# Nebo LE Archery Elk



## MN Hunter (May 21, 2015)

Well my father was fortunate this year and drew a non-resident Nebo archery elk permit! We're incredibly excited about this opportunity and hoping to finally get him an archery elk! Not looking for the biggest elk in the unit, just a nice mature bull. We would very much appreciate any information or input that anyone has to offer. Mostly looking to narrow down some areas to focus on, but all information is valuable! Thanks in advance for your help!


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## Sawbillslayer (Oct 24, 2013)

If you have horses bring them. If not plan on hiking in some of the roughest country around. There are some great bulls on the unit but you will have to soft for it. Not a lot of wheeler trails so leave those at home.


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## Hunterchick (Dec 4, 2014)

Dirt bikes are another great option of you don't have horses. Like said before, leave the wheelers at home, you can take a truck anywhere you can take a wheeler.


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## Blackie6 (Jul 7, 2014)

check out some of the burn areas in santaquin canyon and bear trap ridge. Nebo is not an easy archery unit. Good luck.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

From about 1999 thru 2008 the Nebo was AWESOME elk hunting,
The archery hunt was much better then too....

Really fell off from 08 to 2012, Just too many permits...
After a 50% reduction in LE permits and the total removal of cow tags for a
few years, it is improving once again, BUT still tough, especialy archery!

A large majority of the elk population resides on private land ...

The elk herd on the north half around the Nebo loop road is nothing like it used to be.

Most of the forest service land is off limits to ATV's, BUT, there are places wheeler's
can be used that have good elk access.....;-)......

There's is no doubt , the best elk hunting on the Nebo unit right now is on private
land.......


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## Finnegan (Sep 7, 2007)

Nebo is actually (should be) 2 units, divided by highway 132 through Nephi canyon. North of Nephi canyon is horse country...no ATVs allowed for the most part, steep and deep and includes the Mt. Nebo wilderness. The northern end of the unit is always ridiculously crowded and it can be real hard to find a campsite.

If you don't have horses and want to hunt Mt. Nebo, look for access points from the valley and hunt up. You don't want to hunt from the Nebo Loop highway down because it'll take a dozen good men and a fat kid to pack an elk back up to the road.

South of Nephi canyon (Sanpitch mtns) is ATV friendly with lots more camping opportunities and fewer people, but the number of elk diminishes quickly as you head south. I wouldn't even bother hunting south of Chicken Creek.

Whatever you do, this unit isn't friendly to strangers. The more time you can spend with boots on the ground before the hunt, the better your hunt will be.

Good luck!


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## MN Hunter (May 21, 2015)

Thanks everyone for the replies so far! We do not own any ATV's or horses, so we will be going in on foot, though we're not afraid to get up early and get in away from the crowds. How does the terrain in the northern portion of the unit compare to the Uinta Canyon area of the South Slope unit?


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Both Mt Nebo and Loafer are on the Extreamly difficult foot access level....

I would agree with hunter chick on dirt bikes for the trails in the middle part.

Steep learning curve on this particular unit......
With this years archery dates, It will be one of the tuffest hunts in the state....
I've lived on the unit for over 35 year, killed my first archery elk on Loafer 30 years ago.
If I had that tag, I wouldnt waist one miniute on public ground.


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## MN Hunter (May 21, 2015)

Goofy, are there many opportunities for a person to be able to get permission to hunt on private land within the unit? We are definitely not opposed to asking or calling around to try and get permission to hunt private land, I'm just not sure what the best resource for getting landowner information in the area would be.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

NOT easy getting onto private ....

There are places on public you might do ok ...

Just a tough unit guys dont like to give spots out on.


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## Blackie6 (Jul 7, 2014)

Where are you traveling from?


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## MN Hunter (May 21, 2015)

We are coming from Minnesota, so about 19.5 hours one way!


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## WillowCreekMan (Dec 17, 2014)

I agree with Finnegan, I have never even seen an elk in the Chicken Creek area. I'm not sure why the DWR even includes the San Pitch Mountains in this unit. Probably should be divided at Nephi Canyon and made a separate unit south with fewer permits.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Chicken Creek used to have a lot of elk in the top of it.


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## Wasatch (Nov 22, 2009)

MN Hunter....Congrats on drawing the tag! Check your inbox, PM Sent.


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## WillowCreekMan (Dec 17, 2014)

I certainly don't frequent Chicken Creek as much as I do other areas but I have never seen elk there. I'm not saying they are not there. It's unfortunate that the elk herd there was once very healthy and now it's sparse. This is a great tag to draw but I would certainly concentrate my efforts north of the highway rather than south. Steep rugged terrain and less roads often equates to huge success.


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## MN Hunter (May 21, 2015)

Thanks everyone for the great information so far, it has given me a lot to digest! I do have a couple more questions that I'm hoping someone can answer for me:

1: What is the weather typically like during the latter half of the archery season? We hunted the south slope of the Uinta's a couple of years ago, and were really surprised by how rainy it was.

2: Are there any people in the area that offer pack out services? Depending on where we hunt, or end up taking an elk (if we're lucky enough) it seems like it might be a good idea to know of someone who could assist in packing an elk out with horses.

Thanks again!


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## Hunterchick (Dec 4, 2014)

If you kill an elk and need help getting it out, send me a PM for my number. I have people who would be willing to help that live on the unit


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## Canyoncrosser (May 26, 2015)

I too am an out of stater, I drew a rifle tag. I booked with a guide but I have never elk hunted in Utah or during the rut for that matter.
Considering I'm going guided, what can I hope for experience wise? Sightings, numbers of animals and will I really see screaming elk that we call in? 
I will be really excited if that actually happens, it sounds too good to be true!


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## OldEphraim (Mar 6, 2011)

I spent the last 6 years on Nebo with consecutive DH tags for deer. I'll echo whats been said by others, it's not an easy unit to hunt, but you can still find a few nice bulls if your willing to work for them. I hunt with horses so that made it easier for me to cover ground and get to places where a lot of people don't venture. There are only a few area's that I have consistently found elk each year, i'll send you a pm on those spots. I can't speak of what the herd was like before I started hunting Nebo but the last few years I've been scouting and hunting deer, elk have been sparse on the public land compared to other units I have hunted. Definitely got your work cut out for you but you can do it. Glad to help out with any info that I can offer. Good luck!


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

OldEphraim said:


> I spent the last 6 years on Nebo with consecutive DH tags for deer. I'll echo whats been said by others, it's not an easy unit to hunt, but you can still find a few nice bulls if your willing to work for them. I hunt with horses so that made it easier for me to cover ground and get to places where a lot of people don't venture. There are only a few area's that I have consistently found elk each year, i'll send you a pm on those spots. I can't speak of what the herd was like before I started hunting Nebo but the last few years I've been scouting and hunting deer, elk have been sparse on the public land compared to other units I have hunted. Definitely got your work cut out for you but you can do it. Glad to help out with any info that I can offer. Good luck!


Yep, oldEphraim is right......Red high light say's it all.


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## Canyoncrosser (May 26, 2015)

Forgive my ignorance, but if you were looking for deer perhaps you were in more "deery" spots and the elk were elsewhere?
That said if they really are congregated on the private, are there places that will let a hunter on either in a guided or trespass fee scenario?


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## MN Hunter (May 21, 2015)

Has anybody been out scouting around on the unit lately? I'd love to know if anyone has been seeing any elk!


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## MN Hunter (May 21, 2015)

Success! Thank you to everyone on this site who was able to give us some information on this unit and ultimately helped my dad to be successful! Unfortunately I ended up not being able to go with, so I do not have the whole story yet, but I will share it soon!


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## Canyoncrosser (May 26, 2015)

Outstanding! I can't wait to hear the story! I really want to hear every detail!


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## Cat hunter (Aug 17, 2015)

Tell him congrats. I talked to him on the Nephi side one day and gave him a few places to try. Great man to give up a day of hunting to help out a complete old stranger who ran out of gas.


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## MWScott72 (May 23, 2011)

Awesome job! Hope we get the story. Kudos to your dad and the other generous gents out there that pointed him in the right directions.


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## Truelife (Feb 6, 2009)

MN Hunter, I met your dad on Sunday. What a nice guy. I know they had a very long drive last night/today. I hope all went well for them on their trip home.


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## MN Hunter (May 21, 2015)

*The Story!*

Here's the full story of my dad's 2015 Limited Entry Mount Nebo archery elk hunt. My apologies in advance for the delay in getting this out and for the length, but hopefully some of you will find it a worthwhile read.

The process of beginning to plan this hunt had begun several years before. Our goal was to someday be fortunate enough to draw a controlled unit bull elk tag. This was in hopes of being able to go on a higher quality hunt than is available with the general OTC tags available in many states. My dad had as his ultimate hunting goal to kill a mature bull elk with archery equipment.

At this point he had archery hunted elk 3 different times in OTC units, but had yet to score on that ultimate goal. So, for at least while he felt physically capable, our plan was to apply him into units with better non-resident archery draw odds that still maintained good hunter success rates. I spent countless hours the last several years compiling harvest statistics, analyzing draw odds, and pouring over any other bit of information I could get my hands on. Come application time I would go over everything again and decide which unit to have my dad apply in.

Then in the fall of 2014 the physically capable part of the equation looked seriously in question. While hunting whitetails back in our home state of Minnesota, my dad slipped while coming out of the deer stand on some icy steps. He fell to the ground, broke 7 ribs, and punctured his lung. The next several days were spent in the hospital, and the next several months were spent recovering and dealing with a lot of pain.

So, after all this, I expected him to at least delay trying to get that limited entry archery elk tag, but he wouldn't have it. I figured the odds were against him drawing anyways, so we went ahead and applied him for the Nebo hunt. After all, this was only his 3rd year of applying, what are the chances? Well it turns out he got lucky and drew a tag!

The ensuing months were filled with as much research into the Nebo unit as possible. The one thing we kept finding over and over was that it was going to be a TOUGH hunt. Everything we found kept describing how physically challenging the terrain in the unit was. Nevertheless we forged ahead with our plan undeterred, after all, this was a Limited Entry Bull Elk hunt in Utah!
Unfortunately as the hunt neared I had to bow out of going with. It just wasn't in the cards this year to allow me to be able to go with. My dad's cousin Mike was willing and able to go with though, which was a blessing as I do not think he could have done it all himself!

Finally after much planning, waiting, and anticipation the hunt arrived. Everything was packed and ready to go, and they left on the long 21 hour drive on Saturday morning August 29th. The drive was uneventful, and after driving through the night they rolled into the Nebo unit just as day was beginning to break on Sunday morning. On the drive to the campsite they spotted 1 elk off the Nebo Loop Road.

So with high expectations the hunt began.

They hunted the next few days with no sightings and the only action was an occasional distant bugle. At this point in the hunt the temperature was hovering around 80 degrees during the day, so it is not surprising that the action was slow. During this searching process they did stumble into a few different people who were always friendly and willing to provide direction and places to try. They also spent most of a day assisting an elderly gentleman who had ran out of gas.

Things finally began to look up on Wednesday as they arrived at a new location. At one point that day they had somewhere between 3 and 5 bulls bugling around them. Unfortunately the rugged terrain did not allow for easily moving in on the elk, and the elk were not wanting to come in to the calling. So no elk were seen, though the active bugling was definitely exciting. Thursday and Friday morning were similar, vocal elk but not able to get in on them. Needless to say they were getting a little discouraged at this point.

Then they finally got the breakthrough that they were needing.
After chatting with the people camped next to them at the campground (who were also hunting the Limited Entry elk hunt) they offered up that they had a spot with a trail cam that had been seeing some activity. They were going to be hunting in a different direction so my dad got the ok to hunt this spot. The location was around an active water source and was down in a canyon that was the most rugged terrain my dad has ever hunted. They hunted it Friday night with no sightings, but the location looked promising.

Saturday morning found them back in the same place, hoping for a bull to come through. The day started off slow, but around 10:00AM a cow and calf came in for water. Shortly after that a couple mule deer does did the same. Finally around 11:20AM there was a weak bugle not too far up the hillside. My dad got his bow ready, figuring the bull would likely come through the same spot the cow and calf did. He could now see the bull coming down the hill, and a quick look confirmed that it was the mature bull he had been hoping for. When the bull trotted into the clearing at 32 yards the arrow was on its way.

Mike had seen none of the action, but he quickly figured out that something had happened when he saw my dad standing up and dancing around. They decided to have a quick lunch to give the bull time to expire. The shot had felt good, but there was some concern that it was slightly higher and further back than he would have preferred.

After lunch they began the tracking task. There was good blood for about 30 yards, then it ended. In searching around that area they found a broken off 10" end of the arrow, but no more blood. At this point he had gone from an absolute high to a bottom of the barrel low as he began to question the shot. They split up and started searching the area for any more sign, and continued searching for another hour with no additional sign when suddenly my dad's nose caught something, the smell of a rutted up bull. He instantly froze and began looking around in the direction of the smell. It took a few minutes due to the dense vegetation, but there he was, piled up about 10 yards away! They aptly named him "Stinky" as his smell was what finally led them to finding him.

The elk ended up being a dandy, and was exactly what my dad was hoping for. He had great mass and was a main frame 6x7. On his right beam he had a couple sticker points that were countable at longer than an inch. So overall it was an 8x7!

After some pictures they began the task of breaking the elk down. It was hard working on the steep hillside, but they managed. Unfortunately in an attempt to lighten their packs they carried less water than they had been, and did not have a filter to allow them to use stream water. And given the high temperatures they found themselves very dehydrated with cramping hands halfway through the butchering process. But with a bit of pain they finally finished getting the animal broken down.

The daytime temps were still around 80 degrees, so they got the meat hung low in the canyon in the coolest place they could find. They also found that the arrow had lodged perfectly in the center of a rib, which is likely why there was so little blood after the end of the arrow broke off. But overall the bull had traveled only about 60 yards from where the shot was taken.

They left the elk at the bottom of the canyon and returned to the campground, planning on returning the next day for the pack-out. The cramping continued and dogged them the whole trip back to the campground. At the campground they were met by their neighbors with some much needed fresh water, and that night they all shared a deserved bottle of Crown Royal.

Due to his rib injury the plan had been to bring in someone with horses to pack an elk out if they were lucky enough to get one. But being as he had gotten lucky on a spot that someone else had shown them, he decided to ask them if they would prefer to pack it out rather than risk someone else finding their spot. They agreed and spent a good portion of Sunday packing the elk out of the bottom of that steep canyon.

That night the elk head was dropped off at TrueLife taxidermy for Troy to cape it out and remove the antlers from the skull. We would like to give a shout out to Troy for the great advice and assistance he gave my dad in getting this elk ready for transportation to Minnesota, especially on Labor Day weekend!

Monday morning was spent cutting and wrapping the elk meat in preparation for the long ride home. They picked up the cape and antlers later that afternoon and began the 21 hour drive back to Minnesota.

I would like to thank everyone who helped us make this hunt possible and a success. Thank you to all the people on the Utah Wildlife Network who posted to my thread or sent me a PM, the information you provided was invaluable. Thank you to the neighbors in the campground who finally got them in a spot to take this beautiful animal, and packed it out. Thank you to the people they met out there who were always happy to point them towards good prospects. And finally thanks again Troy at TrueLife taxidermy for taking care of the trophy preparations.

After it all I don't think my dad would ever hunt this unit again. It was beautiful country with tons of public land (something we don't have a lot of in Minnesota) and lots of elk on that land, but it was more rugged than he thinks his body will ever be able to handle again. Without a question it was the adventure of a lifetime for him, and he will cherish those memories forever.

"Stinky" the elk was officially measured on 11/18/15 after the 60 day drying period. It ended up measuring 305 0/8" gross and netted 290 7/8". I know he couldn't be happier with it. It truly is the elk of a lifetime for him.


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## JuddCT (Sep 7, 2007)

Awesome bull!


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## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

Great story! Glad he could make it happen on a great bull after coming all that way! Thanks for sharing!


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## Slayer (Feb 3, 2013)

Good job- thanks for the story.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

You did very well!
I spent the entire week of Nov 2 thru 8th on
The Nebo unit ( a CWMU )
I can tell you this, found some impressive 
Bulls that have my full attention! 

Again, Congrats on a great archery bull.


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## Truelife (Feb 6, 2009)

Thanks for the Kudos MN and for the story and pictures.


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