Does WY seperate Archery and Rifle ?

nv_hunter · Apr 7, 2017

Just started researching WY area G for my young daughter and myself. I'm not seeing an Archery season. Does WY fish and game just combine the two seasons into one?

feduptwo · Apr 7, 2017

Buy a archery stamp and hunt Sept 1-14 in the Northern units and Sept 1-31st in HA 135.

TOPGUN · Apr 7, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Apr-07-17 AT 10:13PM (MST)[p]>Just started researching WY area G
>for my young daughter and
>myself. I'm not seeing an
>Archery season. Does WY fish
>and game just combine the
>two seasons into one?

You need to go to the bottom area of the Hunting Regulations in the deer section on the G&F website and look for the Special Archery Section. That will show the dates that you can hunt the early archery season by unit if you buy a $35 Archery Stamp, but first you have to be lucky in the main draw that is for the rifle season. To make it easy for you here it is:

Special Archery Season Season Dates
Hunt Areas Opens Sep. 1 Closes Sep. 30
1-15, 17-19, 21-37, 39-41, 46, 47, 50-53, 59-61, 64-66, 70, 74-84, 87-90, 92,
94, 96-98, 100-102, 105, 106, 109-114, 116-125, 127, 128, 130-135, 141, 157,
160-165, 168-171. Curt Gowdy State Park in Area 60 closed

138-140, 142-146, 148-156 Opens Sep. 1 Closes Sep. 14
115 Open Sep. 1 Closes Sep. 9

Bwht4x4 · Apr 8, 2017

I think WY could increase revenue a bit and make many NRs happy by offering separate rifle tags and separate archery tags for all units. Living 20 hours away from WY it's going to be a single trip for me so having the ability to hunt both archery and rifle with the same tag is a waste.

TOPGUN · Apr 8, 2017

>I think WY could increase revenue
>a bit and make many
>NRs happy by offering separate
>rifle tags and separate archery
>tags for all units.
>Living 20 hours away from
>WY it's going to be
>a single trip for me
>so having the ability to
>hunt both archery and rifle
>with the same tag is
>a waste.

Other than having one draw for the most part, except for some elk archery only tags and a few of the other species, I'm not quite following your comment. The way it's set up for a little additional money for the archery stamp it allows a month or more extra time to hunt on one tag if you have the vacation time or are retired.

Bwht4x4 · Apr 8, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Apr-08-17 AT 06:29PM (MST)[p]What I'm saying is that WY should be more like nearly every other state and offer archery tags for a unit and rifle tags for the same unit. Look at NV, UT, AZ, NM, CO, CA, ID. They all have specific tags for the different seasons in a unit.

For example, these are completely made up numbers...for deer in unit 102 WYGFD could give 200 rifle tags for a rifle season (Oct) and then 50 archery tags (Sept).

I also think this would help with getting people through the point system and help with point creep.

I'm a NR with max deer and elk points and I'd burn them both in a heartbeat for an archery specific tag in a unit I want to hunt. The key point there is a "unit I want to hunt." Not the type 9 tags for the units that they decided to make an archery only hunt. This would then allow those guys that want to hunt rifle only the option to apply for a rifle tag.

Since archery hunts generally have lower success rates the tags you take from the rifle hunt could be redistributed to the archery hunt at a higher rate. For example, if you took 25 of the rifle tags and converted them to archery tags you may be able to offer 50 archery tags. Hence, more revenue. These are just numbers I made up and would let the experts determine the ratios.

Like I said before a lot of us NRs will only be able to make one trip out to WY and to have one tag good for both the archery and rifle hunts is not all that useful.

dz · Apr 9, 2017

This the hope of Archery guys. They want to hunt the premium areas in the premium dates with less competition for the tags. This is all about archery hunters, and other states have caved. I hope WY never does. I'm a rifle hunter that picks up the bow. I can plan a trip to WY and hunt a few days archery then pick up the rifle and hunt. It doesn't get any better then that for me. Also all the revenue to the archery shops for guys like me would stop if it was 100% pick your weapon.

DZ

WapitiBob · Apr 9, 2017

Pretty easy to buy an archery license and hunt on a type 1 tag.

wytex · Apr 10, 2017

You won't find many residents who think that way so hopefully we will never have to pick our weapon.

Bwht4x4 · Apr 10, 2017

>You won't find many residents who
>think that way so hopefully
>we will never have to
>pick our weapon.

Make it only for NRs since we're the only ones with points. Not to mention, we're all use to picking a weapon and hunting only that during a specific season in ALL the other states.

dz · Apr 10, 2017

I'm a NR and I have points. I do not want to see it change. And not ALL states are that way. You can buy and OTC tag in Idaho and hunt both Archery and Riffle and Muzzle loader. If you don't like how they do it go somewhere else then don't play. I love the city guys that move to the county then want all the roads paved.

DZ

TOPGUN · Apr 10, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Apr-10-17 AT 11:40AM (MST)[p]>I'm a NR and I have
>points. I do not
>want to see it change.
> And not ALL states
>are that way. You
>can buy and OTC tag
>in Idaho and hunt both
>Archery and Riffle and Muzzle
>loader. If you don't
>like how they do it
>go somewhere else then don't
>play. I love the
>city guys that move to
>the county then want all
>the roads paved.
>
>DZ

Ain't that the truth, LOL! I completely disagree with the OP and have to tell him that Wyoming is set up the best of any western state for residents and NRs to hunt with both weapons just by paying that extra archery stamp fee. I'm an NR, but have to say like some of the others said that if you don't like the way it's set up then hunt somewhere else and don't try to change what is great just to suit your needs!

Servehim · Apr 11, 2017

Well I completely agree and understand where the OP is coming from. Many NR can't take vacation time in Sept and then again in Oct. It's one or the other but not both. If Wyo G/F handled this right for example a unit with 200 tags ( revenue) could sell 250 tags ( increased revenue) and not affect game harvest ( 175 rifle/ 75 archery) for example. The folks in NR pool sitting at max points could be reduced and a lot more folks blessed with the opportunity to hunt Wyoming. On a personal note...I'm retired and could hunt much of both seasons but totally get the OP point of view and the benifal effect on revenue and NR hunt opportunity.

jm77 · Apr 12, 2017

To those who think Wyoming would go to 'choose your weapon', consider this: in recent years the legislature passed a bill allowing the sale of lifetime archery licenses. I am sure many hunters, including myself, have purchased a lifetime archery license. If they changed to 'choose your weapon' would there be a refund?

Besides, there is not enough support among hunters in Wyoming to do this; at least not at this time.

elks96 · Apr 12, 2017

The greatest part about WY is the freedom of choice. As a NR I love the ability to choose. I live about 4 hours out of state and love the fact that if I draw I can add my archery and hunt a couple weekend, heck even one weekend in Sept. Then go back and hit the rifle season. I also love the fact that my young kids can hunt archery and still have a reasonable chance to kill with rifle.

If forced to choose I would not get to enjoy time with my kids in the archery as we would be forced to Rifle.

Region tags are nice as they give lots of space and ground to cover.

Sorry but no way would I want WY to separate out. The more you limit personal choice the higher the points will driven and the less opportunity everyone will have...

feduptwo · Apr 13, 2017

It has nothing to with caving to archery hunters. Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, & New Mexico do this to maximize opportunity & maximize revenue. These states utilize a much lower success rate associated with archery hunts to sell more tags and provide more hunters a chance to chase animals in LQ units.
I would be opposed to split seasons for general season elk but I'm absolutely in favor of this for LQ elk hunt areas & some of the more popular regions for deer for non residents.
For the record I'm not a archery hunter unless it increases hunting opportunity or length of my hunting season