Opinion for first time tag holder Wy antelope

[undercover]

Greetings antelope gurus. My wife and I are holders of wyoming doe/fawn tags in the greater buffalo area for Our first ever western hunt. We drew a unit that has some public but not a lot of great access. Opener shares the same date as elk and deer. Being a pure meat hunt, an excuse of walking with a rifle on the back with the big horns as a back drop, celebrating 30 years of marriage, and having up to a couple weeks to fill tags would you go the first few days of openers or wait 10-12 days when the crowds are less, or so I have read? Just need some opinions of how some would proceed and why. BTW we are coming from Michigan if that really makes a difference. Thanks for the input.

 

[TN_Rifle_Junkie]

I would be there one to two days before opener. Find the animals on public land. Bed them best you can the night before opener and be there at first light to fill your tags. I have hunted pronghorn in a low access unit in the past and the animals know where they will be safe (food, water, shelter) once the shooting starts. They typically will not come off private for a long time and chances decrease rapidly after the first two to three days of season. Just my 2 cents.

 

[kwyeewyk]

I think the main reason this area is easy to draw is because you don't really get the classic WY antelope public land hunt opportunities you get in most other units. Your options are basically get lucky, work way harder than most people want to for antelope (especially doe/fawn), or find access to private. I haven't seen the opener, but later in the season there were still quite a few people around, guessing the opener is pretty crazy, considering the small amount of public land. Make sure you know what land they're on when you find them, lots of opportunities to make a mistake with the small intermingled parcels.

 

[Bob-WY]

PM me if you want, I live here. With doe/fawn tags, depending on the area, I would go as LATE as possible. If you are where I think you are, then you might have type 1 season closes, but then doe/fawn goes for another couple weeks, that's when you want to go. Limited public in easy to draw means TONS of people right away, will take a while for animals to settle down and return to public land.

Last year wife and I had doe tags local to Buffalo, we didn't hunt til the end of October, AFTER buck season was over, after people left. We filled both doe tags on our first day out for each,

 

[wytex]

I agree with Bob, late for doe tags.
He gave good advice.

 

[utah400elk]

JMO, Having lived in WY for several years...It really does not matter. There should not be a lot of elk preasure in an antelope area and the deer hunters have never been an issue for me. I don't think it will be a hard hunt and would look for the schedule thatbest works for you. I would plan on losing a day or two because of weather. Oct. in WY can be rough with ungodly winds, plan accordingly and have fun.

 

[undercover]

Truly the best hunting forum in N America. I appreciate the feedback. Local knowledge is 400 level. I see a couple PM’s, I’ll read through those soon. Keep the responses coming. Blessings all

Brian

 

[NEWHunter]

I’d go either extremely early or extremely late. Weather could be more of an issue extremely late. Hunting in low access units can get tough really quick. That said, if it’s a unit with a two week season, going late isn’t really an option. Good luck and have fun.

 

[jtm307]

I always err on going later in the season. Last year, I got my buck two days before the end of season. Hunted an area with very little public land and didn't see another soul.

 

[manitou1]

I always err on going later in the season. Last year, I got my buck two days before the end of season. Hunted an area with very little public land and didn't see another soul.

You must not have been around Buffalo!

 

[brymoore]

Antelope aren’t hard to hunt. Don’t over think it.

Elk and deer will be in different locations than antelope in September.

I’d go a day before the opener, drive around to find different groups of antelope and the lay of the land. Kill on the opener and spend the rest of the trip on vacation.

 

[220yotekiller]

Antelope aren’t hard to hunt. Don’t over think it.

Elk and deer will be in different locations than antelope in September.

I’d go a day before the opener, drive around to find different groups of antelope and the lay of the land. Kill on the opener and spend the rest of the trip on vacation.

This would be my plan. A coupe of free pieces of advice, hit the rifle range hard and bring knee pads and leather gloves. there is a lot of of cactus in that country.

 

[Bob-WY]

I know the unit he's in. Opener, he has about 20 minutes to fill the tag, then poof, nothing around. I bowhunted it 2 years ago, LOTS of stalk chances. Couldn't get out opening of rifle til about 10. Found 5 dead bodies, no goats, LOTS of trucks. Never saw an antelope on public until into November. Easy access, low amounts of public, go as late as you can, especially for doe!

 

[thusby]

Enjoy the ride. It sounds like you know what you got yourself into. Enjoy the scenery and pray your gun comes off safety at least once.