Wyoming Region H

MuleyKiller · Jul 6, 2017

I drew a region h deer tag this year. Could anyone point me in the right direction as far as what unit is the best unit within region h to hunt deer? I have hunted region g in the past so I know what to expect as far as country. I plan on making at least two trips to scout, but was just wanting to narrow it down to a couple smaller areas because H is a huge region and I don't have a ton of time to spend looking. Thanks for any help.

Millsworks · Jul 6, 2017

I wish I had been there in H.
The info I've read about the stats. and the buck/ doe ratio sure look good.

I am wondering why more don't apply there.
Wish I could help. I'm hoping to apply in a couple years for an H tag.

Good luck and would love to hear about your hunt this fall.

rocky2track · Jul 6, 2017

Unless you hire a guide, the wilderness areas are off limits to non-residents, so scratch those remote locations off your list. Look at the areas west of US Hwy 189 and south of Jackson, WY. If you go opening week, expect dozens of vehicles at every major trailhead just as you would in Region G. General Elk season opens Sept. 25th in some of these areas so from Sept. 15th to the end of deer season the pressure is on! Good Luck!

TOPGUN · Jul 6, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Jul-06-17 AT 11:42AM (MST)[p]>I wish I had been there
>in H.
>The info I've read about the
>stats. and the buck/ doe
>ratio sure look good.
>
>I am wondering why more don't
>apply there.
>Wish I could help. I'm hoping
>to apply in a couple
>years for an H tag.
>
>
>Good luck and would love to
>hear about your hunt this
>fall.

I don't know why you would say you wonder why more don't apply there. If you look at the draw odds over 1000 NRs that applied for H didn't get a tag for the 2017 hunt besides the hundreds that did draw the tag!

grosventrehunter · Jul 6, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Jul-06-17 AT 12:20PM (MST)[p]Muleykiller, I tried to send you some info, but your PM is disabled.

Millsworks · Jul 6, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Jul-06-17 AT 07:32PM (MST)[p]>
>I don't know why you would
>say you wonder why more
>don't apply there. If
>you look at the draw
>odds over 1000 NRs that
>applied for H didn't get
>a tag for the 2017
>hunt besides the hundreds that
>did draw the tag!

According to G+F there were

In H 494 special
1,066 reg.

In G 705 special
1,846 reg.
Looks like quite a few more non-residents tried for G tags.

This has been the trend for a long time. Even though H has similar success rate, terrain, and trophy potential.
The amount of wilderness must deter alot of guys I guess.
Appears lots of residents prefer G over H also. Even though the wilderness is to their favor in H.

Am I seeing this wrong?

TOPGUN · Jul 6, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Jul-06-17 AT 08:44PM (MST)[p]>>I don't know why you would
>>say you wonder why more
>>don't apply there. If
>>you look at the draw
>>odds over 1000 NRs that
>>applied for H didn't get
>>a tag for the 2017
>>hunt besides the hundreds that
>>did draw the tag!
>
>
>According to G+F there were
>
>In H 494 special
> 1,066
>reg.
>
>In G 705 special
> 1,846
>reg.
>Looks like quite a few more
>non-residents tried for G tags.
>
>
>This has been the trend for
>a long time. Even though
>H has similar success rate,
>terrain, and trophy potential.
>The amount of wilderness must deter
>alot of guys I guess.
>
>Appears lots of residents prefer G
>over H also. Even though
>the wilderness is to their
>favor in H.
>
>Am I seeing this wrong?

First off, you didn't mention Region G in your first post. Second, I don't know how you came up with the numbers in your second post, but adding up the first choice applicants in the Regular PP Draw along with the two Special Draws you get 2564 applicants for Region G and 2069 for Region H. That's only a difference of 496 applicants and my guess is that if there was more available public land in H that wasn't wilderness requiring a guide that it would probably be a wash. That's just a guess on my part looking at those applicant numbers. I also think the statement of residents preferring G over H may not be factual since they can hunt both on their general tag and the G&F has to guess at how many hunt those Regions unlike the LQ draw units where they know how many tags are actually issued for each of those.

Millsworks · Jul 6, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Jul-06-17 AT 08:58PM (MST)[p]What about second and third choice applicants?

Not that it matters.
More apply for G than for H.
I would think it would be a closer average, but especially when you look at how many residents choose G over H I just can't see why it's like that.
This is info from G+F. They say more res go to G.

I'm sure the sample size of their survey might be questional on res choice.

And I didn't mention any other region or unit in my post either.

Have you hunted G or H tp?

TOPGUN · Jul 6, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Jul-06-17 AT 09:13PM (MST)[p]>What about second and third choice
>applicants?
>
>Not that it matters.
>More apply for G than for
>H.
>I would think it would be
>a closer average, but especially
>when you look at how
>many residents choose G over
>H I just can't see
>why it's like that.
>This is info from G+F. They
>say more res go to
>G.
>
>I'm sure the sample size of
>their survey might be questional
>on res choice.
>
>And I didn't mention any other
>region or unit in my
>post either.
>
>Have you hunted G or H
>tp?

The only way you can see the number of second and third choice applicants is the stats in the Random Draw and it's pretty meaningless when the people put in for those tags should know they have no chance at them because they are all taken by first choice applicants. As I stated earlier, the information you are talking about getting from the G&F is not necessarily accurate and is more of a guess on their part. Yes, I hunted G in 2015 and killed this buck and went with a resident friend there again last year and he killed a nontypical buck that scored in the 190s and a Shiras bull on his OIL tag. Both were on horseback hunts.

Millsworks · Jul 6, 2017

Good looking deer.
Deer pics like that are great to see.

TOPGUN · Jul 6, 2017

>Good looking deer.
>Deer pics like that are great
>to see.

Thanks! If you see one like that up in F this year on your hunt, shoot him with no second guessing!

rocky2track · Jul 6, 2017

>LAST EDITED ON Jul-06-17
>AT 07:32?PM (MST)
>
>Appears lots of residents prefer G
>over H also. Even though
>the wilderness is to their
>favor in H.
>
>Am I seeing this wrong?

I'll say this...just because its wilderness doesn't mean the deer densities, habitat, or bucks present are better than non-wilderness..... There is for sure some beautiful wilderness in Region H that you can get away from the bigger crowds, not people, but the crowds. However, depending on the area, you could be hard pressed to find a deer. There's a reason the same ole' trailheads in non-wilderness areas are overflowing the brim with residents and non-residents on opening week....again just sayin'... Deer are creatures of habit..the same drainage, the same mountain, the same winter range year after year.

DoubleDropMuley · Jul 7, 2017

Good tag, congrats!!

WiBuckslayer523 · Jul 7, 2017

What is the inside spread on that TG?

TOPGUN · Jul 7, 2017

>What is the inside spread on
>that TG?

He's actually only 20", but looks a lot wider and probably why you asked. He is very symmetrical with all forks being very nice and just that one little sticker on the back left fork. I didn't really go out to G looking to shoot a 200" buck, but would have if one had shown himself.

Longun · Jul 9, 2017

Hunt the Hoback burn....

appaloosa · Jul 9, 2017

There are pockets of deer in H, but generally speaking, there are far more deer in G.

Founder · Jul 9, 2017

Just head for one of the highest peaks and start looking there. In the areas huntable by unguided nonresidents, you'll find bucks at any of those highest peaks. Look at lots of bucks and you'll probably eventually find a special one.
There are no "secret", "hot" spots up there. No units that are any better than any others. Nearly any spot could hold a special buck any year, and then maybe not again for years. Every place gets hunted, some more than others during some years and then it may flip flop. You just got to throw the pack on and go find a big buck to hunt.
Just pick one of the highest 10 peaks, pack in and start glassing from the top. Go from there. You'll find bucks.

This one might still be kickin' this year.

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
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rambopup4 · Jul 9, 2017

I believe the Wyoming numbers quoted are # of applications not actual # of applicants since both residents and non residents can apply as a group.

JakeSwensen · Jul 10, 2017

I would go to the H units that border G and scout the high peaks and basins like founder recommended.
[font face="verdana" color="green"]
Jake Swensen

Joe2Kool · Jul 14, 2017

I'm adding G and H to my short list. And posting here so I can easily search for this post in the future!

Gator · Jul 14, 2017

The harder it is to get to, the better is will be. IMHO

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
>[Font][Font color = "green"]Life member of
>the MM green signature club.[font/]

MuleyKiller · Jul 19, 2017

Where exactly is the Hoback burn? I have been doing a lot of research and have narrowed it down to 152, 153 , 142 in H. Any help on which trailheads are better than others or if there are some other access points that would be good to check out.

grosventrehunter · Jul 19, 2017

Most of the burn is east of Granite Creek and North of the Hoback river.

35huntdeer · Jul 19, 2017

+1
Check out granite Creek!

MuleyKiller · Jul 25, 2017

OK , I did a some scouting over the weekend. Has anyone out there hunted around Hoback peak or unit 153, 154. We spent 3 days looking and scouting in other areas and didn't see anything to brag about and no pics to show. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

rocky2track · Jul 25, 2017

>OK , I did a some
>scouting over the weekend. Has
>anyone out there hunted around
>Hoback peak or unit 153,
>154. We spent 3 days
>looking and scouting in other
>areas and didn't see anything
>to brag about and no
>pics to show. Any help
>would be greatly appreciated.

All the high country in the areas you describe is excellent deer habitat. Your going to have to just keep looking and go with what you feel like you have confidence with. If one area doesn't feel right to you, go look at another area. The areas you describe may hold a buck your searching for or not depending on the goals you've set. I've seen large bucks come from any one of the Region H areas your looking in, either from the high country or from the lower foothills, but there is not one specific drainage that holds only the larger deer. There are not 170+ deer on every mountain or in every drainage and it will change from year to year. The habitat is great everywhere you go up there. You may have to scout hundreds of bucks until you find what your looking for. Keep at it. There is a whole bunch more country you haven't even looked at yet. You've got to go earn them just like the rest of us. Good Luck!

Founder · Jul 26, 2017

I've put in 12 days of scouting, looked at 246+ bucks and haven't seen one yet I could honestly say breaks 185. A handful that I think will break 180.
They're hard to turn up. Seeing just as many bucks this year as last though. Plenty of yearlings too. That whole "winter kill" panic was a bit overblown as I thought. But 33% of nonresident tags cut! Crazy.

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
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Millsworks · Jul 26, 2017

I sure am glad to hear about some positive deer numbers.
I'm sure everyone would love to hear that you saw a 200 incher in every basin, but reality is most likely would be happy seeing some 160 class bucks in the fall.
I think the G+F are worried mostly about the newborns and hopefully a tag cut now will leave more game to hunt 3-5 years from now.
At least that's how I am understanding it.
I have a sneaky suspicion that the kill stories were blown out of proportion by many, hoping to deter applicants from hunting this year.
But, I have talked to guys that said they saw lots of dead fawns while shed hunting.

Tknez · Jul 26, 2017

What a crappy year for the fawns. I went up to the Crawford Mtns. in northern Utah antler hunting the other day. I went up there primarily just to get a feel for how hard the winter was on the deer that come out of region G. The area is part of the winter range for the deer from regions G and K in Wyoming.

I would guess that 90%+ of the fawns were lost up there. I found 50-60 dead deer. Most were fawns, 4-5 were what I estimate to be yearlings and a couple that were probably adult does. I didn't find any dead mature bucks, but I'm sure the winter got a few. I did see a couple fawns with groups of deer, so a few survived.

I made it a point to look closely at all the dead deer I saw, because I wanted to know for sure whether they were fawns, does, young bucks, older bucks, etc. I sure hated seeing all the fawns like these photos below. It's a real bummer that there's nothing more sportsmen can do. Just nature.......

Not sure if there was any feeding going on up there or not. Maybe it would have saved some of those fawns had it been done. I don't know...???

It'll be interesting to see what I find in Wyoming in May. Hopefully it's no worse than this, I'll see.

These were your words just a few short months ago.

JakeSwensen · Jul 26, 2017

It will sure be nice to see 200 less out of state vehicles at the trailheads leading into greys river country this fall.
Founder you get a tag every year through point sharing and special price anyway... Rejoice, you should have less company in the field this season too. ?[font face="verdana" color="green"]

Good luck and keep up the good work with your webcast.?
Jake Swensen

Founder · Jul 27, 2017

Eventually there might only be one non-resident tag available. How am I going to get it then? Ha ha

I'll tell you, I expected to see very few, if any, yearlings. From what I saw on the Crawfords, I thought they were mostly toast. And I do still believe a real high percentage of fawns died, but obviously not all of them, cause if I hadn't I heard it everywhere all winter, I wouldn't know that 2016/17 winter was the worst ever for deer. All appears the same to me. But I'm only 12 days in. Maybe I'll be singing a new tune later.

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
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rocky2track · Jul 27, 2017

Glad your seeing some yearling bucks. WY G&F is saying 86% fawn loss. That probably still leaves several thousand yearling deer out there in G & H. I'd assume there were segments of the herd from G & H that faired better than others and I wish there was a post winter deer count of the whole herd, so, I'm curious where the pre-winter 17/18 numbers come in at in the next 6 months. I've been knocking around the hills in the northeast portion of G and southern portion of H and have seen very, very few yearling bucks but have seen those young probably 2-3 year old bucks as usual.

Some may find the link interesting. Page 4 talks about the ongoing fawn study. This year is shaping up to be about the same as previous years. Hope this didn't hijack the thread.

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Regional Offices/Pinedale/2017_Jul_Pinedale.pdf

RoadlessHunter · Jul 30, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Jul-30-17 AT 08:39PM (MST)[p]My assessment of the winter was it started late and ended about a week or two before a major winter kill. I would make an exception on the fawns as most of them died.