You should be certain this is the right hunt for you. So, please call to request a contract and visit concerning any questions that you may have. We typically book up well in advance, so you will need to verify availability for the hunt dates you prefer. Once you decide to book a hunt, complete our booking form and send it along with your deposit. All trips are on a first come first serve basis pending successful draw results.
Wyoming License Application Deadlines
Elk: Jan. 31
Deer: May 31
Antelope: May 31
Moose: Feb. 28
Bighorn Sheep: Feb. 28
Mountain Goat: Feb. 28
Spring Wild Turkey: Jan. 31
Your deposit secures your hunt dates. Because our hunts are booked well in advance, we pass up other clients to save your hunt for you. Wyoming is a draw State that requires preference points in most cases to draw a license.
Your hunt payments are not refundable. You should secure trip insurance to ensure you do not suffer a financial loss if you need to cancel your hunt.
Yes, your contract and deposit does lock in your hunt price. Because we often book hunts years in advance, we feel that it is only right to lock your hunt prices in. All hunt prices are subject to change at any time otherwise.
The closest airport is Jackson, Wyoming. It is approximately 70 miles from Jackson to Pinedale, Wyoming, and approximately 53 miles to Brooks Lake Lodge.
No, due to COVID and the associated travel restrictions, we have discontinued this service until further notice. Your transportation needs to be scheduled well in advance.
The weather during the early archery elk and rifle mule deer season in September is typically frosty in the mornings, warming up to the mid-60s during the day. We can get significant snow at any time during any of our seasons, so come prepared for cold and wet weather. The elk season is usually more snowy and cold with nighttime temperatures sometimes well below freezing, but warming up during the day into the 40s at times. Spring bear hunting can be cold and wet, or warm and sunny.
A 30-caliber rifle is our first choice, but it is more important that you are familiar with your rifle than to strive for a certain caliber. Bring the rifle you are most comfortable shooting.
Bring a good pair of binoculars and a spotting scope if you don’t mind carrying the extra weight. Optics are key to a successful hunt.
Most shots are between 200 and 300 yards. We recommend you be prepared to shoot 400 yards if necessary. The most important thing is to practice with your rifle so you are familiar with what your shot will do at various yardages. NO AND CONVEY YOUR LIMITATIONS TO YOUR GUIDE.
You are certainly welcome to bring a non-hunting companion along. You will need to schedule this in advance, please contact us for our current price on a non-hunting companion that will be accompanying you to camp only. We don’t allow non-hunters on the hunt!
The standard tip for a hunting guide and staff is about 15% or more of the hunt price. Your tip is a personal choice. Work as a hunting guide is a seasonal position that often requires some sacrifice. The tips a guide receives during the season are often an integral part of continuing in the industry. Cooks and other staff usually get tipped slightly less. If you think that someone has gone above and beyond to make your stay comfortable and enjoyable, a tip is greatly appreciated.
Absolutely, riding lessons will help you understand how to communicate with your horse or mule in the backcountry making your trip more enjoyable, comfortable, and above all safer!
The amount of time you spend horseback can vary from 30 minutes or less each morning and evening to upwards of three hours. Our hunting area is expansive, and we hunt as much of it as possible. You may ride out of camp a short distance or you may trailer to another area and ride extensively… each day can differ. It is a good idea to come prepared, so spend some time riding horses before your hunt, if possible.
Unfortunately, due to your safety and our liability, we are unable to allow a hunter or non-hunter to continue to go out in the field.
We book for 8 hunters in camp per week. Wyoming is on a draw system, so occasionally we will have a couple more or a couple less depending on the draw and depending on everyone’s schedules.
There is not one week or another that is better or worse historically. We have returning clients who do not specify a week and simply request that we schedule them where it fits. The early season may have more benefit from the scouting, but later in the season, there is more chance of snow and other weather, which can help greatly.
You will be hunting from 7,000 to 11,000 feet elevation.
Meat can be processed at the following recommended place locally:
Scott’s Meats in Daniel (Junction), WY (307) 413-3322
Matt’s Custom Meats in Jackson, WY (208) 690-9381
There are several local taxidermists that can take care of your trophy and cape and have them shipped for you. We work most often with Bare Bone Taxidermy and Skull Works in, Swan Valley. Idaho and they can be reached at 307.200.1936.
We do offer combo hunts. Our rifle mule deer and archery/rifle elk seasons overlap, allowing you to hunt both species at the same time. Be sure and ask about any other possibilities that might exist with other species.
Absolutely. You are welcome to stay in camp for the duration of your hunt. Be sure and bring some fishing gear in the event this occurs.
Yes, you can book as a two-on-one hunt without having a hunting partner if you would like. We will match you up with another single hunter. We try to match up people of similar abilities, but that is not always possible. If you have set a high goal for your trophy animal, you are better off booking a one-on-one hunt rather than a two on one as a single hunter.
You will get up very early in the morning… well before daylight. We can ride from camp or we may also trailer horses to other trail-heads based on our scouting. We ride anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours to get to where we are going to hunt for the day. Most of the day will be spent glassing. We use the horses to move from vantage point to vantage point throughout the day. Sometimes we tie up the horses in the morning and the rest of the day is spent on foot, hiking. We hunt from daylight until dark most days. On some occasions, our hunters have requested to head back to camp early, before dark. It’s your hunt, so we do our best to accommodate you.
There is no cell service available in most places you will be hunting. Occasionally, you can get a signal, while on the tops of peaks, but it is not reliable.
We do not have resident grizzlies or wolves in our drive-in camp hunting areas but do have these predators in our pack-in wilderness camp. We do sometimes have a grizzly or a lone wolf move into our area, but they invariably get in trouble with the sheep and cattle that graze our national forest. When that happens, the government trappers either shoot them or relocate them. We do recommend that you possess and carry bear spray on a person while hunting from our wilderness.
Our deer hunting is in Region G and H and our elk hunting are in General areas 90, 94, and 70.
Our permitted hunting area encompasses more than 900 square miles of national forest and more than twice that in BLM lands.
Yes, you can drive your own vehicle to our trailheads and one of our base camps. Please note that if we get any snow or a lot of rain, you may need a four-wheel drive to get into or out of camp. We can drive you into camp and you can park on the main road if the forecast calls for inclement weather.
We cannot give any rate reductions or extra days if you leave before the conclusion of your hunt or fail to arrive on the pre-arranged dates for your hunt. We recommend that you purchase trip cancellation insurance. This type of insurance is offered by many agents. Should you be unable to make the trip due to an unforeseen problem, you will not lose all of your investment if you have this insurance. We do reserve the right to cancel hunts and refund deposits.
We cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to your personal gear. You may wish to insure your rifle, optics, and other valuable equipment against breakage or loss during your hunt.
We recommend that you secure “cancel for any reason” trip insurance with Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance to ensure you do not suffer a financial loss due to cancellation!