unit 113 opener or wait a weekend?

[slim23]

i have got a 113 type 2 tag which means that the regular season opens 1 week before my season with 200 tags sold for both the first and second opener. My question is should a guy go on the opener or wait till the weekend after? we were planning of getting there on a thursday afternoon (the weekend after) and hunting fri - sun then driving home but if we went on the opener we would prob delay our arrival a day.
I have a gps chip and we are planning on hiking in 4-8mi and camping out like a backpack elk hunt. there are some big roadless areas of blm in there deep but access is about impossible.

 

[Musket Man]

I typically try to avoid the first week or first weekend atleast. There are normally alot less hunters after that but if you can get that far from any roads you would probably not see many hunters any time you went. Good Luck!

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I agree with MM if you can get that far from people on an antelope hunt more like it's an elk hunt in the wilderness. Good luck and let us know how you did when you get back.

 

[slim23]

thanks for the vote of confidence guys. it just seems like the best bucks will be dead by then with so many tags but i guess i need to remember how lazy most people are. there are 4-6mi squares in there that are roadless but may have a small 2 track into it? hard to match up google earth and a blm map. wish there was a overlay map?

 

[Musket Man]

Dont worry about all the better bucks being killed before you get there. Alot of guys will go out opening weekend and kill the first buck they can within a 1/2 mile from a road. There will be plenty left. Last year I killed the biggest antelope taken on the ranch I was on in the last few years mid season after guys had been hunting there for over a week. The year before I harvested an old mature 76'' buck on public land and saw several more in the same class 3 weeks into the season. There will be plenty of antelope left. The biggest question in a unit like you are hunting is how many antelope are on the blm land. Alot of them could be on private.

 

[slim23]

i wondered about that too. the biologist i talked to said it holds antelope and is great country its just so hard to access that most won't go there and the ranchers control access through there ground.
I do have 2 ranchers that i have talked to and paid a deposit on one so i have a backup if all else fails. the bio said it is a great ranch and he was surprised it wasn't full already.
I can only hope for the best as i broke my back 6 weeks ago and that stopped my elk hunting plans so this is my thrown together plan to give me a hunt this fall. I believe that i am going to be able to handle it by then

 

[Topgun 30-06]

i wondered about that too. the biologist i talked to said it holds antelope and is great country its just so hard to access that most won't go there and the ranchers control access through there ground.
I do have 2 ranchers that i have talked to and paid a deposit on one so i have a backup if all else fails. the bio said it is a great ranch and he was surprised it wasn't full already.
I can only hope for the best as i broke my back 6 weeks ago and that stopped my elk hunting plans so this is my thrown together plan to give me a hunt this fall. I believe that i am going to be able to handle it by then

Knowing what you've now said, I would say the main thing is concentrating on making a good recovery so your back will be okay for the hunt. It sounds like you have all your ducks in a row and that's what I like to hear from guys that haven't been out there before. It takes a lot of planning and time to develop what it sounds like you've done and if nothing else it sounds like that ranch you have set up will do the trick. Good luck on your back recovery and the hunt. Make sure and take some pictures to share with us when you get back.

 

[wyomingelkhunter]

i have got a 113 type 2 tag which means that the regular season opens 1 week before my season with 200 tags sold for both the first and second opener. My question is should a guy go on the opener or wait till the weekend after? we were planning of getting there on a thursday afternoon (the weekend after) and hunting fri - sun then driving home but if we went on the opener we would prob delay our arrival a day.
I have a gps chip and we are planning on hiking in 4-8mi and camping out like a backpack elk hunt. there are some big roadless areas of blm in there deep but access is about impossible.

unit 113 for wyoming. I hunted 113 for years

 

[Musket Man]

Good luck with your recovery and hunt! Those hard to access places can be good if you can find a way to get to them and dont mind walking a few miles. Most hunters wont walk that far.