WY Antelope area 62 - South Ferris

Green_Back · Aug 21, 2014

LAST EDITED ON Aug-21-14 AT 08:45AM (MST)[p]Hello everyone, I'm new to the forums here.

I'm wondering if anyone has input of past experiences in this unit? I have a 62 type 1 tag in the pocket this fall and pretty stoked to hunt this unit. I've personally never hunted this area prior and just trying to get a sense of other's past experiences here. I'll be hunting solo and planning on tenting out in the prairies and have 9 days set a side for this tag. As most of us, I'm looking for that coveted 80" buck and NOT to just punch a tag on a "good" buck. Have any of you guys took a book class buck out of here?

I've spoke to the regional biologist and the two wardens in this area and they gave some very good information and locations to start. Know where the main ranchers are, where Ed Chipperfield guide out of and have all the BLM lands/roads loaded up in my GPS and have all the mapping data I need. Sounds like the herd numbers may be down a bit from the past but the horn grow is exceptionally good this year, which was good to hear.

Just looking for other peoples opinions in this area, possible road conditions, and your thoughts. Plan on hunting last week of Sept (which is 3rd wk of the lope season). There's only 40 tags issued so hopefully pressure is minimal. Preferably want to do this completely DIY on public land and avoid ranch access fees. There is a good amount of "checker board" land in south half of unit by Rawlins, anyone hunt this area? Any thoughts, suggestions, locations or comments would greatly be appreciated guys!

TOPGUN · Aug 21, 2014

LAST EDITED ON Aug-21-14 AT 10:08AM (MST)[p]Sounds like you've researched the area, talked to the right people for information, and have the gear needed to do the hunt properly and stay out of trespassing trouble. Good luck and I hope you shoot a good one. You should with that many days to find a good one and it should be a good year for horns! Make sure you have good chains for your vehicle just in case of moisture that can bring things to a standstill quickly out there.

HiMtnHntr · Aug 23, 2014

I would look the south checkerboard (WIA Area) over good. Numbers are down, especially in the north.

Bucks will be rutting hard. You will get to see who top dog is for each group of does. This makes stalking tricky, but it sure is fun to watch.

As the above poster said, with that many days you should be able to find a good one . . .

SouthernWyo · Aug 23, 2014

The area refered to above in the checkerboard NE of Rawlins is no longer listed in the walk-in guide. The land sold last year to out-of-state interests, and apparently is no longer enrolled in the program. You might want to contact the game warden to confirm.

There really is no way to hunt the majority of the unit without some form of landowner permission, but for the most part you won't be paying a fee unless you want to hunt the eastern half.

Antelope numbers are SIGNIFICANTLY down throughout the unit from the last ten years. You won't need chains to get around.

cabuck · Aug 23, 2014

I agree with southernwyo, the numbers are way down. The soil does have some bentinite and can get slick but this is Wy. just wait for the wind to dry it out. Much of the area has rather sandy soil so rain can actually help, just depends where you are hunting in the unit. The eastern half is locked up and access will have to be paid for but the western half should be just written permission only. There are great bucks in that unit, most people can't keep their finger off the trigger long enough.

My advice, plan your hunts to keep the sun at your back during the morning and evening time. Locate a buck and watch what he does during the day. Slip in during the early morning, hide the truck, get in front of him and shoot him coming toward you. Hopefully before the sun gets too high, you will be done. They are very territorial, if you shoot and miss he will be back.

If you are looking for a true 80" buck, they are not in every group of pronghorn you see. Look for the one or two that stand out after the first day of scouting and go back and get a closer look. Oh yeah, be careful driving at dark, you could fill your tag with your vehicle if you are not paying attention.

Good luck and keep us posted on your success, you will have a fun hunt.

HiMtnHntr · Aug 23, 2014

That's a bummer that WIA area is no longer available. That is a good chunk of land. You will be fine as far as public land goes in the north.

searcher · Aug 27, 2014

PM sent. Good luck on your hunt. Antelope hunting is great fun when you get away from the roads and do some hiking and glassing.

Green_Back · Sep 10, 2014

Thanks for all your input guys, much appreciated. Feel pretty good about this tag in the pocket. Just hope for good weather and give her a go!

I'll give a hunt report and update upon returning home for others to reference in the future as this is considered a premier goat tag in Carbon County country. Always difficult for a non-res to consider which tag to burn their points on so I'm willing to share my experience to others. Thanks again to all those who replied... hopefully a 80"er in the crosshairs in the near future!

Tiz the season and good luck to all who have tags in their pockets!

GB

Green_Back · Oct 9, 2014

As promised here's my hunting recap. My unit 62 goat tag is a wrap. It was an awesome hunt in a very awesome area! However, I never did find my 80?er. I'm no antelope expert but I don't think I ever seen an 80? goat the entire week. This region of WY went through some really tough winters/droughts/die-offs and I could almost tell by looking at all the alpha bucks? they were all pretty much the same size! I glassed up literally 100s of bucks covering the entire unit from the Ferris range down to Rawlins (except the east side which was Ed Chipperfield?s outfitting country) and never found that ?holy smokes? caliber buck, but score is not everything. It was a great adventure and great time in beautiful country.

Mass seemed pretty decent on most around 6?+, but cutter seemed weak and I don't think I ever saw a 16? goat. This unit is loaded with 70-75? however and I feel in a year or two there would be a handful of whoppers in this unit. I shot one of the largest bucks I glassed up. I hit the peak of the rut too which was just awesome to witness. Saw breeding, courting/posturing, chasing and a couple dust bowl sparring battles. I'm pretty sure I was the last thing on their minds. Population seemed solid. I pretty much could glass up some goats in just about everywhere I went.

The county was just awesome and very versatile from sand dunes, pothole like rolling sage country, boggy clay meadows, to ribbon cliffs? and clearly the beautiful Ferris range bordering the north. Just a very neat area.

One of the highlights of the trip was spotting a herd of elk about 2 miles out in no-man?s-prairie-country land. Next day put on a about a 6 mile hike to get closer look and how cool that was! 16 head in the bunch included 4 bulls and the herd bull was a WHOPPER!! I was guessing 360?ish if not bigger. Just and absolute tank. High, wide, heavy and ivory tipped throughout. Heck the secondary bull was a darn good 6x6 too. They were ripping and it was just cool to see and hear. The other highlight I must say was that I never saw a single person for a week straight!! A few oil field trunks and that was about it. Pretty awesome I must say, I had an massive amount of country to myself.

If any of you have questions about 62 feel free to message me. I covered the entire unit and pretty much got permission in all of the checkerboard area and the critters where definitely concentrated in certain particular areas. Would I go back for goats, absolutely! Thank you again WY for an awesome hunt and adventure!

My goat was right at 77?

30Hart · Oct 9, 2014

That's a way sweet goat...defintely something to be proud off. I pretty much came to the same conclusion on my hunt. Thanks for the report!

Zeke · Oct 9, 2014

Great report and a fine trophy! He's a beaut.
Thanks for sharing you success with us.
Zeke

nfh · Oct 9, 2014

LAST EDITED ON Oct-09-14 AT 08:25PM (MST)[p]Nice job on a fine goat!!

Ranger1 · Oct 9, 2014

Great looking pictures to go with a great buck.

sageadvice · Oct 9, 2014

Looking at that last Pic, you must have almost been out to the highway between Rawlins and Muddy Gap?

IMO, that's a very nice Antelope from that unit. Congrats and thanks for the story of the hunt! Well done!

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

sourkraut · Oct 10, 2014

Very nice lope and super photos. Congrats! sourkraut

lundtroller · Oct 10, 2014

LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-14 AT 03:23PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-14 AT 03:04?PM (MST)

I hunted 62 as well this year with a friend. We were limited for time and hunted with Ed Chipperfield which was a fun experience. He is very knowledgable (having lived in Rawlins his whole life) and was darn entertaining to boot!

We were hoping the horn growth would be good as well, but were disappointed with prong length as well as length above the prong on many of the animals that we saw. I thought the mass overall was pretty strong. I guess the summer rains were not enough to compensate for the poor range quality going in to last winter.

Our antelope were 13.5-14" with decent mass. I saw one pretty heavy 15" buck the first day with excellent prongs but could not close the deal secondary to an impressive rain/downpour that brought eveything to a halt. He got away afterwards and I did not see him again again until the last day od our hunt after I had already settled on another buck (probably the 3rd best buck I had seen).

It was a lot of fun. I'd go back again in a heartbeat as the scenery was beautiful and the potential is there for a really nice buck if the habitat conditions cooperate!

lundtroller · Oct 10, 2014

LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-14 AT 03:24PM (MST)[p]I was going to add a couple of picture of our bucks for comparison but copying and pasting my photobucket images did not seem to want to work???

Got it figured out!!!