I've tried for a couple years to talk my local hunting buddies into coming out west, and finally gave up on them and teamed up with a new friend from a deer hunting forum we both frequent. We chose a unit with 100% draw odds with zero pp and spent all summer studying and planning.
We allowed two full days of scouting before the opener, and I think that was the best decision we made.. We drove straight through 22 hours from my house, after my partner had driven 10 hours through the night to get that far. He was a machine, and the excitement level was off the charts. Sunrise on the 29th found us in Sundance, WY and we were amazed at the number of deer visible in every direction. We finally arrived in our unit and decided to go ahead and glass as many public tracts as time allowed that fast before determining where to set up camp. Most of the bucks we saw were very similar in size, but one stood out a little.
We set out the next morning curious what the weekend influx of other hunters would bring. We checked out additional tracts of public, and also revisited the best ones from the day before. The buck I had liked the first day was a couple hundred yards from where I had initially spotted him. I picked a possible ambush location, and we went to bed with high hopes for opening day.
My partner had elected to get doe tags only, and chose a tract that held several. I dropped him off there, and we agreed to plan to reconvene at 12:00. I hid my truck and stalked in the dark to my predetermined spot a few hundred yards from where the above average buck had been late in the evening prior, but as sunrise came and went he was nowhere to be found.
I stayed patient and glassed the area all morning, but finally made the call to try plan B. I checked a couple other tracts, and spotted this guy hanging out in a creek bottom almost invisible from any road. I stalked as close as possible, but then had to wait for him to re-emerge from the bottom. Finally, after two hours of patience, he read the script. My shot was true, and I watched him go down through the Leupold. Walking up to my first western diy big game animal was a feeling that will never go away! Thanks Randy, and thanks to all the members here that share their knowledge and wisdom to make a trip like this seem possible! I truly appreciate it!
It was then I realized I was wayyy beyond the predetermined rendezvous time with my travel partner. I hurried to quarter and pack out my buck and raced to the spot I had dropped him off before dawn. I was relieved to find that he, too, had been successful. He had two quartered and waiting on me to return with the coolers of ice.
We got everything out of this adventure that we hoped for. I went on to fill my doe tag, we visited Devil's Tower and Mount Rushmore, and this afternoon we got a jump on the long drive back east. Wyoming, this won't be my last time to explore your plains
We allowed two full days of scouting before the opener, and I think that was the best decision we made.. We drove straight through 22 hours from my house, after my partner had driven 10 hours through the night to get that far. He was a machine, and the excitement level was off the charts. Sunrise on the 29th found us in Sundance, WY and we were amazed at the number of deer visible in every direction. We finally arrived in our unit and decided to go ahead and glass as many public tracts as time allowed that fast before determining where to set up camp. Most of the bucks we saw were very similar in size, but one stood out a little.
We set out the next morning curious what the weekend influx of other hunters would bring. We checked out additional tracts of public, and also revisited the best ones from the day before. The buck I had liked the first day was a couple hundred yards from where I had initially spotted him. I picked a possible ambush location, and we went to bed with high hopes for opening day.
My partner had elected to get doe tags only, and chose a tract that held several. I dropped him off there, and we agreed to plan to reconvene at 12:00. I hid my truck and stalked in the dark to my predetermined spot a few hundred yards from where the above average buck had been late in the evening prior, but as sunrise came and went he was nowhere to be found.
I stayed patient and glassed the area all morning, but finally made the call to try plan B. I checked a couple other tracts, and spotted this guy hanging out in a creek bottom almost invisible from any road. I stalked as close as possible, but then had to wait for him to re-emerge from the bottom. Finally, after two hours of patience, he read the script. My shot was true, and I watched him go down through the Leupold. Walking up to my first western diy big game animal was a feeling that will never go away! Thanks Randy, and thanks to all the members here that share their knowledge and wisdom to make a trip like this seem possible! I truly appreciate it!
It was then I realized I was wayyy beyond the predetermined rendezvous time with my travel partner. I hurried to quarter and pack out my buck and raced to the spot I had dropped him off before dawn. I was relieved to find that he, too, had been successful. He had two quartered and waiting on me to return with the coolers of ice.
We got everything out of this adventure that we hoped for. I went on to fill my doe tag, we visited Devil's Tower and Mount Rushmore, and this afternoon we got a jump on the long drive back east. Wyoming, this won't be my last time to explore your plains
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