Wyoming unit 7/ How bad is it ?

[Rooster52]

I have hunted Colorado unit 12 where you see a lot more hunters that elk by far but talking with a few that have hunted rifle season in unit 7 in Wyoming public land and they say it is like hunting in a shopping mall on black friday.
I have pretty much decided to archery hunt mostly to avoid the crowd. Also better weather. I will be cow hunting on public land.
Even the gamewarden sugjested archery season. Sounds like a good place to try my crossbow.

 

[illinoisdeerfarmer]

Gmu 12?

Hey Rooster...I am leaning toward Unit 12 in Colorado this fall for elk. You mentioned it is terrible with people. Is it even that bad with archery? Any advice on that unit? Thanks.

 

[Rooster52]

It is not to bad for archery as it is a limited access unit for archery. I would look at the north half of the forest as I find that as elk get pressured they tend to move to the north to private land. I am applying there for muzzleloader this year,plan on hunting on the north side of sleepy cat peak,at least starting there.Then working my way to the east till I find elk.
I plan on spending 7-10 days in Wyoming then moving to Colorado for muzzleloader.Drawing the Colorado tag with no pref points might be tough.looking for a cow tag.

 

[HighDesertSage]

It is not to bad for archery as it is a limited access unit for archery. I would look at the north half of the forest as I find that as elk get pressured they tend to move to the north to private land. I am applying there for muzzleloader this year,plan on hunting on the north side of sleepy cat peak,at least starting there.Then working my way to the east till I find elk.
I plan on spending 7-10 days in Wyoming then moving to Colorado for muzzleloader.Drawing the Colorado tag with no pref points might be tough.looking for a cow tag.

Just a heads up for you, that muzzleloader hunt in unit 12 takes 10 points for a NR to draw. It's not worth the wait either......

 

[canvsbk]

Just a heads up for you, that muzzleloader hunt in unit 12 takes 10 points for a NR to draw. It's not worth the wait either......

13 out of 30 non residents drew the cow tag for muzzle loader last year with zero points. 1 point was 100% draw.

 

[HighDesertSage]

13 out of 30 non residents drew the cow tag for muzzle loader last year with zero points. 1 point was 100% draw.

My bad, I missed the part about a cow tag, sorry.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

It is not to bad for archery as it is a limited access unit for archery. I would look at the north half of the forest as I find that as elk get pressured they tend to move to the north to private land. I am applying there for muzzleloader this year,plan on hunting on the north side of sleepy cat peak,at least starting there.Then working my way to the east till I find elk.
I plan on spending 7-10 days in Wyoming then moving to Colorado for muzzleloader.Drawing the Colorado tag with no pref points might be tough.looking for a cow tag.

I don't know why you're saying it's a limited archery unit, as anyone who draws a bull or cow tag for that unit can buy an archery permit and also hunt it the entire month of September before the rifle season in October. From what I've heard unit 7 is the most overhunted elk unit in the entire state, especially on the public land within the unit.

 

[roadhunter]

I don't know why you're saying it's a limited archery unit, as anyone who draws a bull or cow tag for that unit can buy an archery permit and also hunt it the entire month of September before the rifle season in October. From what I've heard unit 7 is the most overhunted elk unit in the entire state, especially on the public land within the unit.

+1. The public in that unit is terribly overrun with hunters and has limited access. Look at how many tags they have issued over the last 5+ years and you will see the problem. IMO this is a unit on the downward trend and has been for a few years.

Do a search for Wagonhoud outfitters if you want to see what the hunting is like on private land. There is a small piece of public that you can access near the ranch that sometimes holds a few elk. Might do some checking in Douglas at the meat processors if you want to try to get some private access. Seems like there was a few landowners who were advertising access for $, might be pretty reasonable for a cow.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Last year unit 7 had 1,750 Type 1 tags, 1,250 Type 4 tags, and 1,750 Type 6 tags. If just 10% to 11% of that number bought an archery permit you're talking over 500 people hunting the unit with a bow.

 

[roadhunter]

Last year unit 7 had 1,750 Type 1 tags, 1,250 Type 4 tags, and 1,750 Type 6 tags. If just 10% to 11% of that number bought an archery permit you're talking over 500 people hunting the unit with a bow.

That is exactly what I am talking about. Nearly 5,000 elk tags sold in one unit last year!!

 

[sbhooper]

I was in Douglas for a night last fall. I was eating breakfast by a guy that is an archery guide in 7. He has been there his whole life. He is pretty knowledgeable from what I could gather. He killed a 397 bull with a long bow years ago. He hunts private ground and told me that the quality there has dropped badly over the years since they made the center fire hunt early enough to hit the rut. He said in years past, you could realistically expect to at least see a 350 bull and now 300 would be more realistic as a trophy-level bull. Typical example of Game and Fish over-doing it on the permits.

 

[BuzzH]

The good thing about unit 7 is the long seasons, you can get away from other hunters later in the year.

As to the comment about the GF "over-doing" it on the permits, they're really in a tough spot. The elk herd in unit 7 is wayyy over objective. There are several landowners who harbor elk and dont allow access. There are also many landowners that arent tolerant of elk and demand that the GF issues more and more permits.

The only way to reduce the over objective elk numbers, and to keep the landowners happy, is to issue a lot of tags. The quality of the hunts on the accessible public land is compromised by the number of tags, no question.

Not a real way to win for the GF in unit 7.

 

[Rooster52]

I don't know why you're saying it's a limited archery unit, as anyone who draws a bull or cow tag for that unit can buy an archery permit and also hunt it the entire month of September before the rifle season in October. From what I've heard unit 7 is the most overhunted elk unit in the entire state, especially on the public land within the unit.

I was answering Illinoisdeerfarmers question on unit 12 in Colorado.In that unit it is limited draw for archery.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I was answering Illinoisdeerfarmers question on unit 12 in Colorado.In that unit it is limited draw for archery.
The more I here about Wyoming unit 7 it sounds like that unit is not for me.Glad I waited for leftovers before buying a tag.

Gotcha--sorry about that!

 

[Rooster52]

BuzzH .That is probably why the G&F told me it was no problem waiting till leftovers were available ,that they always have cow tags left after the draw for unit 7

 

[Rooster52]

Thanks for all the replies.Good and Bad ,to me they are all good.

 

[Triple BB]

Don't be discouraged by some of these comments. 7 might be down, but its still better than almost every general license area and quite a few of the limited quota areas in this state. I had some friends last year who took a 335 bull and one at 320 on public ground using horses. Another friend whacked a 315 bull near Esterbrook during archery season and missed a 350 bull a few days earlier. 7 often sports a 50 - 60% success rate on bulls which is nothing to sneeze at. At the spring meetings the biologists always say 19 & 7 are the same herd. They've been at around 9000 - 10,000 elk for several years which is well over objective. There's plenty of good bulls with those kinds of numbers. I wouldn't pass up the tag.

 

[Wyoming Sage]

I have hunted 7 for a couple of years with a cow only tag. It is a tough hunt unless you can pay for access or get a couple of miles off the road. In the later part of the season when and if the snow drives them out of the high mountains, and if your in the right spot, and if you shoot well, you should get a elk. As for people on black friday? I was eating lunch watching 5 head of elk in a draw about a mile away, I had 17 pickups with hunters pass me by in a hour. I would swing my spotting scope far away from the herd as they came by all would look that way and several went down the road and started glassing. I didn't go after them as it was early in the season. Boy my bad, no elk last year for being lazy.
I am going in there with a crossbow this year and trying it. The land owners for the most are very protective of the public's elk and will go to lengths to keep them on their land to make money. There are VERY few that will let a guy on there for free, if they do it is a month or so after opening day when their paying hunters are gone and even fewer let you hunt a bull. If you do your research and will walk for one they are there, just be sure your on public land.....