Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Region H Wy Mule Deer

I am already committed to an elk hunt in CO GMU 48 mid-Oct. I also got drawn for Wy Region H mule deer in mid-Sept. I'd have to do a solo, backpack, non-designated wilderness hunt for about 3 days hunting / hiking and one day air travel each direction (5 days total max). I drew the Reg H tag with one point and whether I go or not, I'll lose my point and license fee. What can I expect in this area? Can success be had outside the wilderness areas? I'm not used to Grizzlies so doing my first solo backpack hunt in an area where grizzlies are thick doesn't excite me. Considering I like to get back off the roads - half day minimum hike, that leaves maybe 2 days solid hunting. I struck out last year on my tags but its hard to get away for a week in successive months (sales and young kids that like to have dad around). Looking to better understand the opportunity in Region H. Thanks for any feedback.
Regards,
BB

The telephone is your best friend. Start calling the local game wardens and Forest Service offices for information and advice. Were I in your shoes, I would go south of Pinedale and hunt the sagebrush around Big Sandy and Boulder. Some is USFS; some is BLM; some is private. I hunted antelope there some (OK, many ) years ago, and there is beaucoup public land to hunt. The western foothills of the Winds, IOW.

I was never a big fan of hunting the "Capital W Wilderness" for mule deer, when I hunted and guided in Wyoming. As a NR, you can't anyway, so that point is moot. I think hunting the lower elevations will find you more mule deer, and it will also save you some hiking time. If you park, hike, and camp, you may find deer that never see humans, other than a cowboy or two looking for cows.

Lots of calling beforehand will save you lots of time hunting a place to hunt, in any event.

Dennis

I hunted Region H last year, and Region G the past couple of years.
It is great country that can produce some monster mulies. It is also some tough steep country, and In my opinion you would be wasting your time with the limited amount of time you have.
A hunt of 5 days time would be my personal minimum.
You can easily count on one day to get into the type of country that most public land bucks hang out in.
If you do go (and I wouldn't blame you a bit) I would heed all of the basic bear precautions, and not worry about it. Grizzlies are not exactly thick in that area, and personally I would love the oppurtunity to see one.

Unfortunately, some of the best sagebrush hunting is in the Prospect Mountains, which don't open until Oct. 1. There are some places not too far from a road that have possibilities, like the trail to Indian Meadows and the Spring Creek Trail above Darby Creek in area 149, both outside the wilderness, and in the Upper Hoback in area 153 the trails up Grizzly Creek and the divide between the Hoback and South Hoback Rivers or Hoback Peak. Rest assured you will see other hunters in area 153.
KCBighorn is correct, more time would be much better, particularly when hunting high country deer, where deer densities are usually low and the bucks are still in bachelor herds.
Muledeer is also correct, you see more deer at lower elevations, but remember everyone else is also looking for those deer that don't see hunters, and except in the parks or on private land without access, hunters are good at finding the hidey holes. But, as muledeer says, sometimes some really obvious places are overlooked, especially by hunters used to white-tails that think mule deer are always in the pretty places.
Remember also that the hard core mule deer hunters will be scouting all summer, finding a bunch of mule deer bucks during scouting just before the hunting season and camping with them until opening day, then trying to shoot one before the commotion starts and the deer go into those ugly canyons and timber patches that let them get older and bigger. The successful mule deer hunters in the mountains usually will not be spending two days traveling and three days hunting an area they've never seen before. Fewer days hunting usually equals lower chance of success.