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WY with 8 points

I am looking at taking a good friend on his first elk hunt this coming fall. I have been elk hunting in Wy gen and Co OTC units for 20 plus years and consider myself to be somwhat decent at it. So my thoughts are to have him draw a tag with his 8 points and I just go and call and hunt with him. I am sitting on 2 points now and had considered doing a group application for a lesser point unit but I like the idea of getting him into a better unit and hopefully have a better hunt. He is not looking for a giant by any means and I will have a hard time getting him to pass anything decent. Looking for a unit with good elk numbers that will make for an exciting hunt. We are not afraid of doing the biv thing if needed but would rather not. I also don't want to be in giant country either. The GEN area we hunt in is getting crowded the last few times I drew otherwise I would just take him there. Any suggestions from experience? Thanks in advance

"We are not afraid of doing the biv thing if needed"

Not sure how to read that?? Do you mean you would go guided or just that you would like to do a truck/camper hunt?

Research a unit for his 8 PPs, and also see if you can get a RP cow tag for the same unit.

At least you can hunt then - and you wont use your PPs

Good advice from cnelk.

Also, put your name in the hat separately and you might draw the same unit in the random.

Look to 38.

He won't draw 38 with 8. Even in the special draw.

I agree with cnelk. There are good units in WY that can be drawn with 8, but you're one point below a lot better units. Consider waiting 2 years. A cow tag for you is a good option if you have plenty of time, as in 2+ weeks to hunt. If you don't, dont fill your cow tag unless he's tagged out. Better to eat a cow tag than waste a day dealing with a cow corpse and lose time hunting for his bull.

What Ike said, to the T.

Thanks for the responses. This will be a non guided hunt sorry I didn't make that clear. I have been looking at the drawing odds and checking out each unit that he can draw. One thing that I was confused about and I think I have it correct is that not all units allow you to archery hunt on a type 1 tag. I found the list of units you can in the reg brochure so I am gonna have to go back and redo my list...I though all allowed archery. 38 was on the radar and the country looks good to me on GE plenty room and areas to hunt but like Ike said he won't draw that. As far as the cow tag goes I may do that not really sure. Some of the best hunts I have been on were when I tagged out on the second day and just got to call and be a part of someone else's hunt. Plus knowing this fella pretty well I could see him not wanting to stay very long and I may get a bit pissy if I have the time and tag and he wanted to go home.. I plan to have 15 days to hunt excluding travel. I have done that in the past and it seemed like a good #. I have found days in the field are your friend. Plus I just like it in the mountains. Not sure he will be able to hang in there that long though. Thanks again for your thoughts

"Plus knowing this fella pretty well I could see him not wanting to stay very long and I may get a bit pissy if I have the time and tag and he wanted to go home."

Wow....no offense but not sure that's the kind of guy I'd sacrifice my hunting time and vacation to help out. You're a good friend.

Pretty much every unit has an archery season. Some don't, but most of those have a type 9 tag (like 39), which is archery only. Every type of tag 1-8 can be hunted with any weapon, except type 9 tags which are archery only and have their own season. Some type 1-8 tags have a full or partial archery season even though there's a type 9 tag with its own archery season that may or may not be longer or exclusive. Some units have archery (type 9 tag) the entire month of Sept, but the General Archery season opens on the 15th and then anyone with a Gen tag can archery hunt.

If I were burning the kind of points that you are for him, I'd want a type 1 tag that I was hunting during archery without a General Season in the unit, or I'd want a type 9 tag where there was no General season after the 14th. You're going to have a higher quality hunt with less pressure that way.

Midwest it's not him being rude or selfish, he has a tenancy to get anxiety and it can get pretty bad. A trip like that can put allot of stress on a person and really bring out the worst. I will still have a blast and if h e gets to feeling like its to much for him I don't want it to be an issue. IdyllwildArcher Or Ike I believe, thank you very much for the clarification. I am studying the rules and regs trying to get a handle on it all and it has not been the easiest. I see that a type 1 tag in unit 38 took 7 points to draw and the type 9 took 9. Am I correct in thinking that you could hunt the type 1 with a bow but your season dates would be Oct 15 through Nov 5 where as the type 9 would get you Sept 1-30? Thanks again. After looking at what he can and can't draw we are leaning toward waiting and getting him another point "or 2 if things change". Like you mentioned earlier, that gets him a bunch more options and what I see available to him now doesn't look any where near as appealing to us.

"A trip like that can put allot of stress on a person and really bring out the worst."

Yes it can. Especially when the hunting gets tough, the weather gets tough, homesickness, etc. I've had it happen with a hunting partner/good friend of mine and it's not pretty! Like I said, you're a good friend willing to take the chance.

the bow season for the type 1 tags is sept 15-30. u just buy the archery stamp. Ive never really understood the type 9 being attractive unless its a unit that doesn't allow the type 1 hunters to archery hunt, and there are a few of those. So u just have to look in the regs for last yr to see. Most of these are the bighorn units and its only 2 or 3 I think. To my knowledge all other type 1 tags allow the tag holder to purchase the archery permit and hunt sept 15-30. So u could bowhunt in unit 38 from sept 15-30 with the type 1 tag assuming that unit allows type 1 holders to buy the special archery permit. and u could also come back in oct for rifle. I don't see the appeal to use more PP just to hunt the early dates of Sept 1- 15? But that's just me. U could also choose a type 1 unit that doesn't have type 9 tags and probably have the archery hunt to yourself! that would be my preference

The bow season for type 1 tags is not Sept 15-30 arbitrarily; it's different for every unit. Some are 1-30, some are 10 days, some are 15, some type 1 tags have no archery season at all. You have to look at section 4 of the regs to see the archery seasons for each individual unit.

320, You're correct on your dates you asked about. You don't want to archery hunt 38 during the rifle dates though.

Keep looking. If you're willing to put in the special draw (costs more), there are good units he could hunt right now.

ok, I see that now. Sorry about that. for whatever reason I thought the special archery season opened the 15th but your right it's different for individual units. Also it looks like 38 is one of these units that a type 1 tag holder couldn't bowhunt. Did I see that right in the regs? I didn't see it listed with a special archery season for type 1 hunters.

You are correct 38 is an area you must draw a type 9 tag to bow hunt.

Thanks again everyone. It is a complicate system at first but with a little effort and some help from Bowsiter's its not as bad as it seems.

A type 1 tag in a unit without type 9 tags is a true gem for bow hunters lucky enough to draw one.

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