Wyoming Antelope Hunting

[huntbux]

Well guys and gals, I am looking to do an Antelope hunt in Wyoming either this year or next. Would like to be able to get a couple of tags likely over the counter or easily attainable in the draw where we can get some hunting experience for my wife and also get my wife's uncle and another family member their first antelope. I am not looking for a trophy hunt. Not to say I wouldn't personally be looking for a 80" goat myself. I just would like to get out there and have a good hunt and see a good amount of antelope.
If anyone has some recommendations they could give of a unit and or general area that would be greatly appreciated. I am not looking for a honey hole and will take the time myself to get out there and find the antelope myself.
If there is a zone or an area I can get multiple tags I.E. buck and doe tags multiple for each hunter that would be great as well.

Thank you ahead of time for any help given.

Also would be willing to look at other states if we can get multiple tags and the ability to see antelope and tags are what I am looking for.
Thanks

 

[huntbux]

well I didn't think I would get much help but I did think that after some people saw the post they may give me a direction to get some info in other than Wyoming fish and game's website.
85 views and only one PM. Better than nothing thank you to that one person for giving me a little help, like I told them anything small is helpful. I'm not looking for any honey hole or anything like that, Just want to get some family members a couple of antelope and get my wife some more hunting experience since she cant hunt Antelope again in Nevada for 5 years and probably wont be getting drawn for anything in Nevada for another 3 to 4.

Thanks

 

[confused coyote]

Do you guys have any points? It is hard to draw any tag that has good access with zero points. I would put in for a hunt on the slim chance that you would draw it and get a point. It is possible to go shoot a couple of does in a unit that has access. Good Luck

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

There are TONS of tags available with 0-1 point including doe tags. You can find a good antelope in almost any unit you hunt if you put in the work both before the season and while you're hunting. Wyoming G&F's website is a lot like NV's in that you can go in and see which units had leftover tags and start looking at the amount of public, maps, etc for those units.
If you're going out to have a good time and want a high probability of putting lead in the air and meat in the freezer then Wyoming is a good place to start.
If you want units with leftover tags, look east of I-25 as there's a lot of leftovers up there in the NE part of the state due to high amounts of private. Even with the private land you can still find places to hunt though with a little effort.

 

[confused coyote]

Shoots is 100% right. You can find units that you can fill some antelope tags with zero points. But you can wait a year or two and get a unit that has big chunks of public land. Then there is now access issues and we won't be reading about your access issues next year. There are lots of threads just like yours in ten different forums. I have even started a couple my self. I'm planning a hunt myself and I made the decision a couple of years ago to wait and to have absolutly no access issues. I would do your homework the best you can from home (Eastmans' antelope book). But even with all the homework you could still show up to your unit and watch antelope across the road on private property for a week. I have friends that have gone over there and knocked on doors and got access that way. But you can't count on that. Everybody says to call the biologist and they will give you a list of land owners that will give you access. I called the biologist and he said that they are not in the business of giving out lists for hunters. Then I though maybe I will try a different biologist and I got the same answer. Driving over 1000 miles and spending over $1000 dollars I personally want zero access issues. There is information about HMAs and walk in areas on the Wyoming website which is helpful. There have probably been thousands of people that have done just fine working around access issues but you can find just as many threads about people that have had problems with access. Good Luck

 

[EBOLAVIRS]

Look at the special draw, you have pretty good odds on a lot of tags that have plenty of public land and lots of goats. The units around the thunderbasin national grasslands have enough public and enough goats to be fun and are not too hard to draw.

Problem is the last couple years, the antelope draw odds have fluctuated so much its hard to predict anything. 0 point units have become 1-2 point units, hard to tell if that trend will continue.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

Look at the special draw, you have pretty good odds on a lot of tags that have plenty of public land and lots of goats. The units around the thunderbasin national grasslands have enough public and enough goats to be fun and are not too hard to draw.

Problem is the last couple years, the antelope draw odds have fluctuated so much its hard to predict anything. 0 point units have become 1-2 point units, hard to tell if that trend will continue.

The toughest to draw units seem to have lots of good access combined with the reputation of bigger animals.

There are tons of posts here with guys noting units you can get a tag and do some hunting. Most of us that hunt Wyoming have been through this process of finding a place to hunt in some form or another.

 

[huntbux]

thanks everyone for the assistance, hope to be able to get everyone on board to go this year if not next.

 

[JohnCushman]

I believe you are allowed 2 full priced tags for throughout the state, whether you can get both in the same unit or not. I know you're allowed 4 doe tags total. When you do your application online you can apply for 2 doe tags in the draw that don't effect your buck choice, then you can grab the other 2 as leftovers. It seems like the eastern part of the state are the easier to draw tags, but a lot of the units have difficult access. But, you can get a landowner list from the counties and a lot of landowners will let you hunt for a small trespass fee, if any at all. Many ranchers and farmers out there see antelope as a nuisance and just want them gone.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I believe you are allowed 2 full priced tags for throughout the state, whether you can get both in the same unit or not. I know you're allowed 4 doe tags total. When you do your application online you can apply for 2 doe tags in the draw that don't effect your buck choice, then you can grab the other 2 as leftovers. It seems like the eastern part of the state are the easier to draw tags, but a lot of the units have difficult access. But, you can get a landowner list from the counties and a lot of landowners will let you hunt for a small trespass fee, if any at all. Many ranchers and farmers out there see antelope as a nuisance and just want them gone.

***You're partially correct on the buck tag comment John. There are a few select units in the state where you can buy a second Type 1 buck tag and unit 23 is one that I know of right off the top of my head. You can only get one license in the draw and would have to buy the second one in the leftover sale in July, but there aren't that many units that allow a second buck to be taken . You can apply for two doe tags in the initial draw for the same or different units. Then you can buy two more in the leftover sale for a total of four. Some units have a two doe limit and some allow all four doe tags to be filled in that one unit. 23 is one of them. The biologist or GW is not the one to contact for landowner lists who will allow access for a fee. They are available if you call the G&F Office in the area where the unit you want to hunt is located and sometimes the Chamber of Commerce may also have a list if you contact one in a big town like Gillette.

 

[JohnCushman]

Thanks for the correction!!

Hey Topgun...why aren't you coming to the bear hunt?

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Thanks for the correction!!

Hey Topgun...why aren't you coming to the bear hunt?

***Bad time of the year for me on that John and I've never really been interested in one of those critters anyway. I hope all that go have a good time and I'm sure they will.

 

[BuzzH]

I believe you can buy a second buck tag in any unit that has leftovers...or 2 if you didnt draw one in the first go round. No more than 2 buck tags total.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

John and BuzzH---I stand corrected.and you guys are correct in that you can buy a second Type 1 buck license as a leftover in any unit that has them. I read one section of the booklet that sounded like it was only in certain units, but it's covered better in a second section of the booklet that states exactly what you guys are saying. Sorry about that!!!

 

[Canoe Country]

This is what we did and you can tell from our previous posts have done pretty well antelope hunting. The east side of the state (within a hundred miles of the border of south Dakota) has some awesome populations of antelope. My best advice is to get the hunting GPS map chip and review it on your computer, then go to the Wyoming department of wildlife website and look at success rates and preference points required... the success rates are jaw dropping. FYI, not all public lands that have a road on the map are public roads and thus cannot legally be accessed. Once you have a unit in mind google the county you are looking to hunt in and get the public road map and see which areas you can actually access. From my experience the flatter the better for antelope, when you start getting around the steep or mountainous terrain the antelope disappear.. not to say they won't be a couple miles away in the flatter areas. I hope this helps with out giving you a honey hole. This method earned my dad, my brother, and me 7 antelope (all the tags we purchased) in 2 days of hunting our first year out. The only reason we hunted 5 days in 2012 is because I was holding out for a bigger buck.