Wyoming Area 113

[Nick28]

Looking at taking a trip to Wyoming to pronghorn hunt with my dad. We both have 0 points so we were looking at 113 since it looks like it doesn't take any points to draw there. Just wondering if it is worth the trip out there and if we would be able to see a lot of goats. I know the both of us won't be looking for a huge buck, just hoping to have a couple chances. Any insight would be greatly appreciated, and if there are any suggestions on other 0 point units that would be better than 113 I would love to hear them. Thanks Guys.

 

[Addicting]

There are a lot of threads on here about 0 point units and leftover tags. Use the search function in the Antelope section and search by city or HMA area names to narrow it down. All the information you need is there.

 

[bigsky2]

113 has terrible access to public. If you could gain access to the big chunk of public in the middle of the unit you would probably have a good hunt.

 

[roknHS]

Been there and hunted it...............BLM on the South end is accessible but gets hit really hard continually. Pressure runs the antelope off on the opener. BLM in the middle has limited access and also is continually hit hard. Essentially you have two areas that everyone with a nos res tag is forced into..........it is a tough unit that looks promising at first glance but, has some real draw backs.

 

[NoWiser]

I haven't hunted it but I've read numerous threads on this site about it if you use the search function.

 

[Nick28]

Did you have any luck when you were there?

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I would not hunt 113 as this C/P right from the G&F Hunt Planner is right on the button:

The hunt area has a significant amount of public land but for the most part access is controlled by surrounding private landowners. Public access is limited to accessible lands around the edge of the hunt area. No public roads access the sizeable blocks of BLM and Wyoming State Trust lands located in the interior of the hunt area. Hunters willing to walk to public lands where vehicle access is restricted will find low hunter densities. Expect high hunter densities on accessible public lands, especially early in the hunting season. Hunting pressure moves antelope to adjacent private lands which frustrates public land hunters. Access to hunt private lands can be difficult to secure with most opportunity limited to outfitted or trespass fee hunting. This hunt area is identified as an area with difficult public access. Hunter densities are highest the first few days of the hunting season so hunters planning a hunt later in the season will see fewer hunters in the field.

 

[madtom]

I hunted 113 in 2017. It was very busy on opening day. There are a lot of tags and not many access points to the vast public parcels. My impressions walking away were that if you avoided the first few days and are truly willing to hike 6-8 miles, you will eventually have a shot at a 10-12" buck. Saw plenty of goats on private that could very well wander on and off of public.

I had doe tags in other units and after seeing the opening day circus, decided I didn't need a third antelope badly enough to hunt that hard when I also had deer and elk tags elsewhere that were more appealing at the time.

 

[PrairieHunter]

One thing that can be helpful is the walk in map.
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Public-Access/Walk-In-Hunting

There are some units that do not have much BLM, State, USFS, etc but do have quite a bit of walk in opportunities for antelope. Especially in the Eastern side of the state.

 

[Irrelevant]

Interesting... my onx-fu tells me that 90% of the public land in that unit has legal public access. Can you drive to it? No. Can you hike to it? Yes. Will it take all day? Probably. But to say it's inaccessible is very Trumpian.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

My impressions walking away were that if you avoided the first few days and are truly willing to hike 6-8 miles, you will eventually have a shot at a 10-12" buck.

I have found this to be true of all of the easy to draw units in that area... 113, 23,22, 25, etc. there are good bucks, but you have to be willing to walk for 3+ hours one way for a single shot opportunity, which will probably be your only opportunity for the day. It's definitely more like elk hunting than your typical pronghorn hunt were you might get 5-6 stalks in a morning glassing from your truck.

 

[Nick28]

Thanks guys, really helped me out. Might need to try to find a different unit or state.

 

[madtom]

Thanks guys, really helped me out. Might need to try to find a different unit or state.

My experience has been that the low hanging fruit has been found. Hunting on leftover buck tags means you're either getting private access or you're going to work hard to succeed. I didn't mean to discourage you from 113, just to say that getting a buck there (or in just about any leftover unit) will take more effort than tags that require a few points to draw.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Interesting... my onx-fu tells me that 90% of the public land in that unit has legal public access. Can you drive to it? No. Can you hike to it? Yes. Will it take all day? Probably. But to say it's inaccessible is very Trumpian.

If it does say that, it's going to get people in trouble because the only legally accessible public land is on the south/southeast part of the unit. Even then you can't drive into the BlM very far without having to park and walk yourself to death. The Hunt Planner information I C/Pd is correct about the bulk of the BLM being inaccessible without going through private land.

 

[The Hedgehog]

you have to be willing to walk for 3+ hours one way for a single shot opportunity

Just curious, how far can you walk in antelope country in 3 hours ?

 

[Irrelevant]

If it does say that, it's going to get people in trouble because the only legally accessible public land is on the south/southeast part of the unit. Even then you can't drive into the BlM very far without having to park and walk yourself to death. The Hunt Planner information I C/Pd is correct about the bulk of the BLM being inaccessible without going through private land.

Now I'm at a quandary, do I post the map and prove the access or do I just keep that little 37k acre "secret" to myself...

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Just curious, how far can you walk in antelope country in 3 hours ?

Really depends like anything, right? On a trail with my backpacking gear,45lbs?, I find I can usually do 3-3.5ish mph, if I have to pick my way through broken, steep terrain that is unfamiliar might only be .25mph maybe less. When hunting pronghorn county I typically try to link up cow paths, roads and creek bottoms, where I can make good time to get to the spot I want to start hunting. In most of those units I could do 5 miles in 3 hours with just a day pack, if I could walk on a close road the entire time 8 or 9.

That said, I backpack into an area so that I'm not doing the 10-12 miles round trip every day.

 

[madtom]

Now I'm at a quandary, do I post the map and prove the access or do I just keep that little 37k acre "secret" to myself...

Anyone with onx can see it. Not sure what TG is talking about there being no access in the NW portion of the unit. Granted, I'm not likely to hike the 11+ miles one way to get there.

The buck I watched get shot in 113 was killed on a 20 acre piece of BLM along the north highway. Sometimes you just get lucky.

 

[LCH]

Just curious, how far can you walk in antelope country in 3 hours ?

The patch he's talking about, you basically have to walk 3 miles for every 1 as the crow flies due to the jigsaw puzzle configuration. That said, the only person I saw back there was a rancher on his utv. Probably different now that everyone has onx.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

^ Yeah that's a good point it might take you an entire day to traverse 5 sections.