region e, d, and

[killshot824]

i am currently booking a mule deer hunt for either region e or d and am stuck trying to decide on whether i want to rifle or archery hunt! i will be hunting with a party of 5 and have been told by the outfitter that the hunting pressure during the rifle season is pretty ridiculous and that the archery hunt would be much more enjoyable but obviously the odds of all 5 of us tagging out are slim to none! We are coming along way for this hunt being from ohio an all and was looking for a little more input as to how bad the public land pressure actually is during the rifle season? Any input on these regions would be greatly appreciated ive hunted some of the northeren regions but never anything near e, or d so anything will be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Whiterock]

I have hunted in Region D in units 70 and 66 and I don't see that many hunters there in rifle season.I see a few the first couple days and then hardly none the rest of the week.
Deer are down and quallity is also down ,but if hunting hard you can still fill your tag.Average good buck will be in the 16-20 inch width,with a few larger bucks taken.I only hunt public land.If you have access to a good ranch ,this should improve your success.

 

[killshot824]

thanks for the info,its an outfitted hunt but its just a drop camp so we will mostly be on our own for the week and i talked to two of the guides and one steered me into the bow hunt and the other was telling m the rifle hunt would be the better option as long as we get off the roads and hunt hard!

 

[TOPGUN]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-04-12 AT 12:47PM (MST)[p]


If you were talking elk, I would definitely say to go archery, but not for deer if you have never been out there. Are you talking about a horseback packin where they are going to drop you at a stocked camp for the week and then come in and pack you and the game you take back out? If so, how far in and have you asked if there are other outfitters licensed for that area? If so, how many, etc.? I have heard of guys taking a long horseback ride into a camp and then when they start hunting they find there are roads closeby that allow easy access for others where they thought they would be by themselves. I would want to know right where that camp is on the map before I signed anything, especially a check! You say you will "probably" be by yourselves, so what is the deal on that? Either the contract should specify that there is or isn't at least one guide or camp attendant. How did you happen to talk to guides if it's a drop camp, and finally, have you talked with more than a couple previous hunters that did your intended trip? If you haven't done all that, please do it and then do not give them a cent until you have a signed contract specifying every single thing from the time you leave the trailhead until you are dropped off at the end of the specified time in the contract. If you don't, please don't expect to have any sympathy from others if the trip goes sour. There are way too many people not getting what they thought they would nowadays and most of the time they don't even have anything in writing as to what they paid money for! That's not the way to do business involving large sums of money. Too many people think that everyone involved in hunting is honest and it just ain't so!!! Do your homework thoroughly so you have as good of a trip as can be expected and remember the big thing that can go for or against you even if everything else goes as planned is WEATHER!!!

 

[killshot824]

the place is called thunder ridge outfitters Thunderridgeoutfitters.com

 

[searcher]

PM sent

Tim

 

[TOPGUN]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-04-12 AT 08:50PM (MST)[p]I looked at the website and the only guided deer hunts they do is from town and there is no mention of whether they use horses to hunt wherever they go,4x4s etc. The drop camp mentions nothing as to whether they take you in or whether it's even in the hunt area and there is no food included in the price. Have you talked with anyone at all who has done that type of hunt with them? I would be very cautious without a lot more information than what the website shows and without talking with a number of people that have done it. JMO because I hate seeing anybody get screwed on hunts!

 

[Triple_BB]

Thunderridge takes some great animals. I know one of the guys who's in a couple of those pic's. I have no idea what you could expect on a drop camp hunt. However 66 is in the toilet. Check the G&F website. It has a 1000 plus hunters on average. That's ridiculous in my opinion. Anything with antlers get's hammered. 66 is the G&F's cash cow for central WY as its the area they keep general area so all the Casper guys can take their kids out to shoot something. By the way, if you have the cash and want a real trophy bull elk, book with these guys. They have a lease in the Big Horns and as you can see from the photos they shoot some huge bulls. Last I heard their elk hunt was $6k plus.

 

[killshot824]

triple bb... what would be the odds of geting ur friend contact info that has hunted with them?? it would be nice to talk to someone that wasnt reffered by the outfitter??

 

[Triple_BB]

I haven't talked to him in a year or so. Best thing to do would be to contact Randy and ask for a list of references.

 

[tagsoup]

I talked to a guy on here a few years ago, I think his site name was bake or baker. He did a deer and antelope hunt with thunder ridge and he had a good hunt. I think his party hunted deer unit 89 if I remember right. You might want to see if he is still on here. I have talked with the guys at thunder ridge a few times and have talked to some of their references. They seem like they do good hunts.