Wyoming General License Strategy.

[dannyb278]

Looking to go out to the NE part of Wyoming this year with my dad on our first mule deer hunt. We have 1.5 points each when applying as a group. Will probably apply for C or Y

My one question is this; with the general licence covering multiple areas and a large amount of land, are you more likely to pick a handful of closely associated areas to focus your hunt on, OR spend your time driving around the much larger Unit looking for deer?

 

[madtom]

I'd have your top 2-3 spots in mind before you arrive, and hunt them until you're convinced they're junk. Driving around longer than necessary with no plan isn't that much fun for me.

 

[thusby]

I would split the region in half at least and then split that in half again depending on the terrain and pressure you find. A lot of antelope guys will be pounding the low stuff.

 

[Ryan_941]

Shoot me a message and I can get you pointed in the right direction for some decent areas.

 

[MNWhitetail]

You will see lots of guys on the roads. Very few get out of the truck unless they are ready to pull the trigger. This was my experience in region A last year. Get out and go over the hill, you will see much more animals. Also get OnX if you don't have it. Good luck.

 

[SaskHunter]

I would personally pick a main area and stick to it as long as I see deer, otherwise I would move to spots B, C, etc.

For me, it would be a matter of preference based on what area tickled my pickle, sometimes I just look at somewhere on a map or google earth and tell myself "I'll try and go kill a deer there". Most times it turns out fine but sometimes I get there and it's totally different than what I expected and move on to a different area.

 

[Pilgrim]

I deer hunted a general region in Wyoming last year that I'd never been in before. E-scouted and identified a dozen spots on my OnX over the summer. Got there two days before the season opened and had an opportunity to scout the entire unit without the "pressure" of thinking I had to be hunting a particular spot. Was able to narrow a dozen possible spots down to four promising ones spread out over the entire unit. There were five of us and we went five for five. No "trophies," but we all got venison and had a great time. The scouting before the opener really narrowed our focus and eliminated a bunch of second-guessing and thinking we should be somewhere else. Best thing I ever did. (I'm a slow learner; Randy has said for years he'd sacrifice a day of hunting for a day of scouting any time; he's right, of course.)

 

[WyoDoug]

I would focus on hunting deer along the fingers and draws and up to about mid-range on the ridges. Antelope hunters will be pushing even deer intentional or not and they will likely travel between the fingers and into the draws. They tend to like to bed down half way up a slope where they can smell from behind and see what is coming at them at the front. I would approach from the ridge lines in the AM and from the lower end in the PM due to the thermals. Deer do react to thermals, not as bad as elk but they do. I would not spend much time in the flat terrain or the rolling hills but do not write them off completely either. If you see sign go for it.

 

[JRMiller]

I deer hunted a general region in Wyoming last year that I'd never been in before. E-scouted and identified a dozen spots on my OnX over the summer. Got there two days before the season opened and had an opportunity to scout the entire unit without the "pressure" of thinking I had to be hunting a particular spot. Was able to narrow a dozen possible spots down to four promising ones spread out over the entire unit. There were five of us and we went five for five. No "trophies," but we all got venison and had a great time. The scouting before the opener really narrowed our focus and eliminated a bunch of second-guessing and thinking we should be somewhere else. Best thing I ever did. (I'm a slow learner; Randy has said for years he'd sacrifice a day of hunting for a day of scouting any time; he's right, of course.)

Same here. Its worth going ahead a day or two and scout.glass. You will avoid crowds and and have a much, much better chance opening day. While everyone else is driving all over Gods green earth, you will be in your spot filling your tag.
I have done a few specific units in Wyoming, but am going to try for regional this year is its easier to come by

 

[WyoDoug]

One thing I recommend for rifle hunters is to get an archery tag when they are scouting and maybe carry a cross-bow if they are not compound bow proficient. I don't know how many times, especially on deer that I spotted nice four point mulies in close range prior to opening day that would of been legal if I had an archery tag. I have carried my bow during deer scouting last 10 years and both rifle and bow when hunting rifle deer and scouting elk (because the seasons overlap in Wyoming).

 

[JRMiller]

One thing I recommend for rifle hunters is to get an archery tag when they are scouting and maybe carry a cross-bow if they are not compound bow proficient. I don't know how many times, especially on deer that I spotted nice four point mulies in close range prior to opening day that would of been legal if I had an archery tag. I have carried my bow during deer scouting last 10 years and both rifle and bow when hunting rifle deer and scouting elk (because the seasons overlap in Wyoming).

Thats a great idea. A little pricey for non residents but still a great idea

 

[Dwreckers]

I hunted region A back in 16. We shot a small forky mule deer and a little basket rack 4pt (saw a few better deer). Most people are correct in others not wanting to get out of their trucks. I learned to sit high and let people drive them up the ravines. Let others do most of the work for you. I came face to face with a decent 3pt buck who was running for his life up the hill and we were on the same trail. Make sure you got your OnX maps for private boundary issues. Also check in the Walk In Access areas. I’ve met some really nice out of staters there who have shot some big bucks over the years there. Good luck to ya!

 

[Dwreckers]

Definitely bucks bigger than both of these on public

 

[Warchild]

I antelope hunted in Region C last year. Saw 2 absolute giant Mule Deer while walking around looking for Goats. Not a ton of public land and you better have ONX chip in a GPS. I hunted late season which was a mistake for antelope, they were pushed off public land by the time I got there. It was strange how well both the deer and goats knew exactly where the public/private borders were.