WY Elk Unit 63/64

I'm usually not one to do this but I think I've been more than fair to other's inquiries in the past and I've been on and off this site for a few years. Here goes...

My buddy Dave and I spent our max points on this unit off suggestions from a couple magazines. I knew once Dave mentioned grizzlies that we would draw. But I'm not questioning the presence of grizzlies or wolves for that matter. I am, humbly sending this into cyber space in hopes to get a non-sarcastic response from those here that I know hold vast amounts of knowledge. Do any of you have any suggestions about this area? Possible responses could included but are not limited to; Don't go here...don't do this...watch out for this...start looking here...hunt hard during this time...glass from this spot...use horses...pack x number of miles from this trailhead, etc. Also tell me what you think of this tag, if it's a good one.

If you're not willing to share tidbits of info that's ok. We'll figure it out.


Our plans are to spend most of September hunting with a bow. Dave will go first and I'll help and call until he tags out. I'm better with a rifle anyway and it's really Dave's turn. We are both looking for elk bigger than our Nevada bulls. You can use the search to see what Nevada had to offer us. Thanks in advance.

Your looking for bulls bigger then Nev.????I'll answer with one of your accepted responses;don't go there.I don't know the unit your hunting or I'd help.Just think bettering a Nev bull in Wy. will be tough esp. if this is in a wolf and bear area

pm sent

I'd call the magazines that suggested those units.

You might find some grizzers up there, now in Wyoming you can carry a pistol when bow hunting, bear spray is a joke as far as I'm concerned. I was working with a company that first had research with polar bears in north canada and alaska, IF a bear is curious, go for pepper spray. IF a bear is protecting a kill site, young cubs, or surprised you got a big problem on your hands. They will not stop at much for these reasons.
As for the area to hunt in, there are some good elk gotten up there from time to time, I don't know exact measurements but I don't hunt like that. If your looking for better quality than Nevada I would guess that might be a stretch, but hey we do have big ones here. If your hunting the mountains hunt like you would any other area. If your out on the flats, I'd go along the ridges and look the bottoms, with out letting myself get sky lighted too much on the horizon. I hunted mulies and antelpe out there about 35 years ago and this is how we did it. I have seen Elk there also. Our drought is really hurt the animals and if you find a good water hole, I'd think about staying there and let them come to me.
Wolves, well the dam things are where you find them here. They have branched all over the state. I don't know off hand if that area is out of the protected area that has a season for them, but if it is you can shoot one anytime, just let the game and fish look at it.

Where are you in your searches lbirch? I have allot of expereince in these areas and would be willing to share some advice send me a PM on what your thoughts are so I dont cover stuff you may already know

Thanks for everyone's help. I really appreciate it. I love hunting but enjoy it even more knowing there are good people out there.

I've done a bit of homework myself and am really getting excited for this hunt. I'll admit, grizzly bears still have me nervous for the archery season but so far I've been told they are thick but with few encounters. I do have bear spray and a Glock 20 that will travel with me.

I would like to post more experiences and pictures as they come if that's ok? Our first scouting trip will be soon and I'm looking forward to it. Right now, I'm searching maps, google earth, this site and talking to the warden, biologist and an outfitter hoping to get a good head start. I have several starting points so far. If you have any more suggestions, PM me.

Thanks,

BackCountryMulies said:

Where are you in your searches lbirch? I have allot of expereince in these areas and would be willing to share some advice send me a PM on what your thoughts are so I dont cover stuff you may already know

Click to expand...

Sent you a PM. My research has been good and I can't wait to get up there.

Here's and update.

Scouting the area has been good so far. My first impressions are the area is beautiful, remote and wild. We haven't seen any grizzlies or wolves yet but we have had our heads on swivels and ready with bear spray, a .45 and a 10mm. We've tried to be smart about it but I will admit, its nerve racking.

We watched this old bull for 20 minutes one nite through the spotting scope. The pictures are a bit grainy but you should be able to see something peculiar on his right side. We estimated this bull to be about 12 years old. He's fat, huge and he walks with a limp. I doubt he lasts this year even if a hunter doesn't find him. We hope to.

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That is a great bull. Hope you kill one.

He's a pig and looks like he has a double main beam on the right. I hope you see him when the season opens and can get him in for a good shot.

Amazingly we found this non-typical bull again 21 days into the archery season. We got within 60 yards of him 3 times but he was so smart he either never gave us a shot or didn't stick around long. He was definitely a herd bull. He never stayed with the same group of cows more than two days and he hardly bugled. I've read that most bulls this age don't bugle much but it was very odd that most bulls in this area didn't bugle either. The wolves and grizzly bears definitely had the elk quiet.

I killed a pretty cool looking bull just before dark one evening. With the grizzly bear sign all over the drainage we didn't take too many chances. We quartered him as fast as we could and pulled them and the loins down the hill away from the carcass. We cut the head off and didn't save the cape for fear we were taking too much time in the dark. My bull is a 6x9. His mass and webbing make him unique and luckily my taxidermist bought a cape off a similar sized bull the same day I took him in.

This area was very tough. We met another hunter from Lander who packed in way up on the ridge. With horses we thought he had the best chance at a big bull. He came out with a small bull and said the elk were not there.

Finally found this bull, my friend dropped him the 2nd to last day of the hunt. He killed him early in the day but it was still dark before getting back to camp. The final day was spent packing the rest including the cape and antlers. Yes. A huge grizzly track was in the mud on the same trail but he was never seen. All the meat, head and cape was packed 500 yards away from the carcass but I bet you he was nearby or lying on the carcass.

Dave's bull is a 6x7 and after all the stress and hard work that went into this hunt, he is a real trophy.


This area was tough. The elk didn't talk making the archery hunt tougher that it should be in a draw area during the rut and it seamed like the rut lasted only a week. We left for 3 days and the bulls we were chasing during the archery season disappeared. The big non-typical was gone. We found one of the 340 6x6 bulls we were chasing 3 miles away without cows and that was September 29th. Should've been heavy in the rut but the raghorn bulls had the cows and were the satellite bulls. We were surprised by this and our only guess was it was because of the grizzlies and wolves. We never saw any but grizzly tracks told us they were there. The wolves had to be there too but we never saw any sign. The warden said he saw a pack of 5 and he was charged by a grizzly but in a different drainage and good for him it was only a mock charge. He said he jumped off his horse on the side opposite his rifle so it would have been lights out.

We hunted 23 days. A couple weeks during the archery and a couple during the rifle. In all those days we saw 5 good bulls including the two we killed. Most of the elk killed in this area are cows and raghorns. Don't be fooled by the magazines. Hiring a guide is probably the best way to go on this hunt. And, if WY can't get Washington off their ass so they can manage the wolves, the elk, deer and moose will be killed off completely.

The snow melted not too long after I killed my bull and a few days after we came across this track. Its a spooky feeling when you come across one of these.

Congrats on the bulls!! Sounds like you guys definitely put the work in.

Great bulls, congrats! Love the heavy, freaky rack on the one you shot. Well done!

Nice work guys!

Wow, way to go on those bulls! Sounds a bit hairy but glad you guys scored!