First Antelope in Wyoming questions from a newbie

[3rdCoastTXHunter]

Hello all, this will be my first time to hunt antelope ever. I have never hunted out of the state of Texas and first time to hunt public land . I have a couple of questions regarding Wyoming that I'm sure seem silly, but trying to figure it all out. We will be in the Casper area. I have on X maps and have been trying to put something together. I see a lot of roads that go through public but have fences. Could I park off the road and just jump it? Some seem to not have the easement shaded as public. Some have access roads with cattle guards, I assume you just drive onto it and go from there.

I have also found a spot and checked the road and bridges map that says its a county road that goes to public. The road leads to a gate just off of the road. I would assume you just park there and walk the rest of the way in? Is there a way to acquire access? Feel free to pm me as well, I'll take any advice or pointers I can get.

Thanks, Matt

 

[Dsnow9]

I wouldn’t want to give you answers that would get you in trouble but general rule is if the public directly butts up to the road you can jump the fence. You cannot shoot from the fence post. You must be over the fence to shoot. When it comes to gates I would call the local warden and double check. Some of the public land is leased and may have specific rules.

 

[LopeHunter]

Wyoming, especially on the eastern third, are where dreams of easy, legal access to pronghorn on public land die. OnXMaps might be worth your money as is easier to read than a paper map when you absolutely know where you are as you look at a fence. Wyoming has some fantastic public land to hunt pronghorn but Casper is not where you find it, in my opinion.

About what is the success rate of other hunters the past few years on the tag(s) you hold? That is a clue as shooting a pronghorn is relatively easy in WY as long as have access. If harvest is below 80% then on the eastern third that is 100% private land success, 100% local hunters success, and a lot of non-local public hunter tag soup to end up at 70% overall.

Is a pretty drive up from TX so is worth the tag even if do not fill just to see the way things look different every 500 miles or so. If you hunt a couple of weeks after the opener then gets simpler though the pronghorn may be skittish. I hunted an opener on an easy to draw/leftover tag and was not to my liking. Seeing a string of 15 pronghorn running at full tilt with three or more groups of hunters unloading at 100s of yards and often bullet paths were towards other people. No pronghorn is worth my life. I hiked over hill tops from roads on public and felt safer but never was able to get away from some hunters that opted for the same plan. I would not want to be on an active road as the sun came up opening day ever again.

Maybe was a one off thing I stumbled into but once was plenty and I have hunted central and western WY for pronghorn successfully 3 times so will wait until can build points up for a less crowded unit with more public access.

 

[nemeth8]

I am coming up from TX as well and hunting south of Casper..... seems like there is a lot of public land but of course it is never black and white as you'd hope..... I was looking n Onx and noticed so many spots of BLM that are completely surrounded by private...... does that mean you can drive through the private land to reach the BLM?

 

[Deleted member 38069]

I am coming up from TX as well and hunting south of Casper..... seems like there is a lot of public land but of course it is never black and white as you'd hope..... I was looking n Onx and noticed so many spots of BLM that are completely surrounded by private...... does that mean you can drive through the private land to reach the BLM?

No, welcome to the problem that TRCP and onX have been trying to combat. Those chunks of public land are "landlocked" and cannot be accessed

 

[rwc101]

I am coming up from TX as well and hunting south of Casper..... seems like there is a lot of public land but of course it is never black and white as you'd hope..... I was looking n Onx and noticed so many spots of BLM that are completely surrounded by private...... does that mean you can drive through the private land to reach the BLM?

Another case of it being hard to say without more details. If there is a public road going through the private to the BLM, yes. If the road is private/no public easement, no you cannot. There is a lot of "landlocked" public land that is not accessible. Look at county GIS sites to see if you can determine whether it is a private or county road.

 

[Bigjay73]

There aren't many antelope in that section of the unit tbh. Now that works 2 ways, there also may not be many hunters, but finding pronghorn will be more difficult. Good luck,

 

[vikingload]

I am coming up from TX as well and hunting south of Casper..... seems like there is a lot of public land but of course it is never black and white as you'd hope..... I was looking n Onx and noticed so many spots of BLM that are completely surrounded by private...... does that mean you can drive through the private land to reach the BLM?

It really depends, in my unit some of the public land is land locked, but has a county or public road through the private. I usually hit up On x and get a paper map as on some of the paper maps they highlight which roads are public versus private. When I have any doubts I usually contact the local game warden to make sure I am not trespassing, and they are usually pretty helpful in detailing where you can and cannot go. Even with that said it usually takes me a season or two to really get a feel for a unit and where the roads and public that is accessible is at.

 

[nemeth8]

It really depends, in my unit some of the public land is land locked, but has a county or public road through the private. I usually hit up On x and get a paper map as on some of the paper maps they highlight which roads are public versus private. When I have any doubts I usually contact the local game warden to make sure I am not trespassing, and they are usually pretty helpful in detailing where you can and cannot go. Even with that said it usually takes me a season or two to really get a feel for a unit and where the roads and public that is accessible is at.

Got it..... thanks for the input. Looks like I need to find a paper map and learn the difference between public and private roads.

 

[Bigjay73]

When are you going to be there, how many of you are there? I'll be there the first weekend, but am not expecting much other than a shit show. If it's just you, I can show you around, try to find you something to shoot, I can hunt any weekend I want.

 

[Wy067]

Got it..... thanks for the input. Looks like I need to find a paper map and learn the difference between public and private roads.

Google search Natrona County Wyoming Road and Bridge. On the county website, you'll be able to find a pdf map showing all of the public roads within the county. Repeat for Carbon County.

 

[nemeth8]

Google search Natrona County Wyoming Road and Bridge. On the county website, you'll be able to find a pdf map showing all of the public roads within the county. Repeat for Carbon County.

You are the man. I appreciate it. Looking forward to getting back to the great state of Wyoming.

 

[Bob-WY]

Simply put, you can't tell all from one source. OnX is great for showing you public/private land, it even shows roads, but it doesn't show which roads are open to you. Where I am I see LOTS of public land that is just brutally hard, if not impossible, to get to. Match up OnX with the county road agency and you should have a good starting point. Then hit up the local warden, they are great for questions.

One place I hunt, OnX looks good (it is), then the road goes through the middle of private and the road goes to public again. When I first drove it, you come to a fence and on both sides of the road on the other side of the fence/gate are posted signs, all in all, very confusing. So I asked a warden. It's a public road through private land. You are free to drive JUST DON'T LEAVE THAT ROAD.

Also often times public land, especially large pieces, will be gated, they often have cattle on the land, stay away from them, they usually stay away from you! Most BLM and State land you can drive IF THERES AN ESTABLISHED ROAD, or two track. Watch for signs saying "end of motorized road" One spot I hunt has 3 different road branches that just "end" for no apparent reason, but there are signs there saying to stop. You can walk through. Last week one of those signs was laying on the ground where it was standing a few days earlier.

 

[3rdCoastTXHunter]

Thanks all for the replies!!

Matt