Mule Deer Counties

What counties in WY would everyone consider to produce the worst/smallest antler size even for older age class bucks?

Unfortunately for me I think it is where I hunt.

Park county in North Western Wyoming.

>Unfortunately for me I think it
>is where I hunt.
>
>Park county in North Western Wyoming.
>


Thank you for your help.

>Unfortunately for me I think it
>is where I hunt.
>
>Park county in North Western Wyoming.
>


Strongly disagree

>Unfortunately for me I think it
>is where I hunt.
>
>Park county in North Western Wyoming.
>


And you have exactly how much experience hunting Wyoming?

I was thinking the same thing...

So it looks like "Hot Springs" and "Big Horn" counties have not produced much in P&Y and B&C record books. "Park" county has not been good for archery (P&Y) hunters or rifle (B&C) hunters since the early 2000's.

Does that sound about right to everyone? Anything different in record books other than B&C or P&Y?

Well I guess Hot Springs county might have to come out with the Wind River Indian Reservation taking up a good part of that county and at least one monster coming from the reservation.

I'm guessing Big Horn county might be the worst WY mule deer county?

As with hunting anything though, a trophy can come from just about anywhere.
I am a Taxidermist and every four or five years a have a monster of some sort brought in that came from some well known gar hole area.

Stats for an area are only going to tell the story of the past. Things many times change in a hunting area.
I still hope I can find a decent buck in the area I am hunting.
But in reality I'm hunting deer there while I scout for future elk hunts.
I saw a few good bucks there in 2017. Maybe a buck or two are still there for this fall.
But the population is pretty low there compared to lots of other places I spent time in looking.
I have found low population of an animal to create more available food in the habitat, and many times that will produce a healthier, larger animal.
I haven't seen that in the region I'm hunting in North Western Wyoming, so far.
Maybe in the future?
It's the gamble of picking an area sometimes.

Millsworks,

You are correct that habitat changes and is key to producing bucks at their full potential. I know of at least one study that showed an area should be around 50% carrying capacity for this to happen.

I'm little surprised some of the local Monster Muleys "experts" haven't thrown out what counties are not producing numbers of B+C bucks the last 10-12 years.
No reason not to say where , in a person's experience and opinion, a guy wouldn't recommend looking for a trophy.

Not like asking for the best area, or highest producing area for bucks is.
Though, as I said, traditional areas may not always keep pumping out trophies as in the past.
Hopefully someone with some personal knowledge will post up as to what they have seen in the past 5-6 year period.
I thinks that's the key.
Looking at stats for the past 12 years at most is probably moreover accurate, for season dates in the near future.
Maybe a few who aren't too busy criticizing other people's posts, and still want to offer a helpful opinion.

Not criticizing. But Mills aren't you from WV with only a couple Wyoming trips to your credit? Have you been hunting out west your entire life? You seem very knowledgeable about guns and reloading which I'm a big fan of. I live up in NW Wyoming again. You should stop buy sometime and we will talk guns over some coffee or something.

Coloradoboy

Yes, Colorado,
I only have a couple seasons of Wyoming hunting, with one long scouting trip.
First trip was for 28 days hunting and a week scouting.
I am giving the info I have from my time there.
But I am certainly no expert on Wyoming.
But I call it as I see it.
I hunted and camped and hiked and hiked some more for 28 continues days in the 105+106 area above Crandell.
Saw lots of deer. But trophy bucks were not what class of deer I came across.
Not a high density of deer there, but with the ground I covered, I saw more than a few.
I unfortunately was trying to find a bull elk. I did see a couple huge bulls.
But they were on the wrong side of the river that bordered my unit.
That's my luck.
No matter how long I hunt I will certainly never have the experience a local resident has in an area they live near and have hunted since they were a kid.
I apologise to any that have mistaken me for a long time Western hunter.
I just want to share my opinion and experience with any it may help.
I have nothing to proof to anyone.
I have said this in the past here on MM and other forums.
If a guy thinks he needs advice from a 40+yr Western hunter then they can obviously disregard anything I post for the next 37 years.
Saw several other areas that had more deer and saw bigger bucks on average, in places I stopped to check out.
But the regional tag in Northwest Wyoming is relatively easy to draw for deer and better yet there are elk tags there in some big bull country for not a whole lot of points.
I did see a couple real good bucks there that I hopefully can find again.
But, I'm sure the late hunts will sometimes have more or bigger muleys.
But in 2017 during October, there were alot of deer moving out of the high country and down onto the BLM and private ranches towards Cody.
Seems they migrated earlier than what I was told they would by all I talked to.
I didn't hunt the South Fork area. I have been and will continue to concintrate my efforts in the area I think I can regularly draw a tag in.
Good luck to everyone this season, and everyone is welcome at my camp.
Coffee is always on.

>Yes, Colorado,
>I only have a couple seasons
>of Wyoming hunting, with one
>long scouting trip.
>First trip was for 28 days
>hunting and a week scouting.
>
>I am giving the info I
>have from my time there.
>
>But I am certainly no expert
>on Wyoming.
>But I call it as I
>see it.
>I hunted and camped and hiked
>and hiked some more for
>28 continues days in the
>105+106 area above Crandell.
>Saw lots of deer. But trophy
>bucks were not what class
>of deer I came across.
>
>Not a high density of deer
>there, but with the ground
>I covered, I saw more
>than a few.
>I unfortunately was trying to find
>a bull elk. I did
>see a couple huge bulls.
>
>But they were on the wrong
>side of the river that
>bordered my unit.
>That's my luck.
>No matter how long I hunt
>I will certainly never have
>the experience a local resident
>has in an area they
>live near and have hunted
>since they were a kid.
>
>I apologise to any that have
>mistaken me for a long
>time Western hunter.
>I just want to share my
>opinion and experience with any
>it may help.
>I have nothing to proof to
>anyone.
>I have said this in the
>past here on MM and
>other forums.
>If a guy thinks he needs
>advice from a 40+yr Western
>hunter then they can obviously
>disregard anything I post for
>the next 37 years.
>Saw several other areas that had
>more deer and saw bigger
>bucks on average, in places
>I stopped to check out.
>
>But the regional tag in Northwest
>Wyoming is relatively easy to
>draw for deer and better
>yet there are elk tags
>there in some big bull
>country for not a whole
>lot of points.
>I did see a couple real
>good bucks there that I
>hopefully can find again.
>But, I'm sure the late hunts
>will sometimes have more or
>bigger muleys.
>But in 2017 during October, there
>were alot of deer moving
>out of the high country
>and down onto the BLM
>and private ranches towards Cody.
>
>Seems they migrated earlier than what
>I was told they would
>by all I talked to.
>
>I didn't hunt the South Fork
>area. I have been and
>will continue to concintrate my
>efforts in the area I
>think I can regularly draw
>a tag in.
>Good luck to everyone this season,
>and everyone is welcome at
>my camp.
>Coffee is always on.


??

I read this post and all I could think of was the term "good grief". Didn't that term come from the Peanuts cartoons? Some areas in Wyoming have resident deer populations and some have nothing but migratory mule deer. Actual hunting seasons can significantly vary over the years. Factors like predation or weather enter into the hunting as do other factors. I honestly couldn't say where you should go to hunt big muleys in Wyoming. I know where the crowds tend to go and the areas the experts give a thumbs up to. I saw a couple of dandy bucks in the Cody city limits yesterday. They were not far from the cement plant. Sometimes you find them in the graveyard or near the golf course. I had a friend shoot a dandy in 105 in 2018 that was standing on the side of the road.

At the end of the 2019 season, we should all report back on what we saw for the season and bring a conclusion to this post, or not.

just sayin...mh

So the only county I can come up with as the not great for mule deer antler size is "Big Horn". There was however a deadhead found in 1978 that scored 244 inches. Nothing else in the record books that went over 160 inches.

Anyone ever hear about 175+ inch mule deer coming out of Big Horn County? Units 46, 47, 50, 51, 52, 53, 123, 124?