Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Wyoming Elk and deer

I am sure after I write down all my questions it will seem like I am rambling on.
I am sitting on a boat load of points for deer and elk. I have a couple for Antelope also. I don't want to go alone so I will include my hunting partner and he has a few of each so it will dilute my odds of drawing. What I don't want to do is waste the points its taken 12+ years of applying. I don't want to do all the hunts the same year. I want to spread them out due to its a one and done deal. Maybe over 2-3 years and by then I will probably be unable to get around like I want.

I am sure there are guys who have been in my same spot and I am curious how they did it? I will give you some info and ideas I have. I am not specifically looking for a honey hole, maybe unit and hunt choice for each.

My thoughts are we would apply for deer only with most likely total of 13 points for both of us.
We are both 60 now and we can't hunt like a goat anymore. We have hunted all over North America guided and unguided for whitetails. Doing deer first would give us a idea of where elk might be and this would be a scouting trip for elk. We would like to take a deer but knowing they are around is good enough. I hunt south of Cheyenne one time and we had a leased private ranch. 5 of us were done on a day and half for Mulies.

I have hunted Montana guided and unguided. Took a nice 6x6 bull on a guided camp hunt 25 years ago.

Should we take baby steps, first antelope? Low point requirement as starting point?

Options considering

drop camp?
DIY camp or out of a motel?
Hire outfitter?
Lease ground?
Suggest unit?

For elk almost the same questions except one additional caveat. Do I apply for a hard to draw bull elk and use a cow hunt as second choice. Learning the area and terrain for when I draw a bull tag? I like eating elk and shooting a cow would be a trophy. As for bulls, I am not looking for a big bull. If one steps in front of me fine but I would take just any bull and be happy. Same for my partner, he is on the same page.

drop camp?
DIY camp or out of a motel?
Hire outfitter?
Lease ground?
Suggest unit?

I will take PM's, I understand someone may not want everyone to see the comments. I would not be returning every year so the area would be safe. Like I said we are getting old and its a one and done for each animal.

Thanks
Bob

Deer could be rough this year, hard winter right now and it's not over.
13 PP for 2 of you is 6.5 and that might not get you any special type of area.
A General region tag perhaps in a Region with decent numbers.

Cow elk might be a good try, a Reduced price license to get to know an area.
Your PPs might get you a deal from an outfitters though, party your PPs with another client or your friend.

Wait until April though when quotas come out and we'll see how bad winter was by then.

Check your pm’s.

Thanks, all good tips. We are in no rush but for sure we would do deer or antelope first and make a wise decision with the elk PP. I talked with my partner and we pay to go to Saskatchewan almost every year. He has never taken a elk so we may build the points up over the next two years and try to go with a outfitter in 2025 or 2026 for elk. Find an outfitter that hunts a area that would get us in with 6.5- 7 points each. I just looked I thought I had 12 but only 11 elk and 10 deer.
We can book this year for the future hunt so we know we are locked in.

I am definitely interested in him. Thanks for the lead on the elk. We would rather do a deer hunt on our own. It something we have done in MT a couple of times. Funny there we passed bucks that the locals just pounded from the roads. I am sure its the same way in WY if it has easy access.

Same boat, sitting on 10 Elk points deciding when to go and which outfitter....

My cousin and I too were sitting on 10 pts each for elk and after talking to numerous outfitters we realized that we were in a bad spot for points. We started to learn that just because it’s a limited area doesn’t mean the bulls are bigger( less people, easier terrain,etc)! We found the good outfitters for the points we had were booked out 3-4 years! We ended up booking a hunt with a very small personal outfit in a general tag area close to the park. We’ll see if we made the right choice come Oct!

Sounds like tags are going to be a bit more expensive, like 2 grand.

Likely increase link

The ‘special draw’ fee increase has passed both chambers and waiting for the governor to sign.

Prices are getting out of hand

Signed into law. Regualr draw prices stay the same and may get some LQ licenses rolled down into it if they go under allocated in the Special draw.

I’d be using whatever Wyoming points I could right now. The R’s clearly don’t like NR’s coming out there shooting all their animals. And they don’t care about all the money we spend. And their legislators want to get re-elected and know us poor lowly NR’s can’t vote. Tag prices are going to continue to go up and get harder to draw. The new 90/10 split has pretty much wrecked my dreams of a Bighorn tag although I am probably going to continue to add to my current collection (18). The new “bonus point” idea may revive some hope. I love Wyoming and visit it on average once a year, but I think the best hunting for Wyoming NR’s is in the rear view mirror.

Mackey

What ever you decide. Elk will probably be ok. The Platte Valley deer herd is history hard to tell with antelope. But it has been a long cold winter with lots of deep snow. It will probably take the deer herd years to recover if ever. As for the price of things, I just paid over 12$ for a head of cabbage and small bag of apples here in town. Everything is going up including the cost of hunting. I am sure if you don't like Wyoming you can hunt elsewhere. Michigan and Pennsylvania both have elk herds you might want to try there. And truthfully, the nr have never put a penny in my pocket.

Are you in Saratoga ? Been wondering how winter is over the mountain.

Me too for some reason

60. You have 15-20 years of hunting in front of you. It won't happen if you don't think it will. As the song goes, don't let the old man in.

Work on the elk first, deer and antelope are a lot easier to hunt as you get older.

As long as you can afford it, hire an outfitter that operates on private land . No lease required on your part. A lot of the work they do.

DYI would be my last choice, drop camp, next to last choice. I would not even consider a motel.