Which WY GMU for 2020 NR w/ (7) Points?

[JLS]

It is hell when you transpose numbers.

ClearCreek

I bet there was a jaw drop when that dude got his draw notification.

 

[rmauch20]

Play nice

What? I saw some very nice antelope taken last year out of those units. They have very nice places to camp and plenty of ground to run sxs. They both meet all the criteria given. I know picking a unit is a tough choice.
They’ve either been hunting second choice units for seven years and should have plenty of experience to find a great unit or they’ve been putting in for preference points only for seven years and if that’s the case they should’ve had seven years to research what unit they’re saving up for.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department - 2019 Drawing Odds

wgfd.wyo.gov

Here is a great place to start looking where 7 points will get you. If you don’t want to spend anytime looking. Just go with unit 7 first choice and 9 as your second.

 

[Big Fin]

Wyoming Game and Fish Department - 2019 Drawing Odds

wgfd.wyo.gov

Here is a great place to start looking where 7 points will get you. If you don’t want to spend anytime looking. Just go with unit 7 first choice and 9 as your second.

Follow the link that @rmauch20 provided above. At that link, it is pretty easy to see what units you can get for the points you have.

Any antelope unit that requires 5-7 points in Wyoming is going to be a great hunt. They do a great job of managing their game and any unit that requires that many points can have a lunker waiting for you. My experience with antelope is that they are hard to judge and people who don't get to see them a lot can often overlook a really good one.

Pick one that fits your calendar, apply, and go hunting. You will have fun. Don't overthink it.

 

[rmyoung1]

@Rhino Hunter , you guys will have a great hunt. I was around your point level in 2017 (a little fewer) and drew a tag in 106 in the special draw. Had a great time and shot a nice buck. No monster but he was a pretty buck and the best one I found in three days. With a little patience I’m sure I could’ve turned up something better, but few people can tell the difference between a mid-70s buck and a high-70s/low-80s buck. Apparently I am not one of them. You guys will have fun! Hard not to.

 

[Husker hunter]

Out of 5 ppl none of you have researched units! That's half the fun right there! I cashed my 6 points in last year & had a good hunt, had 3 units in mind for years though. Look at units from Casper west to lander and south west too, good antelope and public for your range.

 

[Rhino Hunter]

To all of you who’ve offered positive advice...thank you very much! I really appreciate it. Especially those that have PM’d me with advice because they didn’t like how I was treated by the resident bullies.

I have over five months left to research and come up with our application strategy and I will in great detail. It won’t take me nearly that long. I’ve hunted multiple species in multiple states, and Canada, and I’ve had a great time doing so, and I’ve even been successfully on many of the hunts. It doesn’t take that long to sort it out and plan a hunt. My hunting buddy and I have collected points for multiple species in different states over the years. It gives us many different options with a higher opportunity for enjoyable hunts and higher success rates than if we didn’t have points. And not too long ago we started collecting points for our kids too.

It wood be foolish for me to plan a hunt and pick a unit years before we hunt it. Winter kill, disease, predators, wild fires and even game management departments all can and do impact where the game will be from year to year.

I just thought I would ask for advice on this forum to see what info I might be able to obtain to provide a “little insight” from those who’ve hunted Antelope in Wyoming. I’m not looking for anybody’s “honey hole.” My biggest goal is to plan and execute a safe, fun and memorable hunt for my two sons and my hunting buddy’s daughter. And hopefully we can have a successful hunt for all of them as well. We’re not trying to shoot trophies, or contribute to point creep any more than anybody else does. We’re just trying to have fun, fill our tags with good representative animals, and enjoy this great sport we call hunting.

To the few of you who were condescending, disrespectful and downright rude...I feel sorry for you. You’re certainly not helping our sport. This isn’t your website, or your animals, or your land they’re on. Yet you acted like you own them all and felt it was necessary to treat somebody you don’t know the way you did. Maybe if I knew your secret sorority handshake, or if I asked questions exactly they way you required them to be asked, you would have been more cordial. Shame on me for not knowing your rules.

Happy Hunting to “all of you.” I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 

[Rhino Hunter]

@Rhino Hunter , you guys will have a great hunt. I was around your point level in 2017 (a little fewer) and drew a tag in 106 in the special draw. Had a great time and shot a nice buck. No monster but he was a pretty buck and the best one I found in three days. With a little patience I’m sure I could’ve turned up something better, but few people can tell the difference between a mid-70s buck and a high-70s/low-80s buck. Apparently I am not one of them. You guys will have fun! Hard not to.

View attachment 123576

Thank you for your response, and for posting a pic. That’s a great pic!

 

[Rhino Hunter]

Out of 5 ppl none of you have researched units! That's half the fun right there! I cashed my 6 points in last year & had a good hunt, had 3 units in mind for years though. Look at units from Casper west to lander and south west too, good antelope and public for your range.

Thank you for your advice. I appreciate it.

 

[Rhino Hunter]

Follow the link that @rmauch20 provided above. At that link, it is pretty easy to see what units you can get for the points you have.

Any antelope unit that requires 5-7 points in Wyoming is going to be a great hunt. They do a great job of managing their game and any unit that requires that many points can have a lunker waiting for you. My experience with antelope is that they are hard to judge and people who don't get to see them a lot can often overlook a really good one.

Pick one that fits your calendar, apply, and go hunting. You will have fun. Don't overthink it.

Thank you for taking the time to respond with solid advice. I appreciate it very much!

 

[Rhino Hunter]

Seriously , if you have unit questions I found posters on this website who are SO helpful via PM. I recently found an elk unit with literally ZERO posts on Google about it. But I know from the wyo fish and game website that I want to go check it out due to harvest odds and the open dates of the season and accessibility.

posting on a public post only makes your own draw odds harder!
All you need to do is look at what units took 5 or 6 points to draw last year. Look at the open season dates and tags available for those unit next year and eliminate ones that don’t fit your wishes. Look at the Map, Satellite Map, and US Topo map of the area to determine if it’s going to support the hunting style and landscape you want. Google earth and google maps And google street view can you with public access issues. Email BLM Office and the County GIS office any questions about public road access (this goes both ways, I am trying to confirm a road in an antelope unit is private as the County GIS shows but the BLM office says is public, so I don’t backpack 4
Miles and come to a bunch of trucks that drove around the private land).
after this you’ll have 3-4 units that look good based on your own 4-6 hours of research.

now Google “Wyoming antelope unit xx”. See what people say. If too MANY people talk about a unit or a unit has very specific instructions given as to where to hunt, you likely want to avoid it or that part of the unit, as everyone who draws the tag for it will be at that hot-spot opening day.

Doc7,

Thank you for the detailed post and your advice. I appreciate it!

 

[Rhino Hunter]

We mid-westerners are a special breed. Most of us have probably never hunted out of our own state, let alone out of a different 40 acre section of public/private ground. Most probably haven't ever sat on a different stump or tree stand. I cant speak for all mid-westerners but we have been coached by others and have been told what to do by our mentors. I would bet money that most haven't read the regulation book for our own state. It's just go to the counter and buy your tags, get your orange jacket and rifle and hit the woods the Saturday before Thanksgiving and sit on your stump. At least this was how my Wisconsin life was. If there is a change in rules or regulations it is head news and you can find it on the local news or front paper. Then in the local coffee shop or tavern you will hear people asking and discussing rules and regs.

If you asked people where I grew up how to hunt whitetail I would bet that someone would take you to hunters safety. Then they would take you to the Ace Hardware so you can get your tag, loan you an orange coat and sit you 10 acres away from them. Now clearly I don't expect you to do that.

I don't know BigFin like you do but I would assume his home town it would sound similar to that. I could be wrong though.

I would guess that's why we ask questions that are stupid, because we openly talk about it with each other. Were not trying to get on your nerve, or at least I'm not. But I will accept your friendly kick in the right direction to do more research. I will accept you as my brief mentor. I am not making excuses for us, excuses suck. We have just been spoon fed the shortcut this far by mentors.

Midwesterncrosshair,

What a refreshingly sincere post. I thank you for your perspective, and for taking the time to post it!!!

 

[midwesterncrosshair]

To the few of you who were condescending, disrespectful and downright rude...I feel sorry for you.

You have to remember some of those guys have been dished raw deals by others, probably nonresidents. So coming across as chippy, is nice. If you haven't seen the thread "I've about had enough" you might be a little more understanding and patient with.... I'll let you find out who.

I'd like you better if you told me you were a Yooper instead of a Troll LOL

 

[NoWiser]

Rhino, I wish you the best of luck. Literally any unit you choose that takes your points will give you the hunt you’re looking for. There is not a wrong decision. If I were you, I’d be looking at bird hunting and fishing opportunities as part of your criteria because it’s likely your antelope hunt will be over sooner than you’d like.

Keep in mind this forum sees about 100 “I’m not looking for your honey hole, but where should I go” posts each year from now through April. The vast majority of those posters disappear off the face of the earth once they get the info they are looking for. It definitely leaves a sour taste in the mouths of those that offered advice. Most don’t even bother anymore. So, take it with a grain of salt when you don’t get the response you are looking for.

I look forward to seeing pictures from your trip. Good luck! Beware of point creep.

 

[Bowhuntrben]

Also look at what the quota will be when it becomes available when you’re looking at draw odds. There’s a unit I’m interested in putting my uncle in for that he’s borderline on points for. If they reduce tags this year he likely wouldn’t have a chance

 

[JLS]

To all of you who’ve offered positive advice...thank you very much! I really appreciate it. Especially those that have PM’d me with advice because they didn’t like how I was treated by the resident bullies.

I have over five months left to research and come up with our application strategy and I will in great detail. It won’t take me nearly that long. I’ve hunted multiple species in multiple states, and Canada, and I’ve had a great time doing so, and I’ve even been successfully on many of the hunts. It doesn’t take that long to sort it out and plan a hunt. My hunting buddy and I have collected points for multiple species in different states over the years. It gives us many different options with a higher opportunity for enjoyable hunts and higher success rates than if we didn’t have points. And not too long ago we started collecting points for our kids too.

It wood be foolish for me to plan a hunt and pick a unit years before we hunt it. Winter kill, disease, predators, wild fires and even game management departments all can and do impact where the game will be from year to year.

I just thought I would ask for advice on this forum to see what info I might be able to obtain to provide a “little insight” from those who’ve hunted Antelope in Wyoming. I’m not looking for anybody’s “honey hole.” My biggest goal is to plan and execute a safe, fun and memorable hunt for my two sons and my hunting buddy’s daughter. And hopefully we can have a successful hunt for all of them as well. We’re not trying to shoot trophies, or contribute to point creep any more than anybody else does. We’re just trying to have fun, fill our tags with good representative animals, and enjoy this great sport we call hunting.

To the few of you who were condescending, disrespectful and downright rude...I feel sorry for you. You’re certainly not helping our sport. This isn’t your website, or your animals, or your land they’re on. Yet you acted like you own them all and felt it was necessary to treat somebody you don’t know the way you did. Maybe if I knew your secret sorority handshake, or if I asked questions exactly they way you required them to be asked, you would have been more cordial. Shame on me for not knowing your rules.

Happy Hunting to “all of you.” I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas to you as well.

You don’t need to play the victim card here. Buzz gave you some very good and rather broad advice. You responded with sarcasm.

He’s right. The amount of information readily available is staggering. It’s pretty amazing what one can come up with in a few hours of looking, then you can ask more specific questions that will lead you to better answers.

Good luck on your hunt.

PS. The secret sorority handshake is called effort.

 

[wytex]

At risk of sounding like a bully I would say wait to make your decision, winter kill may be an issue and quotas can change when the seasons are set in stone.

Google can be your friend.

 

[BlakeA]

Well, there is only 2k views of this thread and we are still 5 months away from the deadline to submit apps....but I doubt threads like these with specific units and/information have ANYTHING to do with point creep

I guess there are only 3,684 other Non-Residents sitting in your shoes for the 2020 draw though.

 

[PAhunter]

Rhino - It's important to understand something here. When we publicly discuss specific units that could be drawn last year with five points, and a number of hunters with experience in the area chime in with positive comments about a named unit, post pictures of their success, etc, etc - we just about guarantee that the unit that "wins" with the most positive comments is going to attract more applications for the upcoming draw. Even the units that are discussed but get fewer favorable comments are going to attract more applicants based on the (fewer but positive) comments. Because the most desirable units are often managed for trophy quality, they often offer relatively few tags. Of course as nonresidents, you and I are trying to draw from an even smaller pool of tags (often from among applicants that take four or five of those few available tags in one fell swoop). We nonresidents are also the most likely to base our application strategy heavily on our internet research, simply because we don't have a lot of opportunities for advance 'on the ground' scouting. So at the end of a nice five or six page public discussion where unit X is clearly the highest recommendation, you or I (more likely, both of us) feel really good about applying for that unit with our seven points. So do 25 other nonresidents with seven points each, who did not participate in the discussion, but who, in the remaining 4-5 months before the application deadline, read it with interest after a google search for "which WY GMU for 2020 NR with 7 points" led them to the discussion. There are also yet another 20 or 30 nonresidents with 8 or more points who, unsure of where to best apply and determined to finally "burn" those points, read our discussion and say to themselves, "What the heck, unit X sounds good enough for me!"

Then June 2020 arrives and both you and I look up our results, only to find that our seven points were not enough. End result? All those helpful people who publicly pointed you in the "right" direction actually just helped to assure that you don't draw the recommended unit. (And you and I are the guys gloomily posting on the Draw Results are out!! thread "Didn't see that coming. Point creep hit my unit hard!")

 

[VikingsGuy]

Rhino - It's important to understand something here. When we publicly discuss specific units that could be drawn last year with five points, and a number of hunters with experience in the area chime in with positive comments about a named unit, post pictures of their success, etc, etc - we just about guarantee that the unit that "wins" with the most positive comments is going to attract more applications for the upcoming draw. Even the units that are discussed but get fewer favorable comments are going to attract more applicants based on the (fewer but positive) comments. Because the most desirable units are often managed for trophy quality, they often offer relatively few tags. Of course as nonresidents, you and I are trying to draw from an even smaller pool of tags (often from among applicants that take four or five of those few available tags in one fell swoop). We nonresidents are also the most likely to base our application strategy heavily on our internet research, simply because we don't have a lot of opportunities for advance 'on the ground' scouting. So at the end of a nice five or six page public discussion where unit X is clearly the highest recommendation, you or I (more likely, both of us) feel really good about applying for that unit with our seven points. So do 25 other nonresidents with seven points each, who did not participate in the discussion, but who, in the remaining 4-5 months before the application deadline, read it with interest after a google search for "which WY GMU for 2020 NR with 7 points" led them to the discussion. There are also yet another 20 or 30 nonresidents with 8 or more points who, unsure of where to best apply and determined to finally "burn" those points, read our discussion and say to themselves, "What the heck, unit X sounds good enough for me!"

Then June 2020 arrives and both you and I look up our results, only to find that our seven points were not enough. End result? All those helpful people who publicly pointed you in the "right" direction actually just helped to assure that you don't draw the recommended unit. (And you and I are the guys gloomily posting on the Draw Results are out!! thread "Didn't see that coming. Point creep hit my unit hard!")

In my brief time antelope hunting I have come to appreciate that “which unit can I draw with x points” is the new “what’s your honey hole” question - one that shouldn’t be asked or answered on a public post. From my view it is harder to find a decent unit tag to draw than it is to find a decent pronghorn to shoot once you get a tag — finding antelope are easy, no need for honey hole info, getting a good tag is not always so easy.

 

[Flatrock]

I’ve hunted multiple species in multiple states, and Canada, and I’ve had a great time doing so, and I’ve even been successfully on many of the hunts.

I just thought I would ask for advice on this forum to see what info I might be able to obtain to provide a “little insight” from those who’ve hunted Antelope in Wyoming. I’m not looking for anybody’s “honey hole.”

Sweet! So what have you hunted in Canada? I'm thinking about doing either a deer or moose hunt there in a few years. Not looking for your honeyhole, but where would you recommend going?