Region D deer, Unit 47 antelope.

Califelkslayer · Feb 22, 2012

My dad and I drew elk in 7. Our plan is to hunt the last 2 weeks of archery and come back for the first week of rifle if necessary. So basically we won't be hunting 10/1 thru 10/14.

With that in mind, I'm thinking of doing the deer/antelope combo with the family this year. My original plan was a combo hunt on the west side if we didn't draw elk. BUT with the bad winter last year, I though "just PP it." Now with the 2 week gap I was thinking we'll be over PP'd for "D" but should draw 47 for antelope with 3 PPs a piece and just do it this year.

PROS: I'll save diesel WY to Kali and back, hauling horses. The west side will take a few years to come back. The antelope unit I was aiming for needs 1.5 more PPs than it did 3 years ago. After the combo hunt, I should still have at least 5 days to scout for elk. My fall will be tied up so I can just PP the other states.

CONS: 5 straight weeks hunting in WYOMING. Burnout may be an issue, especially for my 77 years old father. My wife and son will have to drive out and unless we fill our elk tags during archery season, drive home by themselves.

Any imput?? Any better choices than "D" and 47???

Whiterock · Feb 22, 2012

LAST EDITED ON Feb-23-12 AT 04:46AM (MST)[p]I have hunted antelope in 47 a few times and it has always produced good bucks for us.I have hunted the same area for deer twice ,once with success on a decent buck and the last time i only saw 7 deer total,one of them was a small whitetail buck.The deer are down in the area I hunted.In the area of Chalk Mountain,deer unit 66,Region D, is where I got my buck a few years ago.It gets hunted pretty hard the first couple days of season then you pretty much have the place to yourself.
I have never hunted antelope durring the season opener ,but waited to the second week to avoid the crowds and hardly ever see another hunter but see tons of antelope.
PM me for any other info I can let you know where I hunt in 47.

BuckeyeBoy · Feb 22, 2012

I was out in D last fall for an elk hunt. We were there for 10 days and I believe between the 2 of us we saw 3 bucks, 2 small 2 pts and 1 buck that at 700 yards I could see his rack with binos. I also bumped a buck in thick cover and could hear his rack hitting brush on the way down the mountain.

If your going to be out there it wouldn't hurt to have a tag in your pocket. The thing I noticed again was not many people were off of the roads or trails. We were there by the 13th to scout for elk and I saw 1 guy that was off the beaten path. Guy I was out there with spoke with him later and his group only had 1 buck.

Good Luck

30Hart · Feb 23, 2012

You have an area 7 elk tag, that will occupy you enough. I would use the extra time and add a 2nd week option to your rifle hunt. I've hunted 7 twice, weather can snow you out for a couple days, better bring snowshoes and tire chains just in case. 7 is no slam dunk unless you're going guided on private, nothing like hunting with 5000 other people. That being said it can also be the best (my best elk came from there...347), spend all your time getting on different properties before you set foot in the area. I know plenty of guys that went home empty out of 7, good luck.

TreeEM · Feb 23, 2012

Why not hunt deer in Region J which covers your elk tag? And pcik up an antelope tag for a unit somewhere near by as well. Look in to the hunter assistance program that the Game and Fish have. It can be a useful tool.

Califelkslayer · Feb 23, 2012

The only reason I asked about "D" and 47 is that I work with 3 guys that'll be hunting D this fall too. They have less antelope PPs so I think they are putting for 48 for goats. And one of them has hunted it several times. And I saw it takes 4+PPs to draw 78,79,80 & 81 late. So it has to hold some good bucks. I realize the difference between early Oct and late Oct. BUT the quality of deer doesn't really matter. Personally I don't care about mule deer much anymore but the wife has never killed one, just elk and antelope. My son doesn't care about quality much either, just wants to hunt. Now antelope is different. We hunted 42 in "08" and saw plenty of antelope but the better bucks were in checkerboard (Private/public) areas. 47 has more public and this time I'll have a GPS with landownership on it. We passed several 15"+ bucks because I wasn't sure they were on public.

But I did consider "J" as well. Just don't know much about it. And I'm talking a family hunt. Up early one day, maybe hunt all day. The next day sleep in and hunt the afternoon. No pressure. Not like an elk tag I waited 7 years to draw.