Wyoming pronghorn

[24/7 hunter]

I am hunting deer and pronghorn in Wyoming this fall. I have a Region C deer permit and a unit 16 antelope permit. Could you tell me where to find deer and antelope in pronghorn unit 16? Is there a good antelope population around Buffalo? Are there more whitetails or muleys around Buffalo?
Thanks

[RedAllison]

Are there mulies and lopes around Buffalo? Is the Pope a Cadillac?

Sheesh louise, man you are in for more of each than you can shake a stick at. I hunted in unit 22 (Crazy Woman Creek area) last Oct and we stayed in Buffalo. The place is ALIVE with both. The public range on the eastside of town actually had antelope grazing in the fields beside the range while we shot or rifles the afternoon we first arrived! The drive from Sheridan too Buffalo is STAGGERING, the entire highway is LINED with deer and antelope. I am not kiddin there are more lopes in that area than anyother place in the country!

As for places, the majority of the land is private but alot of the ranchers allow you to hunt for a trespass fee. If you do the BLM thing then get UPDATED maps and even then it is tough and you will probably end up unknowingly on someones land.

There are more mulies than whiteys but in the lowland areas around the river/creek bottoms there are quite a few whiteys. The mulies and lopes are EVERYWHERE tho, did I mention that?

Good luck and sharpen up your knife,
RA

ps
And oh yeah, you GOTTA eat at Winchesters. Man the steaks are GREAT in that place!!!

[kshunter]

Just a question to add to the discussion.Are theWIHA areas all marked? Here in Kansas they're marked around the whole property pretty well, so it's not too hard to stay on the right land. What is Wyoming like? Thanks

[RedAllison]

The difference between public land areas east of the plains and the public areas in the Rockies and westward are that ones eastward are typically involving tracts that are only a few thousand acres. The ones westward can be thousands of square MILES!!! And to answer your question, no they typically are NOT marked very well, and if they are marked it isn't well maintained. The western frontier still aint tamed with respect to boundaries, updated fences and posted signs. The most common signs out west are old tires hangin on fenceposts with POSTED, NO HUNTING painted on them in white letters!

And as is the case anywhere, ignorance is no excuse. Just because you 'thought' you were on BLM land doesn't make it ok even if you just stepped over an unmarked boundary!
ra

[24/7 hunter]

Could you reccommend a tract of public landaround Buffalo (deer region C; Antelope unit 16) to hunt on that opens october, 1? Prefferably with big muleys and a good population of antelope. What are the chances of getting a good muley and a respectable antelope in about 7 - 10 days of hunting on public land? Also, what is the weather like around Buffalo in october (average temp, rain, sunny, etc.) Thanks

[chronic hntr]

24/7,
This is my first post on this site,so I'll say "hi" to everyone here.
I have been to wyoming 2 times in the past 3 yrs and will be going out again in early october.I hunt the same area in question.Have hunted the Big Horns and the powder river breaks south of Buffalo.I hunted totally on BLM land.Sent for maps and did my "homework".You must remember that region C hunting dates and areas are broken up.See map that comes with your license.If you plan on hunting for deer in region C,there are areas that dont open til october 15,And there are areas that close on october 15.There is alot of blm land available but some areas are land locked and you cant get to them unless you have a helicopter.
What I learned is that the blm land is mostly dry arid land.The game is very nocturnal on the blm land.3 of us hunted this area,(sw of gillette) and did poorly.Did not see one good sized rack.The place you want to go is on a ranch.The ranches have water and alfalfa etc and thats where the deer are.We did hunt the Big Horns west of Buffalo and enjoyed that high country better
This year I have made arrangments with a rancher sw of sheridan that should be an excellent hunt.
Wyoming game and fish will supply you with a list of land owners that allow hunting,usually for a fee of course I recommendgetting this list and get on the phone,its not easy to find any available.Most have return clients every year and they are "filled up".But give it a try.
I enjoyed my blm hunt but dont think its the way to go.You learn alot on any first time anything.If you decide to go the public land way,study the maps well.As stated the boundries are not marked at all most of the time and if you cross any fences beware.I cant say anything about the antelope,didnt hunt them,but saw lots of them.Good luck.Stu

[chronic hntr]

The weather there has been hot in early october.It was in the 80's there in 2003.That is unusual but it will prob be in the 70's day and low 50;s nite

[RedAllison]

24/7 I hunted with an outfitter on a private ranch and it was my first time too the area so I wouldn't be much help with the public areas out there. But as far as the lopes there are so danged many out there that you would probably be through hunting in the first hour or two if you weren't picky about your buck. The mulies are another story, the better bucks are awfully danged smart and lay up in drainages and "coolies" practically all day and don't venture out until right before dark. I mean they will literally lie and let you walk or drive within feet of them, if they don't think you see them (they look for eye contact) they will remain still as a stone and let you pass. Then they will get up and "slip out the backdoor". We saw two GIANT bucks on our 5 day hunt and both times they were moving away from us in nearly complete darkness. The only reasonable way to hunt them on that very open ranch (literally was only 12 trees on its entire 100k acres!) was to SERIOUSLY glass from high vantage points. I mean it took all 3 of us with high powered optics and we might sit in one spot and scan hard for 1 hour before moving. We weren't looking for deer, we were looking for PIECES of deer. After a day we got pretty good at finding an ear or a leg or a rack or a tail in the brush at a mile and a half away. Sometimes you might look a bush over 10 times in an hour and not see anything there until the deer either turned its head or flicked its ear.

As for the weather, being you are talking about the plains below the Rockies go prepared for ANYTHING. When we got there on the first afternoon it was in the 60s/70s and had been for awhile. By midnight the door too our hotel was rattling in it's frame and when I got up and looked out it was blowing about 35mph and snowing its arse off! The high for the following day was 27 and the wind howled ALL day and with the snow visibility was at the MOST about a quarter mile. We packed for everything so we spent the day in heavy clothes and still saw plenty of antelope but no deer.

The rest of the hunt was dry with night temps gettin in the 40s and highs goin too 70ish (give or take 5 degrees). Basically we just hunted in a light jacket until about 8-9 each morning and then spent the rest of the time in Tshirts or at the most a longsleeve button down shirt. It was very pleasant and I don't remember any rain at all. A mid or lightweight (insulation wise) boot is all you need. You are gonna be moving quite a bit so it's not like sitting on stand for 6 hours in 20 degree temps. Take a good backpack with plenty of water and snacks and room for clothes as you take them off or put them on throughout the day.

Damn this talkin about it is makin me ready to go again!
RA