Wyoming General Archery

[Cedarsavage]

I’m considering drawing a general tag in Wyoming for’24. I read last winter was bad, so I’m curious how the herd is doing. Are numbers way down? Also, last time I went for rifle season and it was a zoo. I’d imagine in a general unit archery pressure isn’t too bad. Is that accurate?

 

[Trout&Buck]

I went out for both archery and rifle in '21 and '23. There was definitely less pressure during archery season, but I don't know if I would call it "light"... Most of the guys out during archery seemed to be after elk though.

 

[Plainsman79]

Historical herd numbers are declining every year. Roughly half of the state seen a major winter kill.

Your assumption is correct, that typically during archery deer season hunting pressure isn’t as heavy as long as you aren’t in good elk country.

 

[Cedarsavage]

Historical herd numbers are declining every year. Roughly half of the state seen a major winter kill.

Your assumption is correct, that typically during archery deer season hunting pressure isn’t as heavy as long as you aren’t in good elk country.

The place I’m thinking isn’t really elk country. There’s a little timber and a lot of sage. I’ve never seen an elk in three hunts. I’d imagine most serious guys are elk hunting with a few deer and antelope guys. That seem right?

 

[Plainsman79]

The place I’m thinking isn’t really elk country. There’s a little timber and a lot of sage. I’ve never seen an elk in three hunts. I’d imagine most serious guys are elk hunting with a few deer and antelope guys. That seem right?

Fair enough.

If possible take a long weekend and do some scouting, it’ll confirm or deny your suspicions.

 

[willfrye027]

Look into the winter kill units/areas that’s probably going to make or break your experience next year. Some of the general areas were crushed.

 

[johnbow]

Some areas were wiped out and some were not. Sw was definitely wiped out

 

[Wyco307]

There are elk allover General units, in fact, many are well over objective. Elk behavior is much different during rifle for many factors including pressure. However, a lot of this change in behavior is simply due to the end of there rut and changes in weather. I hunt in one of the most popular general units in the state and rarely see other people while hunting. A lot of people overthink this stuff and just bomb through country overlooking elk. Understanding behavior and habitat will make the difference like I said. Use vantage points and your glass, let other people push the elk around.