# My Manti Hunt



## sharpshooter25 (Oct 2, 2007)

My excitement began to grow when the credit card was hit for the amount of my Manti unit. I spent time scouting, and had seen one good bull in particular that I wanted. Then the rifle hunt started, and that bull was taken. Now not really knowing where to go, I turned to some forum members for advice. Then a guy my dad works with told my dad of an area that was holding a lot of elk. So, my cousin and I , who also had a tag, decided to set up camp up above Crandall Canyon. The night before the opener we could not sleep because the bulls would not stop bugling, and they even walked right through our camp. So the next morning we had the full intention of setting out across the ridge top to get to Candland Mountain, and Horse Creek. We get to the trail head, and just for fun I bugled down into the thick draw. Well, four bulls answered, one in particular made us drop our mouths. We nicknamed him T-Rex because he wouldn't bugle, he would just growl, but it was nasty and mean. I wanted that bull.

So we drop down into the thick timber, and these four bulls will not stop. We hiked, and hiked. At one moment I was close to 60 yards of T-Rex but I could not see him it was so thick, and full of dead fall. And I could not move in without making a ton of noise. So that day ended with me going to bed dreaming of that big boy. The next day I drop back down in, and to my surprise the elk are not being vocal. And mistakingly I bump one of the bulls, and he takes off with his cows. Then, I hear T-Rex, and he is moving away from me. I go up on the ridge, and across the draw, at about 800 yards I finally see T-Rex, and he is enormous. Probably a 390 bull. I watched him go up the draw, then stop half way, growl, and then he just dropped back down to the bottom. I knew I could not go where he was and be quiet, this was one smart bull.

So we hike out again, and we drive out to a point that overlooks the canyon we are hunting, and we meet a young guy sitting there. We learn that he has a brother who had a premium tag, and had actually been chasing T-Rex since the bow hunt. Had taken a shot at 200 yards on the rifle, and was not even going to look at another bull, this was his qwest. So, as much as I hated to do it, we gave the young guy our card and told him that if his brother got him, to please send us pictures, and we left T-Rex alone. I just knew if I had spent as much time, money, and effort this guy had into a bull, I would have been so let down if someone else got him, and I didn't want to do that to this fellow hunter.

So the next morning I had a friend join me to help me out. We stood up on a ridge, and called down into a draw and got a bugle. I decide he sounds good, so we decide to go after him. The strange thing up to this point was that the bulls were only responding to bugles, not cow calls. So we drop down in, every time my friend would bugle, the bull would answer back. We can tell he is going up the draw, and we work to within 150 yds of this bull. My friend hangs back calling, and I sneek in on the bull. I worked down and it sounded like he was close. I hit a ditch that had a lot of dead fall over it, and I knew I couldn't get across it without making noise, so as I am standing there trying to figure out how to get across, I notice white flashing. It is his horns, and he is raking a tree. I can't see his body, but I can tell he is a shooter. I range him, 52 yards. I get my gun on my shooting sticks, and I am ready for him to step out. He let's out a few more bugles, rakes the tree some more, and then to my disappointment, he starts walking away from me, and not up the canyon like he was. I never even saw his body. I was so upset. We did everything right, and the bull just didn't hold up his end. Oh well, that is why they call it hunting, not shopping.

So that evening, we drop down into the same draw we were in that morning, and this time the cow calls are working. With about an hour of light left, we could hear somewhere between 10-12 different bulls, all coming in to us. One sounded really good, and close, so we set up again, my friend behind me calling, and I worked my way down this ridge. The only problem was it was a bare side, and I needed to get into some trees below. To my amazment, that bull was already on us, and was right at the edge of the trees. I sat down, and waited for him to step out to where I could see him. It was getting dark fast, and he was only 15 yards in front of me. He would not step out, and it got too dark to shoot, so I quietly walked out with that bull still screaming.

Wondering if we would get things done, an amazing thing happened. Two deer hunters who were camped by us, and were using horses, told us where they had been going, they had seen a lot of elk, and they offered to saddle up there other two horses and take us in. We graciously accepted, and the next morning we were riding into the dark. It was a 2 hour horseback ride to get to where they had been hunting, and just down below us, in the valley were elk. We watched bulls chase cows, and bugle, and chase smaller bulls off, it was amazing to watch. They worked themselves into the trees and as we are trying to figure out how to get on them, I hear a bugle off in the distance, but away from those elk. I walked down the ridge a little bit, and glassed over the area. Three ridges over I spot a herd with a bull. It is too far to tell how big he was, but our horse guy tells me he can get over there, but we have to move now. So, he and I get on the horses, and off we go. We get across the ridge, and he slows his horse down just enough to look back at me and say, "I am going to warn you, we are about to do the Man From Snowy River." And down off the mountain we go, straight down. I am no expert on a horse, and all I do is lean back, hold on, and pray I don't die. And we don't walk the horses down either. We hit the bottom, and thankful I am alive, we start going across, but there are all these small ditches, and we are jumping across them. I don't know who this guy thinks I am, but I am not a cowboy. I may live in the basin, but I didn't grow up here.

So we get into the quakies, and he tells me to get off and go down the trail, they will be moving through. Not knowing where I exactly am, I start to make my way down. I let out a bugle, and he answers, maybe only 500 yards away. I move in closer, and cow call, nothing. I don't see the herd at all, and I am afraid I missed them. I cow call again and he bugles. He sounds close, but I don't see him. I then hear some trotting, and I thought I had busted the elk. I quietly move up the small ridge I was using as cover, and there he is. I see his antlers, no body. I sneek up a little more, and he is feeding, he has no idea I am there. I looked him over, and knew I had seen some bigger bulls, but I had hunted hard, and felt like it was time. I took aim, fired, and he took a couple of steps and just stood there. I knew I had hit him hard, and I was waiting for him to go down. I then remembered to reload. As I was doing that, he started to walk away, and he was going to get into the trees, and go down the canyon. I walked up, and put another one in him, which put him down. Two lung shots, what a tough animal. My bull was down, and I was elated. I could not have thanked those two guys enough. They packed up my elk on the horse, and we rode out. What an amazing hunt. My bull is a 6x7, and we rough scored him with a fish tape measure at 322. We think he will go closer to over 330. Thanks to all who helped me, and gave me tips and advice, it truely was a dream hunt for me.









Loaded up, ready to go









Elk country









On the ground



























Packed up, two of the kindest guys ever









On our way out


















This little guy couldn't figure out where the cow was









He was so proud of his daddy, and he couldn't wait to get his hands on that bull.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Great story , and congratz on the success...

But where's the PICs?


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## sharpshooter25 (Oct 2, 2007)

I posted the pics, I accidently hit submit before posting the pics, sorry about that.


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## nocturnalenemy (Jun 26, 2011)

Awesome story! That's a great bull! Congrats


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Very cool sharpshooter25.....

Congrats to ya!! :O||:


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## ut1031 (Sep 13, 2007)

Tremendous!!!!! especially the part where you had others help you out!


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

Good job sharpshooter!


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

Nicely done.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

AWESOME! Thanks for sharing!


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

That's a great bull, congrats!


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Great bull and story. Congrats and props to the guys that helped you. That is what it is all about.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Fabulous elk!! Great story.


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## Fritz (Mar 1, 2011)

:O||: 
Cool story and fabulous bull! I love that area. Whatever happened with your cousin's tag?


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## sharpshooter25 (Oct 2, 2007)

My cousin did not get one. He had his chances, I was able to call in four good bulls, but it just did not pan out, and then the storm hit, and we were done.


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## NHS (Sep 7, 2007)

GREAT story and write up sharpshooter! That is AWESOME!! Congrats on a memory that will last you forever!


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Awesome, congrats! From where were the horse guys? What nice guys!


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## sharpshooter25 (Oct 2, 2007)

They were from West Jordan.


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## 10yearquest (Oct 15, 2009)

Very nice bull. Two great parts of the story I really liked. 1. you walked away from a BIGGER bull just so you wouldn't mess it up for someone else. 2. You got help from some other good guys on the mountian. I think the two are related. thats awesome!!!


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## allremington (Nov 11, 2007)

CONGRATS!!!! What a great adventure. Gotta love the Manti unit!!!


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## muzzlehunter (Nov 29, 2009)

Congrats on a nice bull!


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

Well done!


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## roper (Sep 27, 2010)

Nothing wrong with that bull, thanks for sharing your story.


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## kailey29us (May 26, 2011)

Great bull and story, TFS!


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## stillhunterman (Feb 15, 2009)

Well done! What an awesome hunt and animal! "The Man from Snowy River" part had me puckering... ;-)


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## BIGDADDY (Nov 13, 2010)

What a neat story. Thanks to those deer hunters. Nice bull. Thanks for sharing.


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## adamsoa (Oct 29, 2007)

Great Job!!!


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## JERRY (Sep 30, 2007)

The help from the horse guys was totally karma. Congratulations on your bull and the memories of a lifetime. Great story.


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## BradN (Sep 25, 2007)

Congrats on a great hunt and very nice bull. That hunt had it all .... great sportsmanship in getting out of the way of the premium hunter and the resulting karma ... elk in your camp .... bugling all night ... other hunters going out of their way to help you ... magnificent scenery ... and an awesome bull. Thanks for sharing.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

Great bull and congrats on him.


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## Bowdacious (Sep 16, 2007)

Awesome bull Gabe....Congrats on a fine animal. Sounds like you earned it!


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## Snaggle (Jan 17, 2011)

Congrats! Shows patience and hard work pay off. I was having the typical water cooler chat about the hunt this year and mentioned your success. The crew was asking if you had a general seasonor limited tag?


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## angrychair (Jan 19, 2011)

Your story is helping restore the hope of hunter humanity. Great Bull congrats. 8)


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

^^ no doubt!

That is a great write up! thanks for sharing in such detail. VERY cool and congratulations on your success!

"_we're about to do the man from snowy river_"... that part made my spine tingle and made me reflect my time spent with my (now gone) horses. 8) made me realise just how much i miss em...


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