WY Antelope Points -Worth it?

ridgerunner · Dec 28, 2005

I am considering whether to start building antelope points. I would like to hunt WY for antelope at some point in the future, but probably about 5 years down the road. Is it going to be worth it to purchase the points or should I just forget Wyoming and look into other states to fulfill my antelope hunting desires? Any thoughts? I think this point thing is just a way for the stinkin state to make more $$$$$$$. I'm buying a deer point becuase I know I will head back in a few years again. Just trying to decide what to do with the antelope.

MNHunter · Dec 28, 2005

Ridgerunner, If you are serious about wanting to hunt pronghorn in WY, now is the time to get in. If you don't get in the ground floor of the PP system, you can then right off WY

jims · Dec 29, 2005

There are almost always leftover antelope tags in Wyo so if you want to go on an antelope hunt you likely will be able to draw just about any year without dealing with paying for pref pts each year. There is usually a reason there are leftover tags...WG&F trying to cut down antelope numbers or units with a lot of private land are 2 that come to mind. If you want a chance of drawing the very best units in Wyo I would say get in the pref pt pool from the start. If you aren't that picky about size of bucks you could likely wait and draw a tag sometime down the road. The best units in Wyo have about 1:50 chance of drawing so even with the new pref pt deal it could take 50 years to draw!

dwalton · Dec 29, 2005

I had my last Wyoming resident tag in 1990 (area 93). Since then, I've only drawn 1 non-resident tag in 14 years(area 95). I'm hoping that this new point system will allow me a tag once every 5 years or so.

PleaseDear · Dec 29, 2005

Why waste time and $$ on points when it is always better to draw NOW... we never know what will change in a year or two and that isn't good sometimes!!

Go for the tag!!

jims · Dec 30, 2005

I totally agree! A bad winter could definitely put a dent in the Wyo antelope population and tag number allocations. It usually takes several years to recover. I've never been a fan of pref pt codes and feel that if you aren't ready to go hunting you shouldn't apply!

PronghornHunter · Jan 6, 2006

You got that right. We are still recovering from 1993 and 1994. One area I used to hunt would issue 600 permits and the area adjacent to it was 900 permits.
The numbers now are 75 and 150. They have been that way since then.