Post by fuzzbuster on Jan 24, 2016 21:59:50 GMT -6
I know its not completely deer related, but thought I'd share anyway..
About this time last year a few family members and I decided to commit to a hunt out west. We spent about two weeks total from the end of September and first part of October. We attempted to draw some large game tags through the lottery but had to settle for none and points towards our next drawing. We still had to pay full price for buck tags and waited for reduced price for our doe/fawns.
Being the Southern boys we are, we decided to do this trip on our own.. without a guide.. on public land. We did our research, found areas to camp, loaded our rig and carried on. We carried an enclosed trailer full with sleeping bunks, a Polaris ranger, deep freezer, and plenty of fire power.
We wanted to get quality sleep and a good shower, so we split the first drive and stayed in a hotel. The first night in Buffalo, Wyoming was in a cabin built in the 1930s. The place is covered in mulies. They were walking through town! Unfortunately, we bought tags for antelope only in this area. Our party's mule deer tags were bought in an area around Newcastle, Wyoming. (Next time we go, were going to buy tags in the same area.) Hunting areas are numbered, named, and hold a quota for each species.. and of course, they're all different.
Long story short, we had a freaking blast. Filled 12 of 14 tags... 10 antelope and 2 mule deer. One of each were left unfilled. We made it a VERY affordable trip compared to what's being asked out there. Cost us about $1200 each gas, food, and the occasional hotel stay. Here's a few pics..
Terrain we faced every day...
First day of gun season..
My uncle and cousin with their baby mulies... We were working with only two days left for mule deer. Took what we could get. It was great for these two, father and son, as a memorable experience.. these two bucks were cruising together, both 3x2's and they both shot at same time.
Me and my uncle found a honey hole.. we took four just in this one spot. cleaned these three and a couple more showed and I tagged out on first day of gun season.. which happened to be a great decision.
My first kill in Wyo.. a doe with horns..
This last one will show how big these mulies really get.. these maybe 2-2 1/2 years old according to the conservation officers. The guy on the right was a giant by the way.
I'll post some more pics and tell more about the trip soon..
