2021 W

Rich M

Very Active Member
Oct 16, 2012
758
566
After the concept of WY going to 10% and bumping Mule deer up to 550, mentioned it to a buddy and he wants to go next year. Seems like a good idea.

With 2 pts should we look at units (maybe special draw) or general permits?
 

Rich M

Very Active Member
Oct 16, 2012
758
566
Thanks guys - don't answer. Might give something special away. LOL!

Moving on.
 

go_deep

Veteran member
Nov 30, 2014
2,650
1,982
Wyoming
First 2 question most are going to have is, are you just looking to fill tags, or looking for a 4+ year old? That will change the answers on if you should go regular, or as a guy I know says, expensive.
 

kidoggy

Veteran member
Apr 23, 2016
9,581
10,279
56
idaho
Thanks guys - don't answer. Might give something special away. LOL!

Moving on.
I generally will help when I can, but this post , showing your entitlement attitude, has without a doubt made sure your never getting any from me.


I sure am glad you posted BEFORE I jumped in.
 

Rich M

Very Active Member
Oct 16, 2012
758
566
Do you really think I have an entitlement attitude? If you really think I'm an a******, let me know and I'll delete the link to this forum and disappear like a bubble.

No-one talks about units anymore.

I've started the walk down numbers and statistics lane - only 4 units will draw with less then 2 points. We have <2 points cause 1 in the group didn't get preference points last year for whatever reason. Of the 4 units one has a 15% harvest rate so that is out. Down to 3. One has some promise.

After that it seems like most of the general units are more likely options. Seems like they do track the data for each unit, breaking down the general areas by unit, units by the various % numbers and working up a spread sheet. Picking thru those slowly - 2020 draw results will reveal what the latest trends are. There were a bunch of guys burning 9 points in 1 point areas - was weird.

Its something to do and look forward to.

As for what size deer - average deer. Bucket list stuff here.
 
Last edited:

Alabama

Veteran member
Feb 18, 2013
1,381
177
Sweet Home Alabama
I'd definitely go for a region tag. Look to see what could be drawn with 1 point, the points required will not be static so keep that in mind. Going special tag would probably open a lot more regions to you.

Leave the guy who forgot to buy points at home. LOL!
 

taskswap

Very Active Member
Jul 9, 2018
523
379
Colorado
Do you really think I have an entitlement attitude? If you really think I'm an asshole, let me know and I'll delete the link to this forum and disappear like a bubble.
Well... you did post a question at 8:25pm and then a sarcastic follow up about not getting an answer at 6:13am the next day.... Nobody used the term a**hole but you. But getting cranky with people who owe you nothing just because nobody replies fast enough with the info you want is definitely going to rub some folks the wrong way.

I looked through your past posts before writing this, and not that my opinion matters worth a damn but you seem like a pretty decent guy. Maybe we all chalk it up to a miscommunication and move on?
 
  • Like
Reactions: kidoggy

LCH

Very Active Member
Jun 28, 2015
774
246
Southern Indiana
I've been wanting to go to Region A and hunt whitetails.. You should draw that easily.

Let us know what you decide!
 

go_deep

Veteran member
Nov 30, 2014
2,650
1,982
Wyoming
You can draw every NR region deer tag in the special draw except G by last year's draw odds. Narrow it down to an area or 2 and hit us up with some specific questions.
Good luck!
 

Rich M

Very Active Member
Oct 16, 2012
758
566
Well... you did post a question at 8:25pm and then a sarcastic follow up about not getting an answer at 6:13am the next day.... Nobody used the term a**hole but you. But getting cranky with people who owe you nothing just because nobody replies fast enough with the info you want is definitely going to rub some folks the wrong way.

I looked through your past posts before writing this, and not that my opinion matters worth a damn but you seem like a pretty decent guy. Maybe we all chalk it up to a miscommunication and move on?
Thanks - I forget what was going on (not drink influenced) - went from asking to doing at that point I think, which is what I meant by moving on. Wasn't meant in a condescending manner. But rereading it can see how it was taken that way.

Entitlement means quite a bit to me - It is the guys who demand that the systems that are in place be changed for their benefit, that everyone else be required to give up something so that they have some perceived additional benefit.

Meeting with a NWR to work on hunting regulations and rights on Friday and get to deal with the entitled crowd quite a bit. While it is mostly duck hunting, you get a certain age group who will come in and set up right on the edge of another group's decoys - guy who was there first complains about the jokers - refuge then changes rules to protect the first group - entitled group freaks out cause they "have the right" to encroach on others and can't hunt without being in the "best" spot. To me it is like rubbing the hair backwards on a cat - I'm not a fan, yet they seem to get catered to. Thus - If I ever seem like I feel entitled to your rights and you not, it just isn't my perception. We all wait in line the same, deal with pref points, follow the same rules, and hopefully practice the same courtesy in the field, etc.



Been spending more time than necessary (at this point) reading about diff units on the WY pages. Did taxes last night instead of research. Got to bed earlier too. Go figure.

Starting to wonder about the diff habitat types they talk about on there - greasewood and such. Will ask some questions about this kind of stuff later once a firmer grasp has been obtained.

Also seeing some trends in success rates vs pref point requirements, and locations in the state. There were some areas with seemingly super access and 15% or 25% success rates. Then some areas seem to have like 5-7 day seasons with 50%+ success rates so those seem more promising. Just getting started on the process - most of the data seems to be there for most of the units, I'm just reorganizing some of it into a spreadsheet/comparison table that highlights certain things.

Might be repetitive over Go Hunt or whatever but I'd rather not get a membership cause I'll learn more about the basics of the units this way. that's the goal - learn a bit and see what there is to make a better choice.
 
  • Like
Reactions: taskswap

Rich M

Very Active Member
Oct 16, 2012
758
566
I've been wanting to go to Region A and hunt whitetails.. You should draw that easily.

Let us know what you decide!
I spent some time in A in 2017 while hunting antelope - saw the distribution of hundreds and hundreds of deer, mostly whitetails. The farms had oodles of deer in the fields. We also saw many wt deer where we camped, bucks and does.

Spent 1 rainy day driving thru some further reaches of the unit (just checking stuff out) and saw a monster NT whitetail. The mass was beyond incredible. He was with 2 does and crossed from private across a little paved road onto public.

Other stuff that was learned on that hunt was where we saw muleys was diff from whitetails and antelope.

Another thing we learned - ran into some guys who were hunting a diff antelope unit, had strayed into ours, and they were complaining about all the mule deer they saw (lack of antelope) in an adjacent general area to the west.

CO prairie was a little diff - we saw whitetails in the cottonwoods (bedding up on the hillsides and coming into the valleys) and twice on farms while we saw muleys mostly in sage & CRP. The crops had recently been harvested and all the deer that were in the corn & such were being redistributed as a farmer put it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LCH

RICMIC

Veteran member
Feb 21, 2012
1,966
1,706
Two Harbors, Minnesota
I have hunted mule deer several times in H, and plan to go again this year. A couple hunts were guided in the wilderness area, so that is off the list as a NR unless you go guided. Several of the outfitters in G and H have cut back on their deer hunts until the herd improves. I can name them, but I won't do it here. My last 2 hunts (and 2 scouting trips), we hiked several miles back into country where even horses couldn't get to and did fill our tags. We have always found deer, but no real monsters yet.
I have hunted for late season cow elk (a G deer area), and saw bunches of does and fawns in their wintering area. That's a tag you can't draw without lots of points.
I have hunted antelope multiple times in the deer M area. A couple weeks before the deer opener, we would see some deer, not many, small bucks. I have seen a couple 150" class bucks solidly on private. It was fairly quiet during the late antelope season, but was told by locals that is a real busy place for the deer season. That tag is an easy draw with 0-1 pts.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rich M

Rich M

Very Active Member
Oct 16, 2012
758
566
Looked at the general areas and had to compare em to the gang. We are a group of 3 older guys - two in 50s, one in 60s. One with a bum knee.

Q D M seem like the three potentials.

Hunting sage brush and rolling hills seems appealing - am I looking in the right areas for that?
 

taskswap

Very Active Member
Jul 9, 2018
523
379
Colorado
Have y'all found GoHunt to be all that useful for this research? I feel like I've looked at it two or three times and always wandered off without committing to it. At least for Colorado it felt like largely a repeat of stats I saw elsewhere. Curious if I was missing something.
 

Rich M

Very Active Member
Oct 16, 2012
758
566
I don't think you missed anything. Everything I'm doing is based off reading the stuff on the WY websites. Not using go hunt or top rut or such.

Did something similar in 2017 for antelope. Worked out pretty well.

I think the hardest thing is having confidence in your choice without having been there before. Once you get there, you either start seeing game or bounce around til you do.
 

Bonecollector

Veteran member
Mar 9, 2014
5,852
3,656
Ohio
Have y'all found GoHunt to be all that useful for this research? I feel like I've looked at it two or three times and always wandered off without committing to it. At least for Colorado it felt like largely a repeat of stats I saw elsewhere. Curious if I was missing something.
This is a website built off stats and information already readily available on a states F&G website. For those who struggle to find the information or the ability to interpret, it could make sense, but at a price. I don't have access, but I've had the opportunity to review and it is 'my opinion' that some small hidden gems or opportunities can be missed without getting a little further into the weeds so as to speak. I look at it as a 90% informative tool.

But keep in mind that the 10% kill 90% of the game. :)