Headed to Wyoming for our first elk hunt!

[USADPT]

Myself (42) and my son (14) are tagging along with two other guys to Wyoming. They each have cow tags. Son and I are looking to enjoy the scenery and experience, learn a bit, and hopefully help pack out some meat.

Roksliders have helped me spend some money the past few months and I wanted to say thanks, and hopefully share some pics and stories here when we return. I’m thankful for the wealth of information here. Can’t wait to experience it for myself.

The weather forecast has warmed considerably, from cold/snowy to warmer/rainy for the early week. Maybe that won’t be too detrimental. Any thoughts on that?

We head West from Louisiana tomorrow morning. Spent a week in Chama, NM over the summer, and headed to CO to ski in February. Trying to escape the heat and humidity of the Deep South as often as possible!

 

[ThreeOhSeven]

Wyoming is a big state, which region are you heading to?

 

[USADPT]

Wyoming is a big state, which region are you heading to?

Bridger-Tetons I believe.

One of the other guys lived in WY for a few years and has hunted the area a bit.

 

[USADPT]

I’ve considered picking up a wolf tag, but $208 for NR is steep. I guess .gov isn’t looking to remove many.

 

[ThreeOhSeven]

Looks to be cooling off towards the end of the week with potential for weather. Should be a good time!

 

[HairyScandinavian]

The weather forecast has warmed considerably, from cold/snowy to warmer/rainy for the early week. Maybe that won’t be too detrimental. Any thoughts on that?

Hunting aside, I'd still much rather have snow than rain/wet. Be sure you've got rain gear or a way to stay dry. Wet mountains are sloppy.

 

[wytx]

Weather change next week, bring your snow and cold clothes.
I'd say $ 208 for a wolf is a bargain, talk with the Bio or GW and see if they are in your area.
If you buy a tag you'll see a whole pack, get the tag.
Where else are you going to shoot a wolf for $208 ?

 

[Caseknife]

Depends where you are in Wyoming, if in a "trophy zone" need a tag, if not don't, they are classified as vermin. Sounds like you will be in a trophy zone. Have fun, Wyoming is beautiful, but winter is coming.

 

[wytx]

Weather is coming, might be Winter for real this weekend into next week.

Good luck !!

 

[nphunter]

Weather change next week, bring your snow and cold clothes.
I'd say $ 208 for a wolf is a bargain, talk with the Bio or GW and see if they are in your area.
If you buy a tag you'll see a whole pack, get the tag.
Where else are you going to shoot a wolf for $208 ?

In Idaho they are $31.75 and you can harvest up to 15 a year. So I guess to answer your question, you can buy 6 wolf tags in ID for $190.50.

I agree with the above post, seems stupid to not want them harvested by every NR. Here in OR you can buy 2 lion and 2 bear tags for $16.50 each as a NR. In Idaho you can also put an unused deer or elk tag in a wolf so if you’re out hunting and come across one you can shoot it without buying a tag, they want them harvested.

Maybe predators are not an issue in WY like they are OR and ID so the fish and game is managing them for income instead of trying to help ungulates.

 

[USADPT]

What a week! We are exhausted, but halfway home to LA and KY. We met our goals: enjoyed the beautiful scenery, saw tons of wildlife, got the full backcountry elk experience, learned a lot, and helped pack out some meat. I’ll try to post some details later.

 

[USADPT]

Myself and another friend drove a few miles and hiked in to hunt. My son and my buddy hiked from camp. After hiking in ~3 miles and ascending ~1500 ft they were walking ridge lines trying to cover as much ground as possible. With ~30 minutes of shooting time left, They separated to check out 2 opposite lower areas. My son spotted 2 cows ~1000 yards away and quickly retreated to relay the info. They dropped their packs and set out to cut the distance. They hiked several quick stints, checking range and time at each stop, until they closed to within 500yards. Time was running out. My buddy looked at my son and said “I don’t think we can close any further, and it’s almost too late to shoot.” In typical 14 year old fashion, he responded “just send it.” (This was the theme of a previous Western adventure these two shared over the summer.) That was all the encouragement my friend needed. With mere seconds to spare, the 143 eldx (6.5cm) found its mark, and the cow stumbled off into the brush. After retrieving their packs, they set out towards her last sighting. An hour passed before my son spotted good blood, then her soon after. They high-fived and shouted in celebration, a moment they won’t soon forget!

Not confident they would find her, we had returned to the tent by the heater with a couple fingers of bourbon, when we got the InReach they found her.

We quickly emptied our packs, shot down our drinks, and headed up the mountain to their coordinates…3+ miles away, 1500ft up, snowing/raining, dark, and tired already having hiked over 8 miles already that day. We helped them finish quartering, hung the front shoulders, loaded our packs and headed down. We returned to camp at 3am, exhausted but thankful, for the harvest and our safety. The Lord was kind.

 

[USADPT]

We saw beautiful scenery, daily weather variation, sunrise and sunsets, elk, mule deer, sheep, moose, hot springs, Tetons, Jackson Hole, and even picked up a couple souvenirs; the old shed and an arrowhead!

 

[USADPT]

Nice ram up close

 

[USADPT]

If you’re in the greater Jackson, WY area…lookup Southern Hogspitality (he’s on FB). He cooked us a fantastic meal when we went to pick up my buddy’s NM elk from a couple years ago.

 

[Fetty Wapiti]

If you’re in the greater Jackson, WY area…lookup Southern Hogspitality (he’s on FB). He cooked us a fantastic meal when we went to pick up my buddy’s NM elk from a couple years ago.

This^^^ Justin, the owner is one of the most talented cooks I have ever met. I am hungry now.