Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Going to help a friend on the Manti unit

Buddy finally drew a NR early rifle bull tag for the Central Mnts/Manti area in Utah. I'm going to go call for him and it should be a blast. He's a little gimped up from a back surgery but he still gets around albeit slower than he was. I'd love to hear from anyone who's had boots on the ground regarding how physically demanding this hunt is. The country looks fairly steep but seems that there are plenty of roads to get around on. With only 60 tags there shouldn't be too much competition while working bulls.

Huge unit in terms of square miles, and with only 60 tag holders, you'll have an awesome experience. I've hunted the north end of the unit, around fish Creek, lots of elk in there, that's where I'd start.

Live near the unit..only 60 tags ?

I'm outta the loop on elk tags

Have taken two LE bulls there......early & late

Manti unit is big yes.......access........yes......too much access IMHO

Weather ? I remember snow on my early tag.....in September at 9K'

Concentrate on the big/ugly/steep canyons that run off Skyline Drive

Or some of the roadless/non motorized areas...around the edges

Good luck......!

Thanks for the info guys. It has great dates- September 20-24 so they should be singing. My biggest concern is getting him in a place he can handle physically. He's not up for a 2-3 mile hike in to the hunting area. Love the pic Tikka, hope a lot of the country looks like that.

ATV or SxS use ?

Bring your fishin' poles too

Pic......Jack always loved the cold water !

Which lake it this? Beautiful!

He has an ATV. I'll definitely bring a pole!

That unit is not managed for huge bulls. If you see a 320 6 point you better pulll the trigger. I helped a friend hunt it for 8 days on a muzzy hunt 8 years ago. An awful hunt with terrible weather and he ended up shooting a willowy 280 6 point. A huge disappointment. Your hunt will be earlier and have better chances. Biggest bull I saw the whole time was a 320 6 point. Yes there are larger bulls just not that many.


I sure hope he isn’t burning tons or points or has unrealistic expectations. It’s not the unit I would want my one shot at a big bull limited entry tag in Utah to be on.

Thanks for the replies. He has decided to turn the tag back in so he can get in better shape. He is dropping a lot of points on this hunt Cumminscowboy. He said since SFW has taken some of the premium tags there is only 1 non res tag available for the really good trophy units and they do a regular draw so his points aren't doing anything for those hunts.

With 12 points I drew the late season tag this year. Best friend, grew up in and lives in Price knows the unit pretty good. Helped a lady harvest a 375-380 bull 4 years ago on the late hunt. Hoping he can do the same for me.

Alan