Pulled first elk tag - Wyoming General Eastern - Tips?

[asabs6]

Hey everyone, new to Rokslide and fairly new to hunting in general. I applied for and just pulled my first elk tag in Wyoming's General Eastern region. I chose this region being a, eastern SD resident and wanting to keep scouting/hunting trips within reasonable driving distance for my first experience. I'm not looking for any advice on specific areas or even units, as I know that public hunting honey holes are best kept secret, however, I would appreciate any insight as to best resources for beginning my virtual scouting/planning prior to being able to get boots on the ground scouting this summer, given the region is so vast.

 

[D_wit22]

Get onX

 

[KHNC]

Onx and Gohunt are your friends.

 

[LFC911]

Welcome to RS...try OnX, GoHunt, Google Earth, GaiaGps, CalTopo, etc...

 

[bz_711]

Try to find someone in or around your network that has hunted Elk in East region. IMO it's the best way to get a head start. Even if they only share if they had a good hunt, # of animals, and general region of the state they were in...every little tip can go a long way in pushing you into the right direction.

Good Luck!

 

[asabs6]

Try to find someone in or around your network that has hunted Elk in East region. IMO it's the best way to get a head start. Even if they only share if they had a good hunt, # of animals, and general region of the state they were in...every little tip can go a long way in pushing you into the right direction.

Good Luck!

Thank you, that's a great idea.

 

[asabs6]

Welcome to RS...try OnX, GoHunt, Google Earth, GaiaGps, CalTopo, etc...

Thanks! I became intimately familiar with OnX and Spartan Forge during my first SD deer season last fall and have already begun some e-scouting of potential areas withing my region access. Haven't tried any of the others so I will check those out too.

 

[longtail]

my best tip would be to do more research on applying for a tag if you wanted to do a DIY elk hunt on public land. Eastern General is extremely limited on public land. Most of the success rates on the report for those areas are all coming from Private land and the outfitters that operate and lease that land. You could try contacting the outfitters that operate in those units but I know of one that is booked out till 2032 and assuming most of the others are also. Don't mean to burst your bubble but I hope you like a challenge of challenges.

 

[go_deep]

I've seen numerous elk in region E, almost all of them are on private, or landlocked land. That being said, there's a few out there on public, I shot a spike myself while antelope hunting out of a herd of 9 elk, 7 spikes and 2 cows, couldn't pass up the chance to kill a prairie elk in a place most no one would every kill or see an elk. That being said, I've hunted that area for roughly 10 years and worked it for a lot more time than I've hunted it and never seen an elk there before or after that day.
Almost all elk your going to find in region E on accessable public land are going to be nomads, they don't live there, just moving threw that day.
Stay mobile, and glass till your sick of it, then glass some more.

Good luck!

 

[Elktaco]

Trade it in for a western tag. Seriously. East side of the state is rough for DIY public.

 

[Indian Summer]

If I had a tag in the east, I would be coming up with the plan that included hopping some corners. That’s your best bet in that end of the state. Public land is so limited that there is more pressure than I care for. By corner, hopping, especially this year, can lead to some public land gold mines.

 

[LongWayAround]

Trade it in for a western tag. Seriously. East side of the state is rough for DIY public.

Can you do that?

 

[go_deep]

Can you do that?

No

 

[LongWayAround]

No

Thought so. Second guessed that I was missing something.

 

[7RemMag]

Not to sound discouraging but….As has been mentioned, you’re in for a hard hunt.

If you can find an area even on private where there’s even a small piece of accessible public land nearby or adjacent, I’d say your odds of encountering a stray or two go up, but are still not high.

You could try door knocking in your travels when scouting, but I wouldn’t get too optimistic on that. Lots of private land leased to outfitters here.

 

[wytx]

That region is huge and yes there are elk on the public sections but they get hunted hard.
Th elk herd up pretty early then start moving around.
I'd hunt the public sections hard opening days .

 

[wytx]

pm sent asabs6

 

[asabs6]

Not to sound discouraging but….As has been mentioned, you’re in for a hard hunt.

If you can find an area even on private where there’s even a small piece of accessible public land nearby or adjacent, I’d say your odds of encountering a stray or two go up, but are still not high.

You could try door knocking in your travels when scouting, but I wouldn’t get too optimistic on that. Lots of private land leased to outfitters here.

That's great advice, I appreciate it! I have noticed a lot of the public parcels are land-locked by private, so I've been marking properties on OnX to reach out to for access permission to hunt adjacent public.