hello I'm new to this site and was just looking to get some words of wisdom about a 100% DIY mule deer hunt. some of my buddies and me have been out to WY last year after goats and had a very successful hunt. we are looking to go after mule deer this next fall (2015). I will take any info on any region/area but right now we are looking into putting in for a tag in region Y,B, and A
Wyoming Mule Deer
- Thread starter Adam T
- Start date
Againstthewind
Very Active Member
We saw a couple decent bucks in A when we were elk hunting. (Decent for me is anything with fork or more antlers, I am not too picky) The season is later in that area, I think , so it is more in line with the rut. We also saw some better mule deer bucks in B when we were whitetail hunting, but the season there is short for mule deer usually I think with more limited public access for deer areas. I think that area would take a little more research to find a spot to go. Region A has the Black Hills which is sometimes pretty crowded. There are roads everywhere it seems like, so it is a little harder to get away from everyone, but it is still possible. There are lots of deer there, too. Y probably has the most public of those areas I would say and is more of a mountain hunt where you can camp and hike for miles and miles if that is what you wanted. Hopefully that was somewhat helpful.
Againstthewind
Very Active Member
I didn't mean to short sell the Black Hills. Hopefully it didn't sound that way. There are some good animals there, its just the ones we saw weren't as big as the ones we happened on in B.
I have only hunted region A once, and that was a long time ago. However I have a group of cousins that hunt it yearly on the same ranch. First access in Region A can be pretty limited, unless you have already locked in ranch access through your antelope hunt. Access for antelope is typically easier to come by than access for deer. Secondly while my cousins are not trophy type hunters, they have been on the same ranch for over 20 years, and while I never taped the heads, I doubt if any of the mule deer they have gotten would go over 150, and that may be kind. There are however some dandy white tails in the area. They hunt in Area 2 within Region A.
I have no knowlege at Region B at all. Depending on your physical ability I would recommend a Region Y hunt simply for the mountain experience and the challenge therein. You will be a better hunter when you leave the mountains than when you went in, even if you leave empty handed. Some of my best hunts are when I returned empty handed, because of what I learned by the mistakes I made.
I have no knowlege at Region B at all. Depending on your physical ability I would recommend a Region Y hunt simply for the mountain experience and the challenge therein. You will be a better hunter when you leave the mountains than when you went in, even if you leave empty handed. Some of my best hunts are when I returned empty handed, because of what I learned by the mistakes I made.
Y has turned into a circus, plenty of public land...but the deer do not use all of the public land anymore. This has put undue pressure on the few deer that do use the public land.
A biologist and two wardens told me that if it has 4 on one side in Y you better shoot it, well I agree. 90% of the bucks I have seen are fork horns and 95% of the ones I seen killed by hunters were fork horns. I even seen a hunter 4 miles in from the road that killed a fork horn, to each his own but I would rather shoot a doe that far in if meat is all I wanted.
Y can and dos produce some good deer, the private land holds the majority of the good deer but some good bucks have come off the public lands too.
A biologist and two wardens told me that if it has 4 on one side in Y you better shoot it, well I agree. 90% of the bucks I have seen are fork horns and 95% of the ones I seen killed by hunters were fork horns. I even seen a hunter 4 miles in from the road that killed a fork horn, to each his own but I would rather shoot a doe that far in if meat is all I wanted.
Y can and dos produce some good deer, the private land holds the majority of the good deer but some good bucks have come off the public lands too.
ok thanks for all the info. another question that I have is we are thinking about putting in for R what are the drawing odds like we have talked and it sounds like we might try to put in for a harder drawing odd's region and see if we can get lucky. but we are open to ideas on any regions really
Hilltop
Veteran member
Adam,
Wyoming game and fish has a draw odds link that will show you the last several years for the different application options. You can look at any area and get a rough idea what your odds will be like next year.
Wyoming game and fish has a draw odds link that will show you the last several years for the different application options. You can look at any area and get a rough idea what your odds will be like next year.
Topgun 30-06
Banned
Adam: Before you come back and ask more questions you need to go on the G&F website and take an hour or two reading the information in the application booklet, draw odds as mentioned by our previous member, etc. If you don't have any Preference Points, you will have to apply for a Region License and some of those even take a number of PPs. Region R that you mentioned takes at least a couple unless you get real lucky in the random draw and that would also apply to several other areas. Most areas that have public land and can be drawn easily are like a zoo, as was also mentioned about Region Y by our member. About the only way you might get away from the crowd in Y is way up in the northwest part near Montana in the BigHorn NF. Areas down toward Kaycee in that region are getting hammered more and more on the public lands and that's why the "shoot anything with horns" philosophy was mentioned. You really need to do a lot of homework on your own and then come back if you have specific questions that I'm sure the members "in the know" would be happy to try and answer.
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d.kerri
Active Member
Adam,
Lots of guys jump on this site and look for "free" information. You've gotten more info on this thread than I ususally see folks willing to openly throw out...which is great- kudos to those willing to share info. However, consider a couple things:
Like TogGun and Hilltop said, you'll have a better experience on this forum if you do some of the basic, preliminary research on your own and return with specific questions. Also, it never hurts to offer sharing some of what you learned from your successful goat hunt(s). A guy or gal might be more interested in sharing some really helpful stuff if you're able to offer something in return.
I will second this, especially with all the new information this year.
Eastmans' Staff Digital Media Coordinator
Topgun 30-06
Banned
The new MRS is worlds above the previous style and I commend all who were involved with it's revamping! Kudos to all involved!
Againstthewind
Very Active Member
Totally agree, the MRS is great! Tons of info and very easy to use format for comparing and stuff. I am going through the elk one right now.
rknapp
New Member
Before my trip to WY I must have made a dozen or more phone calls to Biologists and Game Wardens and I will say most all of the time I had really good feed back. As for the most of the time I did have one Game Warden that I left three voice mails with that never responded back. But who knows..... Good Luck to you