Which WY Elk Zone - 4 pref points?

Hi guys,
I've collected 4 pref points for Wy elk and would like your thought/suggested zone recommendations please.
Couple points to help shape it:
- rifle hunt
- mobile and like to burn boot leather but prefer not to backpack hunt
- never hunted elk in wyoming. Driving in from outside state.
- not trophy hunting. Would like better odds at decent bulls more than slim odds at great bulls.

Also, wondering what other nonresident hunters do to hunt wilderness areas. Is like the access but don't want a guide pointing the elk out for me.

Thanks in advance for any info you share

Jeff

Start looking at units in the regular and special draw odds section on the F&G website that should be able to be drawn with 4 PPs this year based on the last couple years data there. The only way to get into the wilderness areas without paying a legally licensed guide is to find a resident who will sign the required F&G paperwork showing they are getting no remuneration for assisting you and they have to be with you physically the entire time you're there actually hunting. FYI 4 PPs is not that many to get into the kind of unit it sounds like you're looking for since it's taking 2 or better just to draw a general tag now. There are actually many of the latter that are very good if you do your homework.

General tags are not bad ones, any elk for archery hunting and both rifle and archery season to chase them in most areas. Big bulls come out of our general areas every year. Look into cow tags also.

I've got 5 and am electing to bring a friend and just get general tags. I'd prefer to have another packer, plus I didn't see much in the regular draw that looked better than the general tag.

I'd take a couple weeks and do archery on a general tag. If you look hard at all you will find elk and have a good hunt.

Kind of in no mans land as far as points for the type of hunt you want. The general is probably as good a choice as any.

Sending pm

LCH said:

I'd take a couple weeks and do archery on a general tag. If you look hard at all you will find elk and have a good hunt.

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He pretty specifically said rifle hunt...

MessyTessy said:

He pretty specifically said rifle hunt...

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So what's your suggestion, smart-ass?

LCH said:

So what's your suggestion, smart-ass?

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Well, I don’t disagree with Gen. The OP needs to decide if grizzlies are a problem. Then choose a Gen unit that has plenty of access outside of wilderness. There are a few other tags that are within reach that are quality tags. But they will have grizz.

Thanks!

25-1 is an excellent unit that you should have a chance of drawing with 4 points in the special draw. 99-1 is another solid option.

To the OP, Jeff I pulled a Wyoming elk tag with 4 points in 2017.
Had a great time, regardless of the terrible vehicle break downs I had, and learned a lot about the area. I didn't take an elk. But what I learned more than anything is that knowing the area you hunt in is the most important thing, especially with elk.
I plan on hunting the area I hunted elk, for deer as often as I can, while scouting for elk.

That will give me the best chance of learning the elks habits and the terrain. Until I can build enough points to draw an elk tag there again.
I will never hunt elk again without some good ground experience in an area I plan to hunt, first.
I don't live too far from you, I believe. I'm in eastern panhandle of West Virginia, in Augusta.
It's not far from Romney, WV.
I am going out to northwestern Wyoming this coming fall in October to do a deer hunt, in 2019.
Be glad to give you any information you would like.
You can PM me if you want.

Fremont15 said:

25-1 is an excellent unit that you should have a chance of drawing with 4 points in the special draw. 99-1 is another solid option.

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We have 4.5 points to draw with and were considering 25 or 99. Also wasn’t sure about the early rifle hunts on 9/20 in those other 90 units. We are out of state so worried about not being able to get at them in the wilderness. Just looking to kill elk, won’t be passing up animals looking for giants. Just looking for some honest advice on which way to lean. Thanks!

I will never hunt elk again without some good ground experience in an area I plan to hunt, first.

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Certainly an option, but if someone wants to learn to hunt elk you are far better off simply going elk hunting with the understanding you learn as you go.

I killed a lot of whitetail around farms in the Midwest. Never hunted more than 50 miles from where was born until moved out West. Figured anything that looked like a deer out West was something I could kill if had a bit bigger rifle as long as was using my proven system of parking my truck a few hundred yards from the buck I would hunt. Easy hike on flat ground. Success.

Hit a few speed bumps as moved our West. Now, where do I go get my OTC tag to hunt bull elk? What the heck is a preference point? Do I need a stronger deer drag rope to pull my whole elk to the road near the truck? Welp, elk ain't whitetail and Big Country ain't patchwork farmland with a road along the edge of each farm. A bit of a learning curve just to figure out how to apply for a limited entry tag. No handy dandy online community back then so I had to get the proclamations mailed, etc.

My advice to someone not from the Western half of the U.S. is to consider a pronghorn hunt as the first Western game hunt or hire a guide to hunt if you do not have a buddy willing to show you the ropes. Elk tags are getting expensive to eat as tag soup and as a first time elk hunter you are likely to end up on the wrong side of the overall average 20% or so harvest rate for bull elk tags out West. If you believe 20% of the hunters regularly kill 80% of the elk then you are facing around 1 in 20 odds on your first DIY hunt on public land.

I now love elk hunting and try to get a tag each year. Getting from my Day 1 with an elk tag in my pocket way back then to now was a lot of work, though. Upgraded a lot of gear including optics and boots between my first elk tag and the next elk tag.

If OP is looking for a grand adventure to see some fantastic country then grab an elk tag and go hunting. If want to harvest a mature bull elk then figuring out the unit to apply for the tag is about 1% of the work that needs done between now and a notched bull elk tag. Might consider a guided hunt on General Tag in non-wilderness zone but even if is in a wilderness zone there are things that can be learned on that first hunt re gear and tactics. Elk can move miles and miles from summer grounds to winter grounds so change the hunt date a few weeks forward/backward and can be a completely different experience from one year to the next on the same hunt unit. Or, just change the weather from one year to the next and keep the dates the same and can be a much different experience. That variability is a lot different that I dealt with as a whitetail hunter. OP is probably smarter than me, though, so that is a good thing.

I’ve got 5 points. I’m going for 99 and will do special antelope so hopefully I can draw 91 (same unit) and have both at the same time.

Nate3232 said:

We have 4.5 points to draw with and were considering 25 or 99. Also wasn’t sure about the early rifle hunts on 9/20 in those other 90 units. We are out of state so worried about not being able to get at them in the wilderness. Just looking to kill elk, won’t be passing up animals looking for giants. Just looking for some honest advice on which way to lean. Thanks!

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You shouldn’t have too much trouble finding elk in 25/27.