Not accurate. There are areas with very few antelope now. Drought and disease has taken it's toll in many areas, thus the reason WY cut 3800 tags this year. No doubt, there will be additional cuts next year. I have many (local) friends who didn't fill antelope tags this year, including myself… and I live here and hunt hard.
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Wyoming DIY Hunt
- Thread starter rhs2362
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Moose Whacker
Well-Known Member
In Casper, there is a mom-and-pop butcher shop that only does game in hunting season.
Excellent service, drop off the game in afternoon, pick it up in the morning all wrapped and flash frozen.
Excellent service, drop off the game in afternoon, pick it up in the morning all wrapped and flash frozen.
crashlanding
Well-Known Member
And through out all the western states. Amazing how fast they can put up a locked gate but how long it takes to get that gate reopened to the public
crashlanding
Well-Known Member
Disregard that top paragraph, from a different post
littlebighorn
Well-Known Member
rhs...If you are getting a tag with very few points, it's very likely that you will have private access problems and/or low numbers of antelope. The good areas with lots of antelope always require points or a lucky random tag draw. Sometimes paying the extra price of the special draw can help your odds, but not always.
Two track roads often cross tiny parcels of private land and landowners do not need to post signs on those roads, so it's easy to get a ticket for trespassing, especially if they are leasing their land to outfitters. Thus as has been mentioned, having knowledge of where you are is vital.
Antelope are not hard to spot, but judging trophy quality is hard. A good spotting scope is a must and saves lots of leg work. Finding high ground to spot from can also be very helpful.
It's likely that shots will be long...300 yds + so long range shooting skills are very key...and the wind is almost always an issue in shooting.
Hunting pressure can be a big problem if you go the opening week of the hunt. If you wait a few weeks after, you will likely have most of the unit to yourself. Later in September the bucks are rutting and get kinda stupid, so you only have to out-wit the does...but by then does can also be pretty spooky.
Big bucks often hang out in very flat ground where it's impossible to approach or roadless areas where they are hard to find.
You can tent camp almost anywhere if you can haul your own water, etc. My son and I nomad hunt with antelope, hunting til dark and then just setting up the tent and moving out in the morning. It saves lots of time and gas, but it's not as comfy as a trailer or motel.
That's about all I have for now. Best of luck. Antelope are a blast!
Two track roads often cross tiny parcels of private land and landowners do not need to post signs on those roads, so it's easy to get a ticket for trespassing, especially if they are leasing their land to outfitters. Thus as has been mentioned, having knowledge of where you are is vital.
Antelope are not hard to spot, but judging trophy quality is hard. A good spotting scope is a must and saves lots of leg work. Finding high ground to spot from can also be very helpful.
It's likely that shots will be long...300 yds + so long range shooting skills are very key...and the wind is almost always an issue in shooting.
Hunting pressure can be a big problem if you go the opening week of the hunt. If you wait a few weeks after, you will likely have most of the unit to yourself. Later in September the bucks are rutting and get kinda stupid, so you only have to out-wit the does...but by then does can also be pretty spooky.
Big bucks often hang out in very flat ground where it's impossible to approach or roadless areas where they are hard to find.
You can tent camp almost anywhere if you can haul your own water, etc. My son and I nomad hunt with antelope, hunting til dark and then just setting up the tent and moving out in the morning. It saves lots of time and gas, but it's not as comfy as a trailer or motel.
That's about all I have for now. Best of luck. Antelope are a blast!
BighornRam
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2012
- Messages
- 44
Antelope are a joy. ONX map app is a must. Lots of public land to camp on. Take a predator call for Coyotes. Bone your meat and put in a lg cooler with frozen water bottles. If you care for it it is great. Get a doe tag or 2, antelope are small. Private landowners can block BLM 2 tracks but not county or state maintained roads. Hunt east to west in the morning so the sun shines on the antelope. They stick out from a long way off. You will need points to draw a good public land permit. Private access for does is generally doable. If you wait till later in the season fewer hunters and the animals calm back down. Have fun, take a young or new hunter. Animal's are easy to find and out all day.
So what is what you call a two track road? Does it have the green and white county road signs on it, and it shows up on BLM maps with the same name and on Google earth with the same name? Does is have actual USPS addresses to residences on it? Does having a government built metal arch bridge that can handle fully loaded cattle trucks and oil rig trucks a two track? I always called a two track.....two dirt tracks about a foot or two wide at the most and many times just a visible gap in the grass a two track road. Just trying to understand the different road types as they are different in different states it sounds like.
BighornRam
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2012
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- 44
A blacktop or gravel road here in WY with drainage ditches that shows on the state road maps as a county road. Some county's have maps that show county roads. That road may end and not go thru a section of private land. If map labels it as county you can call the sheriff and ask them or mark the blockage on your gps and take It to county seat for explanation. Not a great help for one time visitors but we fight it all the time here. Sometimes the county commissioners allow a road to be closed and abandoned. Maps Don't get updated very often. Check the area you want to draw for HMA's on the G&F website. Call the area warden and ask about road issues in the unit you wish to hunt. He can also steer you to landowners looking for doe hunters. Not great answers to a tough situation. Join and support Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. They are fighting for you public lands and access every day!
Many, many roads that appear to be main roads (which cross private property) are actually private, although maintained. (Yeah, figure that one out). The only way to be sure is to contact the respected county road dept in the county you plan to hunt. A two track is nothing more than a BLM, state ground, or private access for off road use, sometimes strictly for state and fed access, or for ranchers to access their cattle (grazing lease). Sometimes not. There are public roads that are nothing more than mud, dust, and clay and there are many private roads that are beautifully maintained, 30' wide, well graveled roads. I can take you five-ten minutes from my front door and show you maintained roads crossing private to additional public lands that will land you a trespassing charge.
Dskiper
Well-Known Member
get your points app.., license, hunting spot, & plan. then light cloths w/extras if cold comes thru.light leather gloves,sun glasses,binocs, pac on back w/water! boots for a lot of walking,neckerchief for blowing sand &grit!! flat shootin rifle w/scope &caps. take a varmint rifle too as pdogs & coyotes are many! such a great state to hunt is Wyoming!!!
brentru
Well-Known Member
^^^^^^^^ THIS!! ALWAYS look before you sit, kneel or put your hand on the ground. Ask me how I know.....
crittrgittr
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2011
- Messages
- 361
Made that mistake once. Never again! Hard pulling them out of your a##.
