Depends on what kind of deer you are looking for. The Bighorns has way more deer, but they tend to top out about 170. Area 105 is a pretty tough general season hunt, until November when those bucks pull out of the high country. Without that rut, late season it can be tough in there to find the bucks because the buck density is so low. -G
That's a very good question. Wyoming's deer situation is very tough right now. As for the future, I really like the 105 late season and I think the new LQ structure in the Platte Valley could reap some great mule deer benefits in the next three to five years. Areas 78, 79, 80, 83 and 81 where all changed to Limited Quota last season, taking almost half of the hunting pressure off of some of Wyoming best deer genetics. I think if, the state keeps the quotas tight down there, things could be very good in a few years. I also like the deer quality and rebound in Region K. The fall was very wet and the winter has been pretty mild down there so far. Areas 101, & 102 should have good antler growth this year as well. Just a few of the bright spots. -G
You are correct. Area 90 has really struggled over the past few years. I did mark it as a Blue Chip this year, but it was certainly one of the weakest of the Blue grades for sure. The drought really hit those deer hard in 2012, I think some of the more mature bucks packed up shop and moved East into 89, but that's just my personal opinion. Most of the biggest deer I have seen in that area where on the East border of the unit. I'm hoping with a good year/winter and a stiff tag reduction, this area starts to rebound quickly. -G
Areas 80 and 114 area the best there is in the Basin for antelope. One of my favorite antelope hunts around Cody though is areas 81 and 82. They are a bit easier to draw and have plenty of antelope. I've seen lots of antelope at 11,000 feet on top of Franc's Peak. I always thought that would make a sweet show to climb up there and kill an antelope up with those sheep. My hats off to anyone who gets that accomplished. -G
I think so. The moisture in Wyoming has been outstanding this winter. I just looked at the Snow Tel report this AM and most of the state is at 120-150% of normal snowpack. The most is right here around Cody and the least is around the SW corner of the state near Evanston. The entire state had record rain and snow going into the winter during the fall and barring any crazy spring storms I think this should be a very good year. I think the horn growth should be the best we've seen a while as long as the numbers remain good. The winter has been a tough rough in some places, but I'm not getting any winter kill reports so far. The elk should do tremendous. -G
Area 83 for antelope has been rebounding slowly over the past 15 years. I have seen some very good bucks out there over the past two years, and I think it can offer up a good 78-80 inch buck for someone who hunts hard. Antelope are weird, just because the numbers are down, doesn't always mean the quality will be. The antelope should have gone into the winter very strong this year, but they are tricky little devils, as they grow their horns during the winter, so that is a very critical time in their horn growth cycle.
Yeh, they have cut the antelope quotas out there drastically after the bad 2010 winter, which has had quite the negative impact on the draw odds. The antelope have been a little slow to come back, but we hunted out that way a little bit last fall, and it was better than is has been over the past few years. Certainly not quite what is was in 2009, but headed in the right direction. With all of our moisture this year, I'm banking on a pretty good year for horn growth out there this year. My indications from the G&F is that they might look at possible tag quota increases in some antelope areas finally this year. Good luck out there. -G
