A friend and I left the day after Thanksgiving for Wyoming for a doe/fawn hunt. We drove straight through, dealing with some dicey road and weather conditions, but as the week went on, it got nicer and nicer. Our plan was to hunt public lands and see if we could fill 3 tags, or more if there was plenty of game. In the past, I had the privilege of staying in the home of and hunting the land of a farmer in the area, but I didn't want to wear out my welcome, and I also know that they've had a tough year.
My internet scouting hinted that the public lands would receive a lot of pressure, and that getting access to private land could be difficult.
I was put in contact with the pastor of a church a short distance south of the area where we intended to hunt, and he indicated that there was a possibility that we might be able to hunt his property.
On the trip up, we saw tons of game in Utah and Wyoming. And as we got closer to our destination, we became very excited at all the game on the private lands nearby.
We arrived early on Saturday morning, and went right to work checking out a public access area. We immediately spotted 3 other hunters, and one whitetail running out the other side of the property, 1500 yards away.
We checked out a couple other areas that day. We found an area with only 2 other hunters that had a number of mule deer does and fawns, with opportunities in the 423 yard range, but I couldn't touch them because they were out of season, and our tags were for whitetails.
The next day, we went to church, visiting the pastor I mentioned previously. We arrived at the property, and immediately spotting bucks and does. Did I mention that the pastor lives on the church property? We had a good morning in church, and enjoyed lunch with the pastor and his family. Wyoming hospitality is unmatched! After lunch, he encouraged us to shoot a couple deer, so we went down to the local sporting goods store and bought 2 tags for the area. Within 30 minutes of returning, I had a doe on the ground. A short time after that, my friend shot a fawn.
This was the first shot I'd taken on game with my long range rifle. The range was only 100 yards, but the exit wound was incredible. The rig is a Howa 1500 in .260 Remington, 26" barrel, shooting a 140 gr. Berger VLD hunting round at about 2550 fps. I certainly didn't expect an exit wound bigger than my fist!
The next day, we went back to the first public area, hoping that there would be fewer hunters on a weekday. There was only 1 other pair of hunters, but again, the only deer we saw were 3 running out the other side of the property 2000 yards away.
We decided to drop by and visit with the family I previously mentioned, not intending to hunt. But when they asked if we wanted to hunt, what could I say?? 8) After visiting for a while, we went out and sat in an old shed for about 30-45 minutes, when a FAT doe walked out. We took that one, and waited for another opportunity. 15 minutes later, another fatty came out, and I had my 2nd kill with the .260. A minute later, we filled the 3rd tag that we had arrived with.
Final score: 4 does, 1 fawn.
On the way back, we took the scenic route:
Unfortunately, we made a grave discovery as we headed back south:
So fair warning: stay away from Wyoming
My internet scouting hinted that the public lands would receive a lot of pressure, and that getting access to private land could be difficult.
I was put in contact with the pastor of a church a short distance south of the area where we intended to hunt, and he indicated that there was a possibility that we might be able to hunt his property.
On the trip up, we saw tons of game in Utah and Wyoming. And as we got closer to our destination, we became very excited at all the game on the private lands nearby.
We arrived early on Saturday morning, and went right to work checking out a public access area. We immediately spotted 3 other hunters, and one whitetail running out the other side of the property, 1500 yards away.
We checked out a couple other areas that day. We found an area with only 2 other hunters that had a number of mule deer does and fawns, with opportunities in the 423 yard range, but I couldn't touch them because they were out of season, and our tags were for whitetails.
The next day, we went to church, visiting the pastor I mentioned previously. We arrived at the property, and immediately spotting bucks and does. Did I mention that the pastor lives on the church property? We had a good morning in church, and enjoyed lunch with the pastor and his family. Wyoming hospitality is unmatched! After lunch, he encouraged us to shoot a couple deer, so we went down to the local sporting goods store and bought 2 tags for the area. Within 30 minutes of returning, I had a doe on the ground. A short time after that, my friend shot a fawn.
This was the first shot I'd taken on game with my long range rifle. The range was only 100 yards, but the exit wound was incredible. The rig is a Howa 1500 in .260 Remington, 26" barrel, shooting a 140 gr. Berger VLD hunting round at about 2550 fps. I certainly didn't expect an exit wound bigger than my fist!
The next day, we went back to the first public area, hoping that there would be fewer hunters on a weekday. There was only 1 other pair of hunters, but again, the only deer we saw were 3 running out the other side of the property 2000 yards away.
We decided to drop by and visit with the family I previously mentioned, not intending to hunt. But when they asked if we wanted to hunt, what could I say?? 8) After visiting for a while, we went out and sat in an old shed for about 30-45 minutes, when a FAT doe walked out. We took that one, and waited for another opportunity. 15 minutes later, another fatty came out, and I had my 2nd kill with the .260. A minute later, we filled the 3rd tag that we had arrived with.
Final score: 4 does, 1 fawn.
On the way back, we took the scenic route:
Unfortunately, we made a grave discovery as we headed back south:
So fair warning: stay away from Wyoming
