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Central Wyoming Safari

BluegrassBilly

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Am making long-term plans to try for my first western hunt in 2019 and trying to talk some friends into it. I'm not looking to accumulate points anywhere for a variety of reasons. Nor am I an antler hunter - can't eat 'em, can't hang 'em (not the wife's style).

Wyoming seems to be a good option for me, and when looking for units, I found a promising one where Cow Elk, Antelope (types 1 and 6), and a general deer tag overlap. Add a bird/small game license, and I'm looking at a veritable mixed-bag safari for $460 in fees. If my friends want horns, they'll need to pony up for type 1 antelope tags, buy a deer point this year, and get really lucky on elk.

My main question is: are the antelope, cow elk, and deer (and maybe turkey and grouse) going to be occupying the same habitats? The area I'm looking in particular features a low mesa riddled with tree-lined canyons and washes with difficult, but not impossible, public access. Do whitetails and mule deer occupy different terrain?

Randy often recommends starting on antelope, but they seem to be a fairly easy hunt, and I'd hate to spend the time and effort to be done with a week-long hunt in one or two days.

Is this a fool's plan? Would two out of three be a better plan? If so, which two?
 
I would go with antelope and deer before adding in elk. I have been in one spot where I have seen all three with in a mile from each other, not saying its not possible. But I would focus on antelope followed by deer. Or if you can find a late hunt for all three that may work out better? I have never hunted past 1st week in Oct so not much help past that.
 
Man, talk a whack em and stack em trip!

For does, cows and smaller bucks, your plan is on the edge of working. I'd say if you take more than 1 friend though, going for all 3 might be too much. If you're thinking of shooting 3-5 animals each, that's a lot of time just in butchering and packing them out if you need to.

I'd say in general, each species occupies a certain type of habitat but can overlap at times or at least be near each other. I've hunted a few areas in Wyoming and in general, there are areas where you could probably shoot all 3 within a reasonable area. I was just there a few weeks ago for a cow elk hunt and we saw all 3 species in huntable numbers within maybe a 20-30 mile radius.

Are you going to actually bird hunt too or just take a shotgun and shoot a grouse if you happen to see one? If you want to actually devote some time to bird hunting, I would skip elk.

Whitetails will be in different terrain than mule deer. Except for on private land in alfalfa fields or something similar. In general, whitetail hunting on public land is more difficult than mule deer.

You mentioned difficult access. Put some time in doing map work. What I mean by that is get the maps you need for the area and then look on the county websites and see which roads are actually public. Then see which of those roads cut through public land. Also look at walk in areas and HMAs.

Are you going to actually hunt for 7 days or will you be travelling a day on each end?

I'd echo Midwest hunter's advice and do antelope and deer.
 
The Laramie Range south of Casper has both turkeys and blue grouse, and sage grouse can be found in the plains nearby. Most of the units I hunt are in central[ish] WY. I frequently see mule deer while antelope hunting. I've seen antelope while hunting deer and elk. I've rarely seen elk unless specifically targeting elk. So, the short answer is yes, they do occupy similar habitat, but limiting yourself to one unit or terrain type is not the best strategy, in my opinion. Reality check: you probably will not fill all your tags in a week. Last season I hunted, by myself and with others, for a total of 16 non-consecutive days, filling 8 tags (not all mine). That's 2 days per tag. In every case, the tag holder was either familiar with the place we were hunting and/or had access to private land with easy-to-find animals. We also had the luxury of hunting in times of the year when animals are more easily found. In 2016, it took me and a friend 18 days to fill 6 tags, 13 of those days being spent looking for elk. If I were in your shoes, I'd hunt antelope for 2 days, and elk for the rest of the trip. If you find a legal deer (I commonly see mule deer while glassing for elk), great! You might see some grouse. I doubt you see turkeys.
 
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My first question is what units are you looking at? Sounds like you're a non-resident, so I'm also curious as to how you arrived at $460 in fees. A non-resident cow elk ($288) and a single type 1 antelope ($326) or deer ($374) tag will go for far more than the amount in your post. While the type 6 tags are cheaper and you could get into your budget with doe (type 6) tags, they are in a random draw and you may or may not draw at all. Antelope non-resident draw odds for the area I hunt in was less than 50% for doe tags lasts year. I don't believe there are very many doe mule deer tags in central WY available as the herd has been struggling for a few years. While I have never seen a whitetail in the Shirley Basin area, I'm not going to say there aren't any around the river/creek bottoms.

The long lead item will probably be the antelope tag. Several units within the Central Wyoming area require 4-5 preference points for a non-resident to draw a type 1 tag.

To answer your main question, I have successfully hunted in the Shirley Basin in central Wyoming for several years for antelope and mule deer and seen quality herds of elk (not consistently, but a few times) within a 5 square mile block. Occasionally have seen grouse and turkey in the foothills not too far away. I've seen turkey right on the outskirts of Casper.

Depending on the area, antelope season may open up a couple weeks or so before rifle deer and elk. So if you're trying to do it in one trip and hunt later in the season for the antelopes, don't be fooled by thinking a rifle spot and stalk hunt for antelope will a slam dunk. Ranchers typically start rounding up their cattle from the prairie about that time and once they start moving them around or if they've been shot at a couple times, they have magnificent eyeballs and will not hesitate to take off once they catch a glimpse of something popping up on the ridge.
 
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Drop the elk portion and everything else will be fun, get a couple lope doe tags. Deer are where they are, is funny but i have found the 2 species in same spots. Master the hunt you got planned then try elk the following year. Plenty of birds to shot and time will go by super fast, elk could easily strain rest of hunt if you tried to much.

Good luck
Chris
 
Drop the elk portion and everything else will be fun, get a couple lope doe tags. Deer are where they are, is funny but i have found the 2 species in same spots. Master the hunt you got planned then try elk the following year. Plenty of birds to shot and time will go by super fast, elk could easily strain rest of hunt if you tried to much.

Good luck
Chris

Totally agree mate. Elk move so much more than deer and antelope and usually require a much larger time commitment to hunt, even cows.

Having said that, I have hunted, and killed, a mule deer, elk, and antelope all on the same chunk of BLM...so it is possible. But I would devote 2 weeks to it if I was not a resident to realistically get the weather, critters, and everything else to POSSIBLY align on all 3. Might take the fun out of it though.
 
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My first question is what units are you looking at?

Maybe it's not what locals would consider "central," but I'm looking at the headwaters of the Powder River: Antelope Unit 20 (type 6, sure draw, 75% success), Elk 34 (type 6, sure draw, 36% success), and Deer 30 (type 8, WT doe/fawn, sure draw, 72% success) or General Y (1 pt tag, 53% on mule, 29% on WT), the latter being significantly more expensive, but it would also open up the potential hunt area significantly.

The thought would be get into some remote places and shoot what you see, considering I've never done western hunting and don't know what I don't know anyway. Grouse and turkey fit right into this scheme. Now if only I could find a cheap 12 ga/.270 combination gun!

But I do hear many of you saying to focus, and maybe that's the better plan.
 
Do the Antelope and Deer hunt, you'll be spreading yourself pretty thin trying all that and won't do justice to any of them. Unless you have 2 or 3 weeks to hunt.
 
Good luck Bluegrass. That's a lot further north than I've hunted. If the plan is still for 2019, you've got plenty of time to figure things out. Since the elk tag is only valid off the national forest, I would highly recommend you dig into all available resources and make sure you will have decent access to public land. Some (or a good portion) of the BLM/State land you see on the map may be inaccessible due to lack of a public road or easement. That's why there's always a bunch of leftover/unsold tags for area 6 here near Cheyenne. Virtually all of the BLM/State lands are landlocked by private. If there's a bunch of leftover tags, there's usually a reason why.
 
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Maybe it's not what locals would consider "central," but I'm looking at the headwaters of the Powder River: Antelope Unit 20 (type 6, sure draw, 75% success), Elk 34 (type 6, sure draw, 36% success), and Deer 30 (type 8, WT doe/fawn, sure draw, 72% success) or General Y (1 pt tag, 53% on mule, 29% on WT), the latter being significantly more expensive, but it would also open up the potential hunt area significantly.

The thought would be get into some remote places and shoot what you see, considering I've never done western hunting and don't know what I don't know anyway. Grouse and turkey fit right into this scheme. Now if only I could find a cheap 12 ga/.270 combination gun!

But I do hear many of you saying to focus, and maybe that's the better plan.

If you're going into that area, I would definitely drop elk. Unless you don't mind spending the money on the tag and mostly look at is a bonus if you happen to have time to hunt them or get lucky and come across some. That can be a tough area for access and I think you'll be dealing with a ton of hunters. Residents can get a general deer tag and I know the southern end of Region Y can sometimes be a circus.

Also, while it looks like there is a lot of public in that area, it is deceiving as some of it is not legally accessible at all or else there are only 1 or 2 access points that concentrates the hunters. Not saying you can't go and shoot some animals, which I'm sure you would. I'm just kind of saying "buyer beware."
 
Not trying to dissuade, but I'd drop most of those off your list, especially the elk. I'd focus on the antelope and maybe the deer to get you started and maybe some upland bird hunting. If I was getting the deer tag, I'd pull the trigger for the general if you can realistically get it so that you could have a chance at a mulie. The sheer scope of how big the areas are out there will leave you awestruck. Especially for anyone east of the Mississippi. Take the Daniel Boone National Forest of Kentucky and you could nearly drop it in to a "unit" out there. If you've never been "out west", I'd use the first trip to maybe bring back some prime antelope meat and just get used to the awe of the American west and use it to properly prepare for your next trip out there when a multispecies trip may not be so daunting.
 
Hunted 2 doe antelope and 2 doe deer last year DIY in Wyoming and that was manageable but a little chaotic. Also filled a Grizzly 165 quart cooler to the brim. If you added a couple elk or any more small critters you'll need a portable walk in cooler to get them home
 
I had friends from back home... Do this same hunt as U are planning... I tried to talk them out of the 34-6 elk tag... But a couple of them chose to get the tag... They both regretted the 34-6 elk tags... They all had very good antelope and mule deer hunting... Skip the elk tag..
 
I have to agree with most everyone and say decide on what you really want to hunt and when/how you want to hunt it. A cow elk in that zone will not likely be in the same habitat as the pronghorn and deer until later in the season. All three of those big game animals you mentioned rut at different times and that really influeces their behavior. Weather is the second biggest influencer. Get some early snows and best laid plans can go out the window. Additionally, a cow elk is an all day affair if they don't die by the road. SHoot one in the afternoon and you'll be working on it the next day. They can require some time commitment.

I agree with the pronghorn/deer plan and have a blast. I did a pronghorn/deer hunt myself last fall. I only came home with the pronghorn, but I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.
 
Thanks to all for the good advice! I think I'll stick with the antelope doe and go ahead and use a fraction of the money I'll save on the cow elk tag to buy a deer point towards the general tag. Of course with my luck, that'll mean I'll encounter a heard of cow elk and no deer/pronghorns! One thing I won't have to worry about is the Trump/Zinke administration converting a large chunk of BHA land to a wilderness area anytime soon!
 
Thanks to all for the good advice! I think I'll stick with the antelope doe and go ahead and use a fraction of the money I'll save on the cow elk tag to buy a deer point towards the general tag. Of course with my luck, that'll mean I'll encounter a heard of cow elk and no deer/pronghorns! One thing I won't have to worry about is the Trump/Zinke administration converting a large chunk of BHA land to a wilderness area anytime soon!

What is BHA land and should I be hunting it?
 
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