Trying not to trespass in WY for first timer

[bigbuck]

bigbuck yes it is I called the Game&Fish when I got home to discuss the situation and he told me the trespass fee as long as I didn't feel I was bullied was fine. But without him being there he couldn't say if he was being liberal or not with his property lines. I was fine paying and I got a trophy as far as I'm concerned. A buddy taped and it was 82.25" so I'm satisfied.

TCKev, Good for you I'm glad you got a trophy . If I had been the land owner and thougt for a second that you had tresspassed un knowingly then I would have told you were my lines were and wished you good luck but some folks are not that way.

Bigbuck

 

[setter]

MNBogboy, I think I am leaning toward 42 at the moment, but I haven't yet made a final decision. Like I said earlier, I have never hunted in Wyoming and have never hunted antelope before, so I am doing the research like everyone has pointed out and I think there should be enough public land that I can access from public roads in that unit to make it doable. The regulations point out that this one has limited public lands and that sort of prompted the question when I started looking at the maps. There is a decent amount of public land but it's really about the ability to access it. I'm not looking for a trophy, and I don't want to be competing with too many others either by having other hunter's shots spoiling my antelope stalk. I do realize I won't likely ever have the place to myself either. It's almost a crap shoot for me as far as picking a unit since I am not familiar with the territory. Obviously there are plenty of antelope (and hunters) in all the hunt units.

With all this talk about some unscrupulous landowners or just other hunters telling you that you are tresspassing when you might not be, I wonder if a warden is called, how is HE going to know if you are on private ground or not? -not that I want to ever get into that situation, as I'd rather just go elsewhere and not waste my time.

By the way, some of the BLM maps that people are referring to are at a scale of 1:100,000, which I think would be difficult at times to accurately determine which piece of ground you are on unless there are some obvious landmarks. I hope to get maps at a better scale or just hunt in areas with several sections blocked together that are open to the public so that I don't have to worry as much about the lines when you are somewhere in the middle of a few thousand acres.

 

[Len Backus]

I wonder if a warden is called, how is HE going to know if you are on private ground or not?

A fellow bought one of my GPS maps the other day. While on the phone with him he told me his son is a game warden in WY. The son had come across a hunter with one of the GPS maps and was impressed. The warden said he needs to own one to help in situations like you described.

 

[morhuntin]

my advise would to be to take a week off a month or 2 before your hunt and investigate the areas you plan on hunting,go to the co-op and get the names of the ranchers in the area your planning on hunting and talk to them i've found that asking for help from locals although teadious at times, because of rejection and the no's is always the best course. And a good bottle of whiskey don't hurt either as peace offering after permission is obtained,some of the best hunting i've ever had was just because i asked. Alot of people don't bother and just trespass on their land and you've got to remember these folks live here 365; they have put their blood sweat and tears into these ranches and a little respect goes along ways and you never know it could gain you access to areas you've only dreamed about hunting.good luck with your trip.

 

[MNbogboy]

setter,
I researched 42 a couple of years ago...It did at that time have 1 real large WIA, but I ended up hunting A30 just north of there...Part of the difficult access in 42 is the roads....When it rains or snows when we were down there the roads become very difficult if not impassable...I ate my cow elk tag in E7 that year because I couldn't get to the areas that I wanted to hunt because of the snow..the roads absolutely turn to cr*p......Area 30 had very little public land to hunt and there was a fair amount of pressure but I was lucky and drew a HMA permit and had a great hunt on a private ranch....We did however see nice lopes and a real decent one on public land after I got mine so they certainly are out there....I have hunted 3 different areas in the last three years and all produced decent lopes.....And all three areas produced decent mule deer too...Deer B, Deer J and Deer M....Wyoming is a great state and the majority of the people there will give you the shirt off their backs....I hope to retire there in a few years.....

Good luck on your decision and draw,
Randy

 

[bota]

I bought the BLM maps for my Garmin (not from Len). I used it this year, and it worked flawlessly. I ended up taking a B&C buck on BLM land that was literally 75 yds from the private boundary. I would have had doubts about the fence line being the boundary without the GPS, and I did not need to get out the map and spend time trying to figure out where i was.

My hunting budy is the district biologist for the G&F here, and he also ordered one of the maps for his GPS after using mine. It definitely works better when you have the actual map to get you to the area you want to hunt, and then use the GPS in the field. The software that Lens sells is the fastest and most idiot-proof way to make sure you are on public land.

 

[Len Backus]

Gosh, bota, that testimonial is so good that everyone is going to think I paid you to write it!

Yesterday we added more states. Now we have

WY
MT
ID
UT
NV
NM
CO ($20 off in January)
AZ

AZ, NV, NM won't be on the site for a few more days.

One more new product as of yesterday. In MT only, take the normal map described above and add to it the names of all the landowners superimposed on the maps.

So if you have permission to hunt the Jones ranch, now you know where his 10,000 acres ends and the neighbor's starts. Or you know the name of ANY landowner for the purpose of approaching him to gain access. That map costs just $25 more than the base GPS hunting map. Of course it has all the public land with colored, translucent background and the topo detail.

Available in a few days. I just have to get it up onto the Gear Shop site.

 

[Tyler Sims Outfitting]

Area 42 I hard to gain access in. They had one management area and opening weekend there were 500 trucks out there and all the antelope went to private land.

Area 47 has BLM land all over it. You could hit the 47 type 2 (startd october 5)and get drawn easy. No hunters will be out there bothering you.

As for the hunter management areas you never know when the Game and Fish is going to loose that area for public access. So if you draw an area 42 tag then you find out in july they don't have there unit They will not refund your money. ALWAYs GO WITH BLM

MNBogboy, I think I am leaning toward 42 at the moment, but I haven't yet made a final decision. Like I said earlier, I have never hunted in Wyoming and have never hunted antelope before, so I am doing the research like everyone has pointed out and I think there should be enough public land that I can access from public roads in that unit to make it doable. The regulations point out that this one has limited public lands and that sort of prompted the question when I started looking at the maps. There is a decent amount of public land but it's really about the ability to access it. I'm not looking for a trophy, and I don't want to be competing with too many others either by having other hunter's shots spoiling my antelope stalk. I do realize I won't likely ever have the place to myself either. It's almost a crap shoot for me as far as picking a unit since I am not familiar with the territory. Obviously there are plenty of antelope (and hunters) in all the hunt units.

With all this talk about some unscrupulous landowners or just other hunters telling you that you are tresspassing when you might not be, I wonder if a warden is called, how is HE going to know if you are on private ground or not? -not that I want to ever get into that situation, as I'd rather just go elsewhere and not waste my time.

By the way, some of the BLM maps that people are referring to are at a scale of 1:100,000, which I think would be difficult at times to accurately determine which piece of ground you are on unless there are some obvious landmarks. I hope to get maps at a better scale or just hunt in areas with several sections blocked together that are open to the public so that I don't have to worry as much about the lines when you are somewhere in the middle of a few thousand acres.

 

[Ron Ankeny]

I live in Wyoming and I used to hunt area 42 a lot. Here are a few hints. Getting permission is a lot easier than getting forgiveness. Many land owners will grant permission to anyone and all they want is the landowner's coupon after the shot and an idea of when and where you will hunt. However, folks who don't bother to ask permission might be asked to leave.

Some landowners have leased hunting rights to outfitters. When clients travel many miles and shell out a lot of bucks for exclusive rights on private land, expect to be prosecuted if you trespass to hunt.

Game and Fish personnel will help you to locate a place to hunt, provide head count information, and so forth. But be sure to make arrangements way ahead of time. Call the local warden in advance and he/she can provide you with names of landowners who typically provide access. You would be surprised how many thousands of acres of private land are available to antelope hunters with just a little planning and common courtesy. On the flip side, some areas are just plain not available and that's just the way it is.

 

[Tyler Sims Outfitting]

That was a few years ago when you could go out and ask rancher to hunt in area 42 or even many other areas. Now outfitters and wind farms control about 95% of the prime antelope hunting ground in that area.
Some good areas are still like 46 and 47 because they have state and BLM land in them. Everybody has a right to state and BLM land.

 

[setter]

Thanks TSO. That's good to know. I obviously have a lot to learn and will continue to do my research and gladly accept any local information on what to consider in picking my hunt area.