Success Rates in Eastern WY

Success Rates for only public land antelope in Eastern WY

  • 75%

    Votes: 22 61.1%
  • 50%

    Votes: 3 8.3%
  • 25%

    Votes: 4 11.1%
  • piss off you non resident

    Votes: 7 19.4%

  • Total voters
    36

arthurpete

Member
Joined
May 19, 2020
Messages
44
First of all, hello HT...i am a newb around these parts but long time watcher of Fresh Tracks. Im just a southern whitetail hunter looking to get out west and of course i have settle on antelope in WY and possibly MT and ive been consumed now for a few weeks digging into units, access, data etc.

Anyways, Im just wondering what folks opinions are when it comes to success rates. Many of the units are pretty high for antelope but im wondering what the realistic success rate is for strictly public land with no private access, trespass fees etc. Im guessing that a fair amount of non residents gain access to private land through the use of guides or paying tresspass fees and that those success rates are near 100% while strictly public land hunting is a good bit lower...but how much lower is what im curious about.

Poll to follow...
 
Welcome to HT. I would say 75-85%. Depends on unit to some degree. I agree that access to private and/or guided would increase success rates but there are ample opportunities on public for those willing to get after it. Ive done 8 trips to Wyoming all public and did not bring home a buck once. I filled doe tags every time.
 
Welcome to HT. I would say 75-85%. Depends on unit to some degree. I agree that access to private and/or guided would increase success rates but there are ample opportunities on public for those willing to get after it. Ive done 8 trips to Wyoming all public and did not bring home a buck once. I filled doe tags every time.

Excellent to hear! Im putting in my homework now and have been looking at units (with decent draw for 0 pts) that have a few walk in areas that connect to more public land as those seem to be the ticket.
 
Just FYI, the success rates that WGFD publishes are collected from actual hunter polls post season.

i assumed that but wasnt sure, would be nice to have them add another question in there in regards to harvest on public vs private.
 
Just FYI, the success rates that WGFD publishes are collected from actual hunter polls post season.
The success rates given by the WGFD don't separate public/private success. It would be a more useful tool if they did. But as deer_shooter said put some effort and research into your hunt and the odds will be better.
 
Would say it varies a lot by unit and just how difficult public access really is in a given unit. Probably not much below 50% even in the worst unit if you aren’t trophy hunting.

Your odds increase substantially if you’re skilled with a gps and understand Access Yes options.
 
I have been to Wyoming the last 2 years. Like others said if you do your research and burn some boot leather there is no reason you can't find success. I plan on applying for the same area again this year. Pictures are from 2018 and 2019.
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i assumed that but wasnt sure, would be nice to have them add another question in there in regards to harvest on public vs private.
Note that the success rates are extrapolated. It’s not a physical count of every animal tagged as it is in some eastern states. The WY method will result in a larger margin for error vs a state such as WI that requires registration of every deer, turkey, bear, etc that is shot.

Also, given the large amount of folks that hunt public land only, the best answer to your poll is either 50% or 75%. I’d wager the true number is somewhere in between.
 
I have been to Wyoming the last 2 years. Like others said if you do your research and burn some boot leather there is no reason you can't find success. I plan on applying for the same area again this year. Pictures are from 2018 and 2019.

Very nice!
 
Would say it varies a lot by unit and just how difficult public access really is in a given unit. Probably not much below 50% even in the worst unit if you aren’t trophy hunting.

Your odds increase substantially if you’re skilled with a gps and understand Access Yes options.

I certainly wont be trophy hunting, in fact ill be looking at some reduced doe tags just to provide some greater opportunity.

Ive got OnX and have been using GoHunts resources. GIS is my day job so i feel really comfortable with the logistical portion of it, ill probably have some customs geopdfs loaded up before i even get out there.

The Accesss Yes areas are exactly what im looking into, finding some walk in sites and hope to get back in there a bit.
 
I've killed three antelopes on NE Wyoming. Two on public one on private. Private goats are easier to hunt but if you are willing to put miles on your boots and truck scouting, you will be rewarded. I've yet to not easily find goats on public in the NE corner...
 
Here is what we did on our first trip my wife and I did last year along with my Dad and a buddy.

We applied for buck tags in a southern unit and used a unit around the bighorns as a second choice that had over 50% chance of drawing. We in the same southern unit applied for doe tags, two chances each.

We ended up with a total of 9 tags. 3 buck tags in the second choice unit near the bighorns and 6 doe tags in the southern unit. It was about 3.5 hours between these units.

We started with does. Got to that unit and it has about 1/3 public land but lots of checkerboard. We chose this area mostly for our buck tags and the doe tags allowed us to scout it for bucks. Success rates on the doe tag was really high and with the amount of public land, figured it was be pretty easy. I would highly recommend this stategy for any first time hunter For antelope because boy was it easy. First day we actually had a flat tire and since we arrived in the afternoon, the day was shot. Saw some lope to give us hope we would get a few tagged the next day. Well crap, by 8am we had 4/6 down it was that easy...every square mile it seems has antelope in that rawlings area...we got the other two being way more selective shooting big mature does by end of day.

The North unit where we drew buck tags was a whole different animal. Snowstorm hit dropping some early snow. We had to work hard and do some hiking in the limited public that existed in this unit. Many many many antelope on private, not so much on public along with a hunter parked at almost every access area. Did manage to kill two bucks and my wife didn't want to settle for a doe and passed up a few. We did have 4 encounters with bucks and just she never got a shot chance.

So in summary, if you want to shoot an antelope for the experience and don't care about horns, success almost has to be 100% if you head to an area with decent public land and doe tags. Look around rawlings...
 
As a Southern hunter myself, I think you have the planning and research part down. The most important thing you can do now is get your rifle ready for 200-300 yard shots. Antelope hunting is like playing basketball in a giant domed stadium. There’s no backdrop behind the animal. Take a good rangefinder and shoot from a rest or bipods.
 
As a Southern hunter myself, I think you have the planning and research part down. The most important thing you can do now is get your rifle ready for 200-300 yard shots. Antelope hunting is like playing basketball in a giant domed stadium. There’s no backdrop behind the animal. Take a good rangefinder and shoot from a rest or bipods.

Yep, this will be new territory. I dont believe i have taken a shot over 100 yards before. Got to get in some range time.

Im guessing 10 or 12 x binos is a must? I have a set of 8x42's but im guessing those will be a bit underpowered.
 
To spot antelope, you don't really even need bino. To spot a buck or doe, 8x is plenty. To spot and decide on what is a trophy animal in your mind beyond 200 yards, 10x is probably required. Beyond that, either you need a spotting scope or more boot leather. Better optics and higher power means less boots on the ground but comes at more to carry and more $$$
 
Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping Systems

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