WY 165 vs 119 type 2 for my dad

[Bitterbrush]

I'm starting my planning for next year for my father. I have been putting my limited hunting time on the back burner latley and each year I try to take him on a trip that he ordinarily wouldn't get to do by himself. We have had some good ones over the years but age is creeping up on him and his mobility isn't great. I believe he is sitting on 9 non-resident points for deer and I would love to get him around some decent deer numbers. I'm looking for something he can draw with near certainty as we are limited on many more years we can do this together and I don't want to wait for him to go hunting. My research so far has me eyeballing WY 119 type 2 and 165. Does anybody have any thoughts or observations about these two units? I will be contacting the biologist as always but I'm just hoping to hear from some folks that have had boots on the ground in these areas for the last few years and have general thoughts on these areas. I'm looking for fun and quality experience for him with the caliber of deer being of less importance. We have to be realistic on what he can pursue physically so the more opportunity he has, the better. I'm always hopeful we can get him on something he is happy with but mostly looking to hear if I am barking up the wrong tree with these two units. They look to be trending the wrong way but still have some decent success rates 9 non resident points dont seem to be worth as much as the used to be. Any thoughts are sure appreciated.

 

[Oregonmuley]

Not sure it would be a better choice - I've not hunted it but have been looking at unit 10. Its more of a rolling hill type unit without any big elevation and with the low tag numbers it could be an option especially since you say mobility is somewhat limited.

Of the two units you listed I'd maybe give the edge to 119, I may have the points for the type 1 tag and its on my list along with 34. Will have to see how the winter turns out to see how deer numbers look for next year.

 

[HOT ROD]

If U have the points to draw 119 type 1 I would choose it over area 34 for sure... They kill sum pretty good deer in area 10 to but the late 119 tag would be a fun hunt Ull see a pile of deer and a 160 165 would be a good deer in there U probably wont see as many deer in 10 but the quality would be the same as 119 imo... Stay away from 34 I no two people who have had that tag one this year and one last and the best buck was a 160 type buck the other guy killed a small 4 point the last day... And we are Wyoming residents who had a lot of time to scout archery and rifle hunt... Its not worth 2 nonresident points let alone the 10 or so U residents are burning on that area with only a week or two to hunt...

 

[Bitterbrush]

Not sure it would be a better choice - I've not hunted it but have been looking at unit 10. Its more of a rolling hill type unit without any big elevation and with the low tag numbers it could be an option especially since you say mobility is somewhat limited.

Of the two units you listed I'd maybe give the edge to 119, I may have the points for the type 1 tag and its on my list along with 34. Will have to see how the winter turns out to see how deer numbers look for next year.

Thank you for your input. I sure appreciate it. Its always a difficult a call when traveling out of state with no opportunity to go scout. I hate to keep sitting on points for him as his opportunities seem to be dwindling with point creep and none of us are getting any younger. Unit 10 does look pretty good on paper. It will be interesting to chat with warden or biologist to see what he thinks.

 

[hoythunter]

I had 165 this year, dont think Id go back, saw a couple high 60 low 70 bucks together first 2 hrs of my hunt. Wasnt able to get on them. Couldnt turn them up again saw a few fork bucks and a mid 40s buck ate my tag.

 

[Bitterbrush]

I had 165 this year, dont think Id go back, saw a couple high 60 low 70 bucks together first 2 hrs of my hunt. Wasnt able to get on them. Couldnt turn them up again saw a few fork bucks and a mid 40s buck ate my tag.

Thank you very much for the reply. Darn. The harvest statisics don't seem bad there but folks must be shooting lots of two year olds. A game of inches I guess...

 

[go_deep]

I wouldn't hunt the type 2 tag, unless you were in great physical shape and could Scout. Area 10 is a solid recommendation if your wanting more of a plains hunt.

 

[Wyohunter1]

165 is not worth 9 points. I live in Cody, and have had a 165 tag. Ive seen and killed bigger bucks on a general tag

 

[Bitterbrush]

165 is not worth 9 points. I live in Cody, and have had a 165 tag. Ive seen and killed bigger bucks on a general tag

Darn its rough out there. Just not much out there for the points my dad has. Oh well. I will be applying him for something this year right or wrong. Looks like i have a bunch of homework to do! Thanks very much for your input.

 

[RogerSanchez]

I hunted 119 type 2 this year (2021) with 4 other buddies. We hunted hard for 6 days and never saw a buck. I repeat, none of us laid eyes upon a single buck. The local warden and biologist were stumped. They hypothesized that The heat and drought simply had them relocated. I strongly recommend not hunting that unit with the type 2 tag. The country was gorgeous, but no bucks.


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[Bitterbrush]

I hunted 119 type 2 this year (2021) with 4 other buddies. We hunted hard for 6 days and never saw a buck. I repeat, none of us laid eyes upon a single buck. The local warden and biologist were stumped. They hypothesized that The heat and drought simply had them relocated. I strongly recommend not hunting that unit with the type 2 tag. The country was gorgeous, but no bucks.


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Thank you for your input. I sure appreciate it. I suppose if the water dried up, they would have to move. I'm not sure if success rates are out yet but it sounds like like it could be a big dip in success for 2021. I guess I will keep scratching for a hunt for him.

 

[Webby307]

I don't have much experience with 119 but am local to the 165 area and based on your criteria I think you could make a decent hunt out of it. Like many others have stated numbers seem to be down and you may not have your pick of large mature deer during the trip. However, 165 does have some positive attributes that you may find helpful. If you do not plan on camping there are a couple great options for lodging within the area (Cody and Meeteetse) which give quick access to hunting in the mornings. Second, there are plenty of BLM and State roads that can be used to get around and get you out of the more populated parts of the unit. Lastly, I understand this in the Muley forum and that is most likely your focus, but there are no shortage of Whitetails in the unit and you will most likely see 100+ a day. Most of them on private but if you have a good land ownership map you can find some great public mixed in as well. You will find that folks in the area are pretty friendly and may be open to hunting on their land as well. Feel free to PM with any questions you may have.

 

[Bitterbrush]

I don't have much experience with 119 but am local to the 165 area and based on your criteria I think you could make a decent hunt out of it. Like many others have stated numbers seem to be down and you may not have your pick of large mature deer during the trip. However, 165 does have some positive attributes that you may find helpful. If you do not plan on camping there are a couple great options for lodging within the area (Cody and Meeteetse) which give quick access to hunting in the mornings. Second, there are plenty of BLM and State roads that can be used to get around and get you out of the more populated parts of the unit. Lastly, I understand this in the Muley forum and that is most likely your focus, but there are no shortage of Whitetails in the unit and you will most likely see 100+ a day. Most of them on private but if you have a good land ownership map you can find some great public mixed in as well. You will find that folks in the area are pretty friendly and may be open to hunting on their land as well. Feel free to PM with any questions you may have.

Hey! Thanks for thorough reply! Much appreciated. I took him to unit 80 for lopes a ways back and we had a great time in that area and enjoyed poking around Cody. The good news is with my dad, he doesn't require a big buck to enjoy himself. I always want that for him more than he does. At his age and physical ability, he and I have to be realistic with what he can do and have a limited number of times we can do this together. We would plop down the wall tent and camp most likely. Mostly, I just like to take him somewhere new that has a few animals to look at and if a whitetail was an option, that's just a bonus. He's actually never hunted a whitetail so that would be pretty neat if we turned up a decent one and it worked out that way. I rely heavily on landowner map software so we would be good there. I appreciate the offer for the PM. I my give you a yell a little ways down the road. Take care.

 

[Isaacaugedahl]

I don't have much experience with 119 but am local to the 165 area and based on your criteria I think you could make a decent hunt out of it. Like many others have stated numbers seem to be down and you may not have your pick of large mature deer during the trip. However, 165 does have some positive attributes that you may find helpful. If you do not plan on camping there are a couple great options for lodging within the area (Cody and Meeteetse) which give quick access to hunting in the mornings. Second, there are plenty of BLM and State roads that can be used to get around and get you out of the more populated parts of the unit. Lastly, I understand this in the Muley forum and that is most likely your focus, but there are no shortage of Whitetails in the unit and you will most likely see 100+ a day. Most of them on private but if you have a good land ownership map you can find some great public mixed in as well. You will find that folks in the area are pretty friendly and may be open to hunting on their land as well. Feel free to PM with any questions you may have.

What do u know about meeteetse....haha!

 

[Wyohunter1]

Only 50 buck tags for 165 this year will effect minimum points and draw odds by a lot.

 

[Bitterbrush]

Only 50 buck tags for 165 this year will effect minimum points and draw odds by a lot.

Thank you. I will give that a look.

 

[Or.hunter]

Thinking about 165 for 2023, I have 9 non re points. Anyone on here hunt it in 22? If ya don’t mind sharing if it was worth it or not?


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[mj23polaris]

Thinking about 165 for 2023, I have 9 non re points. Anyone on here hunt it in 22? If ya don’t mind sharing if it was worth it or not?


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I live in greybull and 165 has gone downhill the past few years from CWD. I would look elsewhere I've hunted it and so has my wife. It was ok a few years ago imo it's not worth it now.

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[Bitterbrush]

Thinking about 165 for 2023, I have 9 non re points. Anyone on here hunt it in 22? If ya don’t mind sharing if it was worth it or not?


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I intended to take my father this year to that area but the biologist recommended we shy away based on a population decline from CWD.

 

[Or.hunter]

I live in greybull and 165 has gone downhill the past few years from CWD. I would look elsewhere I've hunted it and so has my wife. It was ok a few years ago imo it's not worth it now.

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I appreciate the info. That’s to bad. Where we hunted last year had the same problem.

Thanks


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