Which Wyoming unit for elk?

[CJ1962]

My son in law and I have General Wyoming Elk tags this year.  We have been researching units since before we knew we were successful in the draw.  Based on several factors, one being that we will go in late September/early October and hunt with rifles we have narrowed it down to 4 units.  81 and 85 are our top choices and 84 and 86 are fall back choices.   We have been using Google Earth, Gaia GPS, ONX, GoHunt and CalTopo for our research.  But neither of us has ever set foot in any of these units and options seem endless.

I'm 61, he's 36.  He's in really good shape for his age and I am in pretty good shape for my age.  We have been discussing both day hunts closer to roads and backpack hunts to get further from roads.  We plan to go for 2 weeks and want to be mobile and as light as possible to move around if needed.

If anyone would like to share real world boots on the ground knowledge for any of these units please send me a pm.

Thanks!

[Skyvalhunter]

Good luck on your hunt. Hit some of the locals up as they are pretty open to helping out over there

[opdinkslayer]

I’ve been in 84 mule deer hunting a few years ago in September. If memory serves me right we did see a small herd of elk up there with a bull in it in between the trail head & the peak basins where the mule deer bucks call home that time of year. If you have never been there before I might suggest a quick banzai backpacking/scouting trip the next few weeks if you can swing it to see what you’re up against. It’s big steep rugged country that only gets worse when you harvest an animal & I’ve only had to deal with mule deer not an elk. Good luck with your hunt.

[Dark2Dark]

My son in law and I have General Wyoming Elk tags this year.  We have been researching units since before we knew we were successful in the draw.  Based on several factors, one being that we will go in late September/early October and hunt with rifles we have narrowed it down to 4 units.  81 and 85 are our top choices and 84 and 86 are fall back choices.   We have been using Google Earth, Gaia GPS, ONX, GoHunt and CalTopo for our research.  But neither of us has ever set foot in any of these units and options seem endless.

I'm 61, he's 36.  He's in really good shape for his age and I am in pretty good shape for my age.  We have been discussing both day hunts closer to roads and backpack hunts to get further from roads.  We plan to go for 2 weeks and want to be mobile and as light as possible to move around if needed.

If anyone would like to share real world boots on the ground knowledge for any of these units please send me a pm.

Thanks!

We are in a similar spot this year and were considering basically the same units.

In chatting with the bios and folks that hunted in recent years, we shifted from 81 to 85 for our plans.

It’s hard to know without having been there but with the intel we have collected we are gravitating that way. Not boots on the ground intel (other than second hand) but more so comparing notes.

[Buckjunkie]

I have seen good bulls in 84 & 86 while deer hunting in mid September. All of them were a couple miles off the road and near water.