Unit 7 Elk is it worth it?

[Triple BB]

Too bad the Q quit selling trespass hunts. I've seen pictures of four different 6pt bulls that came out of the late season hunt this year. Got a report from someone who was near the turbines the first part of the month and said he saw two good herds of bachelor bulls and one herd had two exceptional bulls.

Harvest numbers for the late season tag indicate an 84% success rate for shooting bulls the previous two seasons. Pretty tough to beat those numbers. Guess we'll see what the 2014 stats looks like in a couple months...

 

[highplainsdrifter]

Thank you for all your input. from everyone.I guess its a great area but you best put some money down and go guided or pay for access. I currently live in cheyenne an thought it would be a closer good tag to apply for cause i was looking into are 51. Does any one have any other areas that i should look into for the LQ tags?

I have lived in Cheyenne for 30 years and do not mess with Unit 7 because there is so much private land. I would rather hunt large tracts of public land. I suggest that you might want to pick a spot in the Snowies or the Sierra Madres that is a general hunt area. You will be able to get a license every year and soon become very familiar with it. You will find that the elk hang out in basically the same locations every year. You can avoid some of the hunting pressure that is typical during rifle season by taking up archery hunting.

 

[30Hart]

My good buddy lives in Cheyenne, he gets a bull every year in those general units. Just have to get out and learn it.

 

[JPSeveland]

Thank you all for your input i have scouted already for a general area in the snowys last fall when i had some extra time on my hands and found some good areas that most were not even going into. Found a few wilderness areas as well and have already baught the maps for these areas.

 

[mntnguide]

Biggest bull taken in the state this year came off a general tag...over 420 gross typical. . we took a 390 on a general tag this year...its all about learning an area and getting to know how the elk move. Wyoming has phenomenal genetics in many areas, and in my opinion is right there with Montana for ability to kill big bulls on OTC tags.

 

[ScottR]

Biggest bull taken in the state this year came off a general tag...over 420 gross typical. . we took a 390 on a general tag this year...its all about learning an area and getting to know how the elk move. Wyoming has phenomenal genetics in many areas, and in my opinion is right there with Montana for ability to kill big bulls on OTC tags.

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[JPSeveland]

420 and 390 Those are some great bulls for sure and i know there out there just got to go find them.

 

[mntnguide]

The 420 has been floating around the net..thats how i found out about it, but it has been officially scored by a past Eastman staff member..Im guessing it was taken in the northwest part of the state, but i dont know exacts. . The 390 was a client bull, not sure what his plans are with it...it was his first Elk! he kept asking me after scoring it if 390 was real big...haha. He was a good guy though and appreciated it a lot and put in plenty of days of sore horseback miles before some snow pushed some elk around and moved them into the country. Awesome 6x6 with only 7" of total deductions

 

[JPSeveland]

Very nice what company do you guide for?

 

[jimss]

With the Q having 500,000 acres and covering a large chunk of the unit, I wouldn't exactly say 16 is a cup of tea during either rifle season. In fact, my guess is hunter success is going to drop dramatically in the coming years....especially with the Difficulty Ranch dropping out of the HMA program. With cow seasons running from August through January you can guess where the majority of elk end up. 16 is similar to 7, 19, 23, 108, 118, 120, and other units in Central Wyo where elk tend to get pushed onto private ranches that charge big money for guided hunts. When hunting public land in units with a lot of private land it is a matter of spending a lot of time and boot leather....watching and waiting for bulls to cross a fence....especially if your goal is a monster bull on limited public ground! It also helps having years of experience hunting those units and knowing where elk tend to go when pressured.