Wyoming Antelope

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Any tips for a western rookie headed out to area 20 with some doe tags? Was not our first choice and we are fully expecting crowded public land but we will make the best of it. Our main goal for this year was to learn more about western hunts in general, find out what gear we like and what we don't, etc. But hopefully we can stumble upon a antelope in the process! We are 1700+ miles away so boots on the ground is not a option right now unfortunately, but we have many many hours in studying maps and all the E-research i can find. Any helpful info is greatly appreciated.
 
I posted elsewhere but I can sum up what most people will tell you about eastern units. When I first starting researching WY it was a broken record w/ these

Opening day/week there are a ton of hunters. Either deal with the crowds and less pressured animals or go later and deal with less animals(maybe) and less hunters(likely)
--Access to public chunks via public roads will be limited.
--You probably arent going to spot and shoot one within a hundred yards of the road. Get out and walk.
--Get OnX and cross reference it with the County Road Map. Drop a waypoint for every public access point via a road.
 
I posted elsewhere but I can sum up what most people will tell you about eastern units. When I first starting researching WY it was a broken record w/ these

Opening day/week there are a ton of hunters. Either deal with the crowds and less pressured animals or go later and deal with less animals(maybe) and less hunters(likely)
--Access to public chunks via public roads will be limited.
--You probably arent going to spot and shoot one within a hundred yards of the road. Get out and walk.
--Get OnX and cross reference it with the County Road Map. Drop a waypoint for every public access point via a road.
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I had a 20-1 tag one year. Lots of goats, but tough access for sure. Eventually stumbled into a right place/right time situation on a small buck. I would definitely avoid the first week or so.
 
I posted elsewhere but I can sum up what most people will tell you about eastern units. When I first starting researching WY it was a broken record w/ these

Opening day/week there are a ton of hunters. Either deal with the crowds and less pressured animals or go later and deal with less animals(maybe) and less hunters(likely)
--Access to public chunks via public roads will be limited.
--You probably arent going to spot and shoot one within a hundred yards of the road. Get out and walk.
--Get OnX and cross reference it with the County Road Map. Drop a waypoint for every public access point via a road.

Thanks for the response
-Already using OnX and have done exactly that.
-We are preparing ourselves for longer hikes as well. We aren't slobs by any means and walk 1-2 miles to hunt deer on public around home BUT exercise can't hurt!! We have been climbing flights of stairs 3-4 days a week and loading up day packs and hiking around neighborhood in the evenings. Funny looks from neighbors but who cares.
-And we are definitely torn on opener or waiting couple weeks. If opener we could also work it out to scout for a day or so before. But again, crowded.
 
Thanks for the response
-Already using OnX and have done exactly that.
-We are preparing ourselves for longer hikes as well. We aren't slobs by any means and walk 1-2 miles to hunt deer on public around home BUT exercise can't hurt!! We have been climbing flights of stairs 3-4 days a week and loading up day packs and hiking around neighborhood in the evenings. Funny looks from neighbors but who cares.
-And we are definitely torn on opener or waiting couple weeks. If opener we could also work it out to scout for a day or so before. But again, crowded.

You may not realize the zoo that is unleashed as the sun rises on opening day. Every bit of accessible land will be pressured. A running herd of pronghorn on public might have multiple hunters shooting within seconds of each other and at varying angles that might make a safety-conscious hunter shake their head and wonder if this is hunting. You might hear 250 shots in first 15 minutes.

I hunted an eastern WY unit that had over 1000 buck/doe tags with limited public access one year on opening day and will never again. I hiked 20 miles in 3 days and even in nasty gullies climbing in and out to get 2 miles from a road I would still bump into other hunters willing to do more than road hunt. Often I would get deep into public and an adjoining private land outfitter had a hunter or two driving along the fence as could climb oven onto public if saw something out of view from the point of public access. My experience only, though.
 
Any tips for a western rookie headed out to area 20 with some doe tags? Was not our first choice and we are fully expecting crowded public land but we will make the best of it. Our main goal for this year was to learn more about western hunts in general, find out what gear we like and what we don't, etc. But hopefully we can stumble upon a antelope in the process! We are 1700+ miles away so boots on the ground is not a option right now unfortunately, but we have many many hours in studying maps and all the E-research i can find. Any helpful info is greatly appreciated.

Oh you'll definitely stumble upon an antelope for sure. The wildlife biologist for the unit will be your best friend. Ask them about the areas you have identified on your map, hunting pressure, places you can camp/not camp, etc. But realize it's Wyoming and there are antelope. Make sure you have a plan for if you don't shoot a doe close to the road; how are you going to get it back to the truck, how are you going to get the meat cooled, how are you going to get the meat processed and home.

Not sure what you mean by wanting "to learn more about western hunts in general", as there's not much like pronghorn hunting. If it were me with only doe tags, (granted I have no experience in Unit 20) I'd hunt like I had a buck tag and see if I can't find a good buck. I'd take digiscoping pics and vids of the bucks I find (to try to better understand field judging bucks for future tags) and then see if I can shoot a doe out of a group with a good buck.
 
20 is going to be hard hard to kill an animal in. I drove big chunks of it last year looking for a doe without success. The large majority of good habitat is private. If you can be on a small chunk of BLM that has antelope in the general area, you stand a chance. Just be there on opening morning or they will all be shot off.
 
Its up to you but as I noted previously, skipping opening day/week is going to have you avoiding a ton of the hunting pressure the tradeoff of course is there may be less animals later in the season. I compare it to opening weekend for deer here in WI- there are 600k hunters out and sounds like WWIII for the first couple hours. But if you go out the following weekend you will see essentially no one, I typically see less animals but still can get on some as they start to move back into their typical areas that they were pressured out of. All it takes is one pronghorn to make your hunt
 
Oh you'll definitely stumble upon an antelope for sure. No special gear needed for doe antelope tags. Make sure you can shoot straight and, if you are concerned with finding animals, call the biologist for the unit about the areas you have identified on your map. But realize it's Wyoming and there are antelope. Make sure you have a plan for if you don't shoot a doe close to the road; how are you going to get it back to the truck, how are you going to get the meat cooled, how are you going to get the meat processed and home.

Not sure what you mean by wanting "to learn more about western hunts in general", as there's not much like pronghorn hunting. If it were me with only doe tags, I'd hunt like I had a buck tag and see if I can't find a good buck. I'd take digiscoping pics and vids of the bucks I find (to try to better understand field judging bucks for future tags) and then see if I can shoot a doe out of a group with a good buck. Otherwise you're just looking for the first doe you can find and shoot it.

-meat care plan is(and please tell me if I am not thinking correctly) : gutless method, game bags, pack out on backs, cooler at truck prepped with block ice and fill dead space with loose ice...meat on top of ice and keep water drained off of course.
-we are planning on hunting 3-4 days(just 2 of us) I will have go pros and cameras with me as well because I enjoy that aspect of the outdoors just as much and I like the idea you mentioned of learning field judging. Maybe even attempting a stalk to within bow range if the opportunity presents itself if nothing else but for the learning experience.
-as far learning about western hunts you have to understand we know nothing but deer and turkey,maybe a few ducks, where we live. I know antelope terrain and hunt style is not the same as elk or mule deer etc. But we have to start somewhere.
 
-meat care plan is(and please tell me if I am not thinking correctly) : gutless method, game bags, pack out on backs, cooler at truck prepped with block ice and fill dead space with loose ice...meat on top of ice and keep water drained off of course.
-we are planning on hunting 3-4 days(just 2 of us) I will have go pros and cameras with me as well because I enjoy that aspect of the outdoors just as much and I like the idea you mentioned of learning field judging. Maybe even attempting a stalk to within bow range if the opportunity presents itself if nothing else but for the learning experience.
-as far learning about western hunts you have to understand we know nothing but deer and turkey,maybe a few ducks, where we live. I know antelope terrain and hunt style is not the same as elk or mule deer etc. But we have to start somewhere.

I take a vacuum sealer with pleated 11" bags and plug into the 110 outlet in my truck bed. A power inverter would work too. A hindquarter will fit easily into a bag. Vac seal and into the cooler it goes. No need to drain or worry about water getting in.
 
I take a vacuum sealer with pleated 11" bags and plug into the 110 outlet in my truck bed. A power inverter would work too. A hindquarter will fit easily into a bag. Vac seal and into the cooler it goes. No need to drain or worry about water getting in.
Awesome idea! Already have the vacuum sealer just need a power inverter.
 

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