First Timer- Muleys in WY Area 22

[acray82]

I am in the process of planning my second trip to hunt public lands of WY. After harvesting a decent Antelope buck three years ago, I have decided to try my luck with muleys. Without having any preference points, I drew a tag for a less popular areas 22 which is just north of Douglas, WY. My only exposure to deer hunting is that of white tail bucks here in Tennessee. In reading articles and talking to other muley hunters, it seems that this hunt will be a lot different than the tree stand hunting that I have been accustomed to over the past 15 years. Hunting public land in WY 3 years ago made me realize how important a good GPS is that includes layers for public/ private land boundaries. This area is mostly private land with sections of public land sprinkled throughout, so my options will be somewhat limited. I picked up an antelope doe tag as well since they are so plentiful in this area. However, my true objective is to harvest a decent muley buck on this trip.

Does anyone out there have any insight into hunt area 22. I do know that there is very little timber which is in the northwest section of Converse County, not sure if I should put much focus on that area or not.

Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly apprecieated.

Kind regards,

Adam

 

[BuzzH]

Adam,

I've only spent a few days in deer unit 22, but it seems to me that there are decent deer numbers there. I saw both whitetail and mule deer, but by far I saw more mule deer. I spent "all" my time in the Eastern half of the unit scouting and hunting antelope.

I saw probably 20-30 mule deer bucks, nothing of much size. If I were to hunt there, I wouldnt worry too much about being in the trees, most of the deer I saw were right out in the antelope country. I think the deer in that unit could be just about anywhere. If I'd never shot a mule deer before, I'd recommend seriously thinking about taking any mature buck you see. I'm sure there are some good deer there, but I'm thinking they're few and far between.

Like you said, you're going to be limited more by the availability of public land than anything else.

I'd maybe consider giving Rod Lebert a call, the warden out of Douglas. I've dealt with Rod a couple times and he's always been very helpful. I know there a bunch of places to hunt if you want to pay a trespass fee, not sure if that would be worth it or not.

Anyway...heres a couple pictures I took of the deer I saw in that unit last year while scouting antelope:

 

[acray82]

BuzzH,

Thank you for taking some time to provide your feedback. It is encouraging that you saw several deer in your 2 days there. I am not after a monster, so a mature buck will do just fine. It looks like the pics you took were from the road, is that correct? I was thinking that I would need to get a few clicks off of the road before seeing much of any muleys. I will certainly reach out to Rod for his feedback as well.

Thanks again for all of your help!

Adam

 

[BuzzH]

Yep, took the pictures from roads in late August.

 

[acray82]

Good deal. I cant wait to get out there.

Anyone else out there that is familiar with WY mule deer area 22?

 

[Trigger50]

I've antelope hunted the public land around Bill 2 times, before I gained access to a private ranch. I saw some mulies. I'd agree w the others. Dont be too picky on bucks. The area gets alot of pressure especially on weekends. Drop me an e-mail & I'll point out specific places I've seen mule deer. Tim at - [email protected]

 

[acray82]

Thank you Tim. I sent you an email.

 

[chasencrooks]

I also have 2 deer doe tags for 22 and antelope for tags 26. Seems like there is some public land but not alot. Hopefully we will be able to fill our tags. It seems like all the ranches are booked and I refuse to pay a guide. Should be a fun trip. Any info you could provide would be helpful.