Basic Wyoming Elk Questions

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

I'm sure this information exists online, but I am striking out.

After this past year, I think I am going to dip my toes back in the elk hunting pool, but rather than go full bull elk hunting, just pick up a discounted cow tag for wyoming to learn with less pressure.

My questions:

• Is the only way to pick up a cow tag without burning your preference points to use the left over tag pool?
• A lot of places in Wyoming are listed as poor public land units, when it comes to cow tags, are land owners in general more willing to allow you to access their land?
• It looks like most cow tags are valid from roughly sept. to jan., is there any time better or worse to hunt for cows? Or is it more unit specific and weather specific?
• Would it be wise to try and pick a cow unit that I would eventually like to pick up a bull tag for? Learn the lay of the land?

Anything else important about cow hunting vs bull hunting?


Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[madtom]

Answers to your first two questions:

1. you can get a type 4 or 5 (full price) cow tag on second or third choice and still retain your points. Type 6 and 7 cow tags (Reduced price) don’t use points no matter what choice you draw on.

2. it’s possible, but not common to get private access, especially for free. Don’t assume you can show up and get free access without any homework ahead of time. Also, the landowners that will let you on often let anyone on and don’t have many animals because of it.

A phone call to the bio or warden for the area you’re interested in will answer #3, and #4 is for you to decide yourself.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

The months of Nov-Jan are often sketchy weather-wise and, depending on the area, can be nearly impossible once significant snow falls. This year, for example, many areas are already inaccessible.

 

[Dougfirtree]

It's a bit of a dilema. In my experience, the full-price cow tags are really good, but holy crap are they expensive! The reduced price tags tend to have a catch (or at least the ones that are easy to draw). Either access is really tough, or the elk are not there all the time and you need to time your hunt for when they are. There's a reason they are reduced price. My son and I hunted a reduced price tag this fall (it was his tag) and I don't think there was a single cow in that unit while we were there (I feel some level of confidence saying that because of how open it was). We saw 5 nice bulls and could have shot 3 of them, but the large herds of cows simply weren't there when we were. The success rate for the tag is pretty high, but I think the story (for that tag) is that when the herds pass through, people shoot a bunch of them and when they move on to the next unit, you're out of luck. I would definitely get the "story" for the unit you're interested in before you drop the hammer. Talk to the wardens and biologists.

 

[Bhill552]

Same exact experience with my sons cow tag. We hunted 4 days saw 24 bulls and zero cows. Granted we had no clue what we were doing.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Maybe the reduced rate cow tags aren't the golden goose like I thought originally.... Thanks for all the info guys.

 

[ida homer]

Maybe the reduced rate cow tags aren't the golden goose like I thought originally.... Thanks for all the info guys.

+1 on what’s been mentioned above.

Our reduced price cow tag was a bust. Saw 1 big herd on the same ranch every day, 0 elk on public land over 5 days.

I’m sure at times they can be good, no doubt, but need some luck with the timing and weather.

 

[thusby]

Finding out who owns the land is just as hard as getting permission. I wouldn’t go in to a unit hoping to get on someone’s land.

 

[Fj605]

I'm 1 for 3 on the reduced price cow tags. There's been a timing element on all three and only once did the stars align and that was on the second to last day of the season in 2018 when the migratory herd finally arrived.

I'm not entirely sold on that type of tag but it's a less expensive way for me to hunt Wyoming.