Manti LE Rifle - Advice about ATV/Glassing

[WAB]

Drew the Manti UT Any Weapon LE early elk hunt. I have a couple questions for those who are familiar with the unit and are willing to give advice.

I'm debating whether to haul an ATV across the country - how helpful would it be to have an ATV in addition to my truck?

Second, do you recommend a spotting scope, or are binos adequate for this hunt?

Thanks in advance fellas.

 

[Sled]

Spotting scope will help here. The SXS will help as well buys it's not a necessity. My kid has the same tag and I'm planning on scouting heavily for him during my archery hunt.

 

[KineKilla]

Tons of ATV access in that unit. You can drive Skyline and the side canyons in a truck but an ATV or SXS will help you get around faster once up the mountain.

Sent from my SM-N976U using Tapatalk

 

[wmr89]

An ATV would help a lot on the Manti, if you don't bring it you will wish you had it. Lots of <50" roads. You should bring a spotter, especially if you are going to hold out for a trophy class animal, which you should. Elk are plentiful on that unit and a great 6 point bull should be an achievable goal.

 

[WAB]

Thanks guys for the advice. Really looking forward to it. I used to live in Logan about 25 years back and haven't hunted elk in Utah since then.

Sled - good luck to you and your son.

 

[nobody]

I had the tag in 2019, you'll have a ball. Saw tons of elk and tons of bulls, had some great opportunities. My family has hunted it for many years for both deer and elk and we've pulled some good ones out of there over the years.

We spent 99% of our time running around in the Jeep. The Skyline Drive and other main-ish roads are almost good enough you could drive a Honda Civic through large portions, but there's enough crappy portions that the Jeep was worth it. Dropping into holes and off onto ridgetop roads that were less than bueno was a breeze.

I would say any type of transportation other than your pickup is a good idea. Having said that, an ATV won't be much fun if it's as dry as it's been the last few years. You'll chew the air with how thick it'll be with dust, I personally wouldn't wanna run around much on an ATV, but that's just me. I'm spoiled having our Jeep, I guess I've gotten soft haha.

EDIT TO ADD: Quality binos are a must out west, period. This entire unit lends itself pretty good to glassing. All the roads are on the top and everything is down, so it's easy to drive to good glassing knobs and locate animals in the draws below. But I can count on one hand the number of times I used my spotter. If you've got the coin, it's a worthwhile investment. But don't do it if you can't make it happen. I would invest in quality binos and a solid tripod.

 

[SDHNTR]

50” trails are a game changer. I say bring it. Otherwise there will be country you can’t easily access, but every one else can. Every single hunter in UT owns an atv I'm pretty sure.

Another big yes for bringing the spotter too.

 

[WAB]

thank you fellas, I really appreciate it

 

[Sled]

thank you fellas, I really appreciate it

Don't let people glass shame you either. Id rather have a midrange priced spotter and nice binos if money is a concern. If not, get some great glass in both categories. Bring a tripod or window mount for both. I scan with binos and confirm with the spotter. I don't trophy hunt so I'm not counting tines and inches. If I were, I'd pony up for a better spotter. As it is, my viper and razor spotters do just fine.

 

[2five7]

+1 for definitely bring the ATV, and the best spotter you can afford. If you don't need and alpha type spotter for your other hunts, I'd buy a good used one and sell it after your done with it. Consider the slight loss you might take as a rental fee, you won't regret it. That unit has some HUGE canyons and you'll be looking at bulls that could be miles away.

 

[Sled]

Or rent/borrow... The op hasn't mentioned if he has a spotter, just asked if one is recommended. So far yes seems predominant. I know I'll be bringing mine and have taken it every time I've been on the manti. Leave it in the truck if you don't want to carry the weight but spotting from the road is great off skyline drive.

 

[wakedye]

I sent you a PM

 

[WAB]

Much appreciated gentlemen!

 

[WAB]

Follow up question - looking at the Forest Service MVUM, the majority of roads in the unit are designated as High Clearance, with some designated as ATV only. From the responses above, I get the impression that some of the High Clearance designated roads would be difficult to navigate in a 4x4 truck. Is this correct?

 

[fish impaler]

Not necessarily difficult, just slower and less comfortable than an ATV or sxs

 

[Sled]

Not necessarily difficult, just slower and less comfortable than an ATV or sxs

Agreed. The main road is fine unless there are washouts from a flash flood. The other roads can be slow going with a truck.