Mule deer season opening day question

[270.Rose]

Hi all! I have a question and would appreciate input on planning my mule deer hunt. I have a Wyoming general tag which opens October 1 (which is a Saturday this year) and I'm trying to decide if I should plan to be out first thing on opening day, or if it would be better to leave that to the flock of out-of-state hunters who camp out around every available corner of public land and wait til Tuesday or Wednesday evening to hunt when there may be less people out?

 

[BackofBeyond]

I would think that if you're looking to avoid the NR hunters, most of them would be coming for more than just the opening weekend.

FWIW, I've never hunted Wyoming. My own experience here in ID is that my success on a particular hunt is directly proportional to the days I spend in the field either scouting, or hunting, or both.

I say hunt the opener, but hunt it with the mindset of where are all these deer going to go once the first rifle shot rings out? That's where I'd want to be.

 

[Nick87]

I would say that if you can't be there a day or two early to scout that maybe I would want for some of the crowd to clear out. This has been my experience, however I was hunting pretty crowded general deer area when I was there.

 

[wytex]

It will be busy no doubt but if you have a buck found I would go after him.
Mid week should be better, but who knows with a short season.

 

[brymoore]

If go if you have the day off. Zero bucks are killed at work. Go have an adventure.

 

[270.Rose]

If go if you have the day off. Zero bucks are killed at work. Go have an adventure.

I'm a stay at home mom so part of the equation is deciding on whether it should be a solo hunt, trying to find a babysitter so I can have my husband along, or bring the boys and make it a family outing. All the options have their advantages and difficulties.

 

[brymoore]

I'm a stay at home mom so part of the equation is deciding on whether it should be a solo hunt, trying to find a babysitter so I can have my husband along, or bring the boys and make it a family outing. All the options have their advantages and difficulties.

I’m a run away from home to go hunting Dad.

I don’t know how old your kids are, but I’ve drug my kids on all types of hunts once they hit age 5. We have pics of all the kids hiking and with dead animals. My kids were able to handle 2-3 miles out in Idaho terrain.

 

[270.Rose]

I’m a run away from home to go hunting Dad.

I don’t know how old your kids are, but I’ve drug my kids on all types of hunts once they hit age 5. We have pics of all the kids hiking and with dead animals. My kids were able to handle 2-3 miles out in Idaho terrain.

That's a neat picture!!
My kids are 4, 6, and 7. The older two are great about covering a lot of ground and can sit pretty quiet too but the youngest has a hard time keeping up. They tagged along on several of our hunts last fall, and my antelope hunt this week will be a family event, so it's for sure an option.

 

[TOGIE]

i would say skip the first week and hunt the last week of the season for three reasons:

1) oct 1 a lot deer are still up high and many bucks are still holed up and not moving much. waiting a week might help to get them moving about more. though i've found that deer can be found at any elevation during a wyoming general season.

2) the first week will be more crowded than the last week

3) the last week is more likely to be colder and weatherier than the first week, helping with deer movement.

 

[Bob-WY]

Not.to be a trouble maker, but check unit dates. The 3 areas I hunt Gen deer don't open til the 15th

 

[Dsnow9]

Not.to be a trouble maker, but check unit dates. The 3 areas I hunt Gen deer don't open til the 15th

My deer tag opens the 1st.

 

[270.Rose]

Not.to be a trouble maker, but check unit dates. The 3 areas I hunt Gen deer don't open til the 15th

It's 1st-15th on one side of the interstate and then 15th-31st on the other side of the interstate.

 

[jjubran]

I'm a stay at home mom so part of the equation is deciding on whether it should be a solo hunt, trying to find a babysitter so I can have my husband along, or bring the boys and make it a family outing. All the options have their advantages and difficulties.

They certainly all do have their advantages and disadvantages, hard decisions to make!

 

[270.Rose]

Well there were some lovely days out, both solo and with the family, and finally got just what I wanted! 3x3 was my minimum, he was smack in the middle of public land with no risk of losing him on private, no other hunters around to feel like I was messing them up, and he dropped in his tracks with a single shot without taking a step, half an hour before end of shooting light.

 

[Wallydeuce]

Well done Rose. Well done indeed!

 

[270.Rose]

Well done Rose. Well done indeed!

Thank you!!

 

[manitou1]

Didn't let a little bit of life get in the way! Congrats Rose!

 

[Werty]

Well done!

 

[brymoore]

Love it!

 

[TheJason]

Can’t beat that. Congratulations.