New to the forum, Hello everyone. So my 2 hunting buddies and I are from Western Washington and have been hunting elk together for 16 years. The last 5 have been heart-breaking as we've watched our beloved St.Helens herd waste away with hoof rot. On top of that, Weyerhaeuser, who is likely responsible for said hoof rot, and the owner of most all timbered land in SW WA, decided to lock gates and charge for access. We finally had enough and decided to start hunting out of state. Wyoming was our first choice so we put in as a group to start the point accumulation process. As luck would have it, we were drawn for an area 41-1 tag. None of us have ever hunted WY so any intel on 41 would be greatly appreciated. This is a DYI hunt so we won't have access to the wilderness area. We are bringing quads(not sure if we need them) so will be fairly mobile if need be - but really want to get away from the crowd. We'd rather put miles on our Danner's in other words. None of us are concerned with 300 plus bulls, just a nice mature one. Any info on where to camp, general area to hunt, nearest diesel, water, supplies, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Will trade Columbia, Cowlitz River salmon secrets if interested. Thanks

Being all but the very eastern portion of the unit is private land, you will need to come from Greybull hunt what you can off Rt 14 and hunt south.Half the forest land is in the Wilderness. Good luck . Study maps and down load a owner map into your GPS.... No matter what you will have company.

Thanks for that, kinda figured as much. Any advice on campgrounds? I've seen a few on the map but am wondering how full they will be.

I believe there are some around Greybull if you want to be near town, The mountain camp ground are rustic at best. I never hunt on that side of the mountain , so my experience is limited. This (the east of the Bighorns), are two general area tags for residents, If you want to see crowded come over here......... The campgrounds should not be too full depending on the services you desire, a lot of retired tourist stop in the Greybull area on their way out of Yellowstone.

Rustic is okay if it means we are out of the crowds, we have no desire to camp near town. I have a pretty decent trailer we're staying in so should be pretty comfortable digs. Good luck to you this year and thanks for the info.

Good luck to you as well......

I have the same hunt.

Does anyone know if the Wilderness boundary is posted? I'm a unguided nonresident, so need to stay out of it.

Generally the wilderness boundary is marked with those about 3" wide fiberglass stakes about 3-4 feet high.

So folks are telling me, in general, to hunt the west end of the unit around Shell reservoir, Antelope Butte, etc. and we will. Anyone hunted the BLM land in the central part of the unit?

Sorry, I meant the East end not West.

The season runs October 15 through November 4.

I have 2 weeks to devote to to the hunt, and have some flexibility as to when I go. I could get there a couple days before opener, or start opening day. Or I could slide my start date to the middle or end of the hunt. I won't be able to spend the whole time up there, and its too long of a drive to break it up into one week early and one week late.

Does anyone have thougths on when might make the most sense?

Any pointers?

A poster on one of the 'other' forums mentioned that this hunt is dynamic. Things are pretty different on day 1 than than day 3. He suggested getting in early. Any opinions?