VikingsGuy
Well-known member
As I noted in the "hey I drew a tag" threads, my best friend, future son-in-law and I drew pronghorn buck and doe tags in WY Unit 9. This is our first western hunt ever so trying to learn as much as we can. Via some PM's with some HTers I have communicated with over the year I got some really good info to get us started, but would love the thoughts/tips from others who have hunted this unit as well.
Our goals are fun, learning and filling tags in that order - no expectations about trophies, just a few representative bucks to go with the does to fill the freezers. We will be there the day before opener for some scouting and will hunt the first 3 days of the season before driving back. We already have a hotel reservation in Lusk so where to stay is covered. We are happy to walk a mile or two to find 'lopes, shooting 100 yards from the truck would seem weird (but I hear that it is common in WY)
We have a starting point for access (at least basis OnX and last year's WIA maps - looking forward to the new one in a few weeks) in the larger state/WIA areas in the middle of the unit, but would be interested if people had thoughts about the smaller access areas to the east or south into unit 11 in niobrara county (as our tags tell us we can hunt there too). We are willing to pay trespass fees to gain a little relief from the flood of opening week hunters, but have no interest in a guide or outfitter tagging along - if anybody knows a land owner in this unit that is willing to take a fee, their contact info would be appreciated, but ideally we will make this work on public.
Non-hunt info is welcomed too. Favorite places to eat/drink, perspectives on the local butcher, perspectives on the local game warden, general unit heard health, weather expectations, the odds of 3 first-timers filling 8 tags in 3 days, etc. . . .
Replies or PMs are both appreciated.
-Dan
Our goals are fun, learning and filling tags in that order - no expectations about trophies, just a few representative bucks to go with the does to fill the freezers. We will be there the day before opener for some scouting and will hunt the first 3 days of the season before driving back. We already have a hotel reservation in Lusk so where to stay is covered. We are happy to walk a mile or two to find 'lopes, shooting 100 yards from the truck would seem weird (but I hear that it is common in WY)
We have a starting point for access (at least basis OnX and last year's WIA maps - looking forward to the new one in a few weeks) in the larger state/WIA areas in the middle of the unit, but would be interested if people had thoughts about the smaller access areas to the east or south into unit 11 in niobrara county (as our tags tell us we can hunt there too). We are willing to pay trespass fees to gain a little relief from the flood of opening week hunters, but have no interest in a guide or outfitter tagging along - if anybody knows a land owner in this unit that is willing to take a fee, their contact info would be appreciated, but ideally we will make this work on public.
Non-hunt info is welcomed too. Favorite places to eat/drink, perspectives on the local butcher, perspectives on the local game warden, general unit heard health, weather expectations, the odds of 3 first-timers filling 8 tags in 3 days, etc. . . .
Replies or PMs are both appreciated.
-Dan
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