Conditions in WY Region X and esp. units 124 & 121

[BrentD]

We are about 6 weeks out yet, but I would love to hear from anyone that might know of the general range conditions on BLM lands in the Region X area and especially units 121 or 124. In fact, if you want to give up your absolute, surefire, honey-hole, guaranteed for a 200" mulie, please feel free to PM me . But mostly I would just like to hear if it might have decent deer this year, or if it has been dry or wet or whatever lately. Earlier this summer, a friend said he had driven through and the area was really parched. That surprised me. I had thought Wyoming was doing well for water this summer, but that may not have held for all of Wyoming or maybe was just plain wrong. Anyway, whatever anyone wishes to divulge on these two units would be welcome.

Are the gravel roads generally passable when wet?

How heavy is the hunting pressure going to be the first week in November?

 

[The Hedgehog]

Haven't hunted either of those places from step to stern but did shoot a whitetail buck in 124 many years back. Drove through (121) several times this year and all looks normal. It was wet long spring all over up here. Good luck on the 200"er, you'll need lots.

 

[BrentD]

Thanks. I'll let the Whitetails go. As a well known baby-killer when it comes to ungulates, I'll need more luck than the average guy needs for a 200" deer. Might settle for 195 - if I have to

 

[Walkathon]

Here is a drought map that is updated weekly. Not positive where Region X is.

droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?High_Plains

 

[BrentD]

Walkathon, thanks for that. Looks like we are not in a current drought area. Roughly the area is around Cody, East of Yellowstone and West of the Bighorns.

 

[Walkathon]

Another good one below from the National Weather Service. You can zoom in- then click the drop down below to see how much precipitation occurred over a given period of time. Good luck on your hunt !

water.weather.gov/precip/

 

[BrentD]

Thanks again. My partner works a floor or two down from the people that run that first url. He didn't know about either however, at least not that it covered anytihng beyond NE.

All the pencil-head bucks are beginning to tremble. They know we are coming...

 

[LCH]

Does and pencil-head bucks are plentiful on the WIAs. When I hunted it, I started out in the BLM stuff, saw very few deer or sign, then started hunting the WIAs. Lots of pressure on the WIAs, almost none on the BLM stuff. I shot a young whitetail buck on that hunt. Never saw anything older than 2.5 the week I was there, alive or in the bed of a truck.

If I had a do-over, I'd stick to the BLM away from the hunting pressure. You won't see 40 deer per day like down on the irrigated fields, but odds for an older buck would probably be a lot better.

 

[BrentD]

LCH, I have wasted far, far too much time sorting through does and pencil-heads. I'm trying to wean myself off of that losing strategy with the idea that almost worked at the end of last year. Find a bunch of does and then circle around in the higher, rougher country a mile or two back and above them, hoping that the bucks will begin to start showing up on the fringes as the rut gets closer. I don't expect we will be in any of the walk-ins or in the vicinity of irrigated lands however. Just not interesting country to me, so somewhere in the BLM and BLM-Wilderness areas.

 

[Bigjay73]

Does and pencil-head bucks are plentiful on the WIAs. When I hunted it, I started out in the BLM stuff, saw very few deer or sign, then started hunting the WIAs. Lots of pressure on the WIAs, almost none on the BLM stuff. I shot a young whitetail buck on that hunt. Never saw anything older than 2.5 the week I was there, alive or in the bed of a truck.

If I had a do-over, I'd stick to the BLM away from the hunting pressure. You won't see 40 deer per day like down on the irrigated fields, but odds for an older buck would probably be a lot better.

What can you expect pressure wise on the WIAs 2nd or 3rd week of the WT season in 124? I was under the impression that it's mostly mulies on the BLM land, is it worth chasing WTs out there? I have a couple doe tags in Nov

 

[LCH]

What can you expect pressure wise on the WIAs 2nd or 3rd week of the WT season in 124? I was under the impression that it's mostly mulies on the BLM land, is it worth chasing WTs out there? I have a couple doe tags in Nov

I only hunted it during the 11/1 - 11/10 general season. A lot of the other hunters had Type 6 mule deer tags. I would assume that a lot of the hunting pressure subsides after 11/10, never been there during that time though.

 

[Irrelevant]

LCH, I have wasted far, far too much time sorting through does and pencil-heads. I'm trying to wean myself off of that losing strategy with the idea that almost worked at the end of last year. Find a bunch of does and then circle around in the higher, rougher country a mile or two back and above them, hoping that the bucks will begin to start showing up on the fringes as the rut gets closer. I don't expect we will be in any of the walk-ins or in the vicinity of irrigated lands however. Just not interesting country to me, so somewhere in the BLM and BLM-Wilderness areas.

So did you go and what did you find?

 

[BrentD]

So did you go and what did you find?

I went and I found emptiness. Absolute emptiness. Not even pencil-heads or does. It was the most amazingly deer-devoid country I have ever seen. It was stunningly empty of even rabbits (1), cattle (8), and 5 herds of pronghorns. But it did have a fair number of locals hunting, and no one was shooting. Sorta surreal actually.

 

[Bigjay73]

I hunted 124 for WT in Nov, saw a ton of mulies, had to get creative to find a WT outside of Greybull town limits.

 

[BrentD]

I hunted 124 for WT in Nov, saw a ton of mulies, had to get creative to find a WT outside of Greybull town limits.

Well, obviously, you are a better mule deer hunter than I. However, that isn't much of a bragging point for you.

I'd be happy to hear where and how you found all those mulies. The only ones we saw were bedded or feeding in people's front yards. We avoided whitetails since they are common enough here at home, but mulies we did not see.

We were impressed with the numbers of hunters that lined the river just outside of Greybull. It wasn't exactly the sort of western hunting experience we were looking for so we passed on that (and maybe that was the trick). But we didn't hear any shooting either, when we passed through.

 

[bluespruce]

I saw a whole bunch of mule deer when I hunted Region X (121 and 122 I think it was) as a 2nd choice a few years back...

...but they were all on private ag fields. Saw all of one doe on BLM. Similar stories from other hunters I talked with.

 

[Bigjay73]

Well, obviously, you are a better mule deer hunter than I. However, that isn't much of a bragging point for you.

I'd be happy to hear where and how you found all those mulies. The only ones we saw were bedded or feeding in people's front yards. We avoided whitetails since they are common enough here at home, but mulies we did not see.

We were impressed with the numbers of hunters that lined the river just outside of Greybull. It wasn't exactly the sort of western hunting experience we were looking for so we passed on that (and maybe that was the trick). But we didn't hear any shooting either, when we passed through.

Was more stating the irony of hunting than bragging. I had a WT tag, and only saw mulies, which you would have seen had you had an elk tag if you catch what I'm saying.
I hunted the river bottoms in the WIAs like I used to hunt in NC. It very much was a non western style hunt, but brought back some fond memories of hunting the NC Piedmont region. I saw mulies along the river, iut in BLM land, cruising through state lands, seemed like everywhere I went was mulies. That's hunting, if I was there a day earlier, may not have seen anything.