Bam Bam
Well-known member
I believe that it is important to share info on this forum, and not just collect it, so here is a report on my first season Antelope hunting in Wyoming. I am hoping that Antelope beginners will glean some info from my story, even if it is a bit depressing. Feel free to PM me for more advice, but remember-this was my first time doing this, I am by no means an expert. While we don't usually post unit numbers on this forum, I posted mine, because it will add some needed context and I don't plan to hunt there again, if I can help it. I apologize if I take too many characters typing my story...
I began planning this trip in 2020 when I moved to Wyoming, and I invited 4 non-resident antelope hunters from 4 different states to join me on my first trip. Because WY lists very high success rates on Pronghorn hunts, I figured that we could apply for tags in a 2-point unit (Antelope Unit 21 in 2021) and we'd have plenty of fun, while each taking a nice buck, if we all hunted hard. Some of us also applied for GEN Y deer tags. All 5 of us are seasoned public land Whitetail hunters, but new to Pronghorn. We were shocked on opening day to find that there were people literally everywhere. Parking lots had 4, 6, or even 10 vehicles parked on access points to public land. Every trail had hunters walking it, and almost every high ridge had an orange hat sitting on top of it behind a spotting scope. We hunted hard-each one of us walked for many miles each day, but no one in the group was able to harvest an antelope for the first two days. On day 3, my group had began to catch on to a couple things. Number one, walking a mile from the truck would be a good hike back East, but even heavy people do it in Wyoming. We needed to begin hiking deeper onto public if we were going to escape the masses. The problem with that, was that there were only 5 or 6 public land "chunks" in the entire unit where we could even attempt it. (Looks like there should be more than that on Unit 21, right?) Number 2, the Antelope were not scattered onto every piece of public land out there. They were concentrated on private land, and just one or two pieces of public that we could access. We found these areas when we began driving dirt roads, just glassing from our vehicles. It felt weird, because road hunting is looked down upon back East, but that was really the best way to cover the miles, until we could locate some Pronghorn herds. I still remember when my Dad and I first located Antelope on public land, 3 days into the season. I set up my spotting scope next to a fence on the border of public, and immediately located a group of about 20 Pronghorn, at least a mile away. My heart started pounding, but before I could even call out to my Dad to come look, I saw a hunter crawling toward the herd. He was clearly within a few hundred yards. Scanning to the right and left with my spotter, I found 3 more hunters, all in the vicinity of the herd. I was too far away to hear a shot, but I saw the herd bolt suddenly, and knew that the closest hunter must have fired. Dad and I, excited at just seeing Antelope on public land, got back into the truck and drove down the dirt road, deeper onto that piece of public land. We stopped at the next hilltop, and this time when I jumped out and began glassing a huge basin, I could barely count the Antelope that filled my binoculars. I hollered to my Dad as I counted 4, 5, 6 groups of moving antelope anywhere from a half mile away, to as far out as I could see. However, there was a problem as well. As I continued scanning, I saw about 10-15 hunters all hiking, or watching, or crouching and walking toward the various groups of Antelope. Not one group of Antelope was still. Each group, small or large, was moving out of the way of hunters. My Dad and I watched the show for several minutes, trying to figure out what to do. The basin was like a massive pin ball machine. All of the Antelope groups were "bouncing" between hunters, trying to stay away from all of them. Most of the hunters walked toward whatever group of Antelope was closest to them at any given time. How could we hunt in such a zoo? Long story short, we ended up entering the "zoo", because we hadn't anywhere else to check for public land Pronghorn (this was day 3 remember), and we were not about to give up without trying. We learned a lot about Pronghorn that day. We learned that crawling more than 200 yards will show you just how in shape you aren't, and about several different cactus plants that hate mankind. We also learned that sneaking up on Pronghorn is not rocket science- watch the wind, plan before you start your stalk, and crawl when necessary. Antelope have awesome eyesight, but they can't see through dirt. Just stay low. However, it is impossible to stalk Pronghorn that are constantly on the move, and almost impossible to intercept an animal that can see you from almost a half a mile away (no joke, I think that they can). Did we get a Pronghorn that day? Yes, we got one. Although we had a stalk end in frustration (because of another hunter) we did end up with a yearling doe when 2 young ones got split off from their herd and ran almost right to us. My Dad dropped her at 187 yards, and as it turned out, he was not that close to a public land pronghorn for the rest of the trip. I continued on hunting for the next several days, putting on 4 more stalks, and getting frustrated by other hunters 4 more times. On the fifth stalk, some well-mannered hunters from KY saw what I was doing and hung back, allowing me to crouch-walk within 150 yards of a lone bedded buck. Although he was a small buck, I got one of my tags filled, and was very grateful to those 3 hunters for not jumping in and trying to get him for themselves. Nice guys too- they were doe hunting, and stopped in to chat after I killed the buck. All in all, each member of my group filled one Antelope tag, and one guy also shot a 3x3 mule deer with about a 17 inch outside spread. We hunted hard for a week, and earned every kill. All of our harvests were well away from any roads. Only one guy shot a non-yearling buck, and it was the admiration of us all. Its beams measured over 13 inches, and it had about 5 inch prongs. It is at a taxidermist in Cheyenne, now. Am I going to Antelope hunt next year? You had better believe it. It was some of the most fun that I had ever had, and I'll be a resident hunter next year- which means that I'll be able to apply for some units that issue less than 500 tags, and have more public land to hunt. However, it was frustrating, and disappointing in many respects, and I think that many new Pronghorn hunters are like me- they look at public land maps a little too optimistically, watch Randy Newberg on YouTube, and figure that Antelope hunting is more fun than work. It might be sometimes, but that was not my initial experience. From now on, I will encourage my buddies to stack up 4 or 5 preference points before coming to WY to Antelope hunt- I understand that this means they'll have to wait a few years, but it seems that with Antelope hunting, you get what you pay for. Questions or nuggets of wisdom to add will be welcome.
I began planning this trip in 2020 when I moved to Wyoming, and I invited 4 non-resident antelope hunters from 4 different states to join me on my first trip. Because WY lists very high success rates on Pronghorn hunts, I figured that we could apply for tags in a 2-point unit (Antelope Unit 21 in 2021) and we'd have plenty of fun, while each taking a nice buck, if we all hunted hard. Some of us also applied for GEN Y deer tags. All 5 of us are seasoned public land Whitetail hunters, but new to Pronghorn. We were shocked on opening day to find that there were people literally everywhere. Parking lots had 4, 6, or even 10 vehicles parked on access points to public land. Every trail had hunters walking it, and almost every high ridge had an orange hat sitting on top of it behind a spotting scope. We hunted hard-each one of us walked for many miles each day, but no one in the group was able to harvest an antelope for the first two days. On day 3, my group had began to catch on to a couple things. Number one, walking a mile from the truck would be a good hike back East, but even heavy people do it in Wyoming. We needed to begin hiking deeper onto public if we were going to escape the masses. The problem with that, was that there were only 5 or 6 public land "chunks" in the entire unit where we could even attempt it. (Looks like there should be more than that on Unit 21, right?) Number 2, the Antelope were not scattered onto every piece of public land out there. They were concentrated on private land, and just one or two pieces of public that we could access. We found these areas when we began driving dirt roads, just glassing from our vehicles. It felt weird, because road hunting is looked down upon back East, but that was really the best way to cover the miles, until we could locate some Pronghorn herds. I still remember when my Dad and I first located Antelope on public land, 3 days into the season. I set up my spotting scope next to a fence on the border of public, and immediately located a group of about 20 Pronghorn, at least a mile away. My heart started pounding, but before I could even call out to my Dad to come look, I saw a hunter crawling toward the herd. He was clearly within a few hundred yards. Scanning to the right and left with my spotter, I found 3 more hunters, all in the vicinity of the herd. I was too far away to hear a shot, but I saw the herd bolt suddenly, and knew that the closest hunter must have fired. Dad and I, excited at just seeing Antelope on public land, got back into the truck and drove down the dirt road, deeper onto that piece of public land. We stopped at the next hilltop, and this time when I jumped out and began glassing a huge basin, I could barely count the Antelope that filled my binoculars. I hollered to my Dad as I counted 4, 5, 6 groups of moving antelope anywhere from a half mile away, to as far out as I could see. However, there was a problem as well. As I continued scanning, I saw about 10-15 hunters all hiking, or watching, or crouching and walking toward the various groups of Antelope. Not one group of Antelope was still. Each group, small or large, was moving out of the way of hunters. My Dad and I watched the show for several minutes, trying to figure out what to do. The basin was like a massive pin ball machine. All of the Antelope groups were "bouncing" between hunters, trying to stay away from all of them. Most of the hunters walked toward whatever group of Antelope was closest to them at any given time. How could we hunt in such a zoo? Long story short, we ended up entering the "zoo", because we hadn't anywhere else to check for public land Pronghorn (this was day 3 remember), and we were not about to give up without trying. We learned a lot about Pronghorn that day. We learned that crawling more than 200 yards will show you just how in shape you aren't, and about several different cactus plants that hate mankind. We also learned that sneaking up on Pronghorn is not rocket science- watch the wind, plan before you start your stalk, and crawl when necessary. Antelope have awesome eyesight, but they can't see through dirt. Just stay low. However, it is impossible to stalk Pronghorn that are constantly on the move, and almost impossible to intercept an animal that can see you from almost a half a mile away (no joke, I think that they can). Did we get a Pronghorn that day? Yes, we got one. Although we had a stalk end in frustration (because of another hunter) we did end up with a yearling doe when 2 young ones got split off from their herd and ran almost right to us. My Dad dropped her at 187 yards, and as it turned out, he was not that close to a public land pronghorn for the rest of the trip. I continued on hunting for the next several days, putting on 4 more stalks, and getting frustrated by other hunters 4 more times. On the fifth stalk, some well-mannered hunters from KY saw what I was doing and hung back, allowing me to crouch-walk within 150 yards of a lone bedded buck. Although he was a small buck, I got one of my tags filled, and was very grateful to those 3 hunters for not jumping in and trying to get him for themselves. Nice guys too- they were doe hunting, and stopped in to chat after I killed the buck. All in all, each member of my group filled one Antelope tag, and one guy also shot a 3x3 mule deer with about a 17 inch outside spread. We hunted hard for a week, and earned every kill. All of our harvests were well away from any roads. Only one guy shot a non-yearling buck, and it was the admiration of us all. Its beams measured over 13 inches, and it had about 5 inch prongs. It is at a taxidermist in Cheyenne, now. Am I going to Antelope hunt next year? You had better believe it. It was some of the most fun that I had ever had, and I'll be a resident hunter next year- which means that I'll be able to apply for some units that issue less than 500 tags, and have more public land to hunt. However, it was frustrating, and disappointing in many respects, and I think that many new Pronghorn hunters are like me- they look at public land maps a little too optimistically, watch Randy Newberg on YouTube, and figure that Antelope hunting is more fun than work. It might be sometimes, but that was not my initial experience. From now on, I will encourage my buddies to stack up 4 or 5 preference points before coming to WY to Antelope hunt- I understand that this means they'll have to wait a few years, but it seems that with Antelope hunting, you get what you pay for. Questions or nuggets of wisdom to add will be welcome.
