Antelope hunting in Wyoming
 

Hi me and a friend applied for antelope tags in wyoming in zones 7,27and 8. We have never been there before thought it sounded like fun. But really have no idea what we are doing. Assuming we draw a tag, we are looking for any help we can get. Thanks in advance

I went out to South Dakota with a buddy a few years ago. We hunted a private sheep ranch near the Wyoming border. Same thing. We didn't know anything about antelope hunting. We had a blast. We filled 4 tags in 2 days. Look for water. Wherever we found water, we found antelope. No water, no antelope. Bring knee pads and leather gloves for crawling through the cactus.

Thanks a lot did you go with rifle or bow, we just wanna have fun thats what its all about. Did you pay to hunt that ranch or did you just ask permission? The areas we applied for are pretty close to where you were i believe sounds like there is a lot of public land in wyoming, or u think were better off trying to gain access to private land.

We were hunting with rifles. If I were bowhunting, I'd put a ground blind near a waterhole and park on it. We paid the rancher to hunt and camp on his land. We camped in a prairie dog town. He told us to go ahead and shoot all the prairie dogs we wanted too, but we didn't want to spook the antelope. He even showed us where the antelope were ahead of time. There was public land nearby with just as many goats on it as the ranch. If you are willing to do some walking to get away from the roads, I think the hunting would be good there too. The advantage of private land was we could drive anywhere we wanted too, which reduced the work getting the antelope out.
Bring big coolers and lots of ice. It was about 85 deg. while we were hunting. Getting them cut up and cool quickly is the secret to getting good tasting meat.
One other thing, antelope have distinctive odor when you first get near them. To me they smell like popcorn, swear to God!

Area 27 will be hard to draw but it is one of the better units. 7 is still pretty good just a little less public land. If you do draw let me know. I live pretty close to those areas and I can probably help you out. I usually don't hunt antelope but my friends are always out there in 27 hunting them. There are a ton of antelope out here so you will not have any problems finding them. Never hunted 8 but I have been on the border of it and it is a pretty good area as well.

Ha ha, thats funny, I would call it something a little more nasty smelling than popcorn!

Thanks guys much appreciated, keep the info coming!!!!!

Area 7 is a pretty easy draw and has a good portion of the Thunder Basin National Grasslands in it. Don't know what the quota is going to be like yet this year as Wyoming has had some winter kill due to the deep snows in alot of areas.
Check out our web site at empireguesthouse.com to find more info. and lodging options if needed.

Ill check it out thanks a lot!!!!!

After the first day you won't see very many from the truck. They hear a truck coming and drop down in the low spots, so you will need to get out and walk the areas or sit by ponds and they seem to come out in the open when they feel safe. Most of the guys driving around thought all the antelopes moved to private ground,they we way off base, they never went very far at all.
This website will help:http://sunlight.wygisc.uwyo.edu/hunt...electedIndex=1

So your saying most people just drive around and road hunt. Thats not us at all we will be on our feet, the way it sounds thats the best option. Thanks for the map and the input much appreciated!

There is alot of area to cover so you will be driving as well but what I think he means is drive to an area and get out and walk. Alot of it is flat and alot of it has rolling hills with some pretty deep ravines. Walking will increase your odds.

got ya thats what were planning on doing thanks

Contact the game warden for the area, and chamber's of commerce for the larger towns. Both can give you information on landowner's who allow hunting and/or best public hunting areas. You should have a great time if you draw. If not, check for leftover tags.

Does a hunter have to register an antelope?

good question I dont know guess that will be something to find out if we get tags. Are you planning a hunt also?

Yes, I want to go with my 14 yr old son. He kind of would rather go bear hunting but I'd rather go do what I've never done before. I am also lost but have been there before but have been told it's not that hard so it might be the ticket for my kid. He is bummed over deer in Wisconsin. He did get a nice doe when he was 12 but last year he saw very little.

What regions did you apply for and whats the season date. I have actually learned a lot just over the internet, and yes it does sound pretty simple and I guess its a lot of fun! Deer hunting in Wis is not as easy as it used to be especially for young kids.

I didn't apply yet. I'm just getting started on this, hoping you lead the way so I don't screw up. I don't think it's that hard but seems like a lot of work and seems strange hunting something somewhere I never hunted before.

Hey guys! I'm glad I happened to see this thread. I was in 27 and 7 last year and the areas are just as mentioned. 27 is hard to draw without at least 1 Preference Point, but 7 should have some leftover tags in case you put in and don't get a tag in the drawing. It has about 20,000 acres of WIHA (walkin in private property that is marked and free for anyone to hunt) and there are maps of it on the F&G website if you go into the public land hunting areas and take a look at the Weston County maps. There is also quite a bit of National Grassland and some BLM land that is all open to hunting. I would suggest that whatever unit that you hunt that you go out after the first few days and let the opening week crowd head for home. Also, do as suggested and get away from your vehicle. Slip up and do a lot of glassing without exposing yourself over ridgetops and when you find what you want plan a stalk to get within good range. Make sure and have shooting sticks, a bipod, or tripod to shoot from as they are a small animal and at any distance you need to have a good rest to make a good shot. It is not necessary to register your animal, but the tag needs to be notched and signed as soon as you take the animal. It can be carried until you get to your vehicle and then it should be attached to the animal. Don't be afraid to go out and have fun. You can camp on just about any of the federal land or stay in a motel in the town of Newcastle, which is only a few miles east of unit 7, but a pretty good drive from unit 27. The leftover tags will go on sale online on the F&G website in July if you didn't apply for the drawing by 3/15 and can be purchased with a credit card. If you have any other questions, fire away and I'll try to give any help I can.

Agreed, those things smell so nasty when you open them up because of the Sage Brush and their diet. Sage Grouse are the same way.

Thanks 3006 what land do you feel is best as far as whia land grassland etc, or should I say wheres the best chance at locating animals and not so much pressure. We will take any advice we can get. Most of all we just want to have fun. Thanks for the help!!

As I stated, Unit 7 will probably even have some leftover tags and it is the best if you want to be anywhere near a town to stay, eat, get gas, etc. The town is Newcastle. Unit 27 probably won't have any tags left and even if it does it is a long way from a town and the roads are not great for making time. I would even think about buying an extra doe tag or two in July when they go on sale because you are lucky to get 40# of boned out meat off of one. Please email me if you get the unit 7 tags and I'll make you a map off my CD-ROM with all the land that's open and even put a bunch of waypoints on it so you can use your GPS when you get out there to know exactly where you are. The main thing is to go after the first few days of the season because everybody and his brother are out in all the units the first 4 or 5 days. Go after that and walk off the roads using the land to slip around and glass. You'll get some animals and have a lot of fun doing it if you get out of your vehicle and use your feet. my email addy is [email protected] & the name is Mike Stephenson

Thanks again I will definetly email you if we draw tags in unit 7!!

I hunted unit 23 with some buddies last fall. We hunted the second week of the season, unguided, stayed in a hotel in Gillette. We all got antelope (nothing huge, but they were trophies to us), couple guys got two (they bought additional doe tags), and one guy got a muley.

Didn't have any luck asking for permission on private land, but two of the guys paid trespassing fees for a small buck and a couple does. Selling tags and access is big business.

Make sure you get the BLM maps for the area and look for state and BLM land that isn't fenced. We had our best luck on state land/school sections since the BLM land in that unit was more rugged and suited to muleys. When the antelope get chased off the public land due to hunting pressure, you're much more likely to see them wander back onto public if they don't have to deal with fences. Antelope will walk miles before crossing a fence. We noticed the hunting got much better the farther away from town we got, mostly due to less pressure I think.

When you're navigating to small areas of public land, use your map and odometer, then use a gps to tell you how far off the road you are, that should get you on public and keep you on public land. If you see animals, don't stop the truck, especially later in the season, either have one guy hop out to put on a stalk or drive over a hill then put on a stalk (or just get away from the truck altogether as previously mentioned). They realize that a stopped truck means someone is about to shoot at them. Good luck!