Any help/info appreciated!

Hello guys and gals. I was born and raised in South Carolina and my wife was born and raised in Alabama. After moving around the SE for years climbing the job ladders and pursuing different degrees, we relocated to rural Indiana 5 years ago. We chose Indiana because we had a new baby and wanted to move to a less populated, rural, heart-of-America town, and there was a great job for me here. We both feel about summer the way most folks up here feel about winter, and the colder and snowier the weather, the happier we are. I have been hunting dove, squirrel, and deer since I was old enough to walk in the woods with my dad, and I started duck and turkey hunting shortly after my first stint in college...and duck hunting thoroughly ruined me, has nearly killed me several times, and put me deep in the doghouse due to hours and cost. So in summary, I am a whitetail archery hunting and duck hunting addict that is open to hunting anything that is in season...and I also fish. So, my wife and I are thinking about pursuing a job in wheatland Wyoming, as we want to move to a more rural town with more outdoor opportunities to raise our two boys ages 5 and 3; we want them growing up in the outdoors, learning honest work-ethic, and growing up knowing the community and learning to love the simple treasures God has provided us.

So, what is the hunting like around Wheatland? Is there decent duck hunting where we can get on a few ducks on a creek or small marshy water hole now and then? How far away is any decent whitetail hunting? I've never hunted Mulies, and I hear it will ruin me more than the ducks did, but I am a die-hard whitetail guy. Is land outrageous there? Are there lease opportunities and/or good public opportunities to be had... Put yourself in my shoes as someone who has no clue about the hunting in Wyoming but may be about to move there and give me as much info...(General...I'm not cyber scouting!!! I can figure out the specifics if and when I get there) as possible about what I can expect and what I need to know about the different hunting opportunities...and fishing... info that you would want as far as making a decision on pulling the trigger on moving there with two young boys for the long haul.

Thanks in advance.

First off, if you move out west don't ever ever mention that filthy word "lease" ever again. Remove it from your vocabulary.
knock on doors and ask permission. You'd be surprised how many give you permission just by asking.

Definitely worse places to live than Wheatland. Do like it windy?

I'm a diehard waterfowler myself. I've never waterfowl hunted around Wheatland but I have in Nebraska, North and South Dakota and Eastern Montana. Wheatland is in striking distance of all those places. You might want to take up upland bird hunting.

I know nothing about the whitetail hunting.

Also be prepared to spend a lot more $$ on waterfowl gear. You'll want all the gear to hunt fields.

Lots of private around wheatland;
Especially where lots of whitetails and waterfowl are; but it will be dramatically different than you might be used to.

It would be an easy decision for me - could day hunt for big bull elk on the mountain, mule deer in the rim rocks (Nothing better), whitetails along the creek; teach the kids how to hunt with pronghorn (great first time hunter option); maybe bait bears in the spring, mix in some turkey hunting; certainly develop lion hunting hounds - I'd spend winters doing that instead of sitting over decoys or anything else

The hunting part is a no brainer; someone mentioned wind, which can't be underestimated . There's three kinds on the Laramie range front / wind, the dxxn wind, and the god dxxn wind. And fairly isolated. Be sure your wife is ok with that, there's one or two things more important than great hunting. Family is one of them.

Thanks. I'm not a big lease fan either...grew up where you could ask just about anyone for permission and have their blessing in a heartbeat...people respected each other and appreciated things more/differently back then; it is exactly what we are seeking in neighbors and community, and there are few places remaining that afford it. I've never been a huge wind fan because where I hunt, it's always variable and usually detrimental. Since moving to Indiana, I've found it actually helpful more often than not. As far as non hunting wind dealing... we will take wind over 5 months of 95-105, 98% humidity days any day of the week. We can put up with most anything and find the good in most anywhere we set our boots, and the community we live in and the stability of our childrens' future is what's most important to us now. Thanks for the info.

Plenty of duck and upland bird hunting around the Wheatland area. Fishing is also great. Hunting deer and elk will take getting to know some folks for private access, but it can be had. Enough public ground around to support hunting without private access.
Wheatland can be an isolated town in winter, snow closures on I-25.
It is not too high in elevation and hot in the summer for Wyoming.
Small town feel and friendly folks for the most part. Very agricultural area. River and lakes for fishing, trout and warm water fish as well as walleye.You won't get the humidity you're used to.

Why Wheatland? I'd pick Sheridan instead. mtmuley

>Why Wheatland? I'd pick Sheridan instead.
>mtmuley


Guessin that's where the yob is.

I work periodically up I-25 in Douglas, WY and travel through Wheatland once every few months. Make sure your wife is ok, with remote small towns. It's not SC, and it can be hard for women to establish friends in small rural areas. I'd seriously recommend traveling to Wheatland and get a feel for the area. And do that in the winter months, to get a idea of the winters. Wyoming is a great state, with lots of opportunities for work in the energy or ag fields, no income taxes, and good hunting and fishing. But make sure its a good fit for everyone. Best of luck in your decision/move.

Have you thought about moving to Jackson?

Your wife might like it there better. It's a nice place now that the billionaires have run the millionaires out of town. Housing is super cheap too.

I first moved to the Wheatland area in 83. Great place. Good people and enough access for whatever you want to do. Tons of choices for hunting and fishing. Funny but I don't think of it as remote. We live about 30 miles from Wheatland and I kinda think of it as a good-sized town. Has whatever we need.

The only real drawback about Wheatland is the wind. It really blows during the winter. I've driven from Wheatland to Cheyenne and seen as many as 12 semi trucks blown over. We always say the windy winters keep the riff-raff out.

I've never regretted coming here and bet you wouldn't either. Great place to raise your family.

Best of luck.

One of the coldest places I have ever been in the winter. The wind is crazy there make sure you do go in the Winter to see the place before moving there.

Well, I had an initial phone interview on Friday, and after and hour and ten minutes of very easy and comfortable conversation, I felt like it went extremely well; unless there are other candidates that are from the area and that they feel are safer bets as far as staying long term, I think that we will get the opportunity to visit the area during an in person interview. I hope we get that opportunity, as we are excited about the chance to make Wyoming our home; I know people have expressed concern about the wind and harshness of the winters, but that will not be something that would drive us away from a great job opportunity in a beautiful area with good people.

Just as you all, for good reason, think that people underestimate the impact of the harshness of your weather/climate, we know that folks that have not lived in the interior southeast underestimate the impact that 5 months of 95+ degree, 95+% humidity temperatures imparts. For our entire lives, minus the last five years, we'd get to August and experience aggravation that morphed into...anger for lack of a better word, as the oppressive, relentless heat and humidity persisted 24/7. People adjust, and you muddle through it until some relief comes in late September or October...maybe. Regardless, we quickly adjusted to two months of 15degree highs and sub-zero lows and even when wind chills were in the negative 25 to negative 30 range, we actually enjoyed it in a way and we were never aggrivated or agitated with it. If we get the chance to move there, we will embrace the weather and figure out how to thrive in it.

All of that said, please tell me that there is a cliff's notes version of the game regulations! Good Lawd! One thing I did like about SC was that you bought a hunting license, and that meant you were legal to hunt...anything...anywhere in the state during open seasons. If you hunted waterfowl, you bought a state and a federal stamp, but that was it. From briefly looking through the Wyoming online regulations, I'm quite sure I'm going to want if not need some help making sure that I will be legal no matter what or where I am hunting. The online maps and regs regarding waterfowl hunting is confusing as can be. Are the hard copy maps and regulations less confusing? i.e.. are the closed areas more well defined?

As far as deer hunting...If I obtain permission to hunt some ground, do I apply for a tag in that zone, or do I apply for a tag and then have to go seek permission in whatever zone it is that get lucky enough to get drawn for? If you are a resident with permission to hunt some various properties, will you be able to get a tag if you apply or is it a random draw type thing?

What big game tags can you count on getting yearly?

I know I have a lot of questions and I need to take a day and print out all the regs and maps and try to figure it out myself...and I will, but if someone can summarize the process of obtaining tags to hunt whitetail and or Mulies, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks again for all of the input.

Great attitude about the weather, and with that attitude I am sure you and your family will be just fine! I would much rather deal with our winters then what you describe for the summers in the south.

Short version on hunting here... You can hunt deer and elk every year in most of the state with an over the counter license. You can also hunt antelope pretty much every year also if you are wanting to hunt in areas where there is more private ground.

As it sits right now a person can for the most part hunt say 2 or even 3 elk (2 of which would be cow only), 1 mule deer buck and 1 whitetail buck, and say a buck antelope along with maybe a doe or 2 almost every year.

I am not suggesting most do hunt that many animals or need to for that matter. Just trying to give you some idea of the freedom of our hunting seasons we have as of now.

One thing nobody has mentioned are the land owner lists available from Wyoming Game and Fish. You can obtain a list of land owners who will allow hunting on their land for a small trespass fee. This might be useful to you for the first year or two, before you get to know any ranchers. It'll also give you a list to start working from in your efforts to get to know a few.

Ah yes, another southerner on here! I know what you mean by the heat and humidity!

I was born and raised in NC/SC, and spent the last 27 yrs in TN. I've spent quite a bit of time in GA and LA (that's lower Alabama around here!) and one horrible winter in WI.

Regarding hunting, I've had several antelope and mule deer hunts in WY and will offer my opinions...from a southerner. Not complaining about anything, or saying anything bad about it, just noting differences!

I hope you like wind. It always blows. And a 20+ mph wind at 30 degrees, well, you seem to like that, so maybe you'll be OK! I was freezing!

Compared to anything east of the Mississippi river, it is dry. Dry and windy. Dry and windy means dusty. Dust on your truck. Dust in your truck. Dust in your gun. I'm more used to mud!

Hunting is different. In the southeast, a lot of tree stand hunting - scout, study, watch, climb a tree. And wait. Of all my western hunts for deer/antelope/elk (maybe a dozen), I'd say 10 were spot and stalk, with 1, maybe 2 being a sit and wait hunt.

Much more open landscape. If you spook a deer in the TN woods, and he runs 200 yards and beds down, you'll never know it. I've spooked antelope in WY, watched them run a mile, then set up another stalk. I'm sure all of WY is not like that, but a lot of it is.

The sun shines much brighter. Low humidity and dry results in many more cloudless days and a brighter sunshine.

Regarding licenses, I THINK (note THINK!) most places for deer and antelope are accessible by residents OTC. Not sure, but someone else may have stated it previously. Not sure about elk.

Not 100% sure, but I don't think there are any gators in WY. Been around some in SC, GA, and AL, but never seen one while in WY!

So, break out the Chap Stik, sunscreen (at least for me, a fair screen red head), sun glasses, and go kill a big 'un!

LAST EDITED ON Aug-03-17 AT 04:26PM (MST)[p]Based on your stated ability to adapt to the weather, I think you'll love it.

I have 2 deer, 2 antelope hunts and 1 Wyoming elk hunt under my belt so I'm no expert but I've also hunted eastern Montana a dozen times. The wind can be irritating at time but I think you can get used to it like, heat, humidity, cold, rain, snow, etc. with young kids the wife will have an avenue to meet people since that's important. You'll learn more about the local hunting in two weeks from co-workers than in a year on here.

One difference in the west is the distance people drive routinely. In the east you cross a couple of states in a couple of hours. Out west, that might be a couple of counties. I live in Kali and my wife has driven the 75 miles each way to Reno, NV 2Xs a week, for the last 9 months, for physical therapy and then we occasionally make a 3rd trip to Reno on the weekend. And we think nothing of it.

As stated before, over 50% of the state can be hunted OTC as a resident for deer and elk. I'm a huge upland bird hunter and if i lived in Wheatland, I'd be hunting pheasants in ND or SD every year and eastern Montana for huns, sharptails and pheasants as well. I'd probably still make a couple of week long trips to Nevada to chase chukar too. SD, ND and eastern Montana all have great waterfowl hunting.

And no state income tax!

I hope you get the job.

Is there really much for duck hunting around Wheatland? I spend a lot of time waterfowl hunting near Torrington and have hunted geese around Wheatland. Both places are almost all private and it seems like the small pieces of public get hammered by the locals and guys from Cheyenne.