HELP WANTED: WY 29 Private Land only, two one-legged old military buddies

[Mike Islander]

I applied for WY pronghorn for the first time this year. Had no idea what I was doing and got a private land only tag in area 29. Both I and my buddy are gimpy dudes in our late 50s. He is missing his lower right leg but walks pretty good on his VA-provided artificial leg. I have a rebuilt knee, on which I can cover a couple miles a day before getting too sore to walk without significant pain. We are both pretty fit, just a little handicapped by broken bodies. To be clear, my injury did not happen in the military (I have a nasty dirt bike habit).

I have one tag. Buddy is going just for the adventure and support. I think he actually walks better than I do! He was my wingman back in our young and crazy Submariner days, so it's going to be fun no matter what happens...that's what we've decided.

We plan on flying out near the last week in October but have not scheduled the flights yet. I am not going to pay for a guide. My hope is that we can find a rancher that will let me pay for access. I'd love to kill a buck, but if there are no other options I'll take a doe for the meat. I am willing to pay a few hundred dollars for a place to hunt. If this won't work, we're still going. Will drive all over and learn as much about the state and game as possible and come back next year much more prepared.

Advice I have received so far is to head to the nearest bar when we get there and buy a few drinks. We plan on finding the nearest game warden and seeing if he can help us. Of course we'll still try that bar thing.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

- Mike

 

[silverbullet555]

Call the local game warden.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department - Warden contact info

wgfd.wyo.gov

Tell them the situation and what tag you drew. Ask them if they know of any private land owners that allow individuals to hunt. In Wyoming, some of those private land tags means there are agreements set up, perhaps informally, that some farmers will let you come hunt their property. That's how I approached the antelope hunt we are going on next week.

You may not have any luck, but that is the first step I'd take.

Good luck!

 

[jolemons]

Definately reach out to some landowners before going. If you're willing to pay trespass that will help.

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[Mike Islander]

Definitely willing to compensate the landowner. In exchange he will be assured we'll leave zero footprint and close the gates.

 

[silverbullet555]

Definitely willing to compensate the landowner. In exchange he will be assured we'll leave zero footprint and close the gates.

Did you call the warden?

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[Mike Islander]

Did you call the warden?

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Yes, I called the warden. He told me to arrive late in the season, as the outfitters will have cancellations, etc. He did not share any rancher names with me, but said come see him when we arrive. I think he did not want to give any names over the phone; maybe they have changed the policy on this?

 

[wytx]

Walk in areas may have private lands enrolled that you can hunt on that tag, but only the private lands enrolled.
The biologist may be some help as well but remember they are all busy right now.
Feed stores and cafes are also good spots to talk with locals and perhaps gain access.

 

[Mike Islander]

Walk in areas may have private lands enrolled that you can hunt on that tag, but only the private lands enrolled.
The biologist may be some help as well but remember they are all busy right now.
Feed stores and cafes are also good spots to talk with locals and perhaps gain access.

THIS is interesting. It looks like there are two walk-in areas, Converse 7 and Converse 12. Some of those lands are WY Gov land, but some looks private as best I can tell with OnX (new OnX user),. Can I cross WY government land to reach private lands inside walk in areas? If so, it looks like there are a few patches in 29 where I can hunt without paying anyone.

EDIT: A bit more reading, it looks like the Reeds are part of this walk in and allow hunting on 77 Ranch.

 

[desertcj]

Now you're getting it. I would still go see the game warden. You never know, he might hook you up good...

 

[wytx]

Yes you can cross public to hunt the private if the public has legal access.
You may be surprised at access you can gain once you get out here and can talk face to face with landowners.

 

[AaronMColeman]

Where in Wyoming is unit 29? I live in Wyoming, and OnX maps has been a life saver. There are tons of tiny public access points along most trails and roads that can get you onto public land. I'm willing to hike forever, but I saw my antelope maybe 100 yards from the road on public land. I found a tiny access point on the road and hiked maybe a total of 500 yards to avoid the private. Bottom line is there are TONs of antelope out right now, tons of public land, and easy access to much of it. I love OnX for the actual hunting days to make sure I'm in the right spot, and paper maps for planning. Good luck! It's a fun hunt...and from one vet to another, thanks for your service!

 

[Mike Islander]

Where in Wyoming is unit 29? I live in Wyoming, and OnX maps has been a life saver. There are tons of tiny public access points along most trails and roads that can get you onto public land. I'm willing to hike forever, but I saw my antelope maybe 100 yards from the road on public land. I found a tiny access point on the road and hiked maybe a total of 500 yards to avoid the private. Bottom line is there are TONs of antelope out right now, tons of public land, and easy access to much of it. I love OnX for the actual hunting days to make sure I'm in the right spot, and paper maps for planning. Good luck! It's a fun hunt...and from one vet to another, thanks for your service!

Problem I have is private only tag. We'll do our best to either hunt the walk in areas that have private or meet someone who we can give a few dollars to hunt their land. And if it doesn't work out, we'll learn as much as possible on this trip and hit it hard next year.

Thank YOU for your service!

 

[Mike Islander]

UPDATE: Arrived Sunday night with a bit of a snow blizzard. But Monday morning was beautiful and sunny. Got some scouting in and ran into some people that gave us permission to hunt on private land. I'll get photos and more updates a little later in this trip, but suffice it to say it's been fantastic so far. We've seen probably 70 antelope and 40 mule deer, and last night at dusk we saw five big mule deer bucks within about 5 minutes.

I made a mock stalk on a herd of 20 goats (they were on public, and I only have a private tag). Never done this kind of hunting and it is fantastic. Couple of old submariners are having the time of our lives out here in good old Wyoming.

Oh, forgot to mention it was -9 yesterday at the start of our hunt.

 

[ColeKira]

Good luck gentlemen

 

[Go Pokes]

Its always beautiful to be in Wyoming. Good luck to you guys, Spent my Lowcountry time in Charleston stationed at the shipyard. Beautiful place your from.

 

[Mike Islander]

We had a great hunt. Temperatures ranged from -13 (with -26 wind chill) to a high of 23 degrees! Average when we were out was around 10 degrees. We were dressed for it.

We saw many antelope and mule deer. Evidently when a new goat hunter sees pronghorn for the first time (and second, third, etc.) we are rendered incapable of taking photographs. At least 5 times we were on herds within 50 yards or even 30 yards, and not a single photo between me and my hunting buddy!!! But a lifetime of memories.

Did not ever get a legal shot (wrong side of the fence, etc. But we had great scouting for next year and even have some private land we can hunt on. Seems a hunter with only one foot and another who can barely walk draws some sympathy from the locals (who were all really nice people).

My peg-legged 80s wingman in his present form, talking up the Delta baggage lady.


He did such a good job that she carried my rifle case to the Avis bus!


We were definitely dressed for the weather. Ragg wool half-finger mittens were fantastic. The blue jeans sticking out from under my Sitka Timberlines are Carhartt flannel lined work pants. Made a great mid layer, if a bit heavy.


My buddy is on a fixed income, so he went with lots of Cabelas stuff. It worked very well and he was real happy with it. I was impressed with the quality versus price.


One of the many, many muleys we saw. Saw 5 nice bucks in 5 minutes in one evening. Of course no good photos. Too busy going "Oooooo...Ahhhhhhh!"


Another plus was my buddy tried medical marijuana for the first time since his amputation. Due to Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), he had not slept without pain pills and sleeping pills for over 8 years. He told the "budtender" what his issue was and got a recommended hybrid for pain and sleep, with minimal psychoactive effects. One hit and he slept without any meds at all, like a baby.

 

[Mike Islander]

Gear that worked really well:

- Timberline pants. I saw Randy wearing them in many shows and many conditions and gave them a try. Really like them.

- Dirt cheap Eddie Bauer Men's CirrusLite Down Hooded Jacket. I got mine for $64 on amazon. They have gone up to $77 as of today. Super compact and inexpensive down puffy mid layer.


- Ragg wool mittens with half-fingers. Hot Shot Men's Wool Gloves/Mittens from Amazon. $9...delivered. Kept my hands warm the entire time. I bought leather over-mittens to put on top but never needed them. They were also not large enough to wear over these mittens, even in XL. There is a little square of velcro on the upper hand side that holds the mitten open. Really great piece of kit.

- Athlon Ares 15-45 x 65 ED

- Vanguard PH-222 Window Mount (heavy AF, but built like a tank). I added a quick disconnect plate to both scope and binocular adapter that also fit my Manfrotto XPRO Fluid Head.

- OnX worked like a charm. I carried a Samsung tablet with me (old eyes). Need some sort of carrier for it next time.

- Sitka CORE hoody. Mine is a light version, but it made a good second layer above my wool base.

Most of our glassing was from the truck, so didn't need excessive clothing. Never got cold when outside on the move, even when crawling on belly and elbows on one long stalk up the backside of a bluff.

CLOTHING LAYERS WORN

TOP
- Wool long sleeve base
- Sitka CORE hoody
- Eddie Bauer puffy
- Uncompahgre Jacket
- Ragg wool mitten/gloves

BOTTOM
- First gen Merrell Moab boots (weren't supposed to work, but worked well). I had some GTX Timberlands as well, but they were cold as hell.
- Darn tough Men's Merino Wool Westerner sock (just one sock layer worn)
- Wool long underwear
- Carhartt flannel lined work pant
- Sitka Timberline

Puffy pants under Timberlines would have been nice. But I used what I had. And it worked.