NR elk with 6 pts

Solodawg · Jan 25, 2018

Hey fellas need to do a little brain picking from you guys in the know. Never applied or hunted Wyoming before just built up points. I have 9 and my buddy has 3. We?ve taken elk with bows, muzzy, and rifle in Colorado, NM, and Arizona. I know we aren't in the point pool for any top unit but would like to be able to have a decent chance at a mature bull in the 300-320 class. We?re mostly DIY hunters so a wilderness area with a guide isn't much of an option. Looking for public land or possibly a trespass fee hunt. Looking at the draw odds with our combined points seems to be several options just not sure where to apply for. Anyone (Topgun) or anybody else willing to chime in with some pointers would be greatly appreciated . Thanks and good luck with your draws. Solodawg

TOPGUN · Jan 25, 2018

As you are probably aware, I'm most familiar with the Big Horn units since I have hunted mostly out there in that general area for over 20 years. Therefore, the LQ unit's I'll mention there that the two of you should be able to draw at 100% with your shared 6PPs based on the 2017 draw if things don't change much are 34, 39, and 41. If you have enough time to buy the archery permit and hunt some of the September season in unit 34 and then fall back on the rifle hunt that runs from 10/15-11/15 that would probably be the unit I would hunt since it has thousands of acreas of NF on the north end along with quite a bit of BLM on the south end if you use the few legal access spots and don't mind walking a lot. The unit should produce the quality of bulls you mentioned with no problem and definitely some bigger. When I was camped up in unit 45 near the highway a couple years ago helping a friend on his 45-9 tag my buddy from Sheridan came over for a weekend to help and almost hit a 400" class bull as it pushed it's cows right across the highway and into the north end of 34 a few miles northeast of our camp.

Solodawg · Jan 25, 2018

Hey TOPGUN, thanks for the info. I will definitely look into that unit

Teepee · Jan 25, 2018

34 is definitely better in bow season. The state archery record bull came out of that unit. Rifle season-not so good. Weather pushes them out of the Nat. Forest pretty quickly. If you're willing to archery hunt, with a little roll of the dice, you may be able to draw 45-9 & 34 separately with your point totals. They're adjoining units & 45 is better for sure. Hate to see you waste 9 PPs on 34.

39 is very weather dependent too. If we get a mid-October snow storm (likely), it shuts down a lot of Sheep Mtn road, which is the eastern access. Makes it tougher unless you have a snow machine for access.

Friends took several really good bulls (320-340) out of 41 last fall. They put in a lot of time for them though.