Wyoming Region G poor deer hunting this year

Newbie to the Region G game. I mentioned early I am planning on going there in 2024. Is the main reason that G is so popular a combination of: lots of public land, decent road access, beautiful scenery, and then of course the famous genetics of giant deer?
 
ll non residents don’t hunt out of state just for meat,
Ummm yeah there are,a lot of non residence that do. And my wife & I are 2 of them
If its a legal deer or elk and we have a tag for it I don't care if its buck ,doe, fawn ,yearling forkhorn raghorn or a b&c animal.im going to kill it I don't care if its here in Montana,,or
Any other state we hunt (several every year)
We don't like tag soup we always fill our tags
Unfilled tag is wasted money, we don't waste money and we wont go home with unfilled tags
 
Ummm yeah there are,a lot of non residence that do. And my wife & I are 2 of them
If its a legal deer or elk and we have a tag for it I don't care if its buck ,doe, fawn ,yearling forkhorn raghorn or a b&c animal.im going to kill it I don't care if its here in Montana,,or
Any other state we hunt (several every year)
We don't like tag soup we always fill our tags
Unfilled tag is wasted money, we don't waste money and we wont go home with unfilled tags
Not sure where to start with a post like that. I think that strategy is far more a part of the problem and not any part of the solution. If money is so tight that you can’t “waste” a tag, maybe you should spend that money in the meat market of your grocery store instead of spending money traveling to several states to shoot whatever pops up. I will leave the grammar and punctuation lessons to @Homer
 
Ummm yeah there are,a lot of non residence that do. And my wife & I are 2 of them
If its a legal deer or elk and we have a tag for it I don't care if its buck ,doe, fawn ,yearling forkhorn raghorn or a b&c animal.im going to kill it I don't care if its here in Montana,,or
Any other state we hunt (several every year)
We don't like tag soup we always fill our tags
Unfilled tag is wasted money, we don't waste money and we wont go home with unfilled tags
Well we know you didn’t waste any money on higher education...
 
Newbie to the Region G game. I mentioned early I am planning on going there in 2024. Is the main reason that G is so popular a combination of: lots of public land, decent road access, beautiful scenery, and then of course the famous genetics of giant deer?
Why are you planning on going there? If you don’t know the main reasons how can you decide to already be planning a hunt there?
 
The OP is a prime example of why areas go to crap. In fairness, I've been guilty of the same.

You cant pound 5 deer a year between you, your wife, 2 sons and your Dad and expect quality or numbers to stay the same.

I had some great mule deer areas in Montana that would have lasted for many more years, if I didn't pull this same thing. Find a good spot with some good bucks, treat it the way it deserves to be treated. Shoot the best buck or two and then go elsewhere.

But, 99% of people won't do that, they shoot one, their old lady shoots one, the 2-5 kids shoot one, invite a friend or two, they shoot one.

Then go back and complain because the "deer numbers are way down".

Maybe look in the mirror as to the reason why.
 
Buzz,
Your reasoning is exactly why G and H need to be limited quota for residents and nonresidents.

As you stated about Montana, the same is true most anywhere:

“Find a good spot with some good bucks, treat it the way it deserves to be treated. Shoot the best buck or two and then go elsewhere.

But, 99% of people won't do that, they shoot one, their old lady shoots one, the 2-5 kids shoot one, invite a friend or two, they shoot one.

Then go back and complain because the "deer numbers are way down"


Add in a couple bad winters, improved technology etc. and folks complain the deer numbers and quality are way down. Since we can’t control Mother Nature and nobody wants any limits on technology or equipment; the only logical solution is to limit tags.
 
Looks like more good mule deer than elk to me?‍♂️?
You must have missed the herd of branch antlered bulls around the 3:44 point. Quite a big bachelor sized group all branch antlered bulls. They have greatly increased in numbers over the past 25 years, now we have elk filled basins and very few mule deer whereas 25 years ago it was rare to see an elk and every basin held large bucks. Sad, now it’s mostly hunter orange and elk.
 
You must have missed the herd of branch antlered bulls around the 3:44 point. Quite a big bachelor sized group all branch antlered bulls. They have greatly increased in numbers over the past 25 years, now we have elk filled basins and very few mule deer whereas 25 years ago it was rare to see an elk and every basin held large bucks. Sad, now it’s mostly hunter orange and elk.
Full of hunter orange AND elk? Riiiiiight
 
Buzz,
Your reasoning is exactly why G and H need to be limited quota for residents and nonresidents.

As you stated about Montana, the same is true most anywhere:

“Find a good spot with some good bucks, treat it the way it deserves to be treated. Shoot the best buck or two and then go elsewhere.

But, 99% of people won't do that, they shoot one, their old lady shoots one, the 2-5 kids shoot one, invite a friend or two, they shoot one.

Then go back and complain because the "deer numbers are way down"


Add in a couple bad winters, improved technology etc. and folks complain the deer numbers and quality are way down. Since we can’t control Mother Nature and nobody wants any limits on technology or equipment; the only logical solution is to limit tags.
No, people need to practice a bit of self control and think about what they're doing.

I haven't killed a mule deer in a general unit in Wyoming since 2009. I've drawn one LQ tag and shot one there in 2012. So, in 11 years I've killed 2 mule deer in Wyoming.

I don't want mule deer hunting to become a situation where the ones that hunt are those lucky in a drawing. I want people to quit with the "I need to fill my tag", and start considering what their actions cause.

Plus, there's 2 species of deer to hunt in Wyoming if you just have to "fill the tag"...and they're way better eating and a ton of fun to hunt.

If you need meat, kill 1, 2, or 3 cow elk a year. Elk eat way better and there's more of it. They're also easier to find. Or 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 pronghorn you can get a year, also better eating than a mule deer.

No reason to make either G or H limited quota...just lay off the trigger.
 
No, people need to practice a bit of self control and think about what they're doing.

I haven't killed a mule deer in a general unit in Wyoming since 2009. I've drawn one LQ tag and shot one there in 2012. So, in 11 years I've killed 2 mule deer in Wyoming.

I don't want mule deer hunting to become a situation where the ones that hunt are those lucky in a drawing. I want people to quit with the "I need to fill my tag", and start considering what their actions cause.

Plus, there's 2 species of deer to hunt in Wyoming if you just have to "fill the tag"...and they're way better eating and a ton of fun to hunt.

If you need meat, kill 1, 2, or 3 cow elk a year. Elk eat way better and there's more of it. They're also easier to find. Or 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 pronghorn you can get a year, also better eating than a mule deer.

No reason to make either G or H limited quota...just lay off the trigger.
If you have a tag, you should be able to shoot any deer you want, as long as you eat it and it is legal. It is a pipe dream to think the average person who puts effort into a hunt (like you do in the high country of G and H) won't shoot a decent buck if that's all they can find. If this causes an issue with game management (not enough bucks to breed the does or not enough quality bucks to breed the does) then you have to cap how many are being shot, not tell someone to have self control while hunting if everything they are doing is ethical and legal.
 
If the state allots 150 tags for the unit, are there that many mature bucks to be had on the unit? Ask yourself that question and determine what happens if all tags are filled with 150 kill a mature buck. Is it the hunters fault the herd is what it is or the entity in charge or the management?
 
Buzz,

You seem to be contradicting your own thoughts? Here are a couple of your quotes,

“No reason to make either G or H limited quota...just lay off the trigger.”

“But, 99% of people won't do that, they shoot one, their old lady shoots one, the 2-5 kids shoot one, invite a friend or two, they shoot one.”
 
Newbie to the Region G game. I mentioned early I am planning on going there in 2024. Is the main reason that G is so popular a combination of: lots of public land, decent road access, beautiful scenery, and then of course the famous genetics of giant deer?
Silly question How many points do you have for Deer are you a resident or NR
 
Does it hurt your feelers that I can go legally spotlight during the season but you can’t fly your plane looking at deer to go hunt while the season is open? ?????
I can fly my plane and look at deer while using my aircraft as transportation, I just can’t use that information gained as an aid for scouting or aiding in taking wildlife. Just as you cannot use a spotlight to “Aid” in the taking of wildlife.
 
+1 The future of Mule Deer is over!
I’m afraid that I agree! I hunted G as a kid in the mid to late seventies. Seemed like the monsters were everywhere!
In ‘81 my Dad shot a 210” perfectly symmetrical 4point. Probably the most beautiful buck I’ve ever seen. My brother and I were always able to shoot nice bucks during those fun years. The last time I hunted G was in 2013. I saw a lot of does and a couple of two points. Haven’t been back with a gun.
Not sure what the solution is but times have changed.
 
I am not really familiar with g and h. But in other areas, I can say the drought conditions were significantly worse and very hard on deer. There is a lot of WY right now with skinny underweight deer. The winter ranges all but burned up this year and if we get hit with any part of a hard winter it is looking pretty bleak.

I would also say this... Predators are a very real issue for our deer. Bears in particular. There is some great studies wrapping up in CO on the effects of bears on our herds. Targeted predator removal in the spring might be the single best method for helping our herds. This can make a huge difference especially after a hard winter when the bear population is up and the fawn recruitment is done. Targeted predator removal could change the herd recovery time after a bad winter from the current 7-8 years back to 3-4.
 
I honestly think the WYGFD has been lazy in the management of region G and H. For so long the remoteness of the country made management easy. Few were willing to go way back to hunt for various reasons. It wasn’t popular to backpack hunt back then, the hunting was great close to the road, snow always came early etc etc.

We all know it’s getting more crowded back there. The storms are fewer and don’t last. Warms back up pretty quickly. Throw in some winters, technology etc and now region G and H cannot self manage themselves. Now I’m no @mightyhunter and will not sit here and blame WYGFD. They have cut season dates and made a few other changes. But I feel like they could do more but some of the easiest attainable data is not being collected.

I will keep saying mandatory reporting for all hunters in WY is a good thing. Whether you are successful or not. Days hunted, method to access hunting grounds, successful or not, size of buck could all be great data that could be use to quickly adjust years of big winter kill etc.

Some things I laugh at is the study put on regarding the deer migrating from the hoback all the way to north of superior WY. Everyone made this out to be groundbreaking news. Any shed hunter in that part of WY could tell you that information for free. Hell the sell out Eastmans mentioned it in videos in the early 90s. Why it was great info I would like to know the following for western Wyoming:

how many hunters chased deer in region G/H?

how many were successful?

how many were 4 pt bucks with spreads of 24”?

what’s the average amount of days does a hunter hunt in G?

the fact they can’t answer this is fricking sad.

Now you may say it would cost too much or take too much time. Well there are states already doing this. Alaska you have to do it for every tag. And on some tags if you don’t report in time you can’t put in for tags the next year. Now whether they chose to act on the data is another thing.
California has mandatory reporting of big game tags, so it matters just as much what F&W does with that information, but it's the correct thing to do for sure. You can't make common sense decisions if you don't have accurate harvest information. The 1960's are gone forever.
 
California has mandatory reporting of big game tags, so it matters just as much what F&W does with that information, but it's the correct thing to do for sure. You can't make common sense decisions if you don't have accurate harvest information. The 1960's are gone forever.
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Let's say I just ate two Igloo ice cream bars outta my freezer. How many do I have left??
 
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We have hunted long and hard in Region G this year. We have hit most of the areas that we have hunted in recent years and never seen it so bad. Hikes of up to 15 miles some days have produced nothing but small bucks, and not many of them. Between me, my wife, two sons and dad, we have seen only one shooter on a trail cam and not a single shooter while hunting. We have seen a lot of elk though, including some pretty nice bulls. With the small numbers of deer, it doesn't look promising for the next couple of years either.
I had similar results in g as well. We seen all the best bucks opening day and couldn't find anything of decent size after. Lots of elk
 
Big wide and massive or what we call a rocker when their head sways uncontrollably as they run. My biggest concern would be the lack of 3 plus year old bucks left after the hunt. We did our part and went 0 for 4 this year, but seriously people wacking yearlings in Region G. I say let them grow.
I did the same this year. Tag soup. I Passed on 3 bucks 160+. Not what I was looking for in that unit. Figured I better leave some seed for the future
 
I had similar results in g as well. We seen all the best bucks opening day and couldn't find anything of decent size after. Lots of elk
Yes those elk are way way above objective and eat the same forage the deer does and fawns compete for. How about hunting pressure by resident hunters this year? Normally it’s very heavy the first 4 days of the season but thins out immensely after that. Thanks for passing those small 4 points, somebody will thank you in a year or two.
 
Yes those elk are way way above objective and eat the same forage the deer does and fawns compete for. How about hunting pressure by resident hunters this year? Normally it’s very heavy the first 4 days of the season but thins out immensely after that. Thanks for passing those small 4 points, somebody will thank you in a year or two.
Where we went we didn't see anyone until the afternoon. Ran into 3 different groups hike. Most hunters we seen where down low road hunting
 
Yes those elk are way way above objective and eat the same forage the deer does and fawns compete for. How about hunting pressure by resident hunters this year? Normally it’s very heavy the first 4 days of the season but thins out immensely after that. Thanks for passing those small 4 points, somebody will thank you in a year or two.
Browsers and grazers, not the same.
 
No, people need to practice a bit of self control and think about what they're doing.

I haven't killed a mule deer in a general unit in Wyoming since 2009. I've drawn one LQ tag and shot one there in 2012. So, in 11 years I've killed 2 mule deer in Wyoming.

I don't want mule deer hunting to become a situation where the ones that hunt are those lucky in a drawing. I want people to quit with the "I need to fill my tag", and start considering what their actions cause.

Plus, there's 2 species of deer to hunt in Wyoming if you just have to "fill the tag"...and they're way better eating and a ton of fun to hunt.

If you need meat, kill 1, 2, or 3 cow elk a year. Elk eat way better and there's more of it. They're also easier to find. Or 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 pronghorn you can get a year, also better eating than a mule deer.

No reason to make either G or H limited quota...just lay off the trigger.
Unfortunately, many people cant see past their own feet. The land cannot sustain subsistance hunting with the population of people we now have. They figured that out over a hundred years ago. The days of filling the pickup bed full of fish, birds, deer are all but gone....except where Buzz notes it....still can do it that way....but back off the muleys. Kinda like when the quail numbers are down, dont pound them, let them recover....hunt something else.......not that tough a concept!

If your that hard up for "meat" common sense says to stay home and buy it versus spending money travelling all over the country collecting it. Maybe get ur head examined too.

If ya plain out enjoy wild game, take a little and leave some for the rest, just like fish.......no need to take everyones limit just because the law says you can.....wake up!
 
Browsers and grazers, not the same.
No, you haven’t been paying attention to what Dr. Monteith’s research has been showing. His D.E.E.R. Study, Deer, Elk, Ecology Research shows how deer and elk compete directly eating the exact same forage. This podcast has some great information in it, listen to it all if you have time. If not skip to the 20 minute mark. As elk herds have increased the deer have plummeted. We have maxed out our summer range carrying capacity. https://poddtoppen.se/podcast/14035...s/kevin-montieth-and-the-science-of-mule-deer
 
Spent a few days helping a buddy second weekend. No pressure at all saw at least 2 dozen 4pts, not one would even score 160.
 
Lots of good young bucks around! I passed a pile of 150-160 class bucks and found a few better. The bigger bucks were smart enough to avoid being killed, already looking forward to next deer season. Elk fill a lot more of the freezer.
 
No, you haven’t been paying attention to what Dr. Monteith’s research has been showing. His D.E.E.R. Study, Deer, Elk, Ecology Research shows how deer and elk compete directly eating the exact same forage. This podcast has some great information in it, listen to it all if you have time. If not skip to the 20 minute mark. As elk herds have increased the deer have plummeted. We have maxed out our summer range carrying capacity. https://poddtoppen.se/podcast/14035...s/kevin-montieth-and-the-science-of-mule-deer
I actually know Kevin, talked with him about a few things, He does not know all the answers, admits it himself.
 
I actually know Kevin, talked with him about a few things, He does not know all the answers, admits it himself.
Slow learner? It’s obvious what he observes and his opinion is on elk eating the exact same forage deer eat. He is not the sole author of the D.E.E.R. Project.
 
The deer hunting for big bucks was bad last year, and it was even worse this year. Definately a rebuild year, and don't expect much next year either.
 
Seems people have forgotten that nearly an entire age group of deer are missing from the herd due to the fawn losses of 2018. That age group would be the “big” bucks people are looking for this year.
Ooh Swing and a miss chester. 3-4 year old deer are not "big" unless you're from Sweetwater county. 6-8 year olds are the "big" ones.
 
Well let's see. 1000++ yard long range guns. More roads into the back country. Atv's and SXS allow you to fly up rough roads easily that would have been a 5mph ride in the truck. Greatly improved backpacking equipment. No one in the 80s was working out year round to stay in mountain shape. Nobody had multiple spotters for every tag. Dont blame the flat brimmers. More winter range gets destroyed every day. Technology plane and simple has done the most damage IMO.
well said
 
I agree that G is worse than ever for big bucks, but there are a lot of little fellers there that could be good in a few more years. I think I will just bank points until about 2023 or 2024, but I am getting old and running out of years to bank points.
 

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