Unit 81 Wyoming deer

[massntrash]

Crazy how many points this area has jumped too. Wanting to burn my points .Have any of you guys hunted this unit?Mostly interested in the burn area .Ryan or Mullins burn scar.PMs would work best. Any input good or bad appreciated .

 

[Kurts86]

I drew that tag in 2016 but then the fire was so bad WYGF offered to move it to 2017. I hunted it in 2017 but only had 3 days to hunt it.

It snowed quite a bit before I got there and again the 3rd day of my hunt. I shot an unremarkable mule deer buck in the sage on day 2 knowing the forecast.

That has to be the thickest timber unit I’ve ever hunted in the west. The roads were quite narrow and I spent the entire time worrying about the damage deposit on my brand new black rental truck due overhanging limbs. The burn areas are probably blow down city by now and it’s burned again since I was there last. The terrain and vegetation scream archery elk rather than mule deer hunting to me. This was also my first mountain mule deer tag so I didn’t really know what I was doing either.

I have no doubt there are some really good mule deer in that unit but finding them is going to be difficult. The burned areas were not particularly open from what I remember but I only drove through there at night. Most of the more open high alpine is wilderness so it was a no go as a NR.

That was a 1 PP special draw in 2016 and now it’s almost 10x that to draw. I’m not sure that it’s really that good of a unit but rather the limited entry pressure makes it desirable.

 

[SJT]

Hunted this area last season. PM me if you’d like and I’ll share what I know.

 

[massntrash]

Thanks for the input.SJT sent you a PM

 

[Jaden Bales]

Some nifty history on the Platte Valley units (78-81) is that they all went to limited quota in 2013. So, in theory, there may be some old crusty mule deer out there who remember the general season structure still. Basically, as the age class has grown following the LQ implementation, the difficulty to draw has followed suit. The more you know.

If you want to learn more, here's the Platte Valley Mule Deer Initiative page: https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Habitat/Statew...ing-Groups/Platte-Valley-Mule-Deer-Initiative

Good luck out there!