First Antelope hunt in WY

[Joshmattlarry]

I am looking to find which unit might be better for a public land antelope hunt. I have been focusing on unit 26 and 25 due to the ease of draw and each have OK accessibility. Does anyone have any opinion on which would be better for access without a ton of people surrounding you on public land hunts?
thanks

 

[Irrelevant]

I'm going to let you in on a little secrete of the hunting forum interwebs. Having your very first post be asking for specific unit information is not acceptable and will get you about as much useful responses as starting off a post by telling everyone to go F@ck themselves.

 

[Sawtooth]

Welcome to the forum. The Search button is your friend.

 

[NEWHunter]

I’ve not hunted either, but relatively speaking I think in both units you’ll have a ton of people surrounding you on public. Both units have lots of tags, but 25 has more per square mile. Both of the seasons are short as well. If I had to choose between those two, I’d go with 25 because of that large block that will allow you to out walk lots of hunters. Be there and scout for a day or two before opener.

That said, I wouldn’t go with either as you can draw better units as a second choice in the special IMHO. Good luck as the planning is part of the fun. The Hunt Planner on the WY Game and Fish website is very helpful.

 

[Walkathon]

Welcome to the forum !

 

[Pucky Freak]

Welcome to HT!

 

[Joshmattlarry]

Thank you I was not thinking about the special draw. Might look as that as an option and take a couple scouting trips.
Thx

 

[WyoDoug]

One thing to look at is the hunter management areas (HMAs) which are generally private land where hunters are managed by the G&F. You will want to put in for permissions to those immediately after drawing your tag or as soon as they start taking applications for permissions. Information is available on the Wyoming G&F website. I hunt Nimmo Ranch as a backup when my on base archery hunt don't pan out (mostly because it's local and I can hunt after work to fill my unfilled tags).

 

[hsargent21]

Last year was my first year to go to Wyoming. I drove into the state on a Friday night. Killed two Saturday and headed home. Took my daughter back two weeks later and she shot one the first afternoon. This was done in a unit which I bought tags “over the counter.” Public land access was not great at all. We still had a blast and will do it again this year. Get OnX maps and go have fun.

 

[NEWHunter]

Thank you I was not thinking about the special draw. Might look as that as an option and take a couple scouting trips.
Thx

If the money is not a real concern, definitely pay up for the special. If the money is a bit of a concern, save the money on the couple of scouting trips and put it toward the special draw. Do your scouting the two days before the opener.

You can use OnX to mark access points, waterholes and fence crossings ahead of time. In those lower tier units, a lot of that scouting is going to go out the window when the orange rolls in and the shooting starts.

 

[WyoDoug]

Using Google Earth, look for well used game trails. Some of them actually show. You also want to look at depressions, little valleys, meadows and that that are away from the road. Once antelope get shot at, they go to their "safe spots" or sanctuary areas as Randy calls them for elk, but they nearly always will return to their home territory the bucks have marked. These are usually about a mile away from roads and in the little valleys and meadows hidden from road view. If the does are skittish enough, the herd bucks will not return but mark new territory where they are at. When you are not seeing them from the roads, get out of the vehicle and walk in and check these valleys and depressions and I bet you find some bedded down.

 

[klampson]

I try to hunt goats in WY every year. I've had some awesome trips in hunt areas that are considered "less desirable". If you do your e-scouting before hand, and are willing to walk and check "valleys and depressions" like WyoDoug suggested you should have a fun hunt. Most people seem unwilling to walk into an area unless they see animals from the truck. Also, patience can go along ways. I've posted up in small chunks of BLM and had animals walk in from adjacent private land, just be mindful of the property boundaries. Apply for a tag and go hunting.

 

[WyoDoug]

You also should expect 90% or so stalks result in failure. Persistence pays off when hunting antelope.

 

[270WSM140g]

The great thingvabput hunting goats in Wyoming, is if you screw up on one stalk, there's another one over the next rise most of the time. So much action and game.

Look on the Wyoming hunt planner and have fun. The Go Hunt app isn't free, but it's very good for research.

Contact region bios and the warden too.

Kris Shepherd from Salem Oregon

 

[rmauch20]

And he’s gone, never to be heard from again. Lol.

I was in that area last year and I can say it was super busy. A few times there where basically drag races between hunting parties trying to get to available antelope.

 

[jvanderlinde]

There's definitely better places to hunt than those 2 areas, apply special and hope for the best.

 

[WyoDoug]

And he’s gone, never to be heard from again. Lol.

I was in that area last year and I can say it was super busy. A few times there where basically drag races between hunting parties trying to get to available antelope.

I don't hunt anywhere close to where I see this going on. When my family lived on the farm, my dad used to chase people off our property for doing this and frequently took down plate numbers and called the sheriff. Road hunters that do that give me a sick feeling in my belly and makes me mad enough I want to put the crosshairs on them sometimes.

 

[WyoDoug]

Road hunters also lose out on the best antelope because they are too lazy to get out of the vehicle and do an ambush or stalk. The nicer antelope are in the valleys and draws away from the road.

 

[rmauch20]

Road hunters also lose out on the best antelope because they are too lazy to get out of the vehicle and do an ambush or stalk. The nicer antelope are in the valleys and draws away from the road.

Very true! The best advice I got was get out and walk.

 

[WyoDoug]

Very true! The best advice I got was get out and walk.

Even more important when you hunt deer or elk. You tag out quicker if you use as what is known to military types as leather personnel carriers to get you close enough. I started out as a road hunter when I was young because my dad was mobility impaired having gone through polio as a kid. But as I grew up and hunted with others, I learned quickly about getting off the road and looking. My dad walked on the sides of his feet so he kind of had to resort to road hunting or we drive deer and antelope his way.