Just got back from Wyoming Mule Deer hunt. Lessons learned! Most of the deer are on private property. Most game wardens and biologists feed you a cockamainy story. Deer numbers are down. Sometimes the hunters that work the hardest get skunked, while "hunters" that road hunt tag out. All in all im willing to give the state more of my hard earned money to give it one more try...any suggestions out there?
wyoming a crock
- Thread starter TeddyBear
- Start date
ssliger
Very Active Member
First of all, sorry about your hunt. It is true deer numbers are down all over on public land. Where did you hunt this year? What type of terrain do you like to hunt? Do you have any points? I'll be happy to help, just need a few more details.
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
After many hours of phone calls we chose the kaycee area. Always same result. Hunt hard all day, come back to truck and watch mulie shooters looking at us from other side of road on private property. I told my sons, "There's something wrong here". After landowner treated you like dirt for just glassing THEIR deer,they said we could hunt that property for $4500. We talked to local Game Wardens who said they saw a deer the other day in such and such a place, "You may want to look there". Have these people flipped. These people deserve 0 electoral votes. We then shot up to Amsden creek in the Dayton area, only to find the sameole, sameole. Deer on private property. We bellycrawled 200 yards to find those deer 100 yds on....yep you quessed it, private property. Dont mean to sound like a whinner, and God sure has been good to me but, come on Wyoming...help on non-resident hunters out
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
I'm just guessing, but by the narrative you gave and the distances there are between Kaycee and Dayton, you must have had a Region Y tag. I looked at the Wyo Booklet and almost all the units in region Y are noted with an *with indicates "Areas with difficult public access". looks like some more research is in order. I try to stay away from these areas. Another thing I've found out over the years, ranches that let you hunt for antelope, keep their deer hunting a lot more private.
Sorry you had such a negative experience. Get you points and get a better unit.
Sorry you had such a negative experience. Get you points and get a better unit.
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I'm going to be blunt. Clearly you did not do enough research, the area is easy to draw yes but nearly every unit in that region says there is difficult public access. Most of the public land there is in very small sections that most of the time either have hunters there already or just is not a good place for deer to be. Hunting mule deer is not always about how hard you hunt it's more about how smart you hunt. If you want a good quality hunt in Wyoming build your points draw a good unit. Asking for information on this forum will get you a long way there are a lot of people willing to give advice. Do your research, ask questions and hunt smart.
Thanks for responding. I love bluntness. Its not that I lacked research, its just that I took for granted the idea that Wyoming had deer on public hunting grounds. What units could I find this to be true. I arrived back home 72 hours ago and im right back at it trying to find viable information for next year. P.S the trip was not without rewards. I spent time with 3 of my sons. Got away from the rathole that I work at, (state prison) and got to spend a day with my beautiful granddaughters. Saw some awesome country, met fellow hunters, and had safety on the roads.
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
I happen to like region E & W in the south central part of the state. My favorite unit there takes the max points (7) and is still only a 25% draw. I used to hunt all these units when there was no points and getting a tag was easy. You should also buy thre point for deer. I really stay away from any unit (for deer, elk & antelope) that has that damn asstrick by the unit. (spelled that way on purpose)
Hey SSliger, have any advice for TeddyBear from Michigan, still looking for a place in Wyoming to connect on a decent Mule Deer. Two years ago me and my 4 sons started an annual hunting trip each fall. We had a lot of fun so far but would like to see more deer. Any help would be appreciated.
ssliger
Very Active Member
Don K
Very Active Member
My son and I where in your area during the bow season. I had a Elk tag and bought my son a deer tag. Game Warden stopped at our camp on the second day and was very friendly and helped point us in the right direction. I was able to take a nice Bull and my son had close encounters with some Muley bucks but didnt connect. Would do this hunt in a heartbeat again, and I contacted the Warden when we where done and told him "Thanks"
Congratulations! I talked all summer to a warden named Kyle Lash. Super friendly kid who went out of his way to return my calls and pour over maps with me. Unfortunately he moved to the Jackson Hole area in Sept. His replacement was new and I took that into consideration. I did talk to a more seasoned Warden that I believe could have given me more than just GENERAL information. A young female Biologist told me to sit in my truck and watch an open field. She said she saw deer there 3 weeks ago. WOW!. (Does and one small buck). We are not road hunters, and we are in tiptop shape, not afraid to go over the next ridge. The people of Wyoming are very friendly, I just wish they would help more considering the money that 4 of us spent. Gas,lodging,tag fees.food,etc.$4000 plus, not including loss wages. Regardless, we are looking forward to next season.
As we all know or find out with trial and error we all have to do our research. It seems you've done quite a bit but ended up with a bad deal. I thought I had done my research a few times in Idaho and continued to get burned. Now with the forum going and many guys here able to help with great info and the MRS I bet you will do better next time.
ssliger
Very Active Member
Musket Man
Veteran member
Most areas in WY that are easy to draw will have difficult access to public land. IMO you either have to build some points to draw an area with better access, find private land to hunt, or do your research in areas that are easy to draw and not be disappointed when the hunting on public land in them is tough. Im sure there is good hunting on public land in these areas but you really have to get to know the area to find it. I have personally had a great experience with landowners and game wardens in WY and the ones I have met have been very nice to me!
Eberle
Veteran member
Teddybear,
I agree with CC, I would look at unit W & concentrate on unit 82. You can draw with 0 points. They cut the season from 10/1-10/15 to 10/1-10/7 & made a 3-point restricton on one antler a few years ago. It has a ton of public ground, you would not be disappointed there.
I agree with CC, I would look at unit W & concentrate on unit 82. You can draw with 0 points. They cut the season from 10/1-10/15 to 10/1-10/7 & made a 3-point restricton on one antler a few years ago. It has a ton of public ground, you would not be disappointed there.
Ilovethewest
Active Member
i too have had frustration on public lands in Wyoming. Especially when a landowner owns like 100 yards of a road that leads to about 4 square miles of public, and his 100 yards greatly restricts access. we also ran into a "private road" that shows on the gazettre as a county highway.........the road is maintained by the country, roads signs by the county, and is taken care of by the county.........yet 2 certain ranches got their way and made it a private road. its a crock. Some of the land rules / landowner stuff in Wyoming is pretty crazy, and many ranchers seem to have a bad attitude to them...........but there are many good people too. Met some energy company guys that would have given their shirt off their back for you. and met a couple of ranchers too that were darn good people. So you cant generalize.
Don't know what to tell you. My group has hunted region C the last 3 years, 100% public, 100% DIY. We put anywhere b/w 8-12 miles a day on foot, and over the last 3 years we had 17 total tags and we shot 12 mule deer bucks, biggest a respectable 145" 5x5. and of the 5 unfilled tags, 3 people missed deer, and 2 others passed on smaller bucks. So we really could/should have been 17 for 17.
none of the bucks are big.............seen some good ones, but they did find those small pockets of private land tucked in the public.
as for sightings..........I saw over 100 mules deer on day 1 of my hunt this year. only 4 bucks though.
I think you just need to look at new areas. I like to hunt every year......so building up points for a deer is not my thing (elk is a different story).......so there are places to go. Just temper your expectations, looks for larger chunks of land, get off the roads, hunt during the week, travel on weekends, and don't be afraid to scrap the spot and stalk and get into the canyons/ditches. Hunt them like rabbits if you have to. Public land bucks get hunted hard. and the ones that sit out in the open to be spot and stalked get killed on opening weekend.
Good luck next fall!
Don't know what to tell you. My group has hunted region C the last 3 years, 100% public, 100% DIY. We put anywhere b/w 8-12 miles a day on foot, and over the last 3 years we had 17 total tags and we shot 12 mule deer bucks, biggest a respectable 145" 5x5. and of the 5 unfilled tags, 3 people missed deer, and 2 others passed on smaller bucks. So we really could/should have been 17 for 17.
none of the bucks are big.............seen some good ones, but they did find those small pockets of private land tucked in the public.
as for sightings..........I saw over 100 mules deer on day 1 of my hunt this year. only 4 bucks though.
I think you just need to look at new areas. I like to hunt every year......so building up points for a deer is not my thing (elk is a different story).......so there are places to go. Just temper your expectations, looks for larger chunks of land, get off the roads, hunt during the week, travel on weekends, and don't be afraid to scrap the spot and stalk and get into the canyons/ditches. Hunt them like rabbits if you have to. Public land bucks get hunted hard. and the ones that sit out in the open to be spot and stalked get killed on opening weekend.
Good luck next fall!
Ilovethewest
Active Member
few more. Not doing this to brag........showing you pics to give you some hope that there are deer out there on public land! Just gotta dig deeper...................
not familiar with the kaycee area. I know there are areas in the SE Wyoming area (medicine bowe)........might be some areas in the bighorns that have places to hunt every year with no PP's. there are a few walk-in, BLM, school lands in NE Wyoming, but access is very hard. The area we hunt gets hunted HARD and has a lot of road traffic. It is tough hunting. But we have done pretty well. I will decline to mention exactly where I hunt....sorry....hunting pressure is bad enough as it is, but there are other places too I have looked into closer too. Just keep looking.
I don't have much more advice to you. Just keep researching, keep positive, and don't give up!
not familiar with the kaycee area. I know there are areas in the SE Wyoming area (medicine bowe)........might be some areas in the bighorns that have places to hunt every year with no PP's. there are a few walk-in, BLM, school lands in NE Wyoming, but access is very hard. The area we hunt gets hunted HARD and has a lot of road traffic. It is tough hunting. But we have done pretty well. I will decline to mention exactly where I hunt....sorry....hunting pressure is bad enough as it is, but there are other places too I have looked into closer too. Just keep looking.
I don't have much more advice to you. Just keep researching, keep positive, and don't give up!
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