Sitka Gear Turkey Tool Belt

Wyoming units 23 and 19

mixedbag

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Nov 22, 2009
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Anyone familiar with these units firsthand??Was wondering about public access to the elk in the units or are they on private??Also, the hunter pressure on the public?These are 2 of the units I'm looking at for this year's draw along with unit 38.Possibly unit 39 if I want to save some $$ and go regular draw.
I don't need some giant bull to be happy.Looking for enough public land so I can get away from other hunters,and a decent amount of elk so I can look for something decent.I am a little picky and it makes me eat alot of tags,but I always enjoy those hunts either way.I also prefer units 23 and 19 because I can go early and archery hunt first.Then go back for rifle if needed.I can't do that in units 38 or 39
 
Nobody knows anything about these units??I realize they take more then a couple points to draw,but maybe someone hunted these units for deer or antelope and can let me know about public access
 
I don't need some giant bull to be happy.Looking for enough public land so I can get away from other hunters,and a decent amount of elk so I can look for something decent.I am a little picky and it makes me eat alot of tags,but I always enjoy those hunts either way.

Not looking for a giant bull but picky...contradiction there.

You could find what you want on a general tag, with ease, including the archery/rifle option and plenty of elk and all the public land you could ever hunt.

The other 2 units, you better have your chit together as there is lots of private, elk are nomadic, and there isn't "decent" bulls behind every tree. Just like any unit, those that spend the time, put in maximum effort, and know how to hunt elk do well. Many don't do any of that and come home bitter.
 
Not looking for a giant bull but picky...contradiction there.

You could find what you want on a general tag, with ease, including the archery/rifle option and plenty of elk and all the public land you could ever hunt.

The other 2 units, you better have your chit together as there is lots of private, elk are nomadic, and there isn't "decent" bulls behind every tree. Just like any unit, those that spend the time, put in maximum effort, and know how to hunt elk do well. Many don't do any of that and come home bitter.

What BuzzH said...

I hunted 23 a while back. I took an ok 6 point during archery. You'll be hunting elk right on private property lines. I'd never want to do it during rifle season. Like most units where there is lot's of private property escapement, there are some good bulls. But... they did not get that way by hanging out on public land a lot.

FYI, I've hunted WY 3 times since I hunted 23. 2 general and one draw and all were better than my 23 hunt.
 
I live in unit 19 and have hunted around unit 23. They both have A LOT of private land and they both have elk. I agree with Buzz that Wyoming has a lot of great general areas that you can hunt without constantly babysitting your GPS. That being said there are some very big bulls in both units and there have been some very nice bulls killed on public lands in both of these units in the past several years. There are even some general units in Wyoming where you can rifle hunt the rut. If you have enough points to draw 23 then you likely have enough to look at quiet a few other units.
Another thing to consider is unit 19 includes a general deer unit. Unit 23 for elk is a draw deer unit with very limited tags.
 
Buzz,it's not contradictory to say I'm picky but don't need a giant.I will certainly kill an average 6x6 bull,and won't shoot anything less then that or an average 5x5.I have no interest in raghorn as I've killed those and desire better.But by better,I don't need a 350"+ bull.Did I spell it out a little better now.I didn't think that was confusing.I could have killed 2 small bulls with my bow in Co unit 49 this year along with a couple cows.I called in one bull that I would have shot if he came a few more yards.That didn't happen the rest of that week so I ate my tag.He wasn't going to make any magazines but he was plenty big for me,simple
I looked into 23 a little more and found its not what I'm looking for.Is there decent access to Casper mountain??Looking at maps on my topo of 19 it looks like it may be what I want.Just wondering if big chunks of land are blocked by private.I definitely don't want to have to worry every minute where I'm standing.Does 19 get alot of deer hunting pressure?
 
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