Some direction on 2017 hunt

[gutshootem]

Ok guys, I apologize ahead of time because this is going to be a little long winded. Trying to decide on a 2017 hunt with my brother and could use a little direction.

A little background first. Most of my experience is chasing whitetails in the east and midwest. I did buy a leftover WY antelope tag a few yrs back and was successful shooting a dink buck and a doe and had a blast. I went out solo, hunted public and camped out of my truck.
My brother wants to hunt the west so I'm trying to put something together for us in 2017. We're strictly looking into a rifle hunt at this point.

As of right now I haven't looked at any specific units or anything of detail. I just want to get some general thoughts to determine if I'm even going in the right direction.* Once I determine this, I'll start digging into everything-the fun stuff.

Basically, I've got two ideas.

First, an antelope and maybe cow elk hunt in WY. Of course this would only work if the draw odds and season dates line up for us. I'll have 4pts going into 2017 and he'll be buying his first this yr so he'd have one.

Second would be a Montana general mule deer or possibly deer/elk combo.

With either of these choices, neither of us are really comfortable tenting it out in the backcountry yet. I think we'll probably just set up camp and hunt out of there daily. We'll probably only have in the neighborhood of 5 days to hunt figuring in 2 days for driving each way and setting/packing up. Trophy potential isn't an issue. We'd both be happy with a decent mule deer or antelope. I guess I'd say numbers of game would be more important if anything.

Again, not looking for any real specifics here. Just wanting to know if I'm headed in the right direction with this?

 

[cedahm]

Ok guys, I apologize ahead of time because this is going to be a little long winded. Trying to decide on a 2017 hunt with my brother and could use a little direction.


Basically, I've got two ideas.

First, an antelope and maybe cow elk hunt in WY. Of course this would only work if the draw odds and season dates line up for us. I'll have 4pts going into 2017 and he'll be buying his first this yr so he'd have one.

Second would be a Montana general mule deer or possibly deer/elk combo.

With 5 points between you next year (so in the "<3" column in draw odds if applying as a party), there are a lot of good antelope units in WY available for you in the Special draw. The regular draw will be more restrictive.

Since those are (generally speaking) pretty different hunts at pretty different times of season (again - that's a general statement, I'm sure there are hunts that line up), your main choice is do you want to hunt antelope or deer?

I'm a big fan of bringing hunters new to the West for antelope since it allows for a lot of the "Western" hunt activity (glassing, wide open spaces, spot and stalk approaches, lots of country) without the extra demands of backcountry mountain hunting.

 

[mixedbag]

If you go in together with your points, you will both draw general elk tags in Wy.I can help you on a spot with that if you get the tags.If you can swing 2 trips to Mt then the combo tag is well worth it.I would do archery elk then go back mid Nov for rutting muleys.Or just get the mule deer tag if you can only do one trip
Your 4 points for antelope can get you a real good hunt,which you could combine with your elk hunt

 

[gutshootem]

With 5 points between you next year (so in the "<3" column in draw odds if applying as a party), there are a lot of good antelope units in WY available for you in the Special draw. The regular draw will be more restrictive.

Since those are (generally speaking) pretty different hunts at pretty different times of season (again - that's a general statement, I'm sure there are hunts that line up), your main choice is do you want to hunt antelope or deer?

I'm a big fan of bringing hunters new to the West for antelope since it allows for a lot of the "Western" hunt activity (glassing, wide open spaces, spot and stalk approaches, lots of country) without the extra demands of backcountry mountain hunting.

In all honesty, antelope or deer would be fine with me. He hasn't enjoyed much hunting success so I thought antelope would be a good option since he'd likely make a kill. I don't really want to make that solo drive again for just a goat though which is why I thought I'd try to line it up with a cow elk tag if possible. He's in Texas now and would likely meet me at the hunting destination.
I'll also have 4 points for elk and deer next year but didn't really want to burn those yet which is where I got the Montana idea. Figured I could gain some experience hunting in a block mgt area before cashing in my WY points.

 

[gutshootem]

If you go in together with your points, you will both draw general elk tags in Wy.I can help you on a spot with that if you get the tags.If you can swing 2 trips to Mt then the combo tag is well worth it.I would do archery elk then go back mid Nov for rutting muleys.Or just get the mule deer tag if you can only do one trip
Your 4 points for antelope can get you a real good hunt,which you could combine with your elk hunt

I can't swing 2 trips to MT so I guess it's either deer there or WY.
I really didn't want to cash in my points for elk there without a little more time to hunt though. Id like to have 7-10 days to chase a bull. Do you think the WY antelope and trying to pick up a leftover cow tag would be wise? Or I guess maybe put in for a cow tag as a second choice in the draw? Not sure on that because I've only been buying points and just started kicking around these ideas the last week or so.

 

[LopeHunter]

Pronghorn hunting is usually a hunt where see plenty of bucks each day, rarely have to deal with altitude sickness or make multiple post-harvest hikes with a heavy backpack up out of a canyon or down a slippery steep slope. A big buck is about 3" taller in the horns than an average buck. One of the most striking shoulder mounts will ever see. I have been on 10 pronghorn hunts over the years and always got an average or better buck after looking over several bucks each of however many days I want to spend on the hunt. If you have access to land that holds pronghorns, you should be set if use a rifle and can hike a few miles a day with a daypack.

Mule deer and/or elk hunting generally require you and your brother be in better shape and have more and better gear. The terrain can be nasty steep or covered in deadfall. Packing out a critter can take a couple of days depending on how far you are from the trailhead.

I hunt everything. I have never come home from a pronghorn hunt and taken a week to "heal up" from the wear and tear of the hunt. I limped around for 5 weeks after my mule deer hunt last fall in the Shoshone national forest.

On hunts, I have tumbled down sleep slopes, been thrown off horses, stared down curious bears, been fogged in, been snowed in with timber cracking and falling around me in high winds, blown out a shoulder, blown out a knee, etc. But none of that was on a pronghorn hunt.

If I were to rank hunts from easiest (and ones I probably can do even as get much older) to toughest physically: turkey, pronghorn, whitetail, mule deer, sheep, elk, moose then mountain goat. Sere, you can have an easy or hard hunt for any of those species but in general some critters are easier to hunt then pack out.

If you want the western hunting adventure some of us grew up dreaming about where go into timber or high elevation with snow-tipped mountain peaks then a mule deer and/or elk hunt will be more rewarding. If you are looking to have a fun hunt where are likely to fill your tags in a few hours of hunting then pronghorn will be a nice fit.

No right or wrong answer. Have fun on your hunt and cherish these shared moments with family and friends.