Unit 2 Elk

ironranger

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166
Anyone know anything about this unit for elk? Just wonder if it would be worth looking at with max points. Eastman listed it as a blue chip but of course I should probably take that with a grain of salt. Just curious if anyone is familiar with it....
 
Ranger,
I too subscribe to Eastman's but I sure don't understand their recommendations sometimes. I'm no expert on the unit but I looked pretty closely at it a couple of years ago. The Bio, Warden, etc.. said that access can be challenging and most of the Elk were on private.

If you look at a map of the unit you'll see that about 30 percent is BLM but almost all of it is surrounded by private. Access sure looks like it would be a challenge. There is one road that looks to be a county road that would get you into a part of it and some boot leather might get you into a little more but I'd do a lot more recon before I applied there. GOOD LUCK and MERRY CHRISTMAS. Chip
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-12-11 AT 07:44AM (MST)[p]

What chipc said! IMHO there is not enough accessible BLM land in 2 to make a decent DIY hunt, so you would probably have to find private property to hunt successfully and that will cost you. Also, there were only 10 nonresident tags issued in 2011 in all the draws for the unit and the 9 in the PP ones were all taken with max PPs of 5. There were a lot of people right below that number of PPs in the draw last year and if they bought a PP and are in the draw for 2 this year the odds of getting a license, especially with Eastmans mentioning it in the MRS section in the latest magazine, will probably get worse. With max PPs I would definitely be looking somewhere other than that unit, like up in the BigHorns where there is a good elk population with some nice bulls and almost all public land. If you bow hunt, Wyoming is great because most units allow you to hunt the early season and then if you don't fill your tag you can go back and hunt the later season with your rifle.
 
I just had time last night to start reading the latest Eastman's magazine that was mentioned regarding the MRS putting unit 2 as a blue chip unit. They say it has good public access and I have no idea why they say that when it is just the opposite. I really wonder how they get some of their information!
 
kinda like the terrain in Elk unit 111 is "moderate". They must not have seen Ferris or the Seminoes !
 
LOL! Yep, I think you really have to do a lot more searching and ask for comments from people who have actually been "on the ground" in an area before you commit to putting money into the draw! I think these to examples are reasons that you should not take any one person , magazine, etc. as gospel.
 
So... while we are on the this subject. What do you guys think of unit 23 or 19 for elk?
I am trying to narrow a unit down. I have 2 points and just rifle hunt. Could bring horses if it would give an advantage.
Would like a unit with a chance at a bull over 300. I have killed elk but can't seem to break the 300 inch mark. I have grown out of the have to kill stage and would like a crack at a trophy.
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-21-11 AT 07:07AM (MST)[p]Someone on here PMd me about my hunt in unit 23 last year and here is what I sent him:

"I did a lot of research on the unit and actually spent some time out there during the summer. I thought there would be plenty of public land to hunt and was not too worried about the private/public issues. I planned on hunting up to 3 weeks. Last 2 of archery and first week of rifle if needed. Rolled in 3rd week of September and got hunting. To my surprise most of the elk were already on the fringes of the private land. It was as if they knew exactly where the safe havens were. Yes, they would venture onto the public land some at night. But would then work their way back onto private ground. Talking to some people it sounded like what bow pressure there had been had already pushed them out or maybe they just know where to rut so they don't get harassed too much. So? I ended up hunting right on the fringes of public/private. I did actually end up getting a smaller bull in the second week, but it was on a small strip of public land surrounded by private. I was lucky enough that he wandered onto the public piece and died quickly. The last week of archery there were a TON of people rolling into the area setting up for the rifle opener. The unit seems pretty big until you realize how small the area is that holds the elk and how many people will be packed in there.

I left before the rifle opener, but knew someone who was there with a cow tag so I asked him how it was and got this response. ?Our hunt was a little bit disappointing. We pulled into 85 degree weather and lots of hunters. Did I mention lots of hunters! Seems like the locals had their spots picked out opening morning and after that the elk pretty much disappeared. Next day there was a pickup on every hill top. After 3 and 1/2 days of that we opted to go chase antelopes. ?

Having said all this, I would not put in for this unit again even though I got an elk. I think if you were a resident and lived in Casper and could hunt the whole season you could find an elk wandering back and forth onto the public land, but it was beyond frustrating seeing good bulls on the private land that I could not hunt. That's just not my thing. I want to be able to find a good bull and then go hunt him. I will be putting in for the general hunt before I put in for 23 again. I like a little more room to roam."
 
I had the same exact experience in 23 a couple seasons ago. There was even a couple guys during archery season and the night before rifle season that were blatantly pushing the elk back onto private land. Opening day of rifle was almost dangerous with the number of hunters (mostly cow hunters) until the elk got spooked onto private land. I got into my truck, ate my tag, and headed home!
 
That really sucks, but nothing surprises me any more!!! The rancher that has deeded property adjacent to the public land where we hunt has done that a number of times the last few years by riding his horse on the public land with his dog along and moving elk onto his property where he doesn't allow any hunting. Since he has all the grazing rights on the public land, there is nothing we can do as far as filing under hunter harrassment laws because all he has to do is say he's checking on cattle, water tanks, etc., even though it's very obvious what he's actually doing.
 
Topgun, That's a little different than the "wildlife harassment" I was seeing in 23. It was actually guys dressed up in camo and bows in their hands that were obviously heading around to the public side of the elk and spooking them back onto the ranch. It was VERY obvious that they weren't stalking elk because they were standing upright in the open. They walked completely around to the public side and spooked them back onto private land. They did this every day I hunted during the archery season. I was pretty shocked when they did this the night before rifle season. I had fire coming out my ears after seeing this and working so hard and having things scouted out for rifle season!

I got several days of the same guys doing this on video during the archery season and the evening before rifle season....that I should probably show to the WG&F! I'm not sure what the WG&F could do about this but it sure doesn't seem right to me!
 
What you and I both witnessed isn't right, but there is no law against what they were doing if the guy was just riding his horse and the guys you saw were just walking around. Maybe the people you saw were even antis that bought licenses just to do what they were doing so people couldn't shoot elk on the public land! That's some of what we face when we hunt public land. We had two good setups for bugling bulls we had coming in on the archery elk hunt I was on in AZ in September busted by a guy and his kid that didn't know chit about hunting. Both times they came busting right through our setup as we had bulls coming in and the second time they actually saw us and waved, LOL! They didn't have a clue how to hunt or what a cow elk call sounds like and ruined what would have been a great morning.
 
You will have zero problem gaining access on Fort Creek private property with just 1-2 door knocks. Don't expect to hunt opening day, but you will be able to get onto private land and the BLM with little or no trespass fee during the 2nd week of the season. I don't want to say who the landowner is, but suffice to say a little homework will be necessary. No free leads from me, but it should be no problem. 2nd question: Why hunt a spot that only has 250 elk on 100,000 acres? And some of the country they live in is absolutely nasty/thick/steep juniper country that no 4-wheeler access is allowed...and the horse access is questionable due to the severe steep country. Eastman's is merely going on the steep draw odds assuming it's a sweet spot. Same with the Rochelle's.....steep draw odds makes it a premier unit?!? There are 60:100 bulls on the unit, and surely a 370" somewhere, but I'd bet that bull is tucked away on super private/$6,000+ trespass fee ranch!
BDD
 

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