Hunting

No matter what large game you seek, a lot of research and organizing are necessary. Planning your hunt in Wyoming’s Wind River Country with a guide will make your trip more enjoyable and safer and increase your odds of success. Find a list of local outfitters and guides below.

Pronghorn antelope thrive in the sagebrush flats of Wyoming’s Wind River Country.

According to Wyoming Game and Fish’s Lander Biologist Stan Harter, “This area is one of the richest in the state for supporting healthy densities of pronghorn.”

The edge of the remarkable Red Desert is the best antelope hunting in the world, according to Frude.

Mule deer, like pronghorns, are a common sight in Wyoming’s Wind River Country. A little research on the Wyoming Game and Fish website will help you plan the ideal hunt.

For a size up in ungulates, elk are relatively easy to chase, as almost all the hunt areas in the county are general tags, making changes of drawing a license higher. Of course, there is a reason it’s called hunting, and not getting, so there are no guarantees you’ll fill that tag, though access to promising areas is widespread. From the elusive Red Desert elk to those who transition between hay meadows and high mountain meadows.

The bigger elk—and the tougher to draw for and find—reside in the Dubois area. In fact, in 2014 a Burlington hunter harvested the largest elk ever taken with a crossbow near Dubois.

Bigger yet is the elusive moose. A tough tag to draw, it may require a guide, as can elk and even trophy deer success.

The One-shot Antelope Hunt is described by the Lander Chamber of Commerce as “an annual festival drawing thousands of returning visitors (politicians, astronauts, and movie stars) to raise conservation funds and compete in a “one shot” sporting event. In 1940 Harold Evans and Hank Dahl hosted the first One-Shot Antelope Hunt, inspired by the pioneers whose guns allowed only one shot before the game would disappear. The event has inspired similar contests around the world and draws people from all over to Lander each September.

The Wyoming Women’s Five Shot Rabbit Hunt takes place in Shoshoni the second weekend of January each year.

I’m sitting on the couch, finally showered and beer in hand, half asleep but invigorated. The sun has set on an opening day for the books.

My husband and I rose early this morning when our pointer jumped onto the bed and reminded us—in the language of rough-and-sloppy-tongue-to-face—that it was opening day of sage grouse and chukar. I still don’t understand why the snooze button doesn’t work when I tap Duke on the head, but maybe one of these dawns she’ll give me just three more minutes, please.

Read on.