Wyoming deer help

[muleyhunter13]

Hey guys, looking for some advise from those with experience in Wyoming.
long story short... I am planning a deer hunt for myself and my youngest son. We both have one preference point (not a lot I know, was planning on saving points but didn't draw for our original planned hunt this year). I'm asking for advise on what region to put in for. We are both fit and not afraid of hiking miles, or even hiking in to set up a spike camp and hunting from there.
To be clear I'm not asking for your hunting spots, just advise on what region to put in for... I'm concerned about putting in for a unit, drawing the tag and no deer in the unit. I obviously want my son to have success early on in hunting.
Any help would greatly be appreciated.

 

[Frenchie1]

I can't be of any help to you MH13 but wishing you and your son Good luck in drawing and even more luck if you draw. A fellow Washingtonian!

 

[muleyhunter13]

Thanks for the luck, I'll take all I can get... from my research we shouldn't have too much trouble drawing, but I have no idea how many deer are in the units we can draw for

 

[D.Camilleri]

Region G and H are the best quality areas of Wyoming but are a little hard to draw.

 

[30378wbymag]

We've had great success on the western slope of the big horn mountains. Just south of Burgess Junction, killed a 28" 4x4 there!!! BEST of luck to you and your son!!!

 

[jimss]

Unfortunately Wyo deer numbers are down in most units. That means fewer tags and possibly worse draw odds and a longer wait to draw. If you are one of the lucky ones to draw you will have a great time! Wyo res have been complaining about it taking too long to draw deer tags and have been trying to strip Wyo nonres of 1/2 of the limited tags they currently are issued. That means twice as many years. If you happen to see 90/10 legislation this coming winter be sure to email legislatures that you are against limiting nonres opportunity for your son and you!

 

[muleyhunter13]

Jim's,

Thanks for the heads-up. It's unfortunate about the deer numbers, and even more unfortunate about residents wanting to reduce the out of state tags. I understand their reasoning, to a point. I guess my mind starts thinking of how much money their fish and game/state would be loosing. There is a big difference between $35 a tag and $350 a tag, then multiply that number by thousands. I believe if they do cut the out of state tags it would only hurt them in the long run.

 

[201bubba]

My buddies and I always had good luck drawing deer tags in the Cody region altho deer numbers are not good these days. Easy access as well.

 

[LaHunter]

Hey guys, looking for some advise from those with experience in Wyoming.
long story short... I am planning a deer hunt for myself and my youngest son. We both have one preference point (not a lot I know, was planning on saving points but didn't draw for our original planned hunt this year). I'm asking for advise on what region to put in for. We are both fit and not afraid of hiking miles, or even hiking in to set up a spike camp and hunting from there.
To be clear I'm not asking for your hunting spots, just advise on what region to put in for... I'm concerned about putting in for a unit, drawing the tag and no deer in the unit. I obviously want my son to have success early on in hunting.
Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Spend some time on the WY Game and Fish Website, there is some good info there to help guide you in your decision. In general, the units in the eastern part of the state have a high % of private land, which means difficult / no access.
With 1 point, your options are limited. Just make sure you understand the access / % public land so you don't apply for an easy draw unit with no access. Unless you get extremely lucky in the random draw, you most likely will be looking at the 'General Tag', which have the letter designations like K,Y,T,M,R,X,W,G,H,etc. Some of these can be drawn with 1 point.

Good Luck

 

[willfrye027]

I think everyone would love a one point draw unit where they can hike a couple miles to get away from everyone and see a lot of deer! Dream come true.

more realistic would be drawing a one point unit, seeing lots of deer, but also seeing tons of people—and still being able to fill a tag on a decent buck if you pass up a lot of dinks. There are plenty of units where you can do this..and with a little hard work maybe you can find that "honey hole" in these units where you can escape the crowds and find the deer.

check out the game and fish hunt planner. Easy to use and plenty of units that you can have a good hunt with one point.

 

[muleyhunter13]

Thanks for all the advise guys, it's appreciated and confirms what I have been doing. I have been looking at OnX maps have decided to put in for region A. No there's not a lot of public land and no it's nothing compared to other places like region G... but my goal is to hunt with my son and get him opportunities, more importantly to spend time with him in the woods. We are not looking for the 30" wide 200 plus deer, just something respectful, meat in our freezer, and memories of time well spent together.

 

[Tikkamike]

There are deer in every unit, my advise would be look for an area with good draw odds and lots of public land. I am not familiar with regions because I am a resident and we dont hunt regions we get to hunt any general area on a general tag. but to break it down,
the north end of the state where I live is very rugged, good deer, decent numbers but it can be a very hard hunt (lots of BLM and FS land and LOTS of Grizzly bears)
the east side has lots of deer but mostly private land and lots of whitetail
the south end had lots of public land and lots of deer and lots of people, BUT you will likely have an enjoyable hunt and have opportunities.
West side of the state has good deer decent numbers but you have to find them, very rugged and some Grizzly bears

 

[HARPERC]

Numbers are a funny thing. We we're told antelope numbers were down in our spot. With the draws we only get there every few years (so maybe), but we saw more antelope, in more spots than I recall. More deer as well, both with solid age group, and gender representation.

Drought shifted some locations, winter count done elsewhere, and migration back to different units or locations from can be variable. Especially vertically.

Weather is also variable, don't be afraid to hole up a day or two. I've had trips where setting up a tent was not possible due to wind. We've slept in the cab of the truck, and watched the lodging fill with us hunters as well. I prefer hard side base camp to paragliding to Colorado.

Wyoming is our next great state to ruin! I love it there, and hunter numbers suggest I'm not alone. Be prepared, have fun, it will be great wherever/whenever you go. I envy your opportunity, hopefully it's your turn.

Don't be afraid to relocate.

Best Wishes!

 

[ThorThor]

Western hunting is not a I want to do It now thing anymore ( unless you can fork over big cash for landowner tags )
Wyoming does have decent tags in the random draw. I think Region G is like 10 percent in special, it's getting better from bad 16/17 winter.
. You have to build points while shotgunning out applications for random draws to have consistent QUALITY public land hunting. I do 9 states for everything and when the dust settles have at least one quality tag every year. My friends think iam crazy as they complain about their terrible otc tag hunting in the same conversation. A few have seen the light the last ten years or so and hit some great tags.