Mule Deer in Wyoming
By John C. Chitwood


Drawing for tags can be a frustrating and lengthy process, but for me, my luck has been in Wyoming. In 1999 I wrote an article about a Wyoming mule deer hunt for which four of us applied and hit the very first year. Lightning can strike twice, as in 2003 five of us drew tags in the same area at 11% odds! Three of the five hunters—Richard Esposito, John Chitwood Jr., and myself—are members of the Alabama Chapter of SCI, so our chapter was well represented.
We arrived in Wyoming in time for the November 1st opening day for our self-guided hunt. The weather turned cold and snowy, with the temperature ranging between 26° and -15° during our hunt.
To say we were successful is an understatement. Within three days we had tagged out on four-by-four or better deer. John Jr. took the best deer: a heavy typical four-by-four with brow tines that scored 172 green. Mine was a non-typical six-by-seven although not as big as John Jr's.
To top it off, we also had some great fishing for rainbow trout on Boysen Reservoir and added some pheasants to the bag in our spare time.