What elk and deer general units

[ralphie]

I've lived here (near thermop) for 8 years and done some hunting in the unit I live for deer and elk, but they are draws.

I'd like to start exploring some general elk and deer units for the years I don't draw. I've got access to horses am in pretty good shape 35 years old, and usually can take a week or so for a hunt. I'm not looking for someone's honey hole. Mostly just a starting point.

For the elk units I'd mostly be interested in just about any bull, I can buy cow tags here otc. I might be a little more picky on the size of deer I shoot, but not expecting monsters.

I hunted up the north fork out of cody for a couple days (it was all I had this year). Now it was a pretty short hunt but I expected to see more deer. I think some folks usually do pretty well there. Maybe it is just going to take me some time in there.

G and H come to mind, but tell me how the crowds are there.

I've also thought about the Whitetail units in the NE corner but have never gone.



Anyone have any suggestions for a somewhat new resident?

 

[nfh]

i been talking to the game wardens and it sounds like the north fork and south fork on there way to limited tags. you just done see the elk like you use to. this year they took away the late season tags, 2 years ago they took the late season tags away from sunlight and crandall.

i asked why and he said cause the elk get pushed off the north fork to sunlight and the late season just hurts them. i mentioned wolves were the problem and he would not answer my question. and i went saying the only way to hunt sunlight and crandall is to hunt a late season to catch the elk migrating out of the park.

the areas are getting worst every year. outfitters are shutting down and there success rates are bad......

 

[ralphie]

I was hunting deer up the north fork, but didn't see any elk. I did see some fresh wolf tracks. I agree we've got to get a handle on these wolves and bears. I also saw a lion up there.

 

[BuzzH]

ralphie,

I've lived here in Wyoming only 11 years and the hunting is great everywhere.

I've hunted all over the state and it dont suck anywhere you go.

Pick a general deer or elk unit, throw your stuff in the truck and just go...

 

[nfh]

>ralphie,
>
>I've lived here in Wyoming only
>11 years and the hunting
>is great everywhere.
>
>I've hunted all over the state
>and it dont suck anywhere
>you go.
>
>Pick a general deer or elk
>unit, throw your stuff in
>the truck and just go...
>


but the fact is that our elk herds are getting wiped out and well the moose are basically gone in the meeteese area all the way to crandall. the whitetail herds are doing really great were starting to get more late season tags out there and i like to see that, you cant beat the whitetail hunting. i disagree with people that complain about the hard winter on the mule deer,i have never seen so many muleys in wyo. yes it was a hard winter but they made it through very well..
but the hunting in the wolf areas do suck. its to the point to where you cant bowhunt cause you cant get elk to bugle back.
i remember the days up in sunlight basin when you would see thousands of elk during the migrating season and in there winter grounds. now you go up there and your lucky if you see one or 2.........

 

[BuzzH]

The elk herds may not be doing well in some units...but in others they're well past being in great shape.

I've not rifle hunted one day in the last 11 years in Wyoming that I couldnt have killed a legal elk.

Passed several bulls the first day of the season this year...and killed this bull the evening of the second day (oct. 16). Hunted with a friend for the next 4 days and ended up seeing 31 legal bulls...all on public land and a general tag.

Last year, on the exact same date (Oct. 16) after passing some other bulls opening morning I took this one, again general tag and public land:

Last night I drove over to another area with the intention of staying the night and hunting this morning for my type 6 tag. I had about an hour to hunt before dark...made the most of that hour and took this cow last night:

If you arent liking your usual elk spots...jump in the truck and find a new spot. Wyoming is a great state for elk.

 

[Califelkslayer]

Good point.......and that's a great General bull you took last year. Can't see the 6th on the right side but if it's symetrical, that's close to a 300' bull.

 

[nfh]

>The elk herds may not be
>doing well in some units...but
>in others they're well past
>being in great shape.
>
>I've not rifle hunted one day
>in the last 11 years
>in Wyoming that I couldnt
>have killed a legal elk.
>
>
>Passed several bulls the first day
>of the season this year...and
>killed this bull the evening
>of the second day (oct.
>16). Hunted with a friend
>for the next 4 days
>and ended up seeing 31
>legal bulls...all on public land
>and a general tag.
>
>

>
>Last year, on the exact same
>date (Oct. 16) after passing
>some other bulls opening morning
>I took this one, again
>general tag and public land:
>
>
>

>
>Last night I drove over to
>another area with the intention
>of staying the night and
>hunting this morning for my
>type 6 tag. I had
>about an hour to hunt
>before dark...made the most of
>that hour and took this
>cow last night:
>
>

>
>If you arent liking your usual
>elk spots...jump in the truck
>and find a new spot.
>Wyoming is a great state
>for elk.
>



congrads to all your trophys. i will not leave my area. we are 17 miles in the back country on horses and never see people. my dad and i get our bulls every year and work hard for them. no bulls this year casue my mountain goat tag was number one for hunting this year

 

[BuzzH]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-17-11 AT 09:02AM (MST)[p]nfh,

If you arent willing to change areas, I guess you'll have to deal with the hunting...or lack-there-of.

I'm just saying that areas change, and I'm not going to stay attached to an area that isnt good hunting.

Califelkslayer,

Another look, everything is there, scored 307 gross.

 

[oregonmuley]

BuzzH,
Great pics as usual - congrats on yout elk this year - did you get any antelopes??

 

[BuzzH]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-17-11 AT 09:30PM (MST)[p]Oregonmuley,

Yeah, we got a few.

My Dad shot this buck:

I got these two:

Wife shot this one...really old buck.

 

[oregonmuley]

As usual - really nice bucks - all of them.
Looks like that 2nd one of yours was during that fun wet weather 1st part of October. Anyway - thanks & congrats to you and your family.

 

[sjhgraysage]

Buzz,
Congrats on the season, well done!
One of these days I need to take my boys to WY and use their elk points.

 

[mightyhunter]

ralphie and NFH,

Your assessment of the situation in NW Wyoming for general elk and deer seasons is correct. However, I hope that the general season elk hunting in 55, 56 and 60 will not disappear anytime soon.There are so many well heeled outfitters who hunt those general seasons, I just don't believe they will allow what happened in 50-53 to happen in their general areas. In previous posts, Buzz H has referred to the elk in these areas as "Cheeto Eating Park Elk". His ox isn't being gored and I don't know why he puts his two cents worth in on the subject. His comments remind me of the wolf "nuts" who argue that because elk populations are high overall in Wyoming, there is no elk problem. I believe Buzz H lives and works for the USFS around Cheyenne and Laramie. Obviously, where he lives has not been as seriously impacted by the grizzly bears and wolves. Good for him. His tune might change if he had to travel 300 miles to hunt general season deer and elk on public land.

The elk do very little talking in NW Wyoming. If you use calls, you are likely to call in a predator. In 55 and 56, and the corresponding deer areas, the grizzly bears come to gunshots. I had it happen during the general elk and deer seasons this year and last. This year my hunting partner killed a decent 6x6 (certainly as big as the bulls Buzz H is flashing)in a NW Wyoming general unit. This year, I passed up three branch antlered bulls (two raghorns and a decent 5x5)in those same units. They weren't what I was looking for. To get them in the general units, you have to get off the horse trails and hunt the tough places on foot. Hunting during the week is a real benefit if you are able to do so. Unfortunately, many hunters don't have 6 weeks of paid vacation (courtesy of the taxpayers)in which to travel and hunt the general seasons. I am fortunate to be retired and able to hunt during the week.

My deer hunting has changed in NW Wyoming in recent years. I used to hunt the Sunlight and Crandall areas when the seasons extended into November. I knew the areas very well, the migration paths and have invested a great deal of time scouting the terrain. Now the season shuts down just when the best deer hunting is getting started. It switches to LE on November 1st. I don't think the change was necessary, but the local warden and biologist wanted it. The local outfitters and guides in Sunlight/Crandall now have to have their hunters shoot every 2-3 year old buck that migrates in front of them before the general season ends. They do this for economic reasons because those areas now have no general elk season. The season change also increased the hunting pressure in the general areas with a later close date. This year, I hunted a single day in late October in the Sunlight/Crandall. Conditions were perfect. Unfortunately, the bucks were all one and two year old forkies and small 3 and 4 pts. Before the season changed a few years ago, I had taken my three best muley bucks in the Sunlight/Crandall areas. I have now switched to the general areas that have a season through November 10th. The deer are migratory and the country is steep and tough to hunt. ATV's and pickups won't get you anywhere near where you want to go. Most of those deer units are crawling with guides and outfitters. You have to know the migration paths. I hunt on foot, so you have to be prepared to be run over in the dark by people on horseback and to be accosted by guides and outfitters that have a sense of entitlement because of the special use permits they obtain from the USFS. I saw some great bucks this year. They were very wary. My son and I took a couple of decent 4x4 muleys and we each missed some opportunities at great bucks. I had a grizzly bear encounter with two bears that came to a shot I had fired at a nice buck. I was glad I missed that buck when we had the bear standoff at 30 yards.

This year I had a moose tag in Wyoming. It consumed a lot of time that I was going to spend elk hunting. I didn't put in for my local Area 11 because I have seen about two or three in that area over the last 3 years. There used to be plenty of moose in that area. Area 7,8,14,15 and 32 have been closed in recent years. I had a friend who hunted one of those areas before it closed. He saw one bull moose in 3-4 weeks of hunting. I hunted Area 10 this year. I was familiar with it because of some early season hunting I had done there over the years. It used to crawl with moose. I believe that disease and predation have now drastically altered the moose hunting in that area. I saw many elk but the deer numbers appeared to be way down. The drive down was 8 hours one way from my home. I hunted it three separate times for a total of 12 days. I hunted on foot and covered a lot of ground every day. The hunt was frustrating and the moose were scarce. I saw little fresh sign. I killed the only moose I saw on October 25th. I took a young 42" bull. I got him with a 440 yard shot just before he crested a ridge out of range. I consider myself very lucky to have filled that once-in-a lifetime tag.

I like hunting on foot. I could kill a decent muley or whitetail buck in my backyard every year (Unit 105). Unfortunately, I like to earn them in the backcountry. I know the areas close to home and love hunting them. I have invested thousands of hours scouting these areas. The hunting might be better or certainly easier elsewhere in Wyoming. I can't say that it doesn't bother me that seasons have been seriously altered or eliminated in NW Wyoming. I don't like to accomodate the demands of the wolf and grizzly lovers and their ilk. After this weeks ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, it doesn't look like anything will be changing with the grizzly bears anytime soon. The bears seem to be getting more bold each year.

Good luck with your hunts for next year. It can be done close to home, but it will take more work than it would in other parts of Wyoming.

 

[nfh]

Mighty hunter,

i hate to say this but areas 55 and 56 are well on there way to a limted tag only.. like sunlight and crandall they first started by taking the late tags away. then they took the general away. now in 55 and 56 the late bull tag is gone to. the best way to hunt the sunlight and crandall area was the late tag. catching those bulls migrating from the park... i put in 12 years for a late season tag up the north fork and i never got one and now i never will....

i know some guys think im saying a bunch of BS but im from the area and i have seen the areas decline. even horn hunting is gettting tough. the bulls in the wolf areas i have noticed are staying in higher ground every year and the bulls are staying alone.

the outfitters are getting hungry.... they are struggling hard to find some good bulls.

seems like every year more and more grizzly bear attacks are coming up and i myself have had some bad encounters. all the more reason to pack a hot loaded pistol while bowhunting.

i cant wait to the day of a wolf and grizzly bear tags come out.

 

[mightyhunter]

nfh,

I don't think you are full of BS. NW Wyoming elk and deer hunting on public land is tough. It takes a lot of work. You do have to compete with what you and I both believe are way too many hungry outfitters. I don't think that 55 and 56 will be going LE anytime soon, but it could happen. When the wolf problem first became apparent, the G&F should have curtailed the late season cow/calf tags years ago. Unfortunately, the G&F in Wyoming often comes late to the party. On the other hand, they frequently make decisions that make no sense at all. The elimination of the first week in November general deer season in the Sunlight/Crandall was totally unwarranted. That decision, combined with the elimination of the general elk season in that area, has resulted in the harvest of more one and two year old mule deer bucks by both guided and unguided hunters. The hunters are just in a hurry to take anything with antlers before the season ends. That scenario is what G&F was trying to eliminate. The fact that they gave everyone an extra 15 days of deer hunting at the beginning of October is the biggest joke of all. I can't count how many non-resident hunters are sucked in by the early October season. Because virtually all the mature bucks in the Sunlight/Crandall are migratory, they are lucky to see anything bigger than a forked horn before the end of October.

I agree with you, the grizzly bear thing in NW Wyoming is totally out of control. They are either moving a problem bear every week or someone is being attacked. You can't let your guard down for a minute in the backcountry. With the ruling earlier this week by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, this isn't going to change anytime soon. My hunting partner and I have lost portions of our elk to aggressive grizzly bears. They quickly come to the shots. The incident while I was deer hunting this year could have been a disaster if I had actually killed the buck. We would have ended up too close to some grizzly bears trying to claim a kill.

Again, good luck with your hunts.