Wyoming trip advice?

esetter

Active member
Hey all , just joined the site. You can read my intro in the intro forum. A friend and I are headed out to who from tennessee the last week in september.Our intent is to shoot a couple of sage grouse before they are closed for good. We would also love to get into some blues if possible. I worked in the gillette area when i was younger and have been to casper a time or two so I'm not totally unfamiliar with the area. Any advice or help as far as general location or methods? Thanks!
 
I've done a lot of Mulie and Antelope hunting in the Muddy Gap to Lander area. Lots of public land, lots of Sage Brush. On the back roads and 2 tracks it's not at all unusual to come across bunches of Sage Grouse.
Green Mountain South of Jeffrey City has some good Blue Grouse populations.
 
I've done a lot of Mulie and Antelope hunting in the Muddy Gap to Lander area. Lots of public land, lots of Sage Brush. On the back roads and 2 tracks it's not at all unusual to come across bunches of Sage Grouse.
Green Mountain South of Jeffrey City has some good Blue Grouse populations.

mnmthunting is spot on, with this advice. Green Mountain and the Jeffrey city area have sage grouse too.
 
Thanks for the info guys. By public land are you referring to blm or forest service or state wma? Wyoming has a walk in type system as well i think? We hunt almost exclusively walk in and p.l.o.t.s. land in north dakota and kansas. We wanted to be out there when we could hunt blues as well , the kicker is , is that we are meeting a couple of other friends in north dakota the following week.They are duck hunters and own a house in central nd. We are gonna sharpie hunt there. Anyhow all that said , we are going to be hunting the sage grouse on the 4th week it is open. Should we anticipate extremely jumpy birds and everywhere we hunt to have already been hit pretty hard?
 
Thanks for the info guys. By public land are you referring to blm or forest service or state wma? Wyoming has a walk in type system as well i think? We hunt almost exclusively walk in and p.l.o.t.s. land in north dakota and kansas. We wanted to be out there when we could hunt blues as well , the kicker is , is that we are meeting a couple of other friends in north dakota the following week.They are duck hunters and own a house in central nd. We are gonna sharpie hunt there. Anyhow all that said , we are going to be hunting the sage grouse on the 4th week it is open. Should we anticipate extremely jumpy birds and everywhere we hunt to have already been hit pretty hard?

Sage grouse are not that smart. Jumpy birds you should not have to worry about. Finding them is the problem. They jump up on you just watch where they go, and they be right there. Driggs advice about early and water is correct. Really once you find them you will do fine. Like john said shoot the little ones and not the bombers if you want to eat them.:)
 
Maybe it is going to be the third / final week. We are in the early stages of planning. Done plenty of tree choked lane shooting for ruffs here. The tree usually takes the hit! I will be content if I kill a sage grouse instead of many sage grouse. Im one of those as long as i can scratch it off my list types. I would really love to get into some blues (sooty or dusky or whatever they are now). I hear they are good eating. My opinion is ruffed grouse is the best wild meat period! You shoot a little larger size shot for sage grouse? #6 or so?
 
Yeah the public land in that area is federal BLM, forest service is the foothills and mountains. The thing about that good Sage Grouse Country there are few roads and trails. You can get off on a 2 track and be on it all afternoon without many intersections. One of the reasons I believe hunting has little to no effect on Sage Grouse populations in WY or MT. So many sq miles that aren't accessible except on foot or horseback. One of the reasons Sage Grouse are easy to hunt in those areas is, they just don't see people.

I would take the young ones to, unless it's for getting a mount.
The young ones aren't bad, especially after a hard days hunt.
When your REALLY hungry and REALLY thirsty.
Icy cold beer while the camp meat is sizzling. :cheers:
 
Awsome , I am really excited about the trip. I am envious of you guys who don't have to drive 15-20 hrs to get into good bird hunting. I really love eating sharpies. A lot of people where I hunt in north dakota say they aren't worth eating , i disagree. We hunt a lot of waterfowl areas and shoot non toxic for them so I'm used to shooting a size or two larger.Do you guys use boots on your dogs there?
 
Truth is, a lot of that Sage country is not dog friendly. Lots of the Prickly Pear and sand burrs.
Another reason why Sage Grouse will probably not be over hunted in WY and MT.
I think some good dog boots would be advised.
 
Dog boots will help a bunch. You get into a bunch of sand burrs or cactus. and you will wish you had them on your dogs.

Shot my first sage grouse over point last fall. What a big bird :eek:
 
Boots are a good Idea, But the green mountain area is not a boot area. Sand burrs and prickle pair is the least of your problems at this altitude. Jeffery city and north maybe. Cacti in the location doesn't do well. It's part of the red desert but to high for it to do well. Dogs should have no problem avoiding what little there is of it. Ticks are another matter.:)
 
Ive never had boots on my dog , suppose i need to get him training in a set pretty soon. I saw plenty of sand burrs in oklahoma on a quail hunt there.They look pretty darn nasty for sure! I also found several dog boots there , they must come off the dog easily? You all recomend a good set / brand? This green mountain area you speak of , is it a wma or blm or what? Tanks once again for the advice!
 
Green Mountain area is about 50 miles East to West with several peaks going up to about 9 thousand feet. Averaging about 10-12 miles wide. Just about all BLM with some State land mixed in. Some private in the foothills and drainages. Several campgrounds run by the BLM, however you can pull in and camp most anywhere You like.
I've hunted Mule Deer on the mountain for about 40 years doing some grouse hunting usually after filling the deer tag. Yeah, no cacti above about 6000 ft.

Access on the mountain is good, to good! oil and gas has roads and trails everywhere.
Green Mountain itself is an oasis in the Desert.
Hundreds of horses (WAY TO MANY) call em wild if you like. They are just unwanted horses let go on the BLM.
Horse lovers from all over come to take pics of the "wild horses":coolpics:
 
Sounds like a good area to start. We hunt a lot of USFS land here for ruffed grouse. The road systems here where we hunt are pretty well maintained and are everywhere.Camping was another question I had which you have addressed and I appreciate. Will there be mule deer and elk hunters using that area when we are there? (last full week in september)?
 
Sounds like a good area to start. We hunt a lot of USFS land here for ruffed grouse. The road systems here where we hunt are pretty well maintained and are everywhere.Camping was another question I had which you have addressed and I appreciate. Will there be mule deer and elk hunters using that area when we are there? (last full week in september)?

Yes, Scouting for elk, I maybe up,on Green mountain doing this very thing, on the last week of Sept. Not sure about deer hunters, but elk season is early Oct.
Pronghorn hunters for sure will be in the area.

I don't have an Elk tag but friend of mine, in Casper drew a bull tag for the early elk season. I just going to help, and for part, of the back strap.
 
Deer season opens the 15th of Oct. About the 13th the deer hunters will be pulling in. Lots of deer hunters on the mountain the first few days of the 8 day season.
The last week of Sept I think, will be a good time.
 
Gonna try to do some dove hunting here in early september. I love a good early goose hunt too. Farmers here cutting corn for siliage then and they hate geese. Usually get my dog out hunting for the first time in october in Nordak. We were planning on consulting big game hunters while we were there as we do for deer hunters in kansas who stop to ask us if we are seeing deer. Jmac , give me a yell and if we are there at the same time I will give you a cold beer for a point in the right direction.
 
Gonna try to do some dove hunting here in early september. I love a good early goose hunt too. Farmers here cutting corn for siliage then and they hate geese. Usually get my dog out hunting for the first time in october in Nordak. We were planning on consulting big game hunters while we were there as we do for deer hunters in kansas who stop to ask us if we are seeing deer. Jmac , give me a yell and if we are there at the same time I will give you a cold beer for a point in the right direction.

Will do, I'll be in Casper mid Sept. if all goes well. :thumbsup:
 
Took a little trip south of Rawlings over the weekend and the sage grouse were looking good!
The broods were all between 5 to 9 chicks.
Even saw a group of 5 big males (boomers:rolleyes:).
 
Cool , I was wondering what you all were referring to as boomers. I d like to shoot 1 good boomer for the picture opportunity. Much larger than the ruffs we shoot here but doubtfully as tasty! Is there a lot of BLM land in that area? Im pretty sure we are gonna be there the last week of the season and am worried that they will be super jumpy.What do you think?
 
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