Wyoming mule deer

I don't have unit specific intel but I've driven 1,000 miles to hunt units I've never stepped foot in and have learned a few things that may help you.

1. Get Onx and start e scouting. Then pick 3 or 4 likely spots to set up base camp just off a dirt road. Download offline maps for the 3 or 4 areas. Use Onx to find glassing points, streams, ponds, stock tanks and mark them so that you can find them when you arrive. Do this for all 3 or 4 areas you E scouted. If you only do this for 1 area you might show up and find a dozen trucks or an outfitter in your area. You need plan A B C and D. Have onX with Wyoming and already have four different starting points picked out. Already have water marked, I just didn't know if I should trust it, and could be seasonal. I am used to high mountain where the streams are not an issue, just use a filter and drink.
2. Plan to set up base camp next to you truck. Take gear necessary to spike out if you find a great area once you get there.
3. Always take water with you. I take at least 1 gallon per day for drinking and a gallon a day for washing dishes etc at base camp. My drinking water is purchased in gallon jugs and frozen then they go into my big ass cooler with bags of ice and my perishable food. Washing water is in 7 gal Reliance Aquatainers. Ditch the Lifestraw. Get a real filtration system. A simple Sawyer squeeze would work.
Will get a Sawyer squeeze. I have a pump filter, but it can take a while. I guess for just myself it is not a big deal. I was using it last for (3) people so it took a while.
4. Take gear to self recover your vehicle. D shackle for your hitch, kinetic snatch rope/soft shackles, and traction boards. I also carry a 3 ton ratchet puller a tree strap, a snatch block, a yellow tow strap, shovel, axe and a chainsaw. I carry chains for front and rear. With your bronco I'd guess that you may be limited to tire cables but they are better than nothing. I will have to round some of this up.
5. Invest in an Inreach. I have a Zoleo satellite communicator that worked well when I was in Montana.
6. Carry a quality first aid kit and some emergency supplies in your pack so you can spend an unexpected night out on the mountain. Even with an Inreach if you get in trouble a rescue might take 12-24 hours. Understood. Thanks for the help.

If you have questions PM me and we can set up a call.
 
I've driven down a road in 2 wheel drive doing 50 mph, only to drive back on that same road hours later with chains on, in 4 wheel drive, crawling out at 5 mph. It takes very little rain to make the road turn to gumbo.
This. Wyoming clay is no joke. Be prepared to get unstuck, and wait for it to dry if necessary. More than one whiskey bruise on the rig from slick two tracks in my adventures.
 
I am looking for general information on a specific Wyoming deer unit, but the mods won't let me post the Unit #. I wasn't asking for anything about specific areas, or even asking about the population so not sure why it wasn't allowed, but here it goes again:

The general area in Wyoming has a boundary of: west of the powder river, east of Buffalo, and mostly north of I-90. PM me if you want the exact unit #. This will be on BLM land, using the very few access points. Will be doing a decent amount of hiking to try to be away from the limited access points. Planning to be ~ 1 week archery, ~ 1 week rifle.

General questions were:

1) is there a reliable water source that can be safely drank with a LifeStraw, or will I need to pack in my water? If I draw a tag, I will be there last week of September/ Early October. My thoughts are that I may backpack in for several days.

2). If you know this area well, please PM me. I had a question on a single area that had a few BLM roads. Just trying to understand if a Bronco Sport would be able to access those patches of roads.

3). What should I expect as far as terrain? Is it generally navigable, and "rolling hills", or will there be any steep dropoffs? I am planning on doing a large dose of hiking because access is limited. Previous elk hunts in Montana 10 miles was a normal day of hiking during archery.

I mostly likely will be solo because my normal hunting buddies cannot go. The above questions are just general safety questions to be prepared.

Thank you for any help.
If you’d like, PM me and I will try to answer your questions more specifically. I’ve never deer hunted that unit but I live give or take an hour away, and I am somewhat familiar.
 
Thank you everyone for your input. I think I got the information I was looking for.

1) I will be packing my own water in. I don't want to risk getting sick while out in the back country solo. The consensus is that getting sick from the water is still a real possibility even if using filters, boiling, or chemical treatment.

2) Moisture will lead to difficulty driving roads and walking. I should be okay with a Bronco Sport, but will plan to stay put if any precipitation occurs. I will make sure I have recovery equipment readily available. I also have a 2010 F150 4WD as an option to use, but with gas mileage being half of the Bronco, and it being 15 years old, I will probably opt for the Bronco Sport. My wife won't be pleased as that is her daily driver....

Everyone that contributed, again, thank you. I appreciate the info to contribute to a safe trip.
 
IMG_4076.jpeg
This is the result of a few hours of light rain that had ended before 12:30 am the night before. $2500 tow truck from Jackson came and rescued my Ram. The side roads are no joke with just a tiny bit of moisture. I was spring bear hunting and just a sprinkle turned that road into peanut butter and dangerous AS HELL.

I will also say that same Fall near the same area I dislocated my shoulder 2 miles from the truck while hunting Muleys. Hiked back, relocated it, and haven’t been back since and I live in Wyoming. That’s all the WY Range.

I came across this thread because I’m dying to get back and I’m doing some research. I’ll add that the latest YT drops from Eastmans and podcasts on the herd health have been particularly helpful. But that’s also National Forest not BLM.
 
View attachment 873171
This is the result of a few hours of light rain that had ended before 12:30 am the night before. $2500 tow truck from Jackson came and rescued my Ram. The side roads are no joke with just a tiny bit of moisture. I was spring bear hunting and just a sprinkle turned that road into peanut butter and dangerous AS HELL.

I will also say that same Fall near the same area I dislocated my shoulder 2 miles from the truck while hunting Muleys. Hiked back, relocated it, and haven’t been back since and I live in Wyoming. That’s all the WY Range.

I came across this thread because I’m dying to get back and I’m doing some research. I’ll add that the latest YT drops from Eastmans and podcasts on the herd health have been particularly helpful. But that’s also National Forest not BLM.
That straight away is always so rutted and sloppy. The bentonite clay in the GV is the worst.
 
View attachment 873171
This is the result of a few hours of light rain that had ended before 12:30 am the night before. $2500 tow truck from Jackson came and rescued my Ram. The side roads are no joke with just a tiny bit of moisture. I was spring bear hunting and just a sprinkle turned that road into peanut butter and dangerous AS HELL.

I will also say that same Fall near the same area I dislocated my shoulder 2 miles from the truck while hunting Muleys. Hiked back, relocated it, and haven’t been back since and I live in Wyoming. That’s all the WY Range.

I came across this thread because I’m dying to get back and I’m doing some research. I’ll add that the latest YT drops from Eastmans and podcasts on the herd health have been particularly helpful. But that’s also National Forest not BLM.
Is that a ratchet strap on the passenger front wheel/tire?
 
You can PM me if you want...but long and short of it.

water...no

Unless it is a fairly established actual somewhat maintained road don't plan on it being there or being able to get to it. Unless it connects to a county road or is marked as a public road you can't cut across public to even get to the BLM. Also, a lot of the trails/roads that are physically accessible of a otherwise open to public road are closed to public travel. (specifics could be confirmed through PM)

Terrain-have to answer through PM. But that general area can be easy walking or straight up and down. But again I read your post earlier but forget exact area.
 
View attachment 873171
This is the result of a few hours of light rain that had ended before 12:30 am the night before. $2500 tow truck from Jackson came and rescued my Ram. The side roads are no joke with just a tiny bit of moisture. I was spring bear hunting and just a sprinkle turned that road into peanut butter and dangerous AS HELL.

I will also say that same Fall near the same area I dislocated my shoulder 2 miles from the truck while hunting Muleys. Hiked back, relocated it, and haven’t been back since and I live in Wyoming. That’s all the WY Range.

I came across this thread because I’m dying to get back and I’m doing some research. I’ll add that the latest YT drops from Eastmans and podcasts on the herd health have been particularly helpful. But that’s also National Forest not BLM.
How did you dislocate your shoulder, did you take a fall while hunting? Sounds like a couple rough outings for you. I hope you were able to keep hunting that year.
 
How did you dislocate your shoulder, did you take a fall while hunting? Sounds like a couple rough outings for you. I hope you were able to keep hunting that year.
Fell near a creek and reached out to catch myself on the hillside with all my gear on…the rest is history. Ended up with a torn labrum, surgery and 6 months of physical therapy. Second of three actually. That season sucked!

It was five years ago. This year I go back and make it happen!
 
I have a set of Trac Grabbers. I used them to self recover my Ram 2500 when stuck in the sand but they failed in the Wyoming mud. I have since purchased 2 sets of Max Trac boards and have used them multiple times. This fall I got my Ram 1500 Rebel and trailer stuck on a 2 track when the mud/snow began to thaw. Using all 4 Max Trac boards I was able to self recover.
 
I will say that I was 4 days late after the opener and was in deer 2.5 miles from the truck, before I fell the next morning. A lot of hunters had already been through there to. It was relatively busy, but I still found a small four point easily. I love that area.
 
I'm going to piggyback on this thread just because there doesn't need to be another WY deer thread. My hunting partner and I have 4 points and have hunted the same two areas for the last 15 years off and on. This is the most points we have collectively had and so we want to try something new. We also elk hunt Wyoming a bunch and so know the state fairly well for NR. Would love to find someone who wouldn't mind giving us advice offline. We are going to draw tags and we are going to hunt regardless. If you research me, you will realize that I have helped countless others on this forum in WY, MT, AK, & TX. We are looking to narrow down units from a few choices and need advice on some of these units because a lot has changed in the last 5 years and our experiences are no longer accurate for future hunts.
 
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