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Big Game Wyoming

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CStirling8011

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Does anyone have a recommendation for an outfitter for big game on Wyoming? My sister-in-law is doing it big for my brothers 40th and I'm lucky enough to get to tag along as part of the gift. We have never been big game hunting before and I really have no idea where to even start. I would say our budget would be 5-6k for the two of us but again I have no idea what is an average cost for a hunt. I am assuming we would need a 4-5 day package. Thanks for the help!
 
It depends what you hunt (Elk, Bear, Lion, Deer) but I think it’s about 4-6k each plus processing the meat & shipping it home. The mount for a trophy is obviously a additional cost as well. I have not hunted in Wyoming but Montana/Idaho.

I have found it more affordable and a great time hunting pigs in Arkansas or Texas. Plus who doesn’t like pork shoulder and sausage.
 
Thanks. He has his heart set on wyoming after doing a drive back from california and it's a surprise present. From your experiences in other states do you have any pointers or things to look out for? The last thing I want is to have my sister-in-law spend big money and we end up at some run down ranch. Is there any kind of website that rates the ranches?
 
CStirling8011 said:
Thanks. He has his heart set on wyoming after doing a drive back from california and it's a surprise present. From your experiences in other states do you have any pointers or things to look out for? The last thing I want is to have my sister-in-law spend big money and we end up at some run down ranch. Is there any kind of website that rates the ranches?
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Other NES members will chime in at some point and are more experienced than me. I was fortunate to go with people who either had been before or knew someone that had.

Most outfitters can give you references as it is a business that requires a good experience and repeat clients - references will help you validate.

Just be honest in what you are looking for with the hunt. Do you want hike up and down mountains all day or sit in a stand? Do you want a hotel type accommodations or a canvas tent? Once you decide what you want you can make calls looking for a good fit.
 
NorthShore said:
Other NES members will chime in at some point and are more experienced than me. I was fortunate to go with people who either had been before or knew someone that had.

Most outfitters can give you references as it is a business that requires a good experience and repeat clients - references will help you validate.

Just be honest in what you are looking for with the hunt. Do you want hike up and down mountains all day or sit in a stand? Do you want a hotel type accommodations or a canvas tent? Once you decide what you want you can make calls looking for a good fit.
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Thank you!!
 
Shes a keeper. Just some thoughts. Double your budget. Gonna be more like 5 each im guessing for a good hunt and that’s if you’re talking deer and antelope, elk will go up. I’ve hunted the west for 25 plus years but never with a Guide (blessed to have family in MT) so maybe the prices aren’t as bad as I’m thinking? But I bet they are For a good ranch. Beware cheap hunts. Do you guys have the gear? Right guns, cloths and glass? Range finders, GPS and on and on. In shape? Get walking with a pack now. The mountains will beat the piss out of you in very short order Coming from sea level. It’s awesome out there but do your homework. You are gonna love it. Best of luck
 
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Be sure to visit the Buffalo Bill Museum when you're out there! It's in Cody, WY
So much Wicked Cool stuff that it's almost overwhelming.... General Patton's M1, Liver Eatin' Johnson's Hawken Rifle & Bowie Knife, Teddy Roosevelt guns, & the entire Winchester Gun Collection! Lots on display, & they have cabinets where you can look up a gun, then pull out the vertical drawer where it's stored Cody Firearms Museum - Buffalo Bill Center of the West
 
I’ll chime in, but not on-point: I know nothing about the prices of Wyoming hunting outfits in 2021. But I used to live out there, and my buddies and I went elk hunting back in 1996. It was a great time, even though all we got was a deer.

@BigTimber is right about the altitude. I was hunting a massive hilly prairie whose lowest point was about 7500 feet above sea level. I was young and well-acclimated and very fit, and it still felt like a LOT of walking.

The Cody museum is, indeed, awesome, but it’s a big state. I lived on the opposite corner, and it was about a six-hour drive to Cody. So you might not get the chance.
 
Antelope - you better get something flat and fast. Elk - you better find someone who has an elk mount. Go look at how big those things are. It's. . . . staggering. I was all gung-ho on elk hunting about 10 years ago. Then I saw a mount. "Oh NFW. That's actually TOO much meat! Plus the mount. And where the F am I gonna put that mount???? It's HUGE!"

On Bladeforums, there was a guy that would go antelope shooting annually with his custom Cooper. Damn. That guy could shoot. It was a 20-something caliber (204??) in something crazy fast. But antelope see you from a LONG way off. Driving around Montana BLM land, I was shocked at how fast they took off if they even sensed you.

I'd nix the idea. As others have said, it's going to cost at least double. Elk hunts alone (per person) are going to run $5-6K. Add in the extras and you're up over 8 easy. Per person. That's triple what you planned.

Hate to be that guy. But it might be better in the end. Find a different trip or a different idea.

It's a great idea. Sometimes, it's better to kill a "cool" idea early and just move on instead of trying make it work and come up with 42 different compromises that leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth.
 
I used to hunt deer in Colorado, because I saw more deer than elk. My brother lived there and he and his friends had deer and elk tags. I saw enough elk I could have got at least one, but I wanted to come home with meat and the deer were everywhere most years.

On year I did not get drawn for a deer tag so I got a cow elk tag because they were more plentiful than Bulls. So I see this guy 25 yards away and he proceeds to eat instead of run away like any elk that sees a human. It is a 5X5 which is pretty decent for an elk you stumble upon.

hW3HGOL.jpeg


I finally walked away and never saw a cow close enough to shoot. I was bow hunting so close enough is 60 yards for me.

I would go elk hunting in a heartbeat with a guide. Especially if it was paid for. I don't go hunting anymore since my brother passed away, but I wouldn't trade those days for anything.

I don't know how elk hunting in Wyoming is. Everywhere I've been there was just plains and the Antelope were all over the place.
 
Dennis in MA said:
Antelope - you better get something flat and fast. Elk - you better find someone who has an elk mount. Go look at how big those things are. It's. . . . staggering. I was all gung-ho on elk hunting about 10 years ago. Then I saw a mount. "Oh NFW. That's actually TOO much meat! Plus the mount. And where the F am I gonna put that mount???? It's HUGE!"

On Bladeforums, there was a guy that would go antelope shooting annually with his custom Cooper. Damn. That guy could shoot. It was a 20-something caliber (204??) in something crazy fast. But antelope see you from a LONG way off. Driving around Montana BLM land, I was shocked at how fast they took off if they even sensed you.

I'd nix the idea. As others have said, it's going to cost at least double. Elk hunts alone (per person) are going to run $5-6K. Add in the extras and you're up over 8 easy. Per person. That's triple what you planned.

Hate to be that guy. But it might be better in the end. Find a different trip or a different idea.

It's a great idea. Sometimes, it's better to kill a "cool" idea early and just move on instead of trying make it work and come up with 42 different compromises that leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth.
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Ya sounds like I’m gonna have to have a discussion with my sister in law about cost. Hopefully we can figure out some kind of hunt to do that will be fiscally doable.
 
NorthShore said:
It depends what you hunt (Elk, Bear, Lion, Deer) but I think it’s about 4-6k each plus processing the meat & shipping it home. The mount for a trophy is obviously a additional cost as well. I have not hunted in Wyoming but Montana/Idaho.

I have found it more affordable and a great time hunting pigs in Arkansas or Texas. Plus who doesn’t like pork shoulder and sausage.
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Lion in Wyoming??….I’m in!!!!!!😂👍🏻
 
CStirling8011 said:
We have never been big game hunting before and I really have no idea where to even start.
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hate to ask and be that guy...you guys ever hunted before? cause the goal of an outfitter is to get their clients a trophy animal and they'll drag your asses on horseback and on foot to hell and back to achieve that goal. a week long guided hunt has broken more than one new england white tail hunter i've known. no need to reply, just letting you know there's more you're walking into than watching cookie roast slabs of meat while you sit around drinking bourbon every evening.

suggestion: contact ted nugents ranch in texas, they do guided hunts. looks like that might be more fun.
 
You need to up the budget to about 10-12k for the two of you. Also, if you are not physically fit and used to hiking with a loaded pack, start training now, lots of squats, leg work, and core and lower back and do some training hikes up in the white mountains in NH or something.
 
greencobra said:
hate to ask and be that guy...you guys ever hunted before? cause the goal of an outfitter is to get their clients a trophy animal and they'll drag your asses on horseback and on foot to hell and back to achieve that goal. a week long guided hunt has broken more than one new england white tail hunter i've known. no need to reply, just letting you know there's more you're walking into than watching cookie roast slabs of meat while you sit around drinking bourbon every evening.

suggestion: contact ted nugents ranch in texas, they do guided hunts. looks like that might be more fun.
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White tail in Maine and New Hampshire but nothing more than that. I think a helicopter hog hunt would be a good alternative and a memorable experience. Thanks for the info!
 
Keep applying for those Maine and NH moose permits. Years ago my associate at the Mill in Littleton applied for the moose permit for the first time in NH AND GOT ONE. He took a bull. Next year he applied for a Maine permit for the first time AND GOT ONE. Took another bull. What in holy hell are the odds of that happening? Jack.
 
If it is more about Wyoming than hunting, then Wyoming it is. But if he's a hunter and wants to go on a great hunt, I know a bunch of guys that have gone bear hunting in New Brunswick that loved it. And for the money you have suggested, you will live like a King and they guarantee you will get a bear.
And who doesn't want a bear skin rug and an awesome mount? One guy I know had a couple of great ones. One is the snarling bear with both arms, claws up. Had it in his office over his desk.
 
one-eyed Jack said:
Keep applying for those Maine and NH moose permits. Years ago my associate at the Mill in Littleton applied for the moose permit for the first time in NH AND GOT ONE. He took a bull. Next year he applied for a Maine permit for the first time AND GOT ONE. Took another bull. What in holy hell are the odds of that happening? Jack.
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Bull Moose is a big critter. You could easily be talking a 1000-1500lb animal. And the don't call em swamp donkeys for nothing.
My days of humping a 1500lb moose out of a swamp are over.
Bring a youngon' and a wench!
 
fencer said:
Bull Moose is a big critter. You could easily be talking a 1000-1500lb animal. And the don't call em swamp donkeys for nothing.
My days of humping a 1500lb moose out of a swamp are over.
Bring a youngon' and a wench!
Click to expand...

You mean winch.

Or, maybe you don't. [rofl]Your youngon' and your wench could even be the same person!
 

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