Hi everyone,
I will be hunting Antelope for the first time this year in area 31 just outside Casper. I'll be using an xp100 in a 7mm wildcat. A group of us will be going meeting there to hunt the first week of the season.
If anyone can provide any useful information about that area I sure would appreciate hearing it. I will be flying in from Pa. If anyone can recommend a meat processor that would be nice as well.
Thanks in advance.

Doug,
Take a little time to look over the antelope on the property, if private, before shooting -- know what "big" is on that piece of land. Take good care of the meat, both of my 'lopes tasted great.
Matt
P.S.
If you're near Carlisle drop over and you can see my 'lope.

quote:

Originally posted by dougm58:
Hi everyone,
I will be hunting Antelope for the first time this year in area 31 just outside Casper.

Public land or private? I like to ride around a little and look before shooting anything, although I shoot freezer meat for the most part.

It has been my experience that a shot passed up one day will be equalled the next. No hurry as far as spotting game, the thing that may be different is the terrain and circumstances that make or break a stalk. Wind is often the deciding factor on a shot.

What part of PA? I just came back from a family reunion in the Indiana area.

I don't know much about area 31, but my advise is to spend as much time as possible outside of your truck. It's easy for antelope hunters to drive around all day (after all, you can see the horizon) never getting away from the noise of their engine, radio, or queer hunting buddy or guide. Take some time and smell the sage. Watch the sage grouse. Enjoy the quiet fresh open space you will experience. Then think about pulling the trigger. It's easy to go out and kill an antelope. But as a WY resident, there's nothing I look forward to more than my few days of antelope hunting. They are cool animals, and live in cool country. Unfortunately, many people don't give them credit for what they deserve.

Ditto on what Mr. hawg said, Also while stumbling around look for arrow heads.

And with proper care, antelope is better eating than mule deer or elk.

Thanks everyone for the good advice. I'm really excited about having this opportunity. We will be hunting public land as of right now, but one of the group members is trying to see if we can get permission to hunt some of the private property in that area as well. I think we all have our BLM topo maps and have been looking them over. We will be staying at the KOA campground in Casper. Most everyone will be driving in, but they don't live as far as I do. I will fly into Denver then rent a car and drive to Casper.

Tom, I live just south of Harrisburg. Indiana Pa. is pretty country for sure. I had several friends who attended the university there.

I guess it won't be like deer hunting here in Pa. where you may only see one legal buck all season (if you see a buck at all). I will fight the urge to shoot the first legal lope I see.

Thanks again everyone for your comments.

quote:

Originally posted by dougm58:

Thanks everyone for the good advice. I'm really excited about having this opportunity.

I lived in Millheim awhile, went to school at Elizabethtown College, have a passing familiarity with Pennsylvania woods hunting. Wyoming is different, and it may spoil you as it thoroughly spoiled me.

Take some time at a range, shoot enough to get a statistical idea of average point of impact for your rifle's sights at 100 yards and get a trajectory table for longer distances ( which are tricky to estimate on sage flats ). I prepare for 200-yard shots and shoot from prone off a fanny pack that acts the same as my sandbags ( I have not shot offhand in Wyoming or Montana yet - there is always time to prepare on sage flats). Running shots at an antelope are generally a waste of time, all it does it encourage them to run further. They will often stop after a few miles and you can plot another stalk ( or just sit, lots of times they'll be back in a couple of hours ). Now and then they will stop and look back to see if you are still interested, and if they think you are, they'll go another couple of miles.

BLM land is wonderful stuff, some things should be owned in common and never allowed to pass into private hands. I frequently go for a couple of days without seeing another truck. Try not to forget to look behind you when you back up; once the only truck I saw in two days appeared behind me when I was backing out of a wide spot where we'd been glassing.

Nothing quite like an afternoon nap in a Wyoming creek bed, and we now and then see antelope on the tail end of a ridgetop nap.

The best advice for a first time antelope hunter is, "It ain't that far, hold on hair".

Antelope is one of the best hunts we've been on, enjoy!!!!!!!!

Doug, when are you going??

My bro and I drew for buck tags in 32 but we did our doe hunt in 31 last year. I can hook you up on private land. You'll be done in an hour. We plan on buying left over doe tags for 31 anyway.

We are staying at the Super 8 on the west end of Casper but our tag is type 2, or "second season" so to speak. Our tag is not good till Oct 5. We'll get there on the 4th EARLY in the a.m. We're driving from Cincinnati/Dayton area/23 hours. We'll go check our firearms at a range southwest of Casper about 10 minutes outside of town.

Whether we're there at the same time or not doesn't really matter but I'd have to double check. But the place I'm talking about has about ZERO hunting pressure so it's not uncommon to walk up on a buck and shoot it with a bow because they happen to be stupid on this place. Trust me.

Doc,
That would be fantastic if you could help me out.
We are going to be camping at the KOA campground in Casper. We rented a couple of their Kabins and some of the fellas will stay in a tent as well. I am arriving in Casper on Sat. Sept. 23 rd and will be leaving on Sat Sept. 30th so it looks like we will miss each other. That's too bad.
Anything you could do concerning the private land would be greatly appreciated. Also, what is the name, of can you give any basic directions to the gun club where you checked you guns?
You can email me at:
dmiceli@paonline.com

Thanks again

There is a public, 300 yard, gun range in Casper. $5 per gun and its a super nice place. As I recall I think its near the city dump. Wish I was going back! Good luck and have fun!!!

quote:

Originally posted by dougm58:
Doc,
That would be fantastic if you could help me out.
We are going to be camping at the KOA campground in Casper. We rented a couple of their Kabins and some of the fellas will stay in a tent as well. I am arriving in Casper on Sat. Sept. 23 rd and will be leaving on Sat Sept. 30th so it looks like we will miss each other. That's too bad.
Anything you could do concerning the private land would be greatly appreciated. Also, what is the name, of can you give any basic directions to the gun club where you checked you guns?
You can email me at:
dmiceli@paonline.com

Thanks again

I'll send you a email tonight when I get home. If you don't receive any word, PM me here on AR. I'm not sure where the gun range is Mark is talking about but the one where we shoot is nothing more than a rock wall, and it's free. Not that $5 is an issue. I'll have to find that 300 yard range.

Unit 31 is not a great unit for public land unless you want to sit it out and wait for the antelope to run back your way. We watched a couple guys sit down in lawn chairs about 300 yards from their trucks. 3 hours later when we drove back by, they had both killed their antelope. Apparently these animals run from one end of the unit to the other, or hang up on private land. This will be VERY obvious too. You'll drive by an area and see 100 goats, none of which you can shoot unless they cross a fence.

Doc,

I'm pretty sure the range is near the city dump. It is a nice place and for the $5 they included a target, plus they let you borrow sand bags and a spotting scope. Heck of a nice place.

Thanks a bunch guys.
I checked the net and found two ranges that say they are public. One is just outside of casper so it might be the one Mark is refering to. It's the Rocky Mountain Gun Club. The other is Stuckenhoff Shooters Complex. Of course free is good to.
Doc, I liked the story about the guys in the lawn chairs. Kinda reminds me of opening day here in Pa. Pick a spot on the mountain then wait for the hunters to chase the deer up to you.
Sure looking forward to the hunt.

Doug, email sent at 840pm

Doug, I've been both a resident and non-resident hunter in Wyoming. If this is your first trip to Wyoming I can give you a few important pointers.

First and foremost; be careful not to trespass onto private land. Don't expect clearly marked boundaries and don't rely on those topo maps. The ranchers are good people but tire of dealing with trespassers. Just as you would be upset if you looked out your back window and saw strangers having a picnic in your backyard uninvited, they don't like people showing up in theirs unannounced. An earlier poster mentioned he might be able to refer you towards some good private property hunting. Any "trespass fee" you might have to pay will be money well spent.

Other things to consider: it will probably be warm. Might be cool in the morning but will probably be hot during the day. Be prepared to get your meat in quick. You will probably be introduced to cactus. It's hard to see in the grass and if you do any stalking you will get it in your hands and knees. Bring tweezers and keep them handy. If it's warm there is the chance for rattlesnakes. I've encountered them in early October when hunting a couple times.

Bring good binoculars as you will use them a lot. Few places around Casper aren't windy (I lived there for a couple years!). The wind is often a factor in planning any kind of a stalk and should be taken into consideration on shots over 100 yards.

Matt,
Thanks for the good advice.
I heard about the cactus, sounds like good leather gloves are a must. I'll make sure the tweezers are in my pocket too.
Thanks again.

Top edges of rimrock/escarpments are great places for stone artifacts, especially above watercourses.
The smell of sage on your pantlegs at end of day's hiking through sagebrush is a delight. Dunno if your area includes south of Jeffer City (west of Casper), but road south from Jeffer City to Crooke's Crossing - then east or south - holds huge, solitary bucks. Area is hard to hunt due to high-plains lack of cover, so long shots required. NO hunting pressure.

Dont hold over. I missed my first one like that. Sight in at 200/yds then hold dead on ALWAYS. Its just too much fun so you will be going again and again.