By all reports, Horst is an extremely capable outfitter, who guides for sheep, elk, black bear and mountain lion, as well as trophy mule deer, which was the sought-after quarry on my hunt with him this past November. Turned out, there were literally bunches of mule deer around. The main reason is the strategic location of Horst's hunting area just 10 miles from Yellowstone National Park. Mule deer summer in the protection and elevation of the park, but when cold weather moves in, the deer begin their annual migration to the flats near Cody. This means that literally thousands of deer travel through the high passes of this hunting area, usually providing the hunter with opportunities at multiple trophy bucks.
The annual mule deer migration here is dependent on the weather, of course. When the weather begins to turn, the does and yearlings are the first to move. When the Wyoming deer season begins on October 15, some of the larger bucks have begun their trek, but usually, the largest deer are the last ones down, staying just ahead of the heavy snow. So, as a general rule, the later you hunt, the better your chance at a trophy. But if the snows come early or are particularly heavy, the majority of the migration may have already taken place by the November 15 end of the season. Conversely, in the unseasonably warm deer season of 1999, many big bucks never came out of the park at all. As with most things, timing is everything.
I hunted the third week of the season, and the bucks were moving. In........(continued)
