Wymoning antelope help

joshtepen · Dec 14, 2005

I am looking to do an unguided antelope hunt in Wyoming next year. Looking at the draw results, units 23 or 32 look like a good chance to draw. Has anyone hunted in these units? What is the size of antelope you will find? I have asked for a list of landowners who charge for trespass fees. Also does anyone know what a decent price is for a decent goat? This will be my first antelope hunt and I am trying to do it without an outfitter. Thanks in advance for the help.

joshtepen · Dec 14, 2005

It would help if I could spell.

upmuley · Dec 14, 2005

I have not hunted those units but $50-$100 will put you on decent goats. More money does not necessarily equate better quality or quantity. Talk to the warden for those units and the biologist. I would ask the warden to give me 3 or 4 names of people he would check with if he were in your shoes. If you are striking out with those ranchers ask them if they might know of someone to hunt with based on how much you want to spend and what you are looking for. Good luck.

HYK · Dec 17, 2005

Wyoming is getting to be a pretty dificult draw for non-residents.

alsatian · Dec 18, 2005

Unit 23 is usually easy to draw in. In 2004 and 2003, for example, this unit was undersubscribed. I paid $100/gun to hunt for two days (my son and I) on a property about 5 minutes outside of Gillette. My son took a 13.5" buck. I don't think there are going to be very large horns available in unit 23 due to the large number of permits there. Where there are large bucks, I would wager there is a good chance a savy outfitter has leased the land and will charge a pretty penny to take you onto this land to hunt. Just my guess.

I do not measure the success of my hunts by the size of headgear of my quarry. In this 2004 pronghorn hunt I took a doe. It tasted as good or better than my son's buck.

Me2Hunter · Dec 20, 2005

Hello joshtepen,
Looking to do some antelope hunting in Wyoming? Area 55 which is southwest of the town of Rawlins has some very nice size antelope. It's public land and is a very large area to hunt. I have hunted this area quite a bit and have taken good size antelope every time I go.

Nothing like guttin' a 6x6 elk at 7:30 in the morning.

joshtepen · Dec 20, 2005

Me2hunter,

Thanks for the help. Is there a decent chance to draw 55? I am not looking for anything real special just a respectable animal. How is the access in 55? I have a friend who is hunting with me and the only year he gets to go is next year. So we are trying to find a unit we can draw and can hunt without getting shot at.

Me2Hunter · Dec 21, 2005

Joshtepen,
Access to area 55 in very easy. It is approx 5-7 miles southwest of Rawlins just off of I-80. As far as encountering other hunters, you will, but not anything to worry about as far as being shot at. The area is huge and has plenty of antelope to choose from. As far as drawing, I really can't tell you about non-resident apps. I will say this, evey time my wife and I put in for it, we draw. Good luck.

Nothing like guttin' a 6x6 elk at 7:30 in the morning.

Triple_BB · Dec 21, 2005

They've killed all the quality out of 32. Look how many tags the G & F has been giving out in 32 over the last five years. No goat herd can sustain that type of onslaught and maintain any quality. Last year it was difficult to find anything over 12". If yer a meat hunter, you'll go home with something in the truck. If you're looking for a chance at a quality buck, you'll probably go home disappointed. Just say thanks to the guys at the Wyoming G & F...

jims · Dec 21, 2005

I don't claim to be an expert about unit 55 but you may want to watch your step where you hunt in that unit. The entire unit is checkard-board so that means every other section is private. You can't access public land through private so a large chunk of the entire stretch from east of Rawlins to Rock Springs (north and south of I80) is off limits unless you have permission. You may want to check with the local WG&F or BLM office to see if they might be able to give you names of landowners that allow hunting for an access fee. It is really sad so many miles of federal land is locked up!

joshtepen · Dec 22, 2005

I have got a list of landowner that allow trespass fees and now I need to find a unit. Looks like units 6, 9, 11, 26, 28, 30, 31, 32 have a lot of landowners that allow access for trespass fees. Now what shoudl be the next step? It looks like I can draw most of these units and they have a high success rate. But does has anyone hunted these units? And does anyone know or recommend a landowner. I am kinda shooting in the dark by calling and taking a chance. Im sure most are trustworthy, but I dont want to get out there and not see any animals. Thanks for all the help so far.

martinc · Dec 22, 2005

Can I ask you where you got the list, I would like to arrange a similar trip...
mc

jims · Dec 22, 2005

There are known to be more antelope in Wyo than people. I wouldn't worry to much about seeing antelope on your hunt! Success rates on Wyo antelope hunts are in the 80 to 100% range. The biggest problem (as you have found out) is drawing a tag and getting permission to hunt. It doesn't take a rocket scientest to figure out that the units with a lot of public land that are known to produce big bucks are extremely tough to draw while units that are almost all private often have left over tags.

If I draw a unit with a lot of private land I take a drive up to the unit and start knocking on doors in the summer. Most ranchers have their quota of hunters by the end of the summer. Some charge quite a bit while others may let you hunt for nothing. Obviously it is pretty tough getting to know landowners, the country, quality and number of antelope on the internet but it is still possible to learn quite a bit. If you draw a tag you may want to venture up to Wyo for a vacation this summer to look around?

I have a feeling that this year's draw odds are going to be somewhat tougher than previous years for all species in Wyo. There are going to be a lot of guys trying to get in on the new Wyo pref pt system for deer, antelope, and elk from the start which will likely make most units tougher to draw. Some of the antelope units you mention give out an abundance of tags and have lots of private land so they may not change as much as some of the high demand units.

joshtepen · Dec 22, 2005

Thanks for the info Jims. Everyone I talk to that has hunted antelope says the same, no problem seeing antelope, just getting the tag. I guess the thing to do is start calling some landowners and listen to what they have to say and see how many hunters they allow, price, ext. I am just interested in a quality hunt. the size of the horns is not that big of a deal ( of course I would love a trophy but for myself a respectable animal 12" or better horns would be fine. I just njoy going out west and I really dont want to pay an outfitter.

Martinc - I called the wyoming game and fish and asked for a brochure and a landowner list.

chambero · Dec 22, 2005

LAST EDITED ON Dec-22-05 AT 01:31PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Dec-22-05 AT 01:29?PM (MST)

I hunted Unit 23 for antelope this year. Paid $420 to hunt a very big ranch that has a very tightly controlled harvest. Frankly, I had been waiting about 7-8 years for an opening to come up on this ranch. My friend and I took very nice antelope, but haven't had them scored. They weren't B&C class, but they aren't that far below. The taxidermist up there we left them with considered them to be very good ones also.

There are lots of antelope in this unit, but it is practically all private land. Horn quality depends upon moisture each year to a large degree.

We hunted 29 the year before on public land and got 12" bucks. Had a great time.

Personally, I found the WY G&F list to be next to useless. If you start right now, you might find something.

jims · Dec 22, 2005

One thing you may want to remember is the names of the ranchers that are given to you by game warden are probably the same names given to gobs of other hunters! The ranchers that don't advertise are usually the ones that you could potentially have a better quality experience and possibly find better bucks on their place!

Another thing that may make your experience better is not to go on opening weekend. Most antelope seasons in Wyo last several weeks and I'd venture a guess that 75% of the hunters are done the first couple of days. Some of the best bucks get shot on opening weekend but there is usually a fraction of hunters in the field after that time.