DIY hunt out west

[SIL hunter]

Has anyone done a DIY hunt out west for mule deer or whitetail. I was doing some looking around yesterday and it looks like there is quite a bit of public ground in Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming. I saw Nebraska archery tags are over the counter, not sure about CO or WY. Any good or bad experiences, any do' or dont's? Looked at some outfitters but can't see shelling out $3,000.oo for a 5 day hunt, I'm sure public ground will be way more work but way cheaper. Any thought's?

 

[MRBB]

I have done many, if you wanted MY opinion, look at Indian reservations,(standing rock gets my vote for SD, can be a mule deer OR white tag too, so opens options if you see a BIG whitetail, you can tag that ) hunt tend to be cheaper, tags are thru reservation, if your LUCKY you can typically put in for a state tag and end up with a two buck hunt, one reservation and then hunt public land and get one that way, if you time seasons right
public land hunts are getting harder and harder IMO< but like all things the harder you work at it, the better your odds are of success

where you from?

 

[SIL hunter]

Illinois, been to WY 3 times rifle hunting but my son is 13 now and loves bowhunting so no need to leave IL in November. When he gets out of high school I would like to have a place to take him along.

 

[buckdeer1]

I have done DIY mule deer and antelope in WY and several elk packin hunts in CO.The one fact is they can be tough but also alot of fun.In WY there is certain public land that you cannot hunt,anything in bear country.There are some landowner list available through fish and game and some dept of commerce in some of the towns where you can get on land.We did find that we could pay the extra for tags and most likely draw.Start building points.