Looking For Some Region "D" Help

blacktailBC · Jul 11, 2010

Hey guys. Struck out in the draws, so I picked up a Region D tag. I am looking for some insight from someone who has hunted there before. I have hunted antelope near there, but never deer. I am looking at starting with the Shirley Mtns, Seminoe Mtns. and maybe Deer Creek Range? Any help is appreciated.

lostinOregon · Jul 11, 2010

Buck,

Give me a call, I have stumbled around in the shirleys a few times when I was antelope hunting over there.

Rich

Wiszard · Jul 11, 2010

Seminoe is very rugged/steep and probably not where you'd want to hunt. We drive over Seminoe from Sinclair every year and we've never seen any bucks on it and it looks more like mountain goat country than deer country.

Steve

Whiterock · Jul 11, 2010

I have hunted the Shirley basin a few times for antelope and deer ,but never saw a good buck deer.I usually see deer ,but no bucks over 12-14 inch's.

NECALI · Jul 12, 2010

We hunted west of deer creek a couple of years ago after we talked to a fish and game employee. He said that during the winter counts they saw some great bucks. We did not see any during the season. We didn't even see any good bucks. The weather was favorable. We had 14" of new snow the first night there, but after a few days it got warm and melted off. With all the snow we thought it would be great. It just seemed there were'nt many deer around that country. Wish I could give you a better prognosis but thats the way it was a couple years ago.

TreeEM · Jul 12, 2010

If I remember right your tag covers the saratoga area too. There have been good deer harvested around the savage wilderness area. Now I am not sure of you can venutre in there because of the Wyoming rule, however there are good deer around that area as well. I have seen some decent bucks over by beer mug and the freezeouts before the wind mill company bought it out. Don't forget that there are other ways of finding a place to hunt. There are HMA's(Hunter Management Areas) that you can get through the web site. Just call them if you want to know what the population is in there etc....My guess is you should look at Muddy Mountain and some others not all have deer hunting or antelope hunting or elk hunting so make sure they do have deer hunting. Good luck to you.

blacktailBC · Jul 12, 2010

Thanks guys. Appreciate the help.

SouthernWyo · Jul 12, 2010

blacktailBC,

Just a heads-up, you mentioned trying the Seminoes. They're in limited quota area 87, you can't hunt them on a general region-wide tag.

blacktailBC · Jul 12, 2010

Thanks for the heads up. I've never been to the exact spot.....but looking at the atlas, half of the seminoes are in 87 and the eastern half is in 70 wich is region D.

sageadvice · Jul 12, 2010

BlacktailBC, You are correct, the Semimoe's are in both sides of the unit boundary. I do suspect the road that Wizzard drives thru every year is in the unit 87 part of the range. He's right, It is "mt goat" country, especially what you can see from that road but in my scouting last season, i had area 87, i found it to have good numbers of deer and a couple decent bucks. Also i got reports from locals and past hunters that there was good hunting to be had up near the tops...

I see no fault in your thinking to hunt the seminoes in your zone. If this helps, in 87 I found more than several shooter bucks last year feeding and hanging out in the sage, rough side hill and draw country between 6800-7200 ft. They seemed to like that elevation. Good luck!!

Joey

SouthernWyo · Jul 13, 2010

Those are the Bennett Mountains on the east side of Seminoe Reservoir in the general hunt unit. The Seminoes lie west of and end at the Platte. Guess your atlas doesn't make the distinction. You can access the Bennetts from Kortes on the west end or off the county road on the east - limited public road access but alot of country to walk.

rugarm77 · Jul 13, 2010

I have a question? When I was looking at the leftover tags I saw this area had a-lot. I did a search on the archives to see what people had to say about the unit. Mostly negative input??

My question is this,, Is this unit as bad as people say or can you have a good time chasing a decent buck? I hunted region G last year and was not really impressed at all.

sageadvice · Jul 13, 2010

LAST EDITED ON Jul-13-10 AT 11:00PM (MST)[p]SouthernWy said, "Those are the Bennett Mountains on the east side of Seminoe Reservoir in the general hunt unit. The Seminoes lie west of and end at the Platte. Guess your atlas doesn't make the distinction."

Hmmm! Check this link out and zoom in with the mytopo feature. i use them a lot and have found them to be accurate, but???

http://www.digital-topo-maps.com/

In any event, i could see spending some time in those mountains...whatever their name is.

Edit, Rug, There is a group of 4 from my home town here that hunt that area ever year for the past 10 years. I know that there are some from M.Muleys that don't do all that well trophy wise but these guys get theirs every year! Not real monster bucks but darn good ones, 22-28" 150-175", for today's public land hunts.

Joey

blacktailBC · Jul 13, 2010

SouthernWyo,
Thanks for the input, and taking the time to clarify.

Buck

SouthernWyo · Jul 14, 2010

Yep, no doubt about it, that for sure says Seminoe Mountains.

Ruger, you can have a good time chasing decent bucks in D, the same with any other unit or region in the state. And as with all units in the state, even the premium limited quota units, the vast majority of bucks taken will be well under the 180 mark. If you're looking for a fun, quality hunting experience with a chance at a mature mule deer, D will fit the bill.

rugarm77 · Jul 14, 2010

Thanks for the input SouthernWyo, Joey. Sounds like a leftover tag would be well worth the trip. Not to mention another great reason to hunt Wyoming again..

Wiszard · Jul 14, 2010

I've hunted Region D about 14 years of the last 18 and the biggest deer I've seen was a 14" spike/fork.

Just kidding. There are some decent bucks in the area I hunt just north of Seminoe but they are hard to come by.

Steve

big_treble · Jul 27, 2010

Ok, so fellas help a real newbie out.....Huted whitetails for over 20yrs in the midwest, but realize that muleys are much different. Applied for D be cause of the vast amount of national forest acerage to hunt on, not for trophies. But I am gathering a guy would be better off hunting the BLM land in lower elevations vs Medicine bow mountains? If this is true is this due to numbers or the ability to being able to cover more ground by glassing at the lower altitudes.

Wiszard · Jul 27, 2010

I would imagine you'll find deer at most elevations this time of year. I think the main thing to avoid on BLM would be other hunters. I'm sure you'll find deer. But if theyre being pushed, don't expect them to be found as easily. They'll get as skiddish as a pushed herd of antelope. The best buck I saw last year bailed out on me at 500 yards. I hadn't even laid eyes on him before he spooked. Like I said, you'll find deer if you can hunt in areas that they haven't been pushed.

Steve