Washington Hunter
Well-known member
This may have already been said, as I don't have time to read this entire thread, but it seems this idea to make Area 7 a general season is something that would do nothing except provide a benefit to outfitters.
Wyoming Unit 7
- Thread starter Watts307
- Start date
D
Deleted member 18333
Guest
May also benefit Gen tag elk hunters, both Res and NR, both guided and DIY. But yes also outfitters, and landowners.
A couple questions for you local guys. I’ve worked out of Douglas and Wheatland a lot about 5 to 10 years ago I’ve only hunted other critters in unit 7, but why is the access to the FS so difficult for most hunters to maneuver around? I used to think you could access a good portion of FS past Esterbrook, and off of Fetterman road in Converse County? Has access changed or the roads impassable due to no county maintenance? There was a lot of elk in there in the winters of 16-18, but I haven’t been there recently. I know wagon hound is outfitted and visible posted, but there seemed to be other sections of the forest service that were accessible or I was trespassing, they did require walking in rocky conditions. Ive never been on the Albany county side so maybe that is what people are referring to. Thanks
perma
Well-known member
I don’t know that it would benefit NRs. The gen tags are getting harder to draw but type 2 seems to be easy to draw. Type 1, on the other hand…..
Addicting
Well-known member
What NR is going to pay full price and burn their points for a cow tag? Not when those exact same tags roll over in the second draw.
D
Deleted member 18333
Guest
Even one Gen tag hunter hunting unit 7 is one less Gen tag hunter in another Gen unit.
perma
Well-known member
Would it be? Aren’t the gen seasons staggered for some units? Meaning I can go hunt unit XYZ and if I miss out, I can go to unit ABC since it’s still under the same tag?
The leftover draw is changing. No love for NR. "get to the back of the line"
D
Deleted member 18333
Guest
Start date is irrelevant. If you are hunting in unit 7 then you are not in another unit at that time.
BuzzH
Well-known member
There's going to be a few thousand residents that will be applying in other limited quota areas absolutely destrying odds in units they normally don't apply for if 7 goes general.
I said the type 4 is guaranteed in the leftover draw. Explain how you’d burn your points in the leftover draw.
Whatever man. You clearly have it dialed in and no one is changing anyones mind here.
D
Deleted member 18333
Guest
For sure. Doesn’t change the fact that more Gen units has the potential to lessen hunter pressure on existing Gen units.
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
WYOGA/MOGA has been floating the “go general” to G&F depts for a few years now for “population reduction” and secondarily “put tags in the hands of hunters who have access.” It’s a 1-2 punch for the LO: increase pressure on public to push the bulls onto private, then have plenty of high-dollar customers lined up to shoot those bulls. Another iteration of the same strategy is the plentiful issue of “4-point-or-fewer” and “5-point-or-fewer” tags in units where far more of those tags are issued than qualifying bulls in the unit herds. Yeah there are some crumbs for DIY-types to fill a tag in a different way, but that’s just a small side benefit for our crowd.
My comment to the survey was raise the HMA reimbursement cap to LO’s to make it competitive w/ leasing and outfitting. If LO’s are serious about population reduction they’ll sign up for the program.
My comment to the survey was raise the HMA reimbursement cap to LO’s to make it competitive w/ leasing and outfitting. If LO’s are serious about population reduction they’ll sign up for the program.
Looking at the harvest records, most recent being 2021, the success rate doesn't seem to be out of whack from other elk hunt areas in spite of "limited access".
Why don't they just issue 500 more cow tags (or 1000, who knows?), Type 4 or 6 or both?
450 for residents 50 for non-residents and see how many more elk get killed.
In 2021 there were 1638 elk killed and apparently that's not enough.
If not enough elk are getting killed I don't understand why they have to change from LE to Gen instead of just issuing more tags (more $). Going to Gen just puts more hunters in 7 but an unknown number.
Do we know if the LO's are really serious about population reduction or is it the biologists who are concerned? Me thinks, if it was LO then changes would be already in the works without asking hunters to take a survey.
Why don't they just issue 500 more cow tags (or 1000, who knows?), Type 4 or 6 or both?
450 for residents 50 for non-residents and see how many more elk get killed.
In 2021 there were 1638 elk killed and apparently that's not enough.
If not enough elk are getting killed I don't understand why they have to change from LE to Gen instead of just issuing more tags (more $). Going to Gen just puts more hunters in 7 but an unknown number.
I like that. The current reimbursement is almost funny.
Do we know if the LO's are really serious about population reduction or is it the biologists who are concerned? Me thinks, if it was LO then changes would be already in the works without asking hunters to take a survey.
Carl 9.3x62
Well-known member
I've hunted it (Albany county side) a dozen years or so now and accessible public land hasn't been an issue. Roads can get blown in later in the season, but there are still places to hunt. Elk aren't always on the accessible public land though. They get pushed onto ranches that don't allow hunting or don't care about the elk, and the elk don't have a reason to leave. The other part is a lot of cow hunters don't want to work hard for an elk. I'm guilty of it too sometimes, especially if I've already killed one that year. But I've also killed cows miles from my truck. Just depends on how motivated people are.
Which might explain why 90 cows were killed with a Type 1 tag. Probably on the last day of the season.
Timvz26
Member
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2018
- Messages
- 36
I filled out the survey and my ideas were:
Disclosure……to be fair, I am a NR and have access to a big area of winter range. Applied for the leftover cow tags the past 5 years and have been unsuccessful. I apply for special tags in the draw and won’t pay $1300 for a cow tag As a second choice.
1. Make an OTC Private land only cow tag that’s available to non-residents. If it goes general and is cow only as a NR I wouldn’t waste my tag on a cow.
2. Increase the tag voucher for landowners, give them half the cost of the tag for example.
3. Make Type 9 tags available and separate them Private vs public
4. I also suggested to them that if they do amy private land only tags it needs to include public land that is LANDLOCKED within the private as there is tons of that in the area I have access too.
Disclosure……to be fair, I am a NR and have access to a big area of winter range. Applied for the leftover cow tags the past 5 years and have been unsuccessful. I apply for special tags in the draw and won’t pay $1300 for a cow tag As a second choice.
1. Make an OTC Private land only cow tag that’s available to non-residents. If it goes general and is cow only as a NR I wouldn’t waste my tag on a cow.
2. Increase the tag voucher for landowners, give them half the cost of the tag for example.
3. Make Type 9 tags available and separate them Private vs public
4. I also suggested to them that if they do amy private land only tags it needs to include public land that is LANDLOCKED within the private as there is tons of that in the area I have access too.
WapitiBob
Well-known member
We have a master hunter program here for just this scenario.
WapitiBob
Well-known member
7 type 4 went under subscribed even in the leftover draw
Addicting
Well-known member
Because everyone knows that they will be turned into 7-6 and apply there for the reduced price.
