Wyoming anyone? Last Call...

[Indian Summer]

As many know the deadline for Wyoming hunting license applications is January 31st. Wyoming has some of the best elk hunting in the country. Easy to get licenses and considerably less hunters than other states. Even Paul the Elknut himself has his Wyoming app in this year.

If you are interested but not sure where to start look me up. At Headin' West Hunting Consulting I can either set you up with a quality outfitter.... or better yet provide you with a detailed DIY hunting plan. You'll get everything to get you door to door. Topo maps marked with everything you need. A place to camp whether it's at the truck or packed in. Hunting routes etc. Also a set of written instructions on how to hunt the area. I also give you side notes on where to find dry ice, meat processors, hotels, groceries etc etc.

Have a look at the website and feel free to ask any questions. Elk hunting Wyoming is a great way to get your picture in the Elknut Meat pole thread this year!

Joe Ferraro
http://www.headinwest.net

[TheBuzz]

I AM! I Am! and not to be picky, WGFD extended the Non-resident Elk App to Feb 2nd...due to Jan 31st falling on a weekend.

...and I will have a Headinwest Hunt plan soon...

Buzz

[ElkNut1]

Bryan, thanks for that update on WY, I didn't know that, cool! I'm still deciding on what unit to seriously spend max points on????? It's all a gamble & hope but still in the air about it?

Any input from others here or share a PM! Thanks!

ElkNut1

[Brendan]

Joe - not sure if I'm heading to MT or WY, but had some questions for you about your hunt plans. What's easier - PM or email?

[Indian Summer]

Either one. I'm here as often as I check the inbox. That is work.... this is home.

[mandrroofing]

If i understand right I can buy a PP JULY 1,Is that correct?

[Indian Summer]

Yes sir that is correct. You can buy Wyoming elk points online for $50 between July 1 and September 30.

[mandrroofing]

Thanks

[Ghost]

Looks like we'll be hunting somewhere in Wyoming this year, nothing like having a buddy in WY

[Indian Summer]

What neck of the woods does your buddy live in Ghost?

[Lefty]

Some day in the future I can see more Wyoming and Montana tags, This year was too busy during hunting seasons to have an out of state tag.
Gotta work if I want to eat

[Ghost]

He lives in Evanston, thinking of hunting north of there, maybe 104, that way he can scout during the summer. He hasnt archery hunted before, picked up a bow this december and seems to have fallen in love with it, now to get him proficient at calling.

[Indian Summer]

Ah the west side. Nice. I know a few people from Kemmerer which is on the southeast corner of 104. They do pretty well on elk and very good on antelope. I think if your friend invests some time and puts down some boot leather he should be able to come up with a decent plan for you in that unit. Good luck!!!

[Ghost]

Thanks Joe. Given his location to the hunting area, Im hoping he can get in there for at least 2 scouting trips, heck if we can swing it, we might fly into Salt Lake and do a long weekend of scouting in mid August.

[Tigger]

Just put my application in last weekend! Really looking forward to a DIY hunt in southern WY. It will be our first year there and the excitement is building. Right now, I am concentrating on off season conditioning.

[POk3s]

Stay out of 104 you hooligans

[under H2O hunter]

Stay out of 104 you hooligans

I don't think I would of winked your statement. The last three years have only had a 9% success rate for unit 104. Not that good of a unit in my opinion based on the info I have in front of me. Just saying there are much better General areas based on success percentages as well as potential for trophy animals.

[Ghost]

Stay out of 104 you hooligans

I don't think I would of winked your statement. The last three years have only had a 9% success rate for unit 104. Not that good of a unit in my opinion based on the info I have in front of me. Just saying there are much better General areas based on success percentages as well as potential for trophy animals.

Hmmmm the data Im looking at shows an overall success rate of 33.9 percent? Do you have a link to where you saw the 9 percent?

[under H2O hunter]

Stay out of 104 you hooligans

I don't think I would of winked your statement. The last three years have only had a 9% success rate for unit 104. Not that good of a unit in my opinion based on the info I have in front of me. Just saying there are much better General areas based on success percentages as well as potential for trophy animals.

Hmmmm the data Im looking at shows an overall success rate of 33.9 percent? Do you have a link to where you saw the 9 percent?

The MRS section of Eastmans Hunting Journal current issue Dec/Jan 2015 Where are you seeing a 33.9%???

[under H2O hunter]

I see where you're getting 33.9 which is here http://wgfd.wyo.gov/web2011/Departments ... 005991.pdf But you need to read through all the information there and take a look at all those percentages. Most of them are well over 30% more in the 50%. This is not an actual representation of harvesting success.

[Ghost]

Im not sure how I could make a mistake on the math, there were 225 non resident hunters in 2014, who killed 77 elk that comes out to 33.9 percent. Now if you want to break it down, 11 percent of them killed bulls, almost 1.7 percent killed spikes, 17.7 percent killed cows and 3.5 percent killed calves. I realize that I dont have the numbers for kills by weapon.

Just relooked at the Dec-Jan issue of Eastmans MRS section, I dont even see 104 listed.

[under H2O hunter]

Just relooked at the Dec-Jan issue of Eastmans MRS section, I dont even see 104 listed.

Page 98 Bottom Graph. "3 Year average elk harvest success General Units. "

[POk3s]

not to mention that's just the success rate by those that answer the survey. I used to do it every year until I saw the hunters in my area go up 10 fold. There are tons of elk in 104 if you're willing to work for 'em. The numbers aren't the problem. The amount of hunters is. BUT there's no wilderness for you guys to deal with there.

[Ghost]

Lol, THANKS!! you guys must be young, I darn near had to use a magnifying glass to see that Hmmm looks like I need to look at previous years harvest numbers.

[bowpackerrob]

I have 4 PPs, anybody got any suggestions???

[Indian Summer]

Sure. 33. You'll have to do some homework to get behind the private. I'd suggest getting those land ownership order maps. Once you do that though it'd be worth 4 points to hunt there.

[under H2O hunter]

I have 4 PPs, anybody got any suggestions???

I don't have a whole lot of experience in Wyoming but I have been doing some research and based off your points I think you should take a look at these units in no particular order. 33,41,125,48,and 51 All these units have their pluses and minuses. All can be drawn 100% with 4 points all are limited draw units and all have good or excellent potential for some really nice bulls. Some of these units though have some cranky bears and wolves but have excellent public access without wilderness areas. The units that have no issues with the bears or wolves have less public access. One thing to consider when it comes to picking a unit is the opening and closing dates. They are not all the same.

[Brendan]

Was going to shoot this to Joe, but I'll just put it out there for the group.

Last year, I decided to go Elk Hunting for the first time, and made up my mind late. I'd considered having Joe put together a last minute hunt plan for me, but ultimately I decided to go it alone, do the research and planning myself, and said I'd be in touch with him next year. Well, my hunt in MT worked out well for me:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5329

So here I am. Bought 1 point in MT, and 1 point in WY last year. That's where I stand. I'm going to start putting in more widely this year. So, what would you do? I did see 10 bulls across the 11 days, saw no other hunters at my trailhead, saw no other hunters in the woods, but the area did get real slow for the second half of my trip and I wasn't seeing or hearing anything for the latter part until I got lucky on the last morning. Glassing was useless, almost all lodgepole pine and dark timber with limited openings. Lots and lots of water so not sure sitting wallows would work - there were just too many of them. But, there's tons of area there in adjacent drainages I never explored, and it's the only area I've had boots on the ground and have first hand knowledge of.

So - what would you do? 2nd elk hunt ever. The allure of beginning to hunt multiple areas is there, I'd love to do WY sometime, but I have a place where I saw Elk and I have some knowledge of. Hunt what I know and keep putting in for points for a couple years? Have Joe do a plan for me? With one point in MT and WY - is it even worth making up my mind now? By a general tag later?

Can't wait for September!

[Ghost]

If I were you, Id go back to where I hunted last year. You connected on your first bow hunt for elk in an area you never been to, thats doing something!!!! Id hunt that area till I got bored (probably 5-6 years) by then you should have enough points to hunt some of the big bull areas of Wyoming.

[zpd307]

If I were you, Id go back to where I hunted last year. You connected on your first bow hunt for elk in an area you never been to, thats doing something!!!! Id hunt that area till I got bored (probably 5-6 years) by then you should have enough points to hunt some of the big bull areas of Wyoming.

agreed....

[Brendan]

Ok, I'm sold. Wyoming is for the future. Unless I draw a random luck tag - I'll be back in the same general area. Now I just need to work on my calling more and my backup plans...

[BadgerStateBugler]

I have been thinking about applying for a NR tag in Wyoming as well, the only thing stopping me is the fact that we are hoping to build a new house next fall on our lot. I keep trying to find a way to tell the little lady that I am postponing the house so I can go elk hunting, I have a feeling that will go over like a lead balloon, HAHA. I should start sending in for preference points and develop a long term plan for my hunting adventures. I have gone to CO the last two seasons DIY in an OTC area during the last week of the archery season. Both trips I came home without punching my tag, actually have yet to see an elk. I have been surrounded by bugling bulls and heard cow talk, just couldn't close the distance. But I thoroughly enjoy the challenges that pursuing these mountain beasts presents.

One thing that interests me about WY is the backcountry wilderness experience. The area we have hunted in CO is very rugged and in my opinion it is pretty close to a wilderness experience. We spike camp about 3-3.5miles from the forest road, however, 2014 we had a lot of other hunters in the area. I would guess 6 to 8 groups of hunters. 2013 we didn't encounter another hunter in our core hunting area, that was great and I attribute that to the wet weather.

Is there any areas that are non wilderness, that do NOT allow ATV access and would not require a 20mile hike into the mountains? It seems I have read in many places that WY requires you to go deep deep into the mountains to be successful....I am not looking for an easy hunt but I realize that a flat lander like myself likely isn't capable of that kind of hunt. (The eldest hunter in our group is 63 going on 64, he can run with the young bucks until he gets into excessive dead falls) I don't want to be responsible for giving the ol' boy a heart attack. He was the lucky hunter this past season and harvested a small 5x5. His life long dream!!

[Pop-r]

Well I'm in! I've NEVER hunted Wyoming so the research continues.. I believe I will draw a general tag. I sure hope I can find some elk!

[Indian Summer]

To answer a few questions, an atv is pretty useless in Wyoming whether you are in wilderness or non wilderness. You could use one to travel a forest road like anywhere else if you wanted to access the area further from camp. But you could do that just as easy with a truck. Both Wyoming and Montana do not have many areas where you can go off of two lane roads with a 4 wheeler. I've heard they are everywhere in CO but that's not the case in WY.

Not sure what your source of info is but if you went in 10 miles in Wyoming you would have passed up more elk than you could count. I have places where I'm into elk in 1 mile.

[Pop-r]

I sure hope i can find some of those areas myself Indian Summer! & in general areas.

[Tigger]

Does anyone know the day we find out it is official that we got a WY license? Don't go digging, it isn't that important. My group has an average of 1.25 PP, so I believe we will draw for sure. I don't know about you guys, but I sure enjoy the pre-trip planning. From what to camp in, to what trailers to gear, it is all part of the elk hunting experience. Right now, we are debating 1 truck or 2 for 4 guys. We plan on bringing my 5th wheel and we can triple a small trailer behind that for the ATVs (we have a road we need to access to get to our jumping off point that just isn't good enough for a truck). Sure be nice to have 2 trucks, but it will cost a little more, however it would be more fun to have 4 guys in the truck for the camaraderie, etc, etc, etc. I am not to the point of counting the days til we leave, but I think I feel the very beginnings of the fever....

[Wyo67]

By the book results are supposed to be available Friday, February 27th. They are usually available a day or two beforehand. Hopefully, the G&F won't have any overdraw issues like they did last year in the residents draw.

[Tigger]

okay, 27-3.....carry the 4....ummm...uhhh, that is pretty much 24 days to wait, eh? or 576 hours. of which I should be sleeping 192 of them, so that leaves us with roughly 384 waking hours until we find out?

[MTLongdraw]

Brendan if I were you I'd go back to where you hunted last year. Sounds like you have a great area. Saying you have preference points in MT can kind of be funny. I know people who have 13 and cant draw anything. I also know a guy who had 1 last year and drew the best elk tag in the state...Its a total crap shoot and somewhat of a joke. It does up your odds but it sure as heck doesn't guarantee you anything. I know plenty of guys who kill incredible bulls (340 plus) on public land OTC hunts. I wouldn't worry one bit about a point.