Success with Wyoming antelope draw!
06-22-2017, 09:01 AM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: West Central Illinois
Posts: 1,099
Success with Wyoming antelope draw!
Drew a 20-1 antelope tag today. Will be my first time hunting out west. Excited is an understatement!! Woo Hoo!!
Luckily, I'm going with a buddy who has done it before.
Luckily, I'm going with a buddy who has done it before.
06-22-2017, 09:09 AM
#2
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Allegan, MI
Posts: 8,019
Glad you got on the site to get your results. I've been trying for an hour to get mine and my buddy's and it's so jammed it times out. This happens every year and also when leftovers go on sale to the point where at least now they will have a leftover draw, rather than who can get on first to buy one.
06-22-2017, 09:46 AM
#3
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
Congratulations! Now it is time to hit the gym for some heavy exercise so you can climb those hills at altitude and carry out the pronghorn you will kill!
Just joking. Actually that is one of the things I love about pronghorn hunting. You don't have to climb tall hills at high altitude. You may have to climb a hill, and it may be somewhat tall, but at least it is at a comfortable altitude. Also the hills aren't real steep. Also, the small size of pronghorn make them easy to manhandle. I think I picked my pronghorn up by grabbing the two front legs in one hand, the two back legs in the other hand, and lifting onto the tailgate of my truck, after gutting the dead animal. I'm not a weight lifter, either.
Success rate on pronghorn in Wyoming is pretty close to 95% I think. I suspect those who don't bag a pronghorn chose not to go hunting -- something came up at home or just not excited to do the hunt (could be a Wyoming resident who hasn't paid much for his tag). Have a plan in place to take care of your game and get it back home. A lot of people recommend getting the hide off the dead animal promptly and then cutting it up into big chunks -- two hams, two shoulders, backstraps, rib meat if you want it -- and then start it cooling down. Alternatively you could take it to a processor promptly. Just have a plan, as you are almost certain to get one.
Know what you are looking for. If you are hunting for a trophy, know what your goal is. Think through whether you are willing to adapt your goal as the hunt progresses and you haven't found the dream buck yet. I'm not a trophy hunter myself, so that makes my hunting easier -- I shoot the first adult animal I see, male or female.
It can turn wintery in a hurry in Wyoming, so carry some warm gear with you as well as warm weather gear. You could see bright sunshiny 70 degree days when blue jeans and a T-shirt are appropriate. The next day it could be 20 degrees with 8 inches of snow on the ground. Something that IS pretty common is a stiff wind. Be ready to deal with wind.
Have a great hunt, and go back again.
Just joking. Actually that is one of the things I love about pronghorn hunting. You don't have to climb tall hills at high altitude. You may have to climb a hill, and it may be somewhat tall, but at least it is at a comfortable altitude. Also the hills aren't real steep. Also, the small size of pronghorn make them easy to manhandle. I think I picked my pronghorn up by grabbing the two front legs in one hand, the two back legs in the other hand, and lifting onto the tailgate of my truck, after gutting the dead animal. I'm not a weight lifter, either.
Success rate on pronghorn in Wyoming is pretty close to 95% I think. I suspect those who don't bag a pronghorn chose not to go hunting -- something came up at home or just not excited to do the hunt (could be a Wyoming resident who hasn't paid much for his tag). Have a plan in place to take care of your game and get it back home. A lot of people recommend getting the hide off the dead animal promptly and then cutting it up into big chunks -- two hams, two shoulders, backstraps, rib meat if you want it -- and then start it cooling down. Alternatively you could take it to a processor promptly. Just have a plan, as you are almost certain to get one.
Know what you are looking for. If you are hunting for a trophy, know what your goal is. Think through whether you are willing to adapt your goal as the hunt progresses and you haven't found the dream buck yet. I'm not a trophy hunter myself, so that makes my hunting easier -- I shoot the first adult animal I see, male or female.
It can turn wintery in a hurry in Wyoming, so carry some warm gear with you as well as warm weather gear. You could see bright sunshiny 70 degree days when blue jeans and a T-shirt are appropriate. The next day it could be 20 degrees with 8 inches of snow on the ground. Something that IS pretty common is a stiff wind. Be ready to deal with wind.
Have a great hunt, and go back again.
06-23-2017, 06:40 AM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: LaPorte, IN
Posts: 1,111
108
I drew unit 108 by Rawlings. A nice bonus to my AZ archery elk tag. I can stop en route to bowhunt, and stop on return trip to rifle hunt. Unit is right on I-80. Looking forward to a nice combo hunt. If I draw Iowa deer tomorrow I can actually do all three. But more likely to return home to Illinois, drop off meat and then do Iowa. Either way a full plate.
06-23-2017, 07:39 AM
#8
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Allegan, MI
Posts: 8,019
Sounds like you have some good hunts coming up Zim! Have fun, be safe out there, and I hope you and Fang are doing well in your marriage. I just lost my wife on 6/3 to an aggressive cancerous brain tumor, so cherish every minute you have with her and forget the past!
