8 Point Max For Deer

[elkhunter7pt]

So I'm in the top of the points and a non-resident deer. Is it worth using my points for a chance at a trophy or do you think there may be some changes in some units to develop trophy potential. What unit would you point me towards if I was to attempt to use my points for 2014. Thanks for any help and your time.

 

[nfh]

I would look into area 109.

just my 2 cents.




This was last years buck a guy got in 109.

scored 242 ish NET if I remember right

 

[440sixpack]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-12-13 AT 08:59PM (MST)[p]That buck is in the new issue of Fair Chase, netted 240 4/8. nice for anywhere but extra nice for NW Wyoming.

I also have max deer points and here is my opinion, use them. if you look at mule deer around the west I think it's going to be a long time if ever it gets hot again anywhere, well maybe Colorado. so you can have several good deer hunts in WY before any super duper ones are created, if they ever are.

I like late hunts for obvious reasons so like NFH says, 105-6-9, 119,125 or 128 are all good. hard to say which is best that's kind of personal preference.











Stay thirsty my friends

 

[30Hart]

Use them, I used mine last year and have no regrets. There is no limited entry unit in Wyoming that is better than a General G or H tag. Get to hunting, but I am holding on to my max elk points though...different story.

 

[440sixpack]

Just curious, why not hunt elk now? there are some smoking elk hunts in WY right now I doubt it's ever going to get better.





Stay thirsty my friends

 

[30Hart]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-13-13 AT 12:38PM (MST)[p]Wyoming closed a couple of the late season hunts in the wolf areas. Also they have added a couple of late season hunts in areas outside of the wolf zone. Once the wolf situation is under control they might reopen it, that hunt will be a killer then. I'm using my elk points as a rainy day fund for the right opportunity. As an example, in Utah the Henry Mountains deer area used to be a general hunt, but then they made it limited and now it's the best. My point is you never know what opportunities the future holds. I have a big bull on the wall so I can wait...but you are right Wyoming has some super areas right now for big bulls.

 

[elkhunter7pt]

I also have 6 points for elk but plan on using them next year. So for deer the top eight or so units that are always talked about as the best, are they that good?
And do you feel the late hunts in November are the way to go?

 

[30Hart]

No not really, Region G is better. I'd say the late hunts, but only if you get lots and lots of snow to bring the old bucks down. Wyoming limited deer is really bleak...if you are looking for a 150-160 deer then go for it. Any area and I mean any area (limited or general) produces big deer in Wyoming you just can't count on it. Better to hunt the same area every couple years and get to know it then gamble on a limited area right now, unless you want to burn the points and get on learning a general area.

 

[DnkyPunch]

I've got 7 and want to do some damage and get off the hamster wheel for deer.
Elk - 7 points but I'd like to do a cow hunt or something and use it as a scouting trip to learn a unit before i roll in there with a tag i waited forever for as a NR.

 

[440sixpack]

I don't think any of the top units are near as good as they were, but I doubt they will be in our lifetime. I like the late hunts because they work out better for me in my occupation , I like the low hunter numbers and of course I like the rut hunt. I have freinds who hunt G and they say it can be a zoo there sometimes. I've never hunted it myself but I'm not into that.

You need to ask yourself if it's worth waiting for a great hunt that may never happen or do you want a good hunt now and another one or two later. without a crystal ball that's about all you can do.

30Hart, there are several hunts you could draw where a 350 + bull is a very good chance, I question if WY will ever knock out masses of bulls better than that. I also wonder if we've won the wolf war, I hope we didn't just win the battle but not the war. I wouldn't bank on it.


In my 35 years of hunting with only a few exceptions I've seen things get worse not better. that along with the fact I'm 50 tells me time is not on my side. I'm going to hunt what I can as soon as I can .














Stay thirsty my friends

 

[elkhunter7pt]

440sixpack your thought on using my tag now does make a lot of sense. It is just picking the right unit to have that chance at a 170 plus muley. I'm retiring in the next two years then I could draw the eaiser units to draw and spend more time in them. So if you were to pick a unit with a lot of public access, what would it be?
Elk there are a number of units to go with six points and I'm ready to find the unit that gives me a good hunt and good chance at a 300 plus chance.

 

[TOPGUN]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-13-13 AT 12:40PM (MST)[p]I'd say if you're at max PPs that you should get in a draw for a good unit and get out of the game. Your chances of shooting a 300"+ bull are much better even in most of the general units than spending money on a lot of PPs for the chance of shooting a 170" buck nowadays the way things are going IMHO. I had what I thought was a good unit to shoot a good buck with about 4PPs, but now with the PP creep, even though I partnered with a member with max of 7 PPs last year, it took 6 and 7 PPs to draw it. I may be back to the drawing board because I hate to keep dropping $40 a year if it stays above my total each year and I'm already at $200 in PPs. I'm glad I'm not in the race for any of the animals that take a lot more money for PPs and decades to draw!!!

 

[30Hart]

440: I agree...access for me is also an issue...I either walk or use an ATV. I can't backpack anymore and don't have horses so the right kind of hunt is important to me. I took a 347 bull in area 7 when I was younger as a resident. I do it DIY so it's tougher for me now. You only have max points for elk once and I need the right area/trophy potential to pull the trigger. PM me if you want to discuss offline I have an interesting situation I might be able to exploit w/ the right unit, thanks.

 

[BuzzH]

This thread illustrates perfectly why point systems are such a joke.

People banking points and pushing point creep, need for a "trophy" because people have waited____years for a tag, frustration by those without points.

Glad residents were able to stop the elk, deer, pronghorn PP bill last year.

 

[30Hart]

Unfortunately, the other side is not that much greener. When I was a Wyoming resident you had plenty of heartburn too. Johnny can't draw a tag but has been putting in for 20 years. Jimmy works w/ Johnny and has drawn the tag 3 times in the last ten years...unfortunately no system is ideal.

 

[BuzzH]

unfortunately no system is ideal.

I agree...but a random draw is still the best of the bunch.

 

[30Hart]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-13-13 AT 02:08PM (MST)[p]Yes it is the most fair system everyone has equal odds, but the point system will at least guarantee me a sheep tag (and I want one so badly) and it has given me a bull moose tag this year so it has been good to me. On the flip side I drew a resident area 7 elk tag 3 out of 4 years so that has been good to me too! Something I could have never done with a point system.

 

[elkhunter7pt]

I use the points to try and draw some good tags. I now put in for points in seven states and what brought to doing this was the fact that I have put in 38 years in Oregon as a resident for Bighorn Sheep. I've still not drawn this tag and there is no point system for Bighorn or Mtn. Goat. So I figured jump on the wagon and give myself some better chances. Yes it is not cheap but I love to hunt.

 

[440sixpack]

I think the point system is great for the hunter and even better for the game dept. we drew the tags we wanted for moose, elk and her deer already and I will draw my sheep tag soon and my deer and both our pronghorn in the top units. who knows if we ever would have without points. the only guy who doesn't like the point system is he guy with no points, pay your dues and you get a reward.


All the late deer hunts I listed have good access and enough public ground . my favorite would be 105-6-9 and 128 , but if you really want a 170+ I sure wouldn't say it's a done deal in any of them. I view them as really fun low hunter number hunts in the best hunting country in the world, not trophy hunts, unless you really get lucky.

I'm sure there are as good if not better hunts I don't know about I just like the late ones best. you might be best off in G or H or down south , but I wouldn't burn max points for them I'd hunt a hard draw first then do that.











Stay thirsty my friends

 

[TOPGUN]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-14-13 AT 07:38AM (MST)[p]440---What's so great about the PP system in Wyoming when before it was started I had the same chance as every other NR of drawing a bull tag in the unit I hunt every year?! Now the chance is once every 6 or 7 years at best in the regular draw so I said to heck with that and just help friends that draw every year. The resident % of success for drawing the unit is over 75% and it sure wouldn't be that good if they went to a PP system like us NRs are now tied to. The NR system totally sucks and as far as I'm concerned Wyoming can stick their PP system up their ***!!! That's why I got in the fight with BuzzH and the other Wyoming residents to nix the resident PP bills that came up in the Legislature last year. It didn't help me as a NR, but one of these days I just may be a cowboy living out there and it will! Also your statement that the only ones that don't like a PP system are the ones with no PPs is baloney! See my post #11 for what I'm now fighting in the deer PP scheme of things and don't tell me I'll draw the tag I want the way things are going. If you don't get in a PP system from day one when it is started, you are totally screwed unless you're real young and all the ones ahead of you are older and either leave the system by drawing or dying first!!!

 

[goofyelk]

Well, I'm a non-res, sitting on 8 points. Both for deer and elk..

Ready to use them too !!!!!!

I'm basicly a bow hunter. Thinking 102 deer, September archery..
BUT, Those November tags look VERY Tempting !!!!!
Are those late tags anyweapon hunts?
Are the bucks rutt'in hard , and it would be possible to score with a bow?

Elk I'm torn on too, I'm leaning on 100, September bow.
If I dont score, go back mid October rifle .....
The other option, 8 points is a gauranteed type 9 permit
on several good units------- Thinking 38 if I go that route.

Any thoughts?

 

[440sixpack]

The point system works, end of story. if you feel like your luck is so good you're going to get a tag everytime you apply go to Vegas and win enough money to buy governors tags every year.


Case in point, I am 51 and I've applied for an Oregon sheep tag ever since I turned 12 and could, we have no point system for sheep and I still haven't drawn. I will draw my WY sheep tag in the next few years because I have 16 points. that is what I'm talking about.

I apply in 7 states, the point system lets me have a pretty good feel for what I'll draw and when so I can keep from overlapping my hunt dates. the drawings don't have to be like christmas gifts , if you pay your dues and have a plan they're more like an investment.



Stay thirsty my friends

 

[piper]

Im going on 5 years in a row without a Wyoming pronghorn tag, the areas I put in for are around 50% or a little less draw odds, that's the bad part about random draws, now my friend has hit 4 out of 5.

Its all fine unless its you that doesn't have that lady luck, I could easily go ten years without, in fact I know some residents that haven't drawn in ten years.

A resident point system would work fantastic in WY for pronghorns, at least if spreading tags out among different qualified hunters were the goal. Wyoming in a funny state though, they have the most draconian point system of all for resident sheep,mnt goats and moose, and then where a point system would really help, they have none at all, go figure?

Back to the post- SW Wyoming deer are scattered out in lots of country, that and since residents tags are OTC it means they get quite a bit of pressure, that's why late tags can be good, it concentrates the deer some, but the ones I know about are somewhat weather dependent and you never know? There were a couple of nice ones killed in the 130 draw this year, but the hunting was poor the last few years in that area before this year.
I had a 141-162 tag, saw some good deer but nothing special and I ate the tag.

I don't know of any regulation changes coming up that will bring about more quality, so if your waiting, it may be a long time.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Goofyelk, I had the 102 tag once (2007) and the September archery hunt was awesome. I saw around 40 bucks in a few days of hunting. Deer numbers were good that year. There have been a few tough winters since then (2007/08 and 2010/11), but I suspect it's still a pretty fun hunt. As was noted above, deer are scattered in lots of country. They're pretty visible during the archery hunt. If the weather is warm during the October rifle hunt it can be very tough to find a mature buck.

 

[elkhunter7pt]

What has the winter been like so far in Wyoming?

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Most basins in Wyoming are above average for snowpack for this time of year. We had a period of very cold weather, and now a bit of a warm up. Moisture will be good for the critters, so long as Old Man Winter doesn't hang around too long this spring.

 

[feduptwo]

Given the choice between a random draw and the Wyoming preference point system I will take the random draw any day. Its kinda like being given the choice between Syphilis and Herpes both are pretty nasty but at least I can get rid of Syphilis (Syphilis being the random draw). Once you get Herpes (the current Wyoming Preference point system) all you can do is manage the symptoms.

Something needs to be done. Waiting periods, staggered draws a Nevada style points system or a combination of the lot would be a start.

 

[nfh]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-15-13 AT 12:19PM (MST)[p]>Well, I'm a non-res, sitting on
>8 points. Both for deer
>and elk..
>
>Ready to use them too !!!!!!
>
>
>I'm basicly a bow hunter. Thinking
>102 deer, September archery..
>BUT, Those November tags look VERY
>Tempting !!!!!
>Are those late tags anyweapon hunts?
>
>Are the bucks rutt'in hard ,
>and it would be possible
>to score with a bow?
>
>
>Elk I'm torn on too, I'm
>leaning on 100, September bow.
>
>If I dont score, go back
>mid October rifle .....
>The other option, 8 points is
>a gauranteed type 9 permit
>
>on several good units------- Thinking 38
>if I go that route.
>
>
>Any thoughts?
>
>
>

You can use a bow on a late season hunt. The rules state you must where orange. Now if you got a Archery only tag its only good for that archery season dates... what I do is apply for late season whitetail tag. I called the game warden to clarify if ican bowhunt in september. He said yes but only in my area the tag is good for. So wham bam I get september and november to hunt.. I mainly use september as a scouting tool.

 

[goofyelk]

Himnt .... I've heard some good reports for 102 archery , Thanks.

And nfh, Had'nt even thought about that possiblity !!!
Drawing 105/6/9 and archery huntin there ib September first ..
Intresting thought!