Unit 18 Questions

[Mikeez]

Hitting the road Saturday morning. Going to Yellowstone first, so it’ll be towards the middle/end of next week before we get to hunt. Hoping that crowds die down between now and then, and that the antelope calm down just a bit as well

The past couple years as the season goes on, I'd see huge herds of antelope. They are hard to sneak on, while in bed. But, you can get close enough for a shot. Very hard to pick out single antelope because there are so many. Be ready for the moving shots. I think these big herds get pushed up from the private land.

 

[Wyojessen]

Number of hunters and lack of ability to get away from roads have led me to not hunt that unit anymore. You can find success, but you’ll need to cover country and bring your lucky rabbits foot. Good luck!

 

[EastTNHunter]

Well, I thought that we were going to take our time… but she decided that she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth and shot a buck just an hour into her first morning’s hunt. Yes, there were plenty of people traveling the roads and hunting, ranching, and working, but everyone seemed to be playing nice. I heard that it was really a zoo yesterday.

Saw a ton of goats and deer, but the vast majority were well on private land. God just blessed her with this one on a small parcel where we could put a stalk on it. I can definitely understand how some people could be frustrated with this unit

Special thanks to Bluffgruff, Elkfever2, and Blackcats06 for answering questions about strategy through PM.

 

[mylsuhat]

I was able to get my first ever antelope in 18 also on Sunday. Hunted hard on Saturday in some nasty weather but had no luck.

Sunday Morning I pulled off the road along a decent chunk of BLM/WY land. Hills ran parallel to the road so I climbed up and as I peaked over, I saw 4 antelope about a mile off leaving a pond. Quick check on OnX says they're public. Let's go!

I drop down and begin to make my way towards them. I peak over to check and don't see them. No big deal. I start to drop back and I see an antelope skyline'd 600yds from me on top of the highest hill. I freeze. We stare for 2 min or so and he trots off.

When I get around that big hill I spotted the skyline'd goat I see a couple antelope feeding in a valley. Un-alarmed. I close the distance while slowly checking their position. I got my spotting scope on them, watching 4 antelope when the whole herd comes into view. 15 does/fawns, 1 buck.

I crawled as far as I could without being spotting (shoutout to sitka w/ the built in knee and elbow pads)

I range various hill sides. 275, 330, etc.

They take the close hill/valley. I am looking down my score watching them one by one. They give me a full body view for a second or two. The buck was last. As soon as he steps into my crosshairs I squeeze off.

Instantly I thought I shot too fast. I bolted and looked back to see a white belly. The buck didn't take a step.

 

[CRAZYCARL]

Awesome, nice goat

 

[Pucky Freak]

Congrats to the hunters! Enjoy your antelope meat and the memories.

 

[EastTNHunter]

FWIW, the rifle that she used to shoot this goat was the first rifle that I ever bought when I was 15 or 16 years old. Rem 700 synthetic, .270 Win, black, adl. I rattle canned it several years back, and then semi-recently put a Luepold VX2 on it that I absolutely love, and wish that they still made… this rifle is not a looker, but it’s functional, accurate, and has a ton of sentimentality. I just gave it to her, so it makes this hunt a bit more special

 

[Wallydeuce]

Congratulations to your wife! Well done.

 

[WADoug]

Heading out to unit 18 for antelope with my Dad and my 15 y/o daughter later this week and had a few questions for you fine fellows. Is it worth the headache/risk to pull a quad on a 12 hour trip to unlock additional hunting area? Or will we be ok in my 4WD truck since it appears to have been pretty dry recently? Also, do any of you have advice for camping in the grassland or on BLM in area 18? And do any of you know of landowners that we could pay a few $$ to to get hunting access if we're struggling on public land? This thread has me worried about finding accessible animals. Finally, any specific advice over DM would be greatly appreciated. My dad isn't getting any younger and I'd really like for this three-generation hunt to be a good experience for all involved (except the antelope!). Thanks!

 

[WADoug]

Thought I'd share our experiences from the WY unit 18 public land pronghorn hunt. We hunted October 13-15, so no opening deer/antelope weekend madness for us. The hunter pressure on the week days was pretty well nonexistent. But Saturday had a fair number of hunters out driving and glassing. I'm not sure how many were deer hunters and how many were hunting antelope. There were good concentrations of animals on the private and especially irrigated private property. We had to work to find small herds of antelope on the accessible public land though. It was dry so we were able to drive any road that had public access, which allowed us to access plenty of spots to glass. We did end up taking three bucks in three days, but I'd honestly say that we were pretty lucky to go 3/3. We only stalked one other herd on public land with a buck in it. My daughter's guide (me) wasn't knowledgeable/experienced enough to know how much a 20 mph side wind blows an 80 grain copper solid .243 bullet at 480 yards, so she missed that buck clean. Not one of my prouder moments. But overall, a pretty darn fun and successful hunt! When I go back to WY with friends or family, I'm going to make sure we accumulate a few more points first so we can draw a unit with more public access and higher population density.

And cut me some slack on the size of my buck, y'all! We found him with 30 minutes of shooting light left on the last day and I belly crawled to within a quarter mile with less than 5 minutes of shooting light left. Did I mention that we got lucky to go 3/3?!