Elk unit 39 or 38

Elkhunter96 · Jan 7, 2011

I am looking at applying for unit 38 or 39. I like to archery hunt, but may put in for rifle instead if my dad wants to put in as a group. Why is the unit 39 (9) harder to draw than the rifle 39 (1) for non-residents. Is 39 simply a better archery unit? Same with unit 38?

TOPGUN · Jan 7, 2011

I don't know how much time and cash you have available, but if you can get out there twice you could do both the way Wyoming does their draw. If you put in for the General tag or a limited quota tag and are successful in the draw, you can then purchase a $30 archery permit and hunt the early archery season when they are rutting and fall back on the rifle season if you don't tag out or to help your Dad if you do.

ajboats · Jan 7, 2011

Elkhunter96, Units 38 and 39 are migratory units where the archery season holds good populations of elk but rifle can be hit and miss depending on when the snow comes.

Topgun, You need to look a bit closer at the game regs. Some units offer the opportunity to hunt early with a bow for $30 but other units like 39 offer a specific type 9 tag for archery only which eliminates the double dip opportunity. Hope this helps for your decisions. Good luck in the draw.

TOPGUN · Jan 8, 2011

ajboats---I'm well aware of the regulations and I believe you are incorrect in your assessment. Both those units have a limited quota Type 1 license draw that is separate from the Type 9 archery only draw. If they applied for those Type 1 tags in either of those units and drew the tag, then they would also be able to buy the $30 archery permit to hunt in September. The Type 9 archery only permit does not require the purchase of the $30 archery permit and you can't hunt with a firearm in the later season with that tag. What that Type 9 tag does is to allow the archery enthusiast a better chance at drawing a tag because he isn't competing with people who want to gun hunt. Call the F&G Office and I think you will find that I'm correct.

Twoshooter · Jan 8, 2011

Topgun
You are right in that many of the units you can draw the type 1 tag and then pay 30 and hunt the archery season. Sometimes the type 9 tag starts earlier though. You need to get on the website and look at the regulations page and then under elk seasons. You will find that unit 38 and 39 type 1 tags are not allowed to archery hunt like the type 9 tag that gets to hunt all of sept. There is a list mid-way through that lists the units available to hunt archery with a type 1 tag and the dates. Hope this helps.

Bill_in_MI · Jan 8, 2011

LAST EDITED ON Jan-08-11 AT 11:01AM (MST)[p]Actualy you are wrong topgun.

Refer to Elk regulations at this link, pg 13:

http://gf.state.wy.us/admin/regulations/pdf/Ch7_04262010.pdf

There is a specific list of units where one can archery hunt on a general OR limited quota type 1 (etc) tag.

Some of the units that have a type 9 elk tag available are NOT on that list ie; 38,39,40,etc.

So some bighorn area units that have a type 9 tag available are not able to be hunted AT ALL with an alternate type tag AND an archery stamp as there is no "special archery seasons." See section 4. The exceptions of 35-37,41,41 etc allow such, BUT you cannot hunt until 9/15.

I hope this clears things up.

Bill in MI

TOPGUN · Jan 8, 2011

LAST EDITED ON Jan-08-11 AT 08:06PM (MST)[p]Yep, I found it guys and you are correct in regards to both those units!!! It seems like you need to have a PHD now in order to be legal hunting out west! Sometimes it seems like they want you to make mistakes so they can nail you! Anyway, thanks so much because I've been hunting out there pretty much every year since 1994 and I learned something new today. I sure didn't realize that some of those units restricted the Type 1 tags to just the gun season! I hope guys that want to do what I mentioned look closely for the unit they apply for before they spend a lot of money and find out they are limited to just the gun season!!!

Hey Bill---where do you live up here in MI? I'm in Allegan, 25 miles northwest of Kalamazoo.

Bill_in_MI · Jan 9, 2011

Hey no prob bud. Took me a few years to figure that out too. Fortunatly it never bit me.

Buchanan actualy, due south of you. Small world eh.

look me up sometime

[email protected]

Bill

TOPGUN · Jan 9, 2011

Buchanan is a nice little town and I'll bet the way this lake effect has been moving south the last few days that you've been buried!!! We've been lucky here as we're far enough off the lake that we have only had about 7-9" since Friday.
It is definitely a small world. I have been helping a guy on another BB set a hunt up out in Wyoming and told him I would send him a computer generated map I had made of the area he wanted to go to. He sent me an email with his address and darned if he doesn't live but about 10 miles south of where I was born and lived in Indiana until I moved up to Michigan in 1962!!!

sasquatch · Jan 9, 2011

Guys, I've been reading this and trying to research the regs but i'm still really confused. Like TOPGUN said, you need a PHD...and I don't have one! I'm applying for the 38 type 1 tag. If I draw, will I be able to purchase the archery tag for 30 bucks?

TOPGUN · Jan 10, 2011

Sasquatch---NO, not unless they change 38 from the way it has been in previous years, which is doubtful. To archery hunt in 38 in a separate season you would have to apply for that specific tag. With your Type 1 tag you are stuck just to hunting the one season with any legal weapon, including your bow or a crossbow. In case you aren't aware of it, Wyoming also allows the use of crossbows during all their bow seasons too.

Elkhunter96 · Jan 10, 2011

You guys are right, type 9 hunts in 38,39 and some others can only hunt archery on that unit. It looks like most of the state, you can pay the $30 and hunt archery and then your elk tag. That is a nice bonus.

Thanks for the information on the migration units 38,39, makes sense now why the archery tag would be harder to draw.

TOPGUN · Jan 10, 2011

Yep! I didn't even realize that section was in the Regulations and because it's right at the end of the pamphlet I missed it there too! The wrong comment I made originally was because I thought bow hunting was allowed in all units where you draw a Type 1 tag---NOT, but there aren't many units you can't!!!