Wyoming Area 41 Reduced Cow/Calf hunt- worth a try?

Planning my vacation out for this year and it looks like late November thru most of December that I will have off. So, I'm thinking either Arizona for Coues or a late season cow elk hunt. I have looked at Arizona for the late cow elk hunts, as well as Colorado and Utah and Wyoming looks to be my best bet. As far as units, I am leaning towards 41 for the December hunt. Anybody know if it's worthwhile? Looked on OnX, and it looks like the snow would push alot of Elk off the mountains onto the small bit of private, however there is some hunter management access at Spanish Point with unlimited antlerless access permits.
Is this a worthwhile hunt to put some meat in the freezer or should I just go to Arizona and try my luck with Coues? Success rates look pretty decent.

There's a lot more meat on an elk; so I'm told...

You want windburn or sunburn? That late, I'd be headed south..

theddguide said:

There's a lot more meat on an elk; so I'm told...

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LCH said:

You want windburn or sunburn? That late, I'd be headed south..

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Yes and Yes lol

I hunted it a couple years ago. It wasn't really my idea of a hunt. It was basically lines of ATVs and trucks on every ridge hoping a panicked herd of elk would run through. My buddy and I decided to make a long hike into the most "remote" areas of the unit and did 19 miles on foot that day only to cross ATV tracks everywhere we went, regardless of it was legal or not. I even hiked into the heart of the WSA and couldn't go 1/4 mile without crossing ATV tracks. The laziness I observed from fellow hunters on that trip left me pretty disappointed. It didn't matter where they went or what vegetation they trampled down, if they could get 10' closer to a glassing point with their vehicles, they did it.

We did shoot 2 elk for 5 guys. I haven't applied for the unit since. If the goal is filling the freezer with meat, a cow elk hunt is probably your best option. As far as a cool adventure goes, I'd do coues without thinking twice about it if those were my two options.

NoWiser said:

I hunted it a couple years ago. It wasn't really my idea of a hunt. It was basically lines of ATVs and trucks on every ridge hoping a panicked herd of elk would run through. My buddy and I decided to make a long hike into the most "remote" areas of the unit and did 19 miles on foot that day only to cross ATV tracks everywhere we went, regardless of it was legal or not. I even hiked into the heart of the WSA and couldn't go 1/4 mile without crossing ATV tracks. The laziness I observed from fellow hunters on that trip left me pretty disappointed. It didn't matter where they went or what vegetation they trampled down, if they could get 10' closer to a glassing point with their vehicles, they did it.

We did shoot 2 elk for 5 guys. I haven't applied for the unit since. If the goal is filling the freezer with meat, a cow elk hunt is probably your best option. As far as a cool adventure goes, I'd do coues without thinking twice about it if those were my two options.

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Are you saying there were ATV tracks in the Cloud Peak Wilderness? That should have been reported. There are some great areas in 41 if you are willing to walk that don’t get any ATV traffic at all outside of the wilderness.

NoWiser said:

I hunted it a couple years ago. It wasn't really my idea of a hunt. It was basically lines of ATVs and trucks on every ridge hoping a panicked herd of elk would run through. My buddy and I decided to make a long hike into the most "remote" areas of the unit and did 19 miles on foot that day only to cross ATV tracks everywhere we went, regardless of it was legal or not. I even hiked into the heart of the WSA and couldn't go 1/4 mile without crossing ATV tracks. The laziness I observed from fellow hunters on that trip left me pretty disappointed. It didn't matter where they went or what vegetation they trampled down, if they could get 10' closer to a glassing point with their vehicles, they did it.

We did shoot 2 elk for 5 guys. I haven't applied for the unit since. If the goal is filling the freezer with meat, a cow elk hunt is probably your best option. As far as a cool adventure goes, I'd do coues without thinking twice about it if those were my two options.

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I appreciate the head's up! Any hunt is about more than just meat, and I go west to get away from that kind of mentality. Arizona is looking a little warmer now.

375H&H said:

Are you saying there were ATV tracks in the Cloud Peak Wilderness? That should have been reported. There are some great areas in 41 if you are willing to walk that don’t get any ATV traffic at all outside of the wilderness.

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No. I can't hunt the Cloudpeak as a nonresident and I don't expect there were any elk up there that time of year. I guess I meant the most remote area that a nonresident can hunt, with regards to legal vehicle access.

We could not find any areas that did not have ATV traffic, but we also did not cover the entire unit. There are elk in the unit and, with the right weather, they'd be accessible. But, it's not the kind of experience I look for when I head out west.

Now, I did not hunt the entire unit. There could be some great hunting in areas I never got to. But, where I was, the snow had the elk pushed down out of the National Forest to the private just down from it, and there was pretty much a continuous firing line of hunters waiting on any elk that tried to get down onto the BLM land below that. I had no desire to be a part of that firing line. I did enjoy the trip and did shoot an elk myself, but if I had to choose between that type of hunt and a chance to go to AZ Couse hunting, it would be an easy decision for me.