Manti late Hunt

Shields77 · Oct 1, 2012

I drew out the manti late hunt limited entry elk unit this year. It starts Nov 10.. Any advice?

littlebighorn · Oct 2, 2012

I am not trying to discourage you, but I helped a friend a few years ago on that hunt. It was not easy to find a good bull. He hunted every day of the hunt and ended up killing a very small 6 point the last day. And he is a dang good hunter.
We saw hundreds of cows every day, but no mature bulls. The big bulls go into hiding after the rut and you just have to find their little hide outs. They also figure out where the private land is and head there as well.

Zeke · Oct 2, 2012

>I am not trying to discourage
>you, but I helped a
>friend a few years ago
>on that hunt. It
>was not easy to find
>a good bull. He
>hunted every day of the
>hunt and ended up killing
>a very small 6 point
>the last day. And
>he is a dang good
>hunter.
>We saw hundreds of cows every
>day, but no mature bulls.
> The big bulls go
>into hiding after the rut
>and you just have to
>find their little hide outs.
> They also figure out
>where the private land is
>and head there as well.
>

Plus one!

Other advice: Have fun and shoot a big one then get it posted on MM so we may all rejoice and celebrate with you!

Good luck man!

Zeke

elkantlers · Oct 2, 2012

Alot of the bulls will be on their winter range or close to it. I have seen bulls in the same areas we are looking for sheds in March.

T_Ball · Oct 2, 2012

I helped my brother in law on the hunt last year. The bigger bulls were alomst 1/2 mile to mile away from the herds. The smaller bulls were all in the herds. The day he got one we saw over 30 bulls, but they were all smaller. He ended up shooting 5x6 300 inch one. He was happy with it. The elk were all up high where we found them. It was a really fun hunt. Just get to a spot that you can do a lot of glassing and you will find them. We started scouting hard two weeks before the hunt started.

Finn · Oct 4, 2012

Just remember that the Manti is a big unit...

Bulls all over the place, from the valley floor on up. (But I wouldn't waste much time on the Skyline Drive.) The elk have been holding tight since August. They won't change that pattern until they have a reason to move. So we'll see what the next month brings.

Weather, hunting pressure and forage are the likely factors that could change everything in a hurry. But you already knew that, so best advice is to just roll the dice. After all, if you scout every day from now to then, you'll still only see a glimpse of what's there.

But maybe...

If it snows - hit the Joe's Valley Road.

If it snows hard - hit Ephraim Canyons.

If there are lots of hunters on the general elk & deer hunts, (Opt 2 sure cooled off the archery hunt.), hit Mary's Nipple & Bull Valley.

Sniper1 · Oct 4, 2012

Get ahold of UTAHBIGBULL. If he's in a good mood he may be able to lend a hand.

Shields77 · Oct 5, 2012

Thanks everyone... This is all so helpful for my hunt. I am taking my father and my son on the hunt, so am hoping for a great experience for us, seeming it we all three wont be able to go on a hunt like this to many more times together. thanks..

Any advice always helps

ELKOHOLIC · Oct 6, 2012

You would be surprised how many bulls are in the valley already. Between the hunter pressure and competition during the rut a lot of them move to the low country. By the time your hunt starts some will still be low (in the valley), but a lot of them move back up to the mid elevation to spend the winter. Some of that middle country is really thick so you will want to find a good vantage point and do a lot of glassing. Here is a Manti Bull that the DWR had to put down on the rifle hunt. It had no obvious wounds on it, but it couldn't stand up. I'm thinkin it either got into something that made it sick or he got his butt kicked possibly breaking his neck.