Hunting & Fishing Thorofare WY Hunting

[Jigstick]

Anybody here go after elk or ram in the Thorofare? Im planning my 2020 hunt and Im highly considering going into the Thorofare through Deer Creek Pass. I hear the grizzlies and wolves are thick in there. Id be interested to hear from anybody who has had boots on the ground in there recently. Thanks guys.

Doug
Pittsburgh PA

 

[isofahunter]

Are you doing this solo, guided or as a group? My first boot print in NW WY was in 1976 and the bear situation has changed dramatically.

 

[Jigstick]

Would be guided. 20 mile horse ride in. 6 days of hunting. 1 day horse ride back out.

 

[isofahunter]

If you have a guide you have someone that should know about bears. Don't bring any food into your sleeping tent. Pay attention to what is around you and make sure you can shoot your rifle quickly and at a target that is inside 20 yards and mostly likely moving toward you. Bear spray on you, not in a pack or in saddle bags on your person. 99% of the time a bear just materializes out of thin air. Last elk hunt in Wyo no bear, then the biggest boar I have ever seen is 30 yards away in a heart beat. 99.9% of time bear wants nothing to do with you, so odds are in your favor, but incase you run into the .01% bear be prepared.

 

[isofahunter]

This is how you want to see a griz.

 

[Billdoe708]

Not an aweful quartering shot. Back leg is just a bit in the way

 

[Wyfox]

The Thorofare is not what it use to be... it is thick with bears and the elk hunting is tuff. If you want a similar style hunt into some beautiful country with decent draw odds and good number of bulls I highly reccomend http://eastforkoutfitters.net in Dubois, WY.

 

[Ankeny]

Elk hunting in bear country has changed dramatically in the last 15 years. As a 63 year resident of Wyoming, I have watched the success rate in the Dubois/Jackson areas decline year after year, not to mention the bitching and complaining from guides and outfitters about their businesses turning to shit. If I were a non-resident hunter looking for a trophy elk, I would check out private land hunts in the opposite corner of the state, based out of Cheyenne, Wheatland, etc. You can get on the Wyoming Game and Fish website and look at hunter success rates for the draw and for harvest.

 

[VP47PPC]

Which guide/outfitter? We went in on the last hunt NOV 2000. The camp was just a little west of the "Thoroughfare" it was a great trip and there were elk. But was tough hunting that late in the season lots snow. Bears were a big issue back then but not for our hunt, they must have started their winter sleep. Moon was full so in the morning you could see all the tracks of the herds moving through at night.

 

[thebolt]

My brother lives in that corner of Wyoming, is an avid sportsman and most recently changed his interest to watching and photography the large animals rather than hunting. He is pretty outspoken about the damages caused to the elk population by the overpopulation of wolves.

Grizzles are dangerous and bear spray is critical if you are hunting in Grizzly territory. A well publicized attack on a hunter and his guide occurred in the Dubois, Wyoming area last bow season and it was tragic. The bears have always been there but they don't have a significant influence on the significant decrease in the elk population and especially the trophy bulls.

I suggest you try to find an area which does not have wolves.