Elk/Deer Archery hunt in south Central WY

[chsdaddy]

My 69 year old father and I drew our general elk tags this year and are looking at south central WY for the archery hunt. Planning on coming up around labor day and hunting 14 days. In my research I have narrowed it down to several general elk/deer unit combos and looking for some advice on what deer unit to apply for, so we can archery hunt both deer and elk. We each have 1 point for deer.

Goals

Spend some quality time with dad bow hunting
Neither of us are trophy hunters and my family eats mainly what I kill, so I am not opposed to shooting a cow and neither is he
Would like to have a reasonable chance at putting some stalks on a few deer, again size isn't all that important

We will be camping in a 5th wheel and prefer dispersed camping to campground
Both of us are in excellent shape, we live above 7000ft (my dad lifts 3 days a week, spin classes, and even does wind sprints twice a week, I do XTERRA triathlons and race mountain bike) Last year we bow hunted OTC in southern CO and put in some 4-5000 vertical ft days above 10,000, my dad is an animal for 69 years old

We will be able to spend a week scouting in July prior to the hunt

Here are the unit pairs I have been looking at
21 elk 82 deer
12 elk 79 deer
15 elk 80 deer
13 elk 81 deer - only 60% draw with 1 point
9,10 elk 75,76 deer Region D
110 elk 78 deer

I am leaning toward the 12/79 pair, any opinions on what option would be best

thanks

 

[go_deep]

All those areas have there plus. 12/79 is a good area, if you decide on elk unit 9 or 10 let me know I
I can help you out there.

 

[go_deep]

All those areas have there plus. 12/79 is a good area, if you decide on elk unit 9 or 10 let me know I
I can help you out there.

 

[chsdaddy]

So I have decided to rule out 13, 21, 110 since they contain wilderness areas and I don't want to mess with that as a NR.

Can anyone speak to the hunting pressure during archery season in units 9, 10, 12 & 15?

Thanks

 

[jerm8352]

The wilderness areas do not take up all of those units. Especially in 21 they are fairly small.

 

[chsdaddy]

I kind of ruled out 21 because it looks like it gets more pressure. I am basing that only on the fact that twice as many elk are killed during archery season in that unit. But maybe there's that many more elk I don't know???

 

[jerm8352]

The game and fish giy told me that 21 gets the most hunters but also has the most elk harvested in the area and highest success rate. Pros and cons to that I know but just helping you out.

 

[chsdaddy]

I think 169 elk were killed laste year in 21 with a bow. At a 25% success which is high for a bow hunt that's almost 700 archery hunters. That seems like a lot but the season is a month long so I don't know what the actual pressure is like. It's impossible as far as I know to calculate the archery success rate on wy general hunts since you aren't bound to one unit. Anyone know how to do this?

 

[outdoornut]

As mentioned, good areas, tons of pressure. Can be worth it if you get a few miles away from roads...

 

[jtm307]

I haven't hunted mule deer yet, but on September 27 last year, on my way to and back (dawn and dusk) from antelope hunting near Saratoga, I saw many bucks along highway 130 between areas 78 and 79 just west of Medicine Bow Peak. I didn't see any monsters, but they were all shooters by my standards (I'll shoot the first legal animal I see). This info may help.

 

[chsdaddy]

Going to apply tonight, final thoughts on 79 LE vs 75-76 Region D????
I think that's what I've narrowed down to.

Thanks

 

[wy-tex]

Any of the units in the Snowy Range are good for archery hunting. Labor day weekend is the worst time to get there. Lots of weekend campers in the forest. Try to arrive during the week. 78 is a limited quota deer tag that has been producing some great bucks during the rifle season. Elk hunting in this area has pretty good pressure now on the forest, some say more than rifle season. You will need to park your 5th wheel down lower and hunt up probably. An early heavy snow could strand it higher up in the mountains. If you have points unit 11 is a great archery unit for elk, has a limited quota archery tag available, type 9. It is also a general deer area, 3 pts or better.

 

[hoshour]

78 deer gets a ton of pressure. I hunted there last year and there seemed to be as many cars going down the dirt roads as on 130. Because there are so many roads, there's hardly a place you can get more than a mile or so off a road and most of it is timber. What is not is either private property or pretty open BLM and the BLM was very popular. That's even hunting the last week of the season. There was no snow, with daytime temps 60-70.

 

[chsdaddy]

We applied for Region D tag and plan to hunt 75/76 deer - 9/10 elk. I think we are going to leave on Labor Day and plan to hunt for 14 days, so hopefully we get into some game. This gives us options and the most area to hunt. We'll check it out this summer and give it a whirl!

Thanks for the help everyone, I'll keep you posted.

 

[wy-tex]

Good luck and maybe we'll see you around town if you draw. The range will be beautiful when you get here.

 

[chsdaddy]

Just got back from an awesome hunt. We arrived on the evening of Labor Day and set up camp. Tuesday morning we hiked a closed forest road back in about 1.5 miles before shooting light and heard our first bugle before sun up. I set up to to call and promptly called in a spike for my dad. It was a slam dunk and he filled his freezer with some tender vittles! Had him packed out by 4pm and decided to drive around that evening and check out some other areas. We ended up seeing a nice 3x3 mule deer in velvet and my dad made a stalk to within 45 yds and got busted drawing on him. All in all a great start to the hunt.

The weather was super windy (at least from my perspective) which hampered our efforts some but I was able to get within 18 to 50yds of 5 different bulls, 2 of them being real whoppers. Just not able pull the trigger for one reason or another. We were hunting really hard, most days starting 1-2 miles back before shooting light.

The morning of day 10 we awoke to some crusty snow and ended up chasing a herd for about a 1 1/2 miles before they bedded on the opposite side of a canyon we came to. Let me tell you they were fired up. I could hear 5 different Bulls bugling from their beds. We tried to no avail to call them across the canyon but they wouldn't come. We did call in a calf and 3 cows that practically stepped on my dad. It was a cool experience for him. Against my better judgement we left bugling elk, as I felt from our position there was no easy way to get to them without being exposed and blowing them out. We came back from a different way that afternoon to get the wind in our favor and at a similar elevation to find they were gone without a trace. I was discouraged to say the least.

The next morning we hiked in 2.5 miles before shooting light and quickly got on some bugling Bulls. We followed them silently and were positioned between 2 Bulls. Being a game of inches I stepped into a clearing at the same time the herd bull was pushing a cow into the same opening. We saw each other at the same time and she took her boyfriend in the opposite direction. We made the mistake of kneeling in that opening only to be spotted by a 5x5 seconds later. He was coming to see what the ruckus was all about. I was able to draw but he didn't go where I thought he would before he spotted us. So I held it for about a minute before he gave me a chance to let down. He didn't give me a chance to reposition though before stepping out broadside at 16 yds for a 5 minute staredown. The herd bull finally bugled again and the 5x5 decided that was more interesting than the 2 camo blobs in the opening.

We decided to head to another area we heard a bugling bull the morning before to try some cold calling. We set up about 10yds apart in a small clearing and let out some cow talk between us. About 2 minutes later I heard an elk running to us. We were protected by a wall of impenetrable trees from the direction he came from forcing him to go around and step into the clearing. A soft mew from my dad had him on a string and when he stepped into the clearing I was at full draw. I had to call call twice to stop him and when did he was quartering to me more than realized and I let it go. We agreed it sounded like the arrow hit but I had no idea on where. I saw which way he went but didn't hear a crash or any other audible signs of a kill. I went to check for the arrow and my heart sank when I found it covered it guts. We waited for 3 hours without moving before taking up the recovery effort. After 20' from where he was standing I found blood, good blood. I followed it for about 10 yds before looking to my right and seeing my dead bull. When I stopped him the only thing I can think was that he turned to look at me more than I realized while looking through the peep. The arrow entered right behind the bend in the shoulder taking out his right lung, cutting an artery exiting the the heart, slicing the liver and exiting through the front of the paunch, wiping the evidence of the lethal hit away. My dread was over and I was so happy. He's a rag horn 4x4 but my dad called him in and I know we'll both remember that day forever. He's 69 and this is his second year of bow hunting. He helped me pack it out too, 3 trips 7.5 miles total with loaded packs. We finished the last load under the full moon at 10 pm.

As far as deer go we hunted hard the last 4 days of our trip to get it done. All the deer we saw except for the last day were in the dark. The last morning on a solo mission to get it done before the 10 hour drive home I ran into a bachelor herd of 11 bucks. I stalked in on them while they were feeding and was able to come to full draw on a buck at 43yds. I knew in my heart of hearts he was legal (3pts on one side) but couldn't see his full rack through the aspens. I chose not to shoot what ended up being a 150-160 class 4x4 and got busted by one of his buddies before they all hopped away. Last year I watched a 26" wide forky fight a nice 4x4 in CO for 20 minutes. I didn't want to make a mistake like that and ruin a great hunt.

Overall we didn't see elk 1 day out of 11 focused on elk. We saw 8 moose including a too close for comfort encounter at 14 yds with a bull that was asleep next to a bedded cow. I saw his paddle sticking up in the grass while his head was on the ground. He stood up fronted me grunting and we backed out quickly. Also had an under 20 yd encounter with a black bear who stopped to stare me down which was exciting.

Don't know if I'll make it back anytime soon as my son is getting older and into competitive sports which I can't miss. But I'm glad to have had a great experience with my dad while he's still able to hunt as hard as we did.

I don't think there's any secret to bowhunting elk. You have to be willing to put in the time and miles to give yourself multiple opportunities. Sometimes it happens on day 1, sometimes it happens on day 11!

Pics to come they haven't made it into the cloud yet off my phone.

 

[hoshour]

Sounds like a great hunt. Glad you had such a good time with your dad and that he's in such great shape for being nearly 70.

 

[Cobbhunts]

Wow, awesome write up. Congrats on a great trip!!

 

[jtm307]

Very cool. I'm glad to hear of such success in my backyard. Thanks for the update.

 

[greesysaff]

great story glad you had a great trip