Wyoming Zone 45

JB Scrambler

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Got drawn for zone 45 for Oct 15 rifle opener.Does any body have any first hand info for that area ? I will be hunting out of Tensleep WY . I hear its a good pick and am excited to go but dont know anything about the area .Terrain,altitude ,herd info ,anything can help Thanks
 
All that information can be found if you do enough searching on your own and don't rely on everyone else to tell you everything but their honeyholes. It's one of the top units and I love it up there, but I like it more for the September archery rut hunt when the bulls are bugling and before all the rifle hunters come in along with possible snow. Last year there was actually a foot of snow at 8000' the middle of September and it was down in the single digits several nights. You need to be ready for any type of weather, hope for the best, but be ready for the worst and expect it to possibly get nasty the last half of October up high. I'll be helping a friend up there the first two weeks of September on the A/O tag he drew with 8PPs. Terrain---as rough as you want to go. Altitude---8000'-9300'+ where we hunt and you can go even higher. Herd---Excellent, with lots of big bulls well into the 300s, but they are a lot harder to find in October after the rut. If you aren't in top shape, I'd suggest you get started right away with a fitness and cardio program or you won't be able to take full advantage of one of the better tags out there that takes a lot of PPs to draw! If you don't camp up where you hunt and stay down in town instead, you'll be wasting a lot of time and gas going back and forth every day. We'll be camping up around Meadowlark Lake and taking a quad out to each general area we plan to hunt on foot each morning well before daylight. Good luck!
 
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Thats similar to what ive learned so far.Ive been on a diet and workout program.They get some big bulls in Sept but ive heard they still bugle in Oct but the rut is well over .I guess snow will push em lower which might help .Do you think it will be crowded up there? Its my first elk hunt and want to give it my best shot! Thanks
 
They may bugle some the last half of the month, but I wouldn't count on it with the number of hunters up there and the only breeding then will be cows coming in again that got missed or didn't get bred the first time around. It doesn't take too much snow to push what deer there are up high down lower, but it takes quite a bit to move elk down lower into the private and BLM lands. I don't think it will be crowded when you're there. I KNOW it will be what with 350 bull tags issued along with 325 cow tags good on the NF and another 175 off the NF. That's the other reason I like September and especially the first two weeks when there are only 150 bull tags issued for A/O. Are you going solo or do you have a buddy or two going along to help and where are you coming from? One thing I can tell you is have a good, dependable PU with chains in case the weather gets bad or you won't be going anywhere other than on the main highway. A lot of guys couldn't even get around to hunt after the storm the middle of September and the year before that a lot of the area wasn't accessible after the first of October when winter weather hit early and just kept coming the rest of the month. That year there was a lot of snow even down at 5000' and below that even screwed up the antelope and deer hunting.
 
going guided! i dont have time or the will power to go there and figure it out.Big Horn Outfitters They are 1 of only 2 licensed to hunt the wilderness area . Im stoked!!They also have a big ranch below .
 
Well why in the heck are you on a website asking all these questions if you're going guided for cripes sakes? It is common courtesy to tell people something like that when we're taking our valuable time thinking we're going to help you only to find that out. You're
paying big money for an outfitter and should be asking them all of that as part of what you're paying them. Geez!!!
 
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Yikes tough crew


Not at all! This is the premier DIY hunting website on the internet and for him to come on asking questions like that if he's going guided does not make much sense. The outfit he said he's going with is based a few miles out of Buffalo on the opposite side of the mountain (east) from TenSleep where he said he was going to be hunting out of. When he mentioned that town that is why I told him he'd be best to camp up high where he'll be hunting. He'll be even higher up than I stated if he's going with that outfitter because they use a wall tent camp accessed by horseback. He'll also be hunting where and the way his guide takes him from camp, not wherever he wants to go like you would on a DIY hunt. I wish him well, but really question why he came on here asking what he did when the outfitter he booked with will be responsible for taking care of everything as far as the hunt itself. He'll just need to go on the hunt in good shape with a proper mental attitude and be able to shoot. Good luck to him, as he should have a good time whether he kills a bull or not up in that country and his chances are good that he will score a decent one with that outfitter. The ranch he mentioned isn't even in unit 45 on the west side of the mountain unless they have purchased property there recently. It's over in unit 34 and they want $7K to hunt there on the proper tag.
 
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What is wrong with asking questions about the unit he's hunting even if he is going with a guide?

What happens if he doesn't bag an elk with the guide and has some extra time to hunt on his own?

Maybe he wants to cross-reference some information to make sure the outfitter isn't giving him a line of B.S.

JB Scrambler, please ignore topguns rude behavior, he thinks he knows everything about Wyoming, including how to score pronghorn. He's such a badass DIY'er he's going with a guide for deer in G, even though non of it even requires a guide.

Good luck on your hunt, and if I knew more about the bighorn elk, I would help you out.
 
What is wrong with asking questions about the unit he's hunting even if he is going with a guide?

***Not a thing, but if he's going guided normally that's part of what you're paying an outfitter for.

What happens if he doesn't bag an elk with the guide and has some extra time to hunt on his own?

***If that's the case, it doesn't sound like it from the comments he made about why he's going guided!

Maybe he wants to cross-reference some information to make sure the outfitter isn't giving him a line of B.S.

***Normally it's best to do that BEFORE you plunk down close to $5K to an outfitter for a 5 day hunt like he has!

JB Scrambler, please ignore topguns rude behavior, he thinks he knows everything about Wyoming, including how to score pronghorn. He's such a badass DIY'er he's going with a guide for deer in G, even though non of it even requires a guide.

LOL! Your'e telling me I can't score properly and call me a liar when you just look at one internet picture! Unbelievable, but not really I guess when you were over 35 inches off on Michael's official bull that scored close to 380 and you scored him at 345" and ruined a thread with your usual condescending BS. Then to top it off you wouldn't even admit the length of the one beam was what Michael stated when he posted a picture of it with the tape on it! Pretty dang pathetic when all you can do is post condescending remarks about other people's animals. It makes one wonder why you don't have a set of false teeth if you're that way in person, or maybe you do! FYI if we don't take good bucks on our guided hunt in G, we'll be renting horses and DIYing it in another unit for a week to 10 days after that. At 68 years young I'll stay up with you at your young age anywhere, any time, although at 1500 miles away I'm as close to you as I want to be the way you talk down to everyone! Now please go bother someone else and quit trolling my posts here and on MM, as I'd like to have fun on both of them and not have to read your BS!

Good luck on your hunt, and if I knew more about the bighorn elk, I would help you out.

***Good God; for once we've caught you saying you don't know something. Mark that down folks, as it probably will be the only time you see that in print!
 
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i didnt mean to start a firestorm!!! Im new to these type of sights and was just asking for some info so i dont go up there completely blind .A little info may help me .I will proceed with caution from here on in !
 
JB,

You are fine. Guys get testy when people ask for advice on areas on the interweb, because it becomes public knowledge. You got yourself a pretty good elk tag. Give a call to the local game warden and G&F biologist, both can be found on the WYGF website, they are going to have the best info. Tom Desomber is the Warden out of Ten Sleep, good a guy as they come. He will give you some good info.

Good luck!
 
JB,

You are fine. Guys get testy when people ask for advice on areas on the interweb, because it becomes public knowledge. You got yourself a pretty good elk tag. Give a call to the local game warden and G&F biologist, both can be found on the WYGF website, they are going to have the best info. Tom Desomber is the Warden out of Ten Sleep, good a guy as they come. He will give you some good info.

Good luck!

Sorry if it looked like I was getting testy with the OP. I was only getting testy with our other member due to his nasty comments. Tom is a great guy, but there is probably not much point in calling him because I think you missed the fact that the OP stated he's going on a guided hunt up in the wilderness area with BigHorn Outfitters that are based near Buffalo. I could give the OP drainages to hunt in 45 if he was going on a DIY hunt just like I've helped others that have asked about 45, but he will be hunting up high with a guide out of a horseback camp where I can't even hunt without going with my resident friends. He'll have a good time and have a great chance at a good bull up there if the weather doesn't screw things up that time of the year and I wish him well!
 
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You didn't really, don't pay any attention to some sarchasm, it comes free with your membership to the forum. Keep posting and following other threads and you will pick up a pile of info. We're really not a bad bunch of guys.
 
If you haven't picked up a very solid tip in all of this drama, make sure to direct some of those questions to your guide. This will provide you the most precise information about the area you will be hunting. Besides, those are the things you are paying them for.

The best advice I can offer is to ask specific questions. If your totally new to elk hunting, then vague questions asking for all the information, will be greeted with little to no info. The main reason is most of that info is already available on the website. Do a search and you will find more info than you can handle.

Good luck on your trip. 45 is a high end unit and wilderness is even cooler.
 
Id go with a guide sometimes. I cant afford to go guided really but if I drew that tag coming from way out here in the land of fruits and nuts, I surely wouldn't want to squander my tag either. Good luck and show us some pics if you score. Cheers.
 
OK I think i got it now!No hard feelings ! I will keep my head down ,eyes open. and mouth shut when it comes to guided hunts.Heck Im 62 yrs young and have always hunted DIY but have never been able to go elk hunting out of state .Being from California our opportunities for elk are slim,heck it took 30 yrs to draw my antelope tag ! You guys will be the first to see my results good or bad !ThanksJB
 
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