Worst Best Luck

[Toban204]

Thanks for sharing my excitement and all the tips and advice! Please feel free to keep it coming. I don't have much use for a spotter where I typically hunt, so the ideas of buying one used and selling it after or renting one are quite appealing. If I did go the purchasing route, what would people say is the minimum I should spend on a (new) spotter for it to be of worthwhile quality? Some people have asked about the current binos I'm running, I've got Nikon Monarch 7s, which I really like.

On a different topic, I need to figure out when in the season we're going to hunt this tag. How does the second half of September compare with the second half of October for this hunt? I'd love to go during the rut and while the sage grouse season is open, but I will have a scheduling conflict from Sept 23 - Oct 13, or until we fill our tag, if I draw an elk tag back home. 1st world problems...

 

[dragginwood]

I hunted 68 last year and saw 80-100 mature bucks/day. We stayed at the Green Mountain Motel in Jeffrey City which is close to the 67/68 boundary. After I got my antelope, we did bum around in 67 for a bit. Definitely don't shoot the first one you see unless it is a slammer. I would spend the first day just covering ground and looking at as many bucks as you can. The second day you can get more serious about filling your tag. I went 9 days after the season had opened and the bucks were still rutting hard. The bucks are territorial, so if you see a pretty good one the first day, you should be able to find him in the same general area the next day. Have fun and share some photos of your adventure.

Appreciate the advice! I'm trying to knock off both hunts in the same trip. I was planning to head to WY around 9/30 and stick it out for a week. That would give me some flex time before 1st season rifle in CO. Plus it gives a week for the residents to fill their tags and hopefully leave us with a little more room to roam. Good to hear that going later we still have an opportunity for the bucks still looking for "girlfriends".

I've been heavily debating picking up a spotter too. Though I'm far from being able to pick apart a B&C class animal, opportunities at trophy critters in great units don't coming every year for me so I want to capitalize on the opportunity..

 

[unclemoe]

Thanks for sharing my excitement and all the tips and advice! Please feel free to keep it coming. I don't have much use for a spotter where I typically hunt, so the ideas of buying one used and selling it after or renting one are quite appealing. If I did go the purchasing route, what would people say is the minimum I should spend on a (new) spotter for it to be of worthwhile quality? Some people have asked about the current binos I'm running, I've got Nikon Monarch 7s, which I really like.

On a different topic, I need to figure out when in the season we're going to hunt this tag. How does the second half of September compare with the second half of October for this hunt? I'd love to go during the rut and while the sage grouse season is open, but I will have a scheduling conflict from Sept 23 - Oct 13, or until we fill our tag, if I draw an elk tag back home. 1st world problems...

I bought a Vortex Viper spotting scope this year for my hunt, because it was all i could afford, its a nice scope and works ok but i do with i could have spent a little more and gotten a nicer one i doubt i could count the points on a deer from a good distance, just more of guess its size, vs some of the high dollar scopes you can see if they have a tick from 1000 out

 

[Aperventure]

Congrats congrats and congrats!

Caught a Hail Mary this year and drew my unit 67 speed goat tag. We were intentionally swinging for the fences with the intent of not drawing because I applied for a high success CO Elk, and have a baby coming in Nov. Low and behold I draw my elk and antelope in the same year.

Does anyone else feel sorry for me?

 

[elkrchr]

If you can, just borrow one from a friend and make sure to get a window mount prior to your trip as it will come in very handy and save you a ton of time. Otherwise, you're going to see some bucks in your binoculars that might peak your interest, but after spending some precious time getting closer, realize it/they are just an average buck. Covering lots of ground and putting the spotter on as many bucks as possible is the key in my opinion. The most important part of this adventure is to have fun and shoot a buck you like.