.... is there really that much of difference between a unit that takes 4-5 points to draw compared to one that you can draw every other year?
What's the difference between a $300 fishing rod and a $50 fishing rod? $250. Not trying to be a smart ass, but my buddies fishing rod joke is a good analogy.
Yeah, there are differences. Mostly in the amount of access. The quality of bucks in WY are not that much better in the units that take 4-5 years to draw, compared with some of the other units. There may be a higher proportion in some units, but not enough to justify the extra time it takes to draw the tag.
Look, Dunc, you have hunted the checkerboard of MT. WY has bigger tracts of public land than MT does. And in some spots it is a lot like here. If you have figured out how to do that here, you will be fine in WY.
If there is one thing I observe in WY, is that the tucked away public places, or the smaller tracts, seem to get overlooked. I always look for them. Fewer hunters, less pressure, and often the place the single old buck is hanging out.
Same with the units not promoted by research services. Give me any unit in Sweetwater, Natrona, Freemont, Carbon Counties, and I will find a buck in the high 70's, if I have four days. No secrets, as every research service points to units in those counties. There are some nearby counties where I have seen plenty of big bucks on public land, and those nearby counties are more overlooked, thus easier to draw tags.
Last year, you had a 100% chance to draw hunt 32-2 in either the high dollar or low dollar draw. It is a better hunt than any antelope tag I have had in Montana or Colorado. There are B&C bucks in Unit 32.
Two years ago I had a spare day, waiting for the film crew to arrive, so I went looking in Unit 32. Lots of antelope that year. Some nice bucks. I would bet if you looked over enough bucks during the course of a four or five day hunt, you would find a high 70's buck, and maybe bigger. You will find lots of bucks for sure.
Now that I have typed that, Unit 32 is down tubes. I use that example, but there are other units where you will have good draw odds, even in the regular draw. Mostly it is a function of going and doing it, learning while you are there, then going back and capitalizing on what you learned in previous years.
Any unit you draw will be more fun than you can have for that price, within the bounds of legality and morality.
As the Nike commercial says, "Just Do It!"
