Wyoming 43. Haven't been there for years....

[MaxPower]

I used to hunt this unit when I was in grad school in Laramie, but I haven't been there for 7-8 years.

Anyone hunted it recently? When I used to hunt it you were consigned to one of the two HMA's (Diamond Lake and Laramie River) which were both pretty big, but they would get hammered by hunters (resident and non-resident) and the goats would move off them onto private land pretty quick.

Has this changed, or is it still this way?

 

[BuzzH]

Same, if anything worse

 

[MaxPower]

Any reports from this fall?

I drew this as my second choice, and I'm curious if it's even worth my time to drive down there from Casper to hunt it. The WGFD gave out over 1,000 tags for the unit this year. The last time I hunted it those goats were scared of their own shadow and ran for private ground or other areas pretty quick.

 

[zpooch]

Had it last year as a third choice, tagged out in a morning on a small buck after the unit had been open for a couple weeks

 

[Saranac84]

This unit is the most unenjoyable hunting I have personally experienced. I live an hour south, so I've hunted does a few times to fill the freezer but it's never much fun. So much pressure and uninspiring terrain.

I feel bad for guys from the east who make the trip out thinking they're going to have a fun "Western" hunt. There are so many great places in the state to hunt pronghorn but this isn't one. But I guess as a resident 2nd choice or a short drive for a NR doe tag, there are far worse ways to spend a day.

 

[MaxPower]

"So much pressure and uninspiring terrain."

This is a great way to explain the unit. Almost no landmarks or physical features, and LOADS of pressure.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Guess it depends on your perspective. 43 isn't what it used to be, but very few areas are. A combination of harsh weather, the popularity of the antelope hunt, and too many tags has driven hunt quality down. I have hunted it as a resident and it used to be pretty good. Used to get a leftover buck tag there. The area is hardly uninspiring if you know what to look for, especially the hilly country on the west side, and there are some strategies that can tip the odds in your favor, despite the fact that it's not doing super well. Never fails though, every year, guys apply for areas they don't know much about and go home feeling they've been robbed.

 

[Saranac84]

I’m certain you know the unit far better than I do, so I’m not going to tell you that you’re wrong.

I’m just stating there are units that most people would find far more interesting to hunt. Most people are going to end up at one of the HMAs, which I don’t find terribly appealing.

I’d rather hunt more diverse terrain. Drop into some broken country, glass up some deer in the sage, pick up a shed and shoot a pronghorn. In other areas, maybe you’re kicking up sage grouse then fishing for browns. I’m not talking about filling tags but the complete experience.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

Finding a bush or shrub taller than your ankle is almost impossible in that unit. Uninspiring is a perfect description.

 

[mhungerford]

43 is my 3rd choice every year. never have any trouble finding antelope and we wait until the HMA is unlimited. My father comes up from Texas and we fill every tag every year. Killed an 80 2/8" buck last year. it have be hard hunting but always see antelope.

 

[MaxPower]

43 is my 3rd choice every year. never have any trouble finding antelope and we wait until the HMA is unlimited. My father comes up from Texas and we fill every tag every year. Killed an 80 2/8" buck last year. it have be hard hunting but always see antelope.

An 80" buck in 43? Can we see pictures?

 

[mhungerford]

Sure. Ive seen a few out there. Im sorry but every unit in wyoming has a few 80" bucks in them.

 

[MaxPower]

Sure. Ive seen a few out there. Im sorry but every unit in wyoming has a few 80" bucks in them.

Wow - congrats on the nice buck. I saw a few nice bucks out there during my time in Laramie, but never one that big....

Guess I need to carve out at least 2-3 days for it next month.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

I've seen a few out of the area similar in size to the one above. Shoot, the other day I saw a better than average buck just laying off the road on public in 43. This spot had brush above ankle height though, so probably was overlooked.

 

[Auriga_5WY]

I've been going out on the weekends with my dad. It's his first time hunting 43 in the Laramie River HMA, and my first time hunting period... not having much luck though. I talked him into taking a day off today to see if going on a weekday would lay off some of the pressure from other hunters. It did, but they're still so skittish... The closest we got was the first weekend of the season, about 300 yds out which we figured was within range, but there were buildings in our line of fire and a bunch of other hunters nearby so we decided to leave them and take our chances deeper in. Other than that... they just haven't been close enough. Well, execpt for the three fat does we saw just chilling on a parcel of private, non-accessible land just off the county road in between two sections of HMA land. I swear they're learning the maps just to spite us, lol

 

[MaxPower]

I've been going out on the weekends with my dad. It's his first time hunting 43 in the Laramie River HMA, and my first time hunting period... not having much luck though. I talked him into taking a day off today to see if going on a weekday would lay off some of the pressure from other hunters. It did, but they're still so skittish... The closest we got was the first weekend of the season, about 300 yds out which we figured was within range, but there were buildings in our line of fire and a bunch of other hunters nearby so we decided to leave them and take our chances deeper in. Other than that... they just haven't been close enough. Well, execpt for the three fat does we saw just chilling on a parcel of private, non-accessible land just off the county road in between two sections of HMA land. I swear they're learning the maps just to spite us, lol

Sounds about right.

I'll be out there next weekend with a buddy, I've got a full freezer so I'm not real stressed. I've got access to the other HMA, but maybe we'll still cross paths. Hope you guys have better luck soon.

 

[Auriga_5WY]

Here's hoping. We did take 287 up to Rock River this afternoon after a few failed stalking bouts in Laramie River HMA, then 13 down through Diamond HMA, just to glass over a few areas of non-HMA state/BLM land in the area. Saw a few around the wind farms and drinking from the water in the Wheatland Irrigation district, but nothing we could get to. I'm trying to convince Dad to switch up our strategy a bit, do a bit more walking and waiting rather than rolling up in the truck since they're well-conditioned at this point to GTFO when they see/hear a vehicle coming. But we'll see. Either way it's good fun, we're both busy with work and life a lot and don't often have time for father-son bonding. (Just don't tell the old man I said that, lol)

 

[1_pointer]

I've found that after opening morning, in that unit, it's pretty tough to do the f150 sneak. I've had better luck setting up in areas away from the road and preferrably out of site of the road and just waiting. Not always as fun, but it seems to work. I hope to be back in 2 years with my youngest son.

 

[jmveverka]

Had some success out there last week. Filled 4 of 5 doe tags. Had opportunities to fill the 5th, but wind, misses, and an impatient hunting partner who was done with the hunt prevented that. I'll tell you it was a hard hunt - those animals are very spooky and are moving as soon as they see a truck, person or even just a range finder sticking up over a hill. The weekend was a zoo and pretty much a bust, but found animals in range and approachable each morning during the week before they got shot at and moved off the HMA.

 

[MaxPower]

Had some success out there last week. Filled 4 of 5 doe tags. Had opportunities to fill the 5th, but wind, misses, and an impatient hunting partner who was done with the hunt prevented that. I'll tell you it was a hard hunt - those animals are very spooky and are moving as soon as they see a truck, person or even just a range finder sticking up over a hill. The weekend was a zoo and pretty much a bust, but found animals in range and approachable each morning during the week before they got shot at and moved off the HMA.

Congrats. We were there for about 6 hours on Saturday. It was some intense wind as that storm rolled in. We found a few, but nothing like the groups we saw just outside the HMA....
We were only able to make 2 stalks - one which another hunter messed up and one which we messed up. And yes, they were spooky - we experimented with a group of does and found that +/- 1k yards was the limit. They'd tolerate us at 1k, but if we tried walking or driving any closer they'd move off.
Didn't used to be that way in that unit.....