So I posted this first part in the "Who Am I" section also, but figured I would use it to introduce myself here also.
I am from Alabama and have been a hunter since I was a kid. I really enjoy the challenge of everything DIY and have been doing that pretty much my whole hunting life. I am not a backcountry hunter per say, but do like hunting out of a basecamp and don't mind hiking a long way. I mainly archery hunt and have found that to really opens up the public hunting opportunities. I have hunted deer, ducks, pigs, and turkey in several states and have hunted public land in Kansas for whitetail for 7 years now. I have been elk hunting in CO once and wasn't successful but had a great time hiking around each day. I have been collecting PP's in Colorado and Wyoming for elk, deer, antelope, bear, and bighorn sheep for years and I'm currently planning my first antelope hunt.
With all of that being said, 3 friends and I are planning an antelope hunt for this year. Besides the big thing that none of us have ever antelope hunted before
, 2 of my friends do not have any PP's in Wyoming and the 2 of us that have points (4 right now) do not want to burn them in a "0 point to draw" unit. So we're looking at the 700 areas in MT instead. Looking at maps and the Montana FWP page it looks like there is a good bit of public land in those units. If you have hunted any of these units, have you had any trouble accessing the public pieces? Also, have you had the need to or should we also be planning on paying some sort of trespass fees to gain access? I assume most of the land that isn't public is going to be leased up by outfitters, is that a correct assumption? We haven't nailed down the exact date that we're going, but thinking about the end of Sept/beginning of Oct. This trip is going to be a learning experience more than anything and if we happen to get lucky then that will make it even better. Any bits of advice would be appreciated. Thanks
I am from Alabama and have been a hunter since I was a kid. I really enjoy the challenge of everything DIY and have been doing that pretty much my whole hunting life. I am not a backcountry hunter per say, but do like hunting out of a basecamp and don't mind hiking a long way. I mainly archery hunt and have found that to really opens up the public hunting opportunities. I have hunted deer, ducks, pigs, and turkey in several states and have hunted public land in Kansas for whitetail for 7 years now. I have been elk hunting in CO once and wasn't successful but had a great time hiking around each day. I have been collecting PP's in Colorado and Wyoming for elk, deer, antelope, bear, and bighorn sheep for years and I'm currently planning my first antelope hunt.
With all of that being said, 3 friends and I are planning an antelope hunt for this year. Besides the big thing that none of us have ever antelope hunted before
, 2 of my friends do not have any PP's in Wyoming and the 2 of us that have points (4 right now) do not want to burn them in a "0 point to draw" unit. So we're looking at the 700 areas in MT instead. Looking at maps and the Montana FWP page it looks like there is a good bit of public land in those units. If you have hunted any of these units, have you had any trouble accessing the public pieces? Also, have you had the need to or should we also be planning on paying some sort of trespass fees to gain access? I assume most of the land that isn't public is going to be leased up by outfitters, is that a correct assumption? We haven't nailed down the exact date that we're going, but thinking about the end of Sept/beginning of Oct. This trip is going to be a learning experience more than anything and if we happen to get lucky then that will make it even better. Any bits of advice would be appreciated. Thanks
