Is WY worth it?

[JOHNNIE WALKER]

Well, I just got back from my Wyoming elk hunt. I had a good time, did a lot of hiking, covered a lot of ground, saw some beautiful country, and met some nice people. However, the amount of people I ran into was a little annoying. The woods were packed. Everywhere I went, there were people. I covered the area I was aloud to hunt very well, moved camp four times, slept in the truck one night, and really busted my hump to get as far in as possible. Im in pretty good shape, and even had people on horses ask how in the world I got were I was. On the third day, it was obvious that the elk had left the area prior to season, and of course I wasn't aloud back were it looked like they went. One day, after bush whacking for six hours, I stood on the trail going into the wilderness and talked to everyone that went in or came out. I wasn't on the trail head, I was back on the forest/wilderness border. I was only there for 2 hrs and couldn't believe the amount of people and pack strings I saw going in and out. And that was only one of the many enteries into the wilderness. The area really wasn't all that big. The trail heads were packed with vehicles and stock trailers. I talked to a few people that said they usually do pretty good in this area, but I don't personally consider one out of six hunters shooting an elk to be "pretty good". This was very different than what I'm used to in Colorado. I wouldn't mind going back to Wyoming, but I have no interest in hiring a guide.
So here's what I'm courious about- For those of you that know first hand, is Wyoming really worth it for a nonresident DIY hunter? Or, is access to the wilderness areas really needed?

 

[codyadams]

Well I live here, so I can't really speak for non resident, but where I hunted this year, I was there for 3 days, glassing every day, saw one guy on opening day, glassed two guys hiking about 5 miles away, and there was a guide with one hunter that passed our camp on a trail about a mile away every mid morning. We searched for good drainage on google earth, then scouted the area twice, and were successful and essentially only had one person that was in the entire area we hunted, and only on opening day.

This was also a deer hunt, but I could have killed one of several 6 pt bulls that were 300" plus every single day. Glassed them every morning and evening.

But no, I don't think it's worth it at all, you should just hunt Colorado and not come to Wyoming ;-)

 

[RockyMtnMT]

One in 6 hunters with success on elk is pretty good. I think if you want better odds than that you have to put in more time or hire someone who has put in the time for you. I don't get my elk every year here in MT and I have years of hunting in the same spots.

Steve

 

[Elkeater]

I live just south of the WY border. Many of our elk and deer pass back and forth across the state line. I hunt wilderness on our side and typically kill two elk per year. Our units in CO are horrible as far as being crowded because they are unlimited areas. I just hunt very hard and do my scouting. Living 15 minutes from the trailhead helps. I would hunt Wy if I could hunt wilderness but I'm not hiring a guide. My point with all this being that being able to get into rough places is key and if wilderness is off limits then it's going to be a hard hunt.

On another note most of WY and CO elk herds are over objective. The answer to this is offering more tags. Sounds logical but here is my opinion. Again just my opinion but when a thousand tags are offered a thousand hunters buy them, which puts increased pressure on the elk, which pushes them further from roads and trails or even completely out of the unit and into limited entry units ( I've personally watched this) where they become inaccessible to nearly everyone resulting in very low successs rates and not enough elk being killed and many poor hunting experiences for hunters. The units I hunt typically have a success rate around 5% and our herds are over objective.

So do I think WY is worth it?
Yes but only specific units or if you hire someone to hunt wilderness.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I never hunt public land. Being cheap has it's drawbacks. I always hunt a landholder tag with a guide and I am always successful. One has to 'pay to play' if one wants to bring home an animal..

Public land hunting for me... No way Jose'.

One exception and that is, if I lived in that particular state and knew where to hunt, but being a non-resident, nada.

 

[HARPERC]

.....So do I think WY is worth it?
Yes but only specific units or if you hire someone to hunt wilderness........

........I never hunt public land. Being cheap has it's drawbacks. I always hunt a landholder tag with a guide and I am always successful........

........For me given the cost of points, travel vacation etc. guided has proved cheaper. If your 1-6 number is valid that's expensive.

.......Access limits are reality, public land increasingly is not public, and apparently the keys have been handed to corrupt bureaucrats and liberal judges. A lot more at stake than a single SCOTUS choice being played out, a lot of the layer beneath that is being chipped away at.

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

at some point we need to all make it not worth it or it will be just another sport that not everyone will be able to afford

my understanding of the wilderness areas,
is that you just have to have "any" resident with you, doesnt necessarily have to be a guide

just a rule to keep people from getting lost or becoming bear poop

its crazy but true , there are people who can get lost in their camper , let alone after they walk around a tree 3 times

 

[JOHNNIE WALKER]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to sound hateful or anything. I could even understand a residents desire to deter nonresidents. I'm just couriuos if what I experienced was typical or not. I did find it interesting that I could give a state, counting points, over $900 for an elk tag and not be given full access to the area. Especially considering that "nonresident" "hikers" are aloud to go where ever. But, that's beside the point, rules are rules and they are all part of the game. I've hunted in a few different states and understand that each has its quirks, but I just didn't know if it was common for the forest grounds to get pounded like that once hunting season opened. I could easily see how the restrictions could be nice for residents, but I don't want to spend any more money on points if I'm going to run into that kind of thing again and I'm most definitely not hiring a guide. It was obvious that elk were there prior to season, but I wouldn't stick around either if that many people were after me.

 

[ShtrRdy]

Was this an archery or rifle season?

 

[JOHNNIE WALKER]

Rifle

 

[CoachChris]

It's not uncommon to see that many people on public land here in Teton County

 

[Wyo220]

Wyoming sucks. Ive lived and hunted here for 40 yrs. Its terrible. Try Co,Mt, or Ut.
Please.
Thanks
Kyle

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Wyoming sucks. Ive lived and hunted here for 40 yrs. Its terrible. Try Co,Mt, or Ut.
Please.
Thanks
Kyle

Hahaha. That made me laugh hard. Thanks. MT sucks too, nothing here too see either.

Steve

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

this is utah , i haven't seen any elk this year, i might be wrong but i heard they all migrated to colorado

i was just saying there is other ways to hunt the wilderness areas,
got any long lost relatives there ?