Western WY deer 2024 hunt??

tnvol · Apr 24, 2024

Hey guys..it’s application season! Hope everyone is having good luck. I know Region H in WY was hit hard in 2023 and supposedly region G was hit even harder with winter kill. My son and I have the points to draw...does anyone have an opinion or advice for us to try and apply this year 2024?? This would be a diy hunt...I've heard people comment saying it could be 4-5 years before the herd recovers and maybe even a decade and it’s all weather dependent. We've never hunted out in region H but I wonder how hard it would be to find a decent 4pt buck?? My thought was we could draw now and then wait another 6-10 years until we hunt again..Thanks for any input!

ridgerunner · Apr 24, 2024

Lots of discussion on here about state of Western Wyoming deer herds. I'll say this, I personally hunted western Wyoming in 2022 and 2023. 2022 was lights out amazing. 2023 I felt like I was hunting Washington state, deer numbers were very low and finding bucks, let alone mature bucks was challenging. Now this year should be better than last year and I expect there to be some monsters given the mild winter and lack of competition for groceries but its nothing like it was historically.

The other wildcard is how the shorter season will impact the pressure. In 2022 the hunt went till Oct 7, 2023 it was 9/30, this year 9/25 so I'm guessing more crowded than it has been in the past.

tnvol · Apr 24, 2024

ridgerunner said:
Lots of discussion on here about state of Western Wyoming deer herds. I'll say this, I personally hunted western Wyoming in 2022 and 2023. 2022 was lights out amazing. 2023 I felt like I was hunting Washington state, deer numbers were very low and finding bucks, let alone mature bucks was challenging. Now this year should be better than last year and I expect there to be some monsters given the mild winter and lack of competition for groceries but its nothing like it was historically.

The other wildcard is how the shorter season will impact the pressure. In 2022 the hunt went till Oct 7, 2023 it was 9/30, this year 9/25 so I'm guessing more crowded than it has been in the past.

Great insight! Thank you sir..I have no idea what to do lol..

Country · Apr 24, 2024

I hunted G last year and it was not good.

tnvol · Apr 24, 2024

Country said:
I hunted G last year and it was not good.

I was thinking of going to H instead of G..I have heard that G was hit harder but who knows really

legacy · Apr 24, 2024

I also hunted G last year... No bueno.

liecabucks · Apr 24, 2024

I wouldn’t burn your points unless you can team up with somebody who will be able to help scout and knows the unit intimately. I can suggest a few names still looking for a way into the draw if you’re interested. Shoot me pm if interested.

tnvol · Apr 24, 2024

liecabucks said:
I wouldn’t burn your points unless you can team up with somebody who will be able to help scout and knows the unit intimately. I can suggest a few names still looking for a way into the draw if you’re interested. Shoot me pm if interested.

Pm me

Moe · Apr 24, 2024

Draw the tag, go a few days early. Find a few basins or pockets, mid level. You'll see 4x4 bucks. Don't let someone chump you outta your points on a party app.

liecabucks · Apr 24, 2024

tnvol said:
Pm me

I’m already in the draw and not currently looking for help but could be a good source of info if you feel the need to ask. Good luck!

tnvol · Apr 24, 2024

Moe said:
Draw the tag, go a few days early. Find a few basins or pockets, mid level. You'll see 4x4 bucks. Don't let someone chump you outta your points on a party app.

Sounds easy enough

Gmumm970 · Jun 28, 2024

I’ll be in H this year hopefully I can turn something up. I heard the country is amazing and worth the trip.

Founder · Jun 29, 2024

Gmumm970 said:
I’ll be in H this year hopefully I can turn something up. I heard the country is amazing and worth the trip.

Oh yes, there’s some amazing high country.

kawboy · Jul 7, 2024

I have been seeing about 30-40% of the deer I normally see. The deer herd is in horrible shape, it is still trying to rebound. Last winter was good for them, but they are not even close to where they need to be.

There will be a few good bucks killed this year and I’m afraid it will be bad news because the pressure will ramp up again while they are still very fragile. I find it to be a curious perspective that someone wants to burn there points now and kill a lesser buck than what they would normally take when the herd is more vulnerable than they have ever been.

If a guy hunts this area, he needs to be very selective and not keep kicking the herd while they’re down. If you do hunt, please hold out for an old buck. Kill old bucks or eat the tag. If you want to kill a younger buck, go try an area that isn’t in shambles.

Edit to add: It is a great time to go up there and hunt elk. The elk are doing great. You get to hunt the area and learn about it for deer while you’re there.

Gmumm970 · Jul 7, 2024

kawboy said:
I have been seeing about 30-40% of the deer I normally see. The deer herd is in horrible shape, it is still trying to rebound. Last winter was good for them, but they are not even close to where they need to be.

There will be a few good bucks killed this year and I’m afraid it will be bad news because the pressure will ramp up again while they are still very fragile. I find it to be a curious perspective that someone wants to burn there points now and kill a lesser buck than what they would normally take when the herd is more vulnerable than they have ever been.

If a guy hunts this area, he needs to be very selective and not keep kicking the herd while they’re down. If you do hunt, please hold out for an old buck. Kill old bucks or eat the tag. If you want to kill a younger buck, go try an area that isn’t in shambles.

Edit to add: It is a great time to go up there and hunt elk. The elk are doing great. You get to hunt the area and learn about it for deer while you’re there.

That’s the plan, perfectly happy going home with nothing.

vaquero · Jul 7, 2024

Im always amazed when i hear it is 'starting to recover'

Are they shipping deer into the area from somewhere?

A quick refresher on ungulate herd reproductive biology and how long it will take to even begin to recover provided no future set backs and with predators in check

fall 22: all the does conceive

winter 22/23: a lot of the does die and some of the survivors abort

fall 23: all the does still alive conceive again

spring 24: all the does still alive have fawns

fall 24: all the does still alive conceive again and some of the 6 month old fawns may conceive
(understand this entire 2 year period there is still a normal percent of death loss to the herd and the number of mature does is going to be considerably less than it was in 22 spring)

spring 25: what is left of the original does and the yearling fawns that conceived have fawns

spring 26 : still fewer older does alive have fawns, the 2 year old does from the 24 fawn crop should be producing a good crop of fawns, and part of the yearling does have fawns

beyond this point, which is still 2 years in the future, providing no more bad winters, no really bad feed limiting drought years, and the coyotes and lions are adequately controlled, it could be said the herd is headed in the right direction to recover