50bowhunter
Active member
Does anyone have any experience in unit 50 in WY? I’ve been studying maps, and briefly talked to the biologist, just figured I would check all the boxes and ask here as well.
Wyoming unit 50
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rwc101
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Hunted it twice. Make sure you apply for one of the HMAs otherwise access gets a bit limited.
seeth07
Well-known member
This. But don't forget about corner crossing and hunting the Elk Mountain Ranch
50bowhunter
Active member
Unless I’m missing something, I don’t see any HMA’s that you have to apply for. Just the two WHMA’s
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rwc101
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Huh. I guess Pass Creek Basin and Overland Trail HMA are no more. Bummer.
seeth07
Well-known member
Ouch, I see that too. Lots of antelope for sure on those two HMA's. My family has shot a buck and 2 does off of them. Real bummer.
Don’t overlook the Wick-Bemuee Wildlife area. There are usually a lot of antelope on that area, a lot of hunters too. The checkerboard areas that you can access offer a lot of opportunities as well. Many of the antelope in those areas get overlooked and passed up.
bullbugle307
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I hunt 50 pretty regularly, and I'll be hunting it again this year. Last year there were quite a few on the Wick, but I'm not seeing as many this year when passing by. Take that with a grain of salt, I haven't properly looked yet, but last year I definitely saw them more off of 80 on the Wick on the way to my property. They might just be a little more tucked away when I've passed by the last few times, there's a decent amount of topography there.
Other than a couple bigger areas, there's a lot of square mile sections accessible. They're mostly pretty flat, but we still kill them on those places, mostly with patience, crawling, and taking advantage of rutty bucks being dumb.
Also, there's a lot of places, like around Saratoga lake and just a bit east of there, that you technically can hunt, but to be honest, I feel you shouldn't. Too many houses and people.
Other than a couple bigger areas, there's a lot of square mile sections accessible. They're mostly pretty flat, but we still kill them on those places, mostly with patience, crawling, and taking advantage of rutty bucks being dumb.
Also, there's a lot of places, like around Saratoga lake and just a bit east of there, that you technically can hunt, but to be honest, I feel you shouldn't. Too many houses and people.
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PrairieHunter
Well-known member
Yikes, that sucks as I have seen a lot of wildlife on Pass Creek Basin. Great antelope spot.
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rwc101
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Yep. I didn't apply for it this year, but that's been my grocery run the past few seasons.
bullbugle307
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That is a bummer. I drove through Pass Creek Rd yesterday and I'm pretty sure some of white signs were still up. Probably just the road closed/no orv signs, I didn't look that close.
bullbugle307
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Not by me! Thankfully, there aren't much in the way of honey holes in 50 (since we're being pretty open here). I can't think of a spot I've ever hunted there where I haven't seen other hunters. Just the nature of the game, and also why I don't mind sharing a bit in an open forum.
seeth07
Well-known member
There are 500 licenses for a hunt that runs from Sept. 16th to the end of October. We have gone every time in the middle of October and never hunted on a Friday or Saturday. We have never seen more than 1 hunter/day and its a very large unit. We also have never seen a buck over 70" that wasn't on private (although a few on Elk Mountain Ranch including the "landlocked" two BLM pieces). Don't expect to shoot a whooper without some luck.
50bowhunter
Active member
Pretty much exactly what I’m expecting. We will be there this first week of October so I figure most people will have already filled their tags. We have deer tags as well so we won’t be very selective with antelope. Thanks
LCH
Well-known member
If you see a silver Ram with Indiana plates, stop and say howdy. I'll be there the same time.
bullbugle307
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Man, you guys are getting me excited. I'm going through trail cam pics from my little getaway up there. It's way too small to hunt, but I run a few cameras up there for fun. I've got about 100 yards of fence in the sagebrush out there, between my little property and the neighboring ranch, and it never ceases to amaze me how much traffic it gets. I went up to water a few trees yesterday, and in the last two weeks I had deer, elk, moose, a sow with a tiny cub, pronghorn, fox, all kinds of birds. And the wildflowers have been great up there this year. Pollinators everywhere.
I may not have the best luck on tag drawing, but I feel like I won the lotto when I bought a handful of acres of heaven up there for the price of a used truck.
Good luck on your pronghorn and deer hunts fellas, the deer are looking a bit better this year. There's been more younger deer around my place this year where I didn't see hardly any last year. I'd like to see a few more years of that in a row.
I may not have the best luck on tag drawing, but I feel like I won the lotto when I bought a handful of acres of heaven up there for the price of a used truck.
Good luck on your pronghorn and deer hunts fellas, the deer are looking a bit better this year. There's been more younger deer around my place this year where I didn't see hardly any last year. I'd like to see a few more years of that in a row.
bullbugle307
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Good representation. I probably should have been more clear when I said there's nothing I've hunted there where I haven't seen other hunters. By that I mean I've seen other hunters at some point over the last 10 plus years. It usually ain't too bad out there. Plenty of places to hunt if your willing to crawl a bit.
50bowhunter
Active member
Will do. We will be in a grey Nissan Titan with Virginia tags
Bam Bam
Well-known member
My wife and I drew Unit 50 this year as well. We'll be going early in the season. If someone reminds me, I'll post a hunting report on this thread at the end of September, when we get back home to Cheyenne.
