 4 years in a row , usually we'd see 8 or 10 little bucks with the does a DAY and 3 or 4 or so NICE bucks per trip ,,,, this year NO nice ones a ok nice one flew buy me opening morning (no shot) and NO little yearling bucks with the does ,,, am sure they are somewhere but we sure didnt see them ,,,deer did seem to be scattered all over , but have never ever seen so many does without a SINGLE lil buck with them ,,, we did see 2 forks wed or thurs before the season opened but they were by themselves,,, this was the slowest year for us by far