Looking for some advice 129-6 tag Wyoming

[Stockeaux]

I’m bringing my Dad up to Buffalo for a pronghorn hunt in unit 22 and we went ahead and put in for 129-6 tags for elk, we knew going into it that 129 is a ton of private land and I was hoping to see if someone on here could help point me in the right direction to find some access, I know we are late to the game but this has been a last second decision to get my Dad to be able to experience elk hunting. I’m not looking for specific spots, just hoping to get pointed in the right direction or get some advice, thank yall for all the help yall have already given me on this board.

 

[cbuck516]

Do your own research and come up with a hunt plan, then call the WGF biologist for that area and run your plan by them. If you show them that you have already put in the effort to make a plan, you are likely to get some helpful information. This has worked well for me when I am hunting a new unit.

Based on the harvest data for that tag, I would guess that a large percentage of the success in that unit is guided or on private land. That looks like it could be a pretty tough elk hunt.

 

[Stockeaux]

For sure, I was planning on doing that, I was going to wait until I actually draw the tag before I called the biologist, it definitely seems like it’s going to be challenging with the amount of private land in that area but the moment I go up there without a tag I’ll see them all over the place. I’m sure I’ll pick up some good experience with it too, I’m planning on sending out letters to the landowners around some of the sections I’m looking at, it may be a long shot but I figure it’s worth a shot

 

[cbuck516]

For sure, I was planning on doing that, I was going to wait until I actually draw the tag before I called the biologist, it definitely seems like it’s going to be challenging with the amount of private land in that area but the moment I go up there without a tag I’ll see them all over the place. I’m sure I’ll pick up some good experience with it too, I’m planning on sending out letters to the landowners around some of the sections I’m looking at, it may be a long shot but I figure it’s worth a shot

In my opinion, you should call the biologist before you even apply, preferably not near the deadline when they are fielding more questions than normal. If you applied for 129-6, you will definitely draw it since it has leftovers every year (probably for good reason). I understand you already had the pronghorn tag for that area so I get the desire to grab an elk tag in that same area, but if it were me, I would have considered a much better leftover elk tag somewhere in the general vicinity of your pronghorn tag as a first choice and save the 129-6 as a second choice.

Edit: I guess your preferred hunting style should be what dictates where you apply. If your primary strategy is doing guided hunts or paying access fees for private land, 129-6 would make sense. If you are a public land DIY hunter, it looks pretty rough to me.

 

[Stockeaux]

In my opinion, you should call the biologist before you even apply, preferably not near the deadline when they are fielding more questions than normal. If you applied for 129-6, you will definitely draw it since it has leftovers every year (probably for good reason). I understand you already had the pronghorn tag for that area so I get the desire to grab an elk tag in that same area, but if it were me, I would have considered a much better leftover elk tag somewhere in the general vicinity of your pronghorn tag as a first choice and save the 129-6 as a second choice.

Edit: I guess your preferred hunting style should be what dictates where you apply. If your primary strategy is doing guided hunts or paying access fees for private land, 129-6 would make sense. If you are a public land DIY hunter, it looks pretty rough to me.

The main idea behind 129 was we will be in 22 hunting pronghorn already and that’s still the main target of this trip, if we accidentally came across a heard while scouting/hunting pronghorn we would have the tag in pocket. I know the chances of that is slim but I hunted pronghorn in the southern side of 129 a couple years ago and two of the guys in our group saw elk while hunting so I know there is a chance of it. I don’t mind hunting hard and covering a ton of ground if that’s what it takes to kill an elk after we fill pronghorn tags and if we don’t it’ll just be a learning experience. I don’t mind paying a trespass fee to hunt private I just need to make some connections to try and make that happen.

 

[cbuck516]

The main idea behind 129 was we will be in 22 hunting pronghorn already and that’s still the main target of this trip, if we accidentally came across a heard while scouting/hunting pronghorn we would have the tag in pocket. I know the chances of that is slim but I hunted pronghorn in the southern side of 129 a couple years ago and two of the guys in our group saw elk while hunting so I know there is a chance of it. I don’t mind hunting hard and covering a ton of ground if that’s what it takes to kill an elk after we fill pronghorn tags and if we don’t it’ll just be a learning experience. I don’t mind paying a trespass fee to hunt private I just need to make some connections to try and make that happen.

That makes sense. Having some on the ground experience in that unit definitely gives you a leg up. I didn’t realize you had hunted there before. I have zero experience hunting private land out west, but I still think starting with the Biologist or Warden is step 1 for me. They may be able to help you identify specific landowners that may allow access. I looked at that in Colorado this year, but decided I didn’t want to pay the trespass fee.

 

[Indian Summer]

This always leaves scratching my head. You put the cart before the horse. Research. a place to hunt….then apply for a license there. What will you do if you don’t get access anywhere?

 

[Stockeaux]

This always leaves scratching my head. You put the cart before the horse. Research. a place to hunt….then apply for a license there. What will you do if you don’t get access anywhere?

Did you read my earlier post? Or do you have lice?

“The main idea behind 129 was we will be in 22 hunting pronghorn already and that’s still the main target of this trip, if we accidentally came across a heard while scouting/hunting pronghorn we would have the tag in pocket.”

There is areas where there is access to public and I’ve done some research on it, just trying to cover more bases and get some advice from people that have hunted that area, my bad for hoping to strike up some conversation

 

[One300wsm]

Did you read my earlier post? Or do you have lice?

“The main idea behind 129 was we will be in 22 hunting pronghorn already and that’s still the main target of this trip, if we accidentally came across a heard while scouting/hunting pronghorn we would have the tag in pocket.”

There is areas where there is access to public and I’ve done some research on it, just trying to cover more bases and get some advice from people that have hunted that area, my bad for hoping to strike up some conversation

No one is going to tell you where to go, if they are already hunting the unit and have knowledge of where access is or where Elk maybe. Hunting spots are to hard to come by these days. Most people you give a good tip to can’t keep their mouth shut and bring more hunters on the next trip and so on. And getting snippy with and Op, differently isn’t going to help your cause.

 

[Stockeaux]

No one is going to tell you where to go, if they are already hunting the unit and have knowledge of where access is or where Elk maybe. Hunting spots are to hard to come by these days. Most people you give a good tip to can’t keep their mouth shut and bring more hunters on the next trip and so on. And getting snippy with and Op, differently isn’t going to help your cause.

I didn’t ask for a spot, heck I didn’t even ask for a general direction to hunt, I hunt nothing but public in Mississippi and Louisiana which is the most pressured areas in this country so I get it 100%, the only two people on planet earth who knows where I kill deer is my wife and Dad but if someone asks me for advice on hunting whitetail in the south I don’t mind giving them advice on what to look for, I only got a little snippy because some snippiness was given to me first, I made this post hoping to get advice on where to look for some possible private access and to have some conversation with people who know about elk hunting. The best way to learn something is to spend time doing it and learn from those willing to share advice, that’s all I was looking for