Late season Wyoming Cow Elk

[Outdoor Junkie]

Hey guys,

First thread here, but a DIY hunting and a OYOA TV show addict. Only hunting show worth anything on TV!

I went to eastern Wyoming last year and had a blast hunting antelope. Going back this year for 'lopes and mule deer region B buck tag (I know the population is down, but it's my first crack at muley's so I'm going for it).

My question is that my buddy and I are thinking about trying to do a late season cow elk hunt in Wyoming (around Christmas/ New Years). I've heard that ranchers will sometimes let people in for free for a late season cow elk, since the elk can do some real damage on the crops.

Any truth to this. Can anyone reccomend a unit in eastern wyoming where a guy can buy a left over cow tag and have a good likelihood of harvesting one on public land or a ranch that would want a couple cows "thinned out" at the end of teh season?

I've never hunted elk and a cow elk would be a trophy for me on the first go around.

There are leftover cow tags in a ton of units, so I wanted to put a feeler out there.

 

[Outdoor Junkie]

Clarification on a couple points. I've narrowed this down to the following units in my selection area (have left over tags, eastern side of the state and late season cow open until Jan.31st)

Units: 3,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,108, 114, 116

Also, I lied I hunted cow elk near steam boat springs, but I never saw an elk. It was a great learning experience through.

 

[gman82001]

Id imagine there is some landowners left but in 5&6 I havent ran into any who would let me or my 14yr old daughter on for even cow calf. the game and fish kind of threw it in their lap this season making a ton of 6 and all of 5general so maybe they will get the hint and if they want some elk shot they need to grant some acess to the normal guy just wanting to get his kid a cow/calf and not ask 250 bucks for a 3day trespass fee .... The g&f does have some access programs with one ranch who does a random draw to get on for a week at a time but id hate to hang my non resident fee on getting that ..... Good luck with your search maybe this is the year they will start letting guys on

 

[Outdoor Junkie]

That's all I'm really looking for. A chance to take an elk! At this point, a cow elk is a trophy for me. I'm thinking about unit 116 up by the Black Hills (North of Sundance), because there is a lot of national forest up there if I can't find a rancher looking to thin out his herd.

 

[Big luke1981]

First off, welcome to the site. I would get on the phone and contact the g&f offices in the region you are looking at trying to hunt. The biologist and wardens have a wealth of information and can help point you in the right direction. They also have a list of landowners that will let you acces their property in each region I would get a list and start making phone calls now and see what's available and what the fees would be, you might get lucky.

 

[gman82001]

man I hear ya I was raised....an elk is an elk they are all trophys Ive been lucky to take 2 bulls in my life and both were good bulls but ive got alot of cows that im just as proud of and worked way harder for. Like Big Luke said get ahold of game and fish this could really be the year down here that the landowners come around and start doing their part to get control of these herds. Good luck on your hunt and just a word of caution a old cow tastes just as bad as an old bull if she has silver tips like a grizz pick another out of the herd cause thats alot of meat lol (just speaking from experiecne)

 

[mhungerford]

Look into area 10 type 6 around Laramie. I can think of 6 landowners off the top of my head that will let you shoot cow elk without fee. the season runs from August 15th thru Jan 31st for rifle. There are alot of elk and its not to bad of a hunt later in the year. PM me if you want a few ranch names.

 

[TLC]

for what it's worth, check in to area 7. plenty of public areas, and they have some land owners that give permission. bell otte ranch has free permission slips available. and they are right next to some public ground. going for the first time for the same thing this year.

 

[CoryG]

I wouldn't nescessarily NOT recommend area 7 but a couple of things to be aware of. First, the public land gets hammered even late season. Of course, if you get away from a road more than a mile, you should be okay during late season... during bull season, forget it. Public land will be crawling with hunters everywhere (general deer season going on as well). Second, Belle Otte and McFarlane's can be good but you won't get to those ranches late in the season if we get any sort of winter (I think Belle Otte closes early anyway... before Christmas last year I think). The other thing is that a lot of the landowners can be flat out rude when it comes to allowing hunting. Of course with 5000 tags for the area, they get constant requests and it probably gets old just be ready for that.

With all that said, there are bunches and bunches of elk. If you are willing to do your homework and work hard, you can get it done in 7.

 

[Outdoor Junkie]

Thank you all for the great feedback! As far as the ranchers being rude is concerned, I'm fine with weeding through those guys for the nice rancher looking for a couple cows to be thinned from the heard.

I work in sales (cover most of N.A.) and I'm used to some folks being nice and others who aren't so nice. Hopefully the cold calling skills will come in handy. I can't blame the guys for being rude, becasue as far as I know I am the 10th guy to call him that day about hunting his land.

I'll definitely be callin the biologists and Wardens. Please feel free to chime in if you have additional advice!

 

[BuzzH]

Unit 7 late is about as easy as cow elk hunting gets.

I've hunted late cows with a friend 3 days and we've taken 5 elk there. One day my buddy shot 2 and I shot 1 in less than a minute.

Just use your glass and GPS to find the public, you cant go wrong.

 

[Outdoor Junkie]

Hello all,

So the day of reckoning is tomorrow ! I was still kind of thinking about unit 116 (Black Hills area) for left over cow elk tags, but some of the folks on here got me thinking about unit 7 or 10 in the southern side of the state.

Anyone want to chime in with a final thought before I buy the tag tomorrow morning? My buddy and I have the O.K. from the wives to buy the tags and head out from December 28th to January 2nd for the late season hunt.

I did notice that several of the HMA's do shutdown prior to Christmas. With that said, it's clear that there is ample area to hunt for late season cow elk if you do your research.

Any final advise on a zone or ranchers who let people in for late season cow elk hunts?

 

[jsilks]

I noticed that Bell-Otte was mentioned - that is a pay hunt for Bull elk, correct?

js

 

[pointingdogsrule]

Good luck in the Blackhills north of Sundance. There are elk, however, not as many as down south. I don't think the herd "needs thinning out". Lots of public land however, the few elk are scattered all over the place. I have not hunted elk in that area... I have hunted deer on many occasions and seen elk in the alfalfa fields. Most landowners "like" the few elk that they have and are protective of them. I would suggest southern Wyoming as suggested.

good luck to all
the dog

 

[jsilks]

Anyone ever hunt the Bell-Otte or know someone else that has? thnx

 

[mixedbag]

I'm thinking of a unit 10 tag for my son.Didn't realize the season ran that amount of time.There is a HMA in unit 10 that allows for cow elk in the late season.So there,your guaranteed access pretty much without paying a fee

 

[leon]

wyoming cow hunt

Look into area 10 type 6 around Laramie. I can think of 6 landowners off the top of my head that will let you shoot cow elk without fee. the season runs from August 15th thru Jan 31st for rifle. There are alot of elk and its not to bad of a hunt later in the year. PM me if you want a few ranch names.

I was reading on your post and I am wondering if you can set me up with someone who can tell me where I can cow hunt in Wyoming this year. I am from Boise, ID.
Leon
208-724-3091
[email protected]

 

[Outdoor Junkie]

Well, the antelope and mule deer tags are filled, so it's just whitey's in Wisconsin and Minnesota and the later season cow elk hunt in Wyoming unit 7.

My firend and I will be making a long weekend out of it and heading out on December 28th after work and coming back on January 2nd.We should be out to Wyoming by early morning on the 29th (weather permitting) and we will be hunting for 4 days before coming back on the morning of the 2nd. Now that's a way to ring in the new year!!! We're hoping that's enough to knock down a couple cow elk !

I've done a good bit of reasearch, but i'm hoping the HuntTalk group can give me a little feedback on a few questions:

Specifically,
1.) There are a lot of HMA's that have unlimited access for late season cow elk and a couple that hav limited access. Would you focus on these or just the public land that is open to everyone? We both have the hunting gpsmap chip, so we are both good to go from that sense.
2.) I've seen articles that talk about driving the public roads to find fresh tracks and then glass/ scout those areas. I'm not really a road hunter, but I'm not against this method to locate some of the animals as a start. We're both in our mid 30's and in good shape, so we're all for getting on some tracks and hiking a few miles if necessary.
3.) What tactics would you typically use for this kind of hunt? Do you focus on the lower elevations and the valleys this time of year? The info I have found leads me to believe that the snow and weather should have them pushed down into the valleys during the winter, but I'm an elk novice so I'll take any advice that I can get.
4.) Do the WIA areas get hit that hard? I've got a couple areas that I feel real good about based on google maps scouting. I just wanted to see if these areas were still getting hit hard or if most of the locals were done by then.
5.) I've noticed a lot of the roads are not maintained after November 1st. Are these really completely unmaintained or will a 4WD Ford Explorer with good tires be O.K. for the most part? Don't the locals have to go to the grocery store or do they eat elk meat all winter ?

I appreciate any feedback I get.

 

[Outdoor Junkie]

Bump! If anyone has any advice I'm all ears.

 

[Outdoor Junkie]

Hey guys,

One last try at this and then I promise no more.

My buddy and I will be hunting December 29- January 1 (4 days) hoping to tag a couple cow elk in Wyoming unit 7 late season. I asked a lot of questions before and didn't get a response, so I'm hoping I can get some of the more critical answers taken care of.

1.) What tactics would you typically use for this kind of hunt? Do you focus on the lower elevations and the valleys this time of year? The info I have found leads me to believe that the snow and weather should have them pushed down into the valleys during the winter, but I'm an elk novice so I'll take any advice that I can get.

2.) Will the HMA's, WIA and public still be getting hit hard by then or are most of the locals already done?

3.) I've noticed a lot of the roads are not maintained after November 1st. Are these really completely unmaintained or will a 4WD Ford Explorer with good tires be O.K. for the most part?

Thanks for any advice. I really am a complete elk novice, so any feedback is welcome.