A couple mule deer and antelope questions for first western hunt

[RN Flatlander]

After the last thread I posted about a year ago, I was able to narrow down an area to focus on for my first Wyoming mule deer hunt. I'm looking at a general deer tag in region E, with my focus going into area 96. I bought a preference point last year, so by looking at the numbers I should get a tag. If anyone has any knowlegde on this area, I wouldn't mind PMing them just for info on road access and hunting pressure for the specific area in 96 I want to focus on. I also can get a rough idea of the terrain, but google maps can only show so much, so info on that would help also. My cousin and I are going to try and do a scouting trip this summer for a long weekend, but driving 13+ hours one way from Illinois is going to be hard enough once, let alone twice in a year. The last big question I had in regards to the deer is how they have to be transported with the CWD problem. I talked to someone earlier in the year and they said you have to remove the brain before transporting. I was going to do a practice run with this here in Illinois this deer season, but its been a pretty awful one for me, saw one deer that didn't give me a shot. Any tips on the easiest method to do this would be awesome.

Now the antelope question. The guy I talked to suggested getting a doe antelope tag in addition to the mule deer tag, just as a back up, especially since they are so cheap. This sounded like an great idea until I started looking at the antelope quota in the area we will be hunting. The nonresident quota is extremely low in area 61, where we'll be, like single digits if I'm not mistaken. Is this right?? And it says the season will probably start september 8 but it doesn't say when it ends.

Looking forward to this trip, and hoping it starts a tradition that we'll do at least every other year.

 

[FlatlandHunter]

I believe most states have made it illegal to transport whole deer across State lines. Watch Bin Fin's video on Youtube about deboning an elk, it was this years Arizona hunt that he shot the video on. If you have any friends that get a deer where you live ask to help cut it up with them and that will give you an idea on what to do. If you have normally had your deer processed maybe ask the processor if they can show you or give you tips on de-boning a deer. To get the brain out I usually just cut a little bigger hole where the spine connected to the skull and use a stick to stir it up and shake it out, there is probably an easier way. If you are just doing a skull cap then you don't even need to worry about it. I have no experience in the hunting areas you asked about. Good Luck next year.

 

[wytex]

Illinois requires a clean skull cap and boned out meat from CWD states. You should be able to hang your deer in a tree and process it in the field. Boning out the meat is not a big deal, just trim close to get as much as possible. After removing the skullcap make sure to get any brain matter off of it and the brain cavity lining. Pull off the hide and scrape any meat off the outside, you might stop at a carwash and give it a short pressure wash.
You may want to look into doe antelope tags in an adjacent area with more tags. https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Regulations/Regulation-PDFs/REGULATIONS_CH5 this shows the entire season length and the number of tags allocated this past season. You could drop down south of I-80 or east of your deer area and also get in some good fishing on the Platte. Doe tags in the 40's and 50's areas are pretty easy to fill.

 

[RN Flatlander]

I usually process my deer on my own, so it won’t be too bad doing it out there, I just haven’t messed with removing the brain. I was thinking of doing the stick method. I did not realize the deer had to be deboned. I’m glad you mentioned that. Good info on the antelope also. I’m probably just going to end up focusing on mule deer this trip and maybe go after antelope on a future hunt.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Keep in mind you also need to know the regulations for importation of cervid parts for each state you plan to drive through. If you get stopped anywhere along the way, you could be cited if you aren’t in compliance with the laws pertaining to cervid importation (and they will most likely confiscate your animal).

This website puts together an updated document every year of the current laws in states and provinces. Scroll all the way over to the right in the column titled “Ban on Movement of Animal Parts” to see the laws that pertain to transporting game.

http://cwd-info.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CWDRegstableState-Province.pdf