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Hey guys, I am in the process of planning my second-ever archery elk hunt that WILL occur this fall (2017) in Wyoming. My brother and I will be going and we currently have 7 preference points. We are set on going this year as we have intended to go numerous times over the past seven years, but for whatever reason, it didn’t happen. We are committed to going now, even though it may not be the best use of the 7 points. Nonetheless, I am studying areas and the draw odds that have been recently posted on the WY Game and Fish website. My initial plan was to focus on the Bighorns. I have the MRS section from last year’s Eastman’s Bowhunting journal and I thought that I would be able to draw the type-9 unit 40 or 39 tag, but that doesn’t appear to be the case anymore (at least not with 100% certainty). Also, I should note that we are committed to the regular draw and not the special draw. Correct me if I am wrong, but for the 2016 draw odds that are on the website, I essentially should add an additional year to figure out what the draw odds would be going into 2017, right? So if it took 7 points to draw last year, this year it would take 8?
I would be open to any guidance the experts on here would have to say. Some additional information about my brother and I is that we will be primarily hunting off of our backs and setting up spike camps wherever need be. We are capable of going ~ 4 miles from the road. Our first elk hunt was on an OTC tag in CO. We hunted in a dense forested area that didn’t afford much for glassing. Nonetheless, we heard and chased ghost elk almost every day and finally connected on a solid bull on the last day. Unfortunately, my inexperience got the best of me and I didn’t wait to start picking up the blood trail and I bumped him a couple of times and never found him (sorry, still a sore subject!). Anyway, we were hoping to find an area with a bit more glassing opportunities. We are not too concerned about trophy size and the opportunity at a 300”-325” bull would be awesome.
Other than the Bighorns (which has been my primary focus), does anyone have any experience or insight on the type-9 tag for Unit 11? Sorry for all the questions. I’ve been dreaming of going back to elk hunt and just want a quality experience that will be worth the long wait! Thanks for your help. You guys have been truly inspirational and I hope to follow in the footsteps of the many greats on this site!
The draw report is for 2016 so if you now have 7, you had 6 when that report was created. Look at the hunts that were drawn with 6, or at least pulled some tags from there. The hunts that were less than 50% at the 7 point pool will have those remaining guys in the 8 point pool getting drawn in 2017, provided everything stays the same, which it doesn't. If they cleaned out most of the 7 point guys in 2016 you should have a chance, depending on how many are left and the number of tags allotted.
Thanks for the clarification, Bob. I wonder if there is any way of inferring how many of the "7 point guys" were cleared out?
It will show on the report.
Shown here for unit 11 as an example, by the time the draw got to the 7 point pool, the tag quota was 7, 8 apps with 7 points were drawn, leaving 1. If everything remains static, that 1 applicant will be the only guy ahead of you and the others that had 6. What the report can't show, is how many applicants were in the individual point pools below 7. The reason is that WY averages to 5 places so they format their report to only show pool totals for a point group that has tags pulled from it. And even then they format fairly broadly, using "'less than", "less than or equal to", etc.
You're not going to draw 39 or 40 with 7 points.
I hope you don't mind a slight hijack.
Random draw question- Mythical example. I don't have enough points to draw unit 7. (Which I don't!) But let's say I want to hunt unit 7 with a cow tag before I cash in my points (In some future year when I mythically would have enough points.) Again in this example, I currently have 2 points and I apply for unit 7 type one as my first choice. As a second choice, I apply for unit 7 type 4 tag.
What were my odds in 2016 for my first choice and second choice?
27/1060? or 27/ (1060+73+57)
In the case of second choice would my odds have been 31/79 or 31/90 (79+11)
Simplistically, does G&F pool all choices when looking at quota, or do they look at the quantity in the top choice before moving on down to next group?
Thanks in advance.
No, WY is not like NM. You're looking at 27/1060
31/79 just remember to reduce the quota by any 1st choice apps that may be there.
I would stay away from area 11. It has been an area that opens for cows on Aug. 15th, for rifle hunters. Had a few friends draw the type 9 tag and they had a difficult time of it. And they are some hard huntin fools. And it looks like Cow season will open on Aug 15th this year as well
I hope you draw a quality tag. I'm sure you are on top of this but I will say it anyway. If you are hunting 4 miles in and doing it off your backs that is a hardcore and very rewarding way to go. Hunt together to insure you only shoot one bull at a time. If the weather is warm and you happen to take down two bulls in the same day from 4 miles out you most likely won't get them both out without losing a good portion of the meat. Hunt-Kill-Eat!
I started looking at Unit 19. Anyone have any information about what the terrain is like and how bad the hunting pressure might be? Since there is a late November season, does that mean there might not be as many elk in the area during the early archery season? Thanks!
I've read 19 can potential access issues and the elk are on private much more than the public. I don't think the terrain is an issue for that area
Idyllwildarcher, you had said that I wouldn't draw Unit 39 or 40. I'm assuming that was for the type-9 tags. After looking at the type-1 tags, I believe I would draw both of those units. Seems a bit backwards to me. I would have assumed that the type-1 tags would be harder to draw than the type-9. Anyone have any experience coming in after the type-9 tag holders have hunted either of these units for the first couple of weeks?
There are several units where type 1 is an easier draw than a type 9.
Correct. I assumed you were talking archery type 9 since this is a Bowhunting website. There are units where there are no type 9 tags where a type 1 tag can be hunted during the archery season, but some of the Bighorns units that have type 9 tags have no archery season for their type 1 tags.
Hunting the Bighorns during October can be brutal. Even late September can bring freezing temps and snow. Take a look at the type 1 success rates and compare them to the best General Tag units and other type 1 hunts. You'll learn something about the hunts...
Ok, I keep learning more! I assumed that all the type-1 tags would have the archery license option. I'll go see if I can find what units does or does not have those. Thanks!
: Reflex 30-Dec-16Private Reply Ok, I keep learning more! I assumed that all the type-1 tags would have the archery license option. I'll go see if I can find what units does or does not have those. Thanks!
38, 39, and 40 are the BigHorn units that don't allow archery hunting during September on the Type 1 license. You could draw 41-1 or 41-9 with your 7PPs. It borders 45 on the north side and IMHO is also a good unit for an archery hunt in September. I would not want to hunt the Horns with a rifle in October due to the huge number of tags issued, too many access roads, and possible bad weather. Even in September the Horns can get some nasty weather for a few days at a time, but things usually clear up after several days. I'd do an archery hunt the middle two weeks of September if I had that tag.
