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Western Wyoming outfitter offers trophy mule deer hunts in back-country camp |
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Apply by March 15 for a tag to take this hunt. Or apply for a preference point later this summer if you want to book next year.
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Note: A five-day hunt has been reduced from $4,000 to $3,500 for this year for either elk or mule deer. Last year the outfitter took only one deer hunter, who got a 29 3/4-incher that scored 178. In 2008 he had five hunters take four bucks to 187 B&C, but he said that buck would have scored 200 or more in a normal year. Antler growth was down in 2008 due to a tough winter in 2007.
There are few horseback hunts that offer a better chance to take a trophy-class mule deer than this trip into the backcountry of western Wyoming. Hunter success is high on mature bucks. Every year some bucks with racks 30 to 36 inches wide are taken in this area. Typicals in the 180 to 200 class and non-typicals in the 200 to 250 class are taken yearly. Your chances of taking a 24 to 28-inch buck are excellent. This outfitter loves hunting big muleys and usually produces a success rate of 80 percent or more. This part of Wyoming produces some of the biggest bucks in the state.
This outfitter has a backcountry camp permit, so you'll ride horses into camp and hunt right in the middle of deer country. Very few outfitters in this area are allowed to camp in the backcountry and must return to the road each evening. It's tiring to hunt with those outfitters because you must get up well before dark, drive to the trailhead, saddle up and start riding in the dark just to hope to be in position at dawn. And then if you want to hunt until dark, you have a long ride out, a truck ride to camp or your motel, and very little chance to eat dinner, let alone sleep enough to re-energize for the next day. This hunt is far superior because you're camping just a few minutes ride from ideal big buck country. You pay a bit more for this hunt but not much, considering the quality of the experience and the increased chance of taking home a wall-hanger. |
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