General Elk question

pistolpete · Jan 25, 2014

long time lurker on this great site, have learned a ton, thought I had my NR application strategy figured out for 2014 but now I am questioning myself. I have 2 PP's this year after getting lucky in 2011 and drawing a unit 58 elk tag and taking a 340 6x7 on my birthday. That was my first elk hunt in WY and now the itch is too great and I need to go again. My question is this:
If I put a limited quota as my first choice with slim odds, but then apply for Gen as my 2nd choice (coughing up the extra for the Special Drawing), it seems my odds are pretty good to get the Gen tag. So the question, with that NR Gen tag, can I hunt any unit in the state that has Gen as the type? So I could hunt 60 in the Cody region if I wanted or 116 in the Casper region? Or do I have to pick a region for that Gen tag? Sorry, i have never applied for the Gen tag before, so a little ignorant about that. And can I pay the extra archery tag fee and hunt archery first and then rifle later with the Gen tag too?
Thanks much!

440sixpack · Jan 25, 2014

Yes you can hunt in any general season in any unit. some units have both a general and a limited season.

Stay thirsty my friends

WapitiBob · Jan 25, 2014

The NR GEN tag is guaranteed as a 2nd choice in the special drawing, by a long margin.
Yes, you can buy the archery license and archery hunt. Look at the regs to find the hunt dates for archery, for the unit you'll be hunting on the GEN tag.

Here is a link to last years regs. Season dates swill be close to the same. The archery stuff is after the dates section.

http://wgfd.wyo.gov/web2011/imgs/QRDocs/REGULATIONS_CH7.pdf

midwest · Jan 26, 2014

LAST EDITED ON Jan-26-14 AT 05:09PM (MST)[p]60 is a GEN unit but it is also all wilderness. You would have to hunt with a guide.

ducksbucksandbulls · Jan 26, 2014

>LAST EDITED ON Jan-26-14
>AT 05:09?PM (MST)
>
>60 is a GEN unit but
>it is also all wilderness.
> You would have to
>hunt with a guide.

20 to 35 mile horse back ride too...

pistolpete · Jan 26, 2014

yes, 60 is probably not in the plan although I have an uncle in Cody who can guide me, if I hunt around Cody it would probably be the non-wilderness parts of 59, although that isn't much.
Am I correct in my understanding that if you buy the archery tag with the general tag, it looks like it opens up the general units to earlier archery hunting in Sept like it did when i drew the 58 tag?

TOPGUN · Jan 26, 2014

Just go down to page 7-19 in the link Wapitibob gave you above and the dates for each unit are right there. They are parts or some are the entire month of September.