WY PL Question

Bonecollector

Bonecollector

Veteran member
Mar 9, 2014
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* reposted from Antelope forum as I didn't see how to transfer it here.sorry

I looked on the WY website, but can't seem to find where and how much public land is available in certain units-obviously not as much as on the western side of the state.
I am trying to apply for a 1st choice pp and draw a fun hunt on a 2nd choice. I've gathered a short list of available units that fit this criteria, but am unsure on amount of public ground. I'll obviously be using a GPS for sure. :)
I've sent pm's to several forum members requesting possible info that may help me in making my decision.

If anyone has any tips on this scenario, feel free to send me a pm. I'll return the favor with areas I've hunted.
Thanks guys and happy new year!
Bill
 
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Work2hunt

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Mar 2, 2013
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St. Louis, MO
The best way I have found is to look at BLM maps or I will pull up the unit map from mytopo.com. You can preview the map before buying it and get a pretty good feel for what is public and what is private.
 
Horsenhike

Horsenhike

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Nov 11, 2015
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Wyoming just redid their website. Let's you choose which game animal and then shows units and land status. Pretty nice.
 
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Thomas11

Member
Apr 22, 2013
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South alabama
Yea they just updated it and it shows BlM, etc. My question is how do you know much of this is accessible? It also shows some of these units with poor access but lots of BLM land. So I'm guessing a lot of these tracts are landlocked behind private? Just trying to figure out how you know how of it is landlocked behind private?
 
Horsenhike

Horsenhike

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Nov 11, 2015
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Eastern SD
Thomas11 said:
Yea they just updated it and it shows BlM, etc. My question is how do you know much of this is accessible? It also shows some of these units with poor access but lots of BLM land. So I'm guessing a lot of these tracts are landlocked behind private? Just trying to figure out how you know how of it is landlocked behind private?
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A GPS chip for Wyoming is my plan. Maybe others can chime in, but my understanding is that much of the "landlocked" public land is actually just very difficult to access. Or maybe that's just the stuff I look at as the truly landlocked stuff is of no interest to me.

When I zoom in on the state site it shows pretty good detail.
 
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Againstthewind

Very Active Member
Mar 25, 2014
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Upton, WY
I would like to know a simpler answer also, but as far as I know picking a place and calling the blm or county or something about it is one way. I guess that has frustrated me before, picking out a place driving to it and seeing a big old private road no access sign where I wanted to go. Some places are just hard to access, might have to find and access and walk to where you wanted or something. Anyway I am following this good question.
 
libidilatimmy

libidilatimmy

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Oct 22, 2013
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Wyoming
For the most part, anything you'll be able to pull 2nd choice will have access issues. Doesn't mean it's not doable and can't be fun! You can also look over the walk-in areas and HMA's in these units from last year to get a sense of those opportunities as well. Another tool to use is the county GIS sites which will have more detail on land status than the larger state wide map on the G&F website.
 
Horsenhike

Horsenhike

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Nov 11, 2015
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Eastern SD
Folks on here have commented about calling the county for a list of public roads.

One screwed up thing about Wyoming is that county funds and equipment might maintain a road, but it is private. I compared the map for Thunder Basin from the USFS and the state website this morning. They match well, and almost all of that land can be accessed off the highway, though it may be a journey to get to it all. I like rough access. If it was easy it would be crowded.
 
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Work2hunt

Veteran member
Mar 2, 2013
1,366
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St. Louis, MO
My experience is somewhat limited to only a few units, but I ahve found the mytopo maps and the OnX maps to be fairly accurate with what is accessible. If mytopo shows it as a road and labels it with a road number or name it usally is accessible to the public. But I also like to call the local county office and discuss any roads I may have a question about to find out if it is public or private. I have usally found these people to be very helpful.
 
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Againstthewind

Very Active Member
Mar 25, 2014
973
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Upton, WY
I am a little spoiled and don't do the research I should because it's like a 20 minute drive. Thought I should say that. Thanks libidilatimmy. I forgot about the GIS stuff. That was helpful last year and then I forgot about it. In the thunder basin I thought I should mention to make sure you have the most current info. The mine boundaries change pretty regularly. Those roads are closed something about not wanted people driving off a high wall or getting blasted. [emoji4]
 
Horsenhike

Horsenhike

Very Active Member
Nov 11, 2015
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Eastern SD
Againstthewind said:
I am a little spoiled and don't do the research I should because it's like a 20 minute drive. Thought I should say that. Thanks libidilatimmy. I forgot about the GIS stuff. That was helpful last year and then I forgot about it. In the thunder basin I thought I should mention to make sure you have the most current info. The mine boundaries change pretty regularly. Those roads are closed something about not wanted people driving off a high wall or getting blasted. [emoji4]
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Well, that's good advice. I'm sure the horses wouldn't like being around blasting. Or driving off a cliff.

We still haven't decided on whether to hunt the Bighorns or the Grasslands. Gonna have to make up my mind soon.
 
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