Unsuccessful Wyoming Resident. Options?

[Dougt3507]

So I am one of the unlucky few who did not draw a Resident Wyoming Antelope tag.

Any other Wyoming Residents out there that can think of any options or how to avoid this next year?

Do I have to apply to a crappy 100% draw odds unit as first choice every year to guarantee a tag? And by crappy I mean little public access and dozens of other hunters on the public that there is.

I see that there are leftover tags for unit 23 + 24, but those are only for private property and I sure don't know anyone who lives in those units.

If anyone knows anyone who owns land in those units and would let a couple of vets who are willing to pay hunt there, please PM me.

Thought living here I would for sure get to hunt them every year. Even put in for a unit with 100% odds as my third choice.

Guess that's not how it works. Idk.

Either way I am very disappointed and don't know how many more years I am going to get to hunt with my dad who is getting up there in years and has a lot of medical problems.

I just fail to understand how a state with more antelope than people fails to have a general tag for them for their residents.

 

[madtom]

Which antelope units would you make general? I can't imagine where it would work without exterminating them. I'm sure we'll continue to see it squeeze down to being harder to draw every year, but there are still strategies to get a buck tag every year for those willing to study the odds.

 

[rwc101]

I wish there were more pronghorn than people. 2021 estimate was 388,500.

 

[Dougt3507]

Which antelope units would you make general? I can't imagine where it would work without exterminating them. I'm sure we'll continue to see it squeeze down to being harder to draw every year, but there are still strategies to get a buck tag every year for those willing to study the odds.

Off the top of my head not sure, but there is a general tag for Mule deer and there are far fewer of those here and they make it work somehow.

 

[rwc101]

Off the top of my head not sure, but there is a general tag for Mule deer and there are far fewer of those here and they make it work somehow.

Success rates for pronghorn hunts vs. mule deer are wildly different.

 

[Dougt3507]

Success rate for pronghorn hunts vs. mule deer are wildly different.

True and there are a lot of variables that contribute to that.

I will acknowledge that a general season on antelope is a very stupid idea, but still think there should be more opportunity.

 

[MTLabrador]

Do I have to apply to a crappy 100% draw odds unit as first choice every year to guarantee a tag?

Well that is what the statistics say….

 

[Dougt3507]

Well that is what the statistics say….

I'm saying as a second or third choice it no longer becomes 100% odds?

 

[MTLabrador]

I'm saying as a second or third choice it no longer becomes 100% odds?

That is correct.

 

[Dougt3507]

That is correct.

Ahhh well that changes my strategy significantly for next year already.

 

[cahunter805]

There were also some significant tag cuts to many antelope units this year. That alone changes resident odds.

 

[Dougt3507]

A very helpful member on here just set me up with some stats and pointed out what I did wrong.

I should be able to 100% hunt Antelope here every year.

The system works folks, I am just an idiot lol definitely won't make that mistake next year.

 

[GoWyo!]

I guess you get what you pay for.

5 of 6 people in my close group didn't draw buck tags. Doe/fawn for a couple of them. My son and I drew diddly!! General season/area Elk and deer it is!

 

[Dougt3507]

I guess you get what you pay for.

5 of 6 people in my close group didn't draw buck tags. Doe/fawn for a couple of them. My son and I drew diddly!! General season/area Elk and deer it is!

At least we have a ton of options in regards to general deer and elk units.

I lucked out on elk and drew 7-1 this year. Going to be general for deer this year, but I am ok with that as my regular deer unit is general.

 

[Cornell Cowboy]

So I am one of the unlucky few who did not draw a Resident Wyoming Antelope tag.

Any other Wyoming Residents out there that can think of any options or how to avoid this next year?

Do I have to apply to a crappy 100% draw odds unit as first choice every year to guarantee a tag? And by crappy I mean little public access and dozens of other hunters on the public that there is.

I see that there are leftover tags for unit 23 + 24, but those are only for private property and I sure don't know anyone who lives in those units.

If anyone knows anyone who owns land in those units and would let a couple of vets who are willing to pay hunt there, please PM me.

Thought living here I would for sure get to hunt them every year. Even put in for a unit with 100% odds as my third choice.

Guess that's not how it works. Idk.

Either way I am very disappointed and don't know how many more years I am going to get to hunt with my dad who is getting up there in years and has a lot of medical problems.

I just fail to understand how a state with more antelope than people fails to have a general tag for them for their residents.

I'm in the same boat as you (as are at least 41% of the other resident applicants), with my 12-yr old looking forward to his first antelope hunt that will now have to wait -- we'll get to still try for deer and elk, but antelope is really the perfect first hunt. The reality is that applicants have increased while tags have decreased. In 2010 the total quota for resident buck tags was 33,753 and the number of applicants was 26,012. This year, the quota of resident buck tags was 22,640 and the number of applicants was 38,113. So, in a perfectly distributed tag scenario, only 59% of residents are getting buck tags today.

But it's actually worse than that. Let's look at Area 26 to see why. There were 1034 Type 1 tags available in the resident draw. Resident applications for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice were 212, 126, and 73, respectively. So even if all choices were given the tag, there should still be 500+ buck tags available in the leftover. But you'll see that there are NO leftovers because the remainder was rolled over into the non-resident pool (NR-Random = 139, NR-Special Random = 81, NR-PP = 419, NR-Special PP = 243). So nonresidents were given 882 of the available 1100 buck tags for that area. If instead, the R/NR split was held to until AFTER the leftover draw, at least you and I would have a chance to hunt bucks in our home state this year.

In addition, I think given the antelope population decline along with the increase in applicants, it well past time to stop allowing two doe/fawn applications in the initial drawing (maybe even in the the leftover drawing).

 

[RobertD]

In addition, I think given the antelope population decline along with the increase in applicants, it well past time to stop allowing two doe/fawn applications in the initial drawing (maybe even in the the leftover drawing).

And make them more expensive

 

[Cornell Cowboy]

And make them more expensive

I think you'd have to make them a lot more expensive to have any effect on demand.

 

[Bullshot]

Resident should get choices 1-10 on resident quota in initial draw.

Problem solved. Call your game department and make it happen, I’m just an idea man!

Buzz- even you would have to agree this is a pretty good solution, right? LOL

 

[nrpate05]

Have you applied for doe/fawn tags?

 

[Cornell Cowboy]

Have you applied for doe/fawn tags?

No sure who this was directed at. I certainly apply for doe/fawn tags...drew a big nothing there too.