Area 61 question. Hunt public land or pay for private access?

L

LopeHunter

Guest
What do you suggest?

Never been to WY to hunt but have shot a few antelope in other states. I got the topo maps for Area 61 and lots of public land and a lot of it has access by road so no worry about trespassing to get to it. Does public land there have water tanks or somewhere the pronghorns can get to water? If not, I guess will need to know on doors and see what the going rate is to get access to private lands with water tanks.

Thanks for any suggestions you have on how to find a nice lope there.
 
That is great. Any suggestions on a motel in 61?

One bummer about getting a nice permit out of state...a hunter probably will never again draw a permit to hunt the area more than the one time so is tough to get up the learning curve to locate honey holes and patterns on a single hunt. Is part of the challenge of course but a lot of time is spent using a spotting scope to scan land that is not prime.
 
Thanks for the info Brian. I found some good info on Rawlins there just now. Good luck this fall.
 
61 is a great Antelope area. I would focus on the western half of the area. You will see lots of bucks so you will need to pass many nice antelope up if you are looking for a trophy. Their are a few creeks and springs in the area and there are also watering holes set up by the area ranchers. There are a few nice motels in Rawlins(Comfort Inn, Cottontree Inn, Days Inn, Holiday Inn Express) but I would stay away from the rest as they are run down. I would start my focus around Stratton Creek and up towards Baroil. Also, bring your fishing pole. If you get your antelope early, you will want to head up to Seminoe which is about 30 miles north of Sinclair for some great trout fishing. Lots of antelope around! Good luck.

GO POKES!
 
Thank you so much for the tips. I am willing to have tag soup so will glass a lot and be picky up until the last day. O glassed hundreds of antelope in NW New Mexico last year before found one with nice mass, high prongs and length...then cam up just under 80".

In 61, generally, can you sneak within 200 yards for a shot (if not too windy I can shoot a 6" crcle of 3 shots at 300 yards from a bench but hate to shoot at an animal that far) or is it flat and open so I may scare off animals a lot after find one that I think is a shooter?

Is it better to wait for the rut in mid-Sept?

Thanks again.
 
For what it's worth, we've hunted Wyoming goats not far from your unit 5 of the last 11 years (point system choked us this year). As the majority of the land is BLM, I wouldn't worry about water so much (unless you plan to bow hunt). There?s usually creeks or water tanks throughout the BLM aside from any riverbottom land. Either sheep or cattle are grazing on the BLM and obviously they need water as well. The goats are for the most part scattered throughout the units in September (mid September the rut seems to be really rolling most years). Mid-late October and they're bunched up.

As for knocking on doors, check the Wyoming website. They have access maps that give a person that wants to hunt private, river bottom type land specific access restrictions for each game animal on different ranches. From what I've experienced most allow walk in hunting for Antelope and they're easy to drag or pack off their fields. Some even allow you to drive onto their property as long as you stay on the two tracks. Most ranchers I've talked with think they're a bit of a nuisance anyhow and think we're a bit odd to drive all the way to Wyoming just to shoot a goat? lol? Even when it's not posted they seem to be really accepting to allow you to hunt their goats if you ask ahead of time.

That said, all my bucks have been shot out on the BLM. Otherwise we shoot our does off the river bottom fields because they taste a little better when they're alfalfa fed (always put in for two doe tags with the buck tag application).

If it were my choice I would not hunt out of a motel. I'll either bring a camp trailer or a wall tent. I admit a wall tent isn't the best as it can get dusty as it seems the wind always blows but if you look hard enough you'll probably be able to locate a spot if you get up along side a small hill, etc. Just our preference to get away from it all.

One word of caution, if it rains much you stand a good chance of getting stuck out there if you're not careful. Make sure you either have 2 good set of chains or new mud terrain tires. Obviously, there's not much to hook a winch cable to. We?ve also been snowed on two of those years so don't bank on 80 degree weather in September.

Hope this is of some help. Pm me if you have further questions.

Todd
 
You should not have a problem getting a shot under 200 yards. Just a matter of picking the right setup. If a buck is not approachable, leave and come back later, chances are good he'll be in the same area and offer a better shot. WyomingMan is right on, there are tons and tons of bucks. If you want a big buck, you'll be passing up a lot of bucks.
 
The north end of 61 is a waste of time. Most animals are in the south west portion.

The comment about getting stuck if it rains is very real as the soil has a lot of bentonite in it. Drilling rigs use it for lubrication when drilling.

The fastest way to get run off a ranch is to try to plow your way around when things are wet, tearing up the roads. If it rains, be patient and let things dry out.
 
If you are going to hunt out of a motel in Rawlins, get reservasions early. It is hard even getting a room now with all the oil and gas activity.
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-28-08 AT 10:07AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Apr-28-08 AT 09:59?AM (MST)

LAST EDITED ON Apr-28-08 AT 09:50?AM (MST)

LopeHunter,
Since you are a NR wanting to hunt in WY, here are the odds of you drawing IF YOU ONLY HAVE 1 POINT going into this years draws which won't be for about 9 weeks. How many points have you now for Antelope?
Brian

1 0
061 Any Pronghorn 1 14 4 10.0% 1.1%
061 Any Pronghorn 1 Special 9 3 15.3% 3.7%
REGULAR DRAW WITH NO POINTS: 1.1%
SPECIAL DRAW WITH NO POINTS: 3.7%
REGULAR DRAW WITH 1 POINT: 10%
SPECIAL DRAW WITH 1 POINT: 15.3%
 
My LopeHunter i.d. froze up so am now Outdoors i.d. The post was from last summer and I was preparing to hunt 61 with the tag I had drawn.

I put back in for 61 again in 2008 but have 0 points now so unlikely will draw this year. Hope to draw 61 in couple of years and then bail on the WY draw.

Drew Area 78 Elk this year with max points. May get a deer tag this or next year since have max points. No significant hope for sheep though since do not have max points so after one more antelope tag and I am done with WY and their bonus point fees.

Love the state of WY but WY is headed the way of CO and UT where a nonresident faces point creep so each tag takes longer to draw than the prior time and you eventually will hunt elk in a quality unit once every 10-20 years unless score on the random slice of the tag allotment. Just my opinion. And WY lacks transferable tags unlike NM, CO and UT so can not be guaranteed a hunt as are making plans for the year.
 
Since Wyoming sets aside 25% for random draw, then there shouldn't be as much of a problem with point creep. Colorado has a true pref point system, where the points just keep climbing and those not caught up will not draw. At least in Wyoming there will always be people drawing with few or no points.
 
I see what you are saying about Wyoming. Some lucky folks will pull a random tag in back to back years for quality elk or deer units but those are very long odds on quality tags. A slight chance in Wyoming under a preference point/random draw blending draw is better than no chance for non-max point applicants in a 100% preference point draw system.

I propose that any point queue that takes 10 years or more to advance from having 0 points to being a max point holder for a quality tag should be dismantled and a pure random draw be used.

My problem with point creep leading to waits over a decade is it keeps kids and new entrants at a disadvantage compared to those of us that have loyally applied and patiently waited years or decades to get a great tag.

Life is not fair and we all have experiences along those lines. That includes applying for hunt tags. No one forces us to participate in a particular state.

That said, would it be more entertaining during the application process for a 12 year old applying this year to Wyoming sheep if the kid had a chance at the entire pool of tags rather than the few in the random pool?

The kid was not alive when the max point holders with 13 points were applying for sheep. Age 12 is the minimum age to hunt big game in Wyoming so should the kid now at 12 start to buy a bonus point at $100 when there are some folks with 13 points in the queue?

The kid and anyone else with less than 8 bonus points might want to evaluate whether to not buy sheep bonus points and just participate in the random draw. The choice depends on each of our opinions on future sheep tag allotment growth and how our health will be into our 60s or 70s.

The kid theoretically has 300 years of sheep tag draws to wait to reach the top of the max point sheep queue based on current tag allotments and people in the queue. 60 years of waiting is more realistic for the kid since around the year 2050 mortality will begin to rapidly thin the herd of us applicants that were age 20 or 30 when the kid was born.
 
Good points outdoors.

I think if we were serious about getting kids into hunting we would give them their own draw. If the total permits for a hunt are 100 in the regular draw, add 5 tags in a resident youth only draw. Given lower success rates you could expect with these tags, there would be minimal impact on population numbers, but, spread across the number of limited entry hunts, a lot of young hunters would get to experience a quality hunt.

Scoutdog
 
I have 7 Sheep points now, unless I get lucky on the randum draw I'll be in my mid 70's before I draw.
 
>I think if we were serious
>about getting kids into hunting
>we would give them their
>own draw.

Weak argument in my opinion. Kids have more than enough opportunities to hunt antelope, deer, elk, small game, predators, waterfowl and upland game if their fathers want to put forth the effort. If kids can't get "into hunting" with all of the those opportunities, then they have no business taking a moose or sheep tag from someone who is...
 
Sorry, should have clarified, I wasn't really thinking once in a lifetime species like sheep, goats, etc. but can see no good reason why they should not get a small number of tags for deer, elk and antelope. Maybe when there is a minimum of 20 tags on a hunt, kids get 5% added on in their own draw.

The truth is, virtually all of us who were kids in the 50's, 60's and 70's started out on deer, and saw lot's of animals, got to shoot, and occasionally even killed something. Hunting was exciting because we saw animals, and had the chance to shoot.

At least in Oregon, that is not the case on any mule deer hunt a kid is likely to draw the first couple of years. Antelope would be perfect, given August dates, but pretty much takes a minimum of 10 points to draw a buck rifle tag.

Given expected lower harvest rates by kids, I see no reason why their tags can't be additional, so no opportunity is lost by anyone else. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Scoutdog
 
The Game & Fish sees no reason for preferential treatment for youth as the demand is just not there.

Statistics show a large decline in youth hunters. The interest is no longer there. Modern technology and the video gaming stations in large part are the blame. Kids can buy a Cabelas hunting game, hunt, shoot, kill all kinds of game. They never break a sweat, have to field dress, get up early etc.

I know this kind of hunting would never suffice a true outdoorsman, but kids nowadays are a different breed and have trouble seperating reality from fantasy. Gaming stations (or electronic baby sitters as some people use them) should be banned.

Kids who are conditioned on these things want instant results and don't know how to enjoy the bigger picture. They have trouble understanding life doesn't have an instant reset button to start over when things don't go right.

The days when the outdoorsman of the sixties and seventies grew up there was no such thing as these evil contraptions. We waited with eager anticipation for the upcoming seasons and jumped at the chance to go adventuring. Between seasons we made it a point to watch The American Sportsman with Curt Gowdy every Sunday.

There is such a thing as too much. The world of hunting has been so commercialized it too has lost its appeal to many. There is such a barrage of hunting shows on television every single day that it is no longer interesting to sit and watch any. Like being turned loose in a candy store, a lot of fun for the first day then your sick of it.

People need to throw the off switch and get back to family basics, morals,communication and the outdoors...or hunting as we knew it is doomed.

There should be a way to assure our youth of at least their first big game license without a draw to capture that interest before it wanes and is replaced by other less attractive activities.
 

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