How do you find the best area?

[Staroutdoorsport]

What material do you guys use when studying what areas to apply for and/or hunt, for areas you are unfamiliar with? I've been studying previous years harvest reports, are they the best source of info on how an area is? Specifically WY mule deer.
Thanks for any info.

 

[jdubrr]

gohunt.com

 

[Staroutdoorsport]

Thanks, saw that site and was wandering if their info was worth the cost of membership. I'll check it out.

 

[joshdidthis]

There's several promo codes you can use if you get it. Either Randy, bro, or tro should get you $50 gift card to their shop.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[hflier]

I use Go Hunt, On-X Maps and then social media searches to collect data. Once on the ground I move till I find animals. When I first went west, I would try to hunt like a Whitetail hunter and would stay at a spot too long. Now I have a plan A,B,C etc. and I will move until I find animals, then I will start zeroing in.

 

[Rich M]

I see you have WY listed as your location - should be as simple as spending a little time checking out the units and talking to folks.

 

[Hike-n-Hunt]

Can't go wrong with OnX, the map layers can be very effective in online scouting and Gohunt for researching Info on specific areas, seasons, dates, and application info.

 

[Staroutdoorsport]

There's several promo codes you can use if you get it. Either Randy, bro, or tro should get you $50 gift card to their shop.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Awesome, thank you

 

[Staroutdoorsport]

I see you have WY listed as your location - should be as simple as spending a little time checking out the units and talking to folks.

Yeah I'm a WY res. I've always just hunted the general in my local area but want to start applying for the limited quota areas. I've been able to pick up a few tid bits but I've found that most guys I try to talk to about it are reluctant to share any info at all.

 

[Staroutdoorsport]

I have onx and looks like I will be signing up for gohunt. Thanks for your help guys

 

[Rich M]

Yeah I'm a WY res. I've always just hunted the general in my local area but want to start applying for the limited quota areas. I've been able to pick up a few tid bits but I've found that most guys I try to talk to about it are reluctant to share any info at all.

This is just me, but I'd go to the areas of interest and poke around some - see what you can see from the vehicle and stop in at the mom and pops, buy some stuff and talk to some folks and see what happens. I'd ask about how many hunters come thru and if they get any big ones.

The biologists and most of all game wardens have the inside scoop on the animals.

This is all in addition to searching the social media and whatever my mind came up with.

You are a local, that makes a huge diff - most of us are trying to do that from across the country - I'm a 30 hr drive from WY. Something else to think about - any good unit is going to require points - so you figure it out as you continue to gather points. Point creep is a tough condition for everyone to deal with.

 

[realunlucky]

Residents don't have points to deal with so it's easy to change directions and put it for the top choices in Wyoming. You can pull up the draw stats and see how many actual applicants applied in each unit. I would guess the late season hunts are considered the top hunts but haven't looked in to them much. As a non-resident it's taken a bunch of waiting just to hunt one of your general hunt areas. Good luck

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[Chiro22]

Obviously OnX has been covered...for me the most important info comes from trail cameras and time with boots on the ground. Maps can be deceiving, I've gone out to areas that look like they hold water, or even have the blue coloration on google maps and have found dry land. Looking for wooded saddles or draws near water is obviously best. Since you are local, take a nice hike in the off season, set some cameras and investigate where water is actually moving. Hope that helps some.

 

[CaliforniaMuley209]

google earth and OnX are great . find terrain you like to hunt and have fun.

 

[dirtytough]

If I was in your shoes I would look for the 5 hardest units to draw for a resident. After I got the unit numbers I would google every unit to see what’s said about them.

Some might have the worst odds because they are close to a large population center and have good road access. The quality might be good but not great. Another unit might have great quality but it’s a drive for most of the hunters and need more effort on foot.

Or great quality but maybe it’s a hard unit to hunt because it’s thick and not conducive to glassing.

Once I found a unit or two that interested me I would call the game department and talk to the bio and warden. I would also email anyone that asked about the unit on the internet and ask them how their hunt went.

If you still like the unit after that I would apply.

 

[Chad92]

Epic Outdoors. Great guys with a ton of knowledge. For $100 you get an awesome magazine and you can call them anytime. They love to talk hunting and help with units even if you dont use them to do you tag applications