I posted some time ago about taking my son on his first big game adventure. We have chosen antelope. Thanks to you guys, we have chosen Wyoming. I am not asking for anyone's honey holes, but would appreciate any guidance on public land hunting. We are not interested in trophy bucks, just a good time and seeing some game. Can anyone recommend some public land or land owner who would let a couple guys hunt for a reasonable fee? We are not interested in guided hunts. I have nothing against them, but this is my son's first out of state expedition for bug game and we just want to keep it simple and see some antelope. We would like to travel to the eastern side of the state if possible (closer for us Kentucky boys), but would be willing to go where the best antelope concentrations are.

Thanks in advance.

You should be able to access the draw "success" rates on the WY game and fish page right here. Check those out to find your best chance of getting a tag. Then cross-reference that information with BLM maps of the areas to determine where large chunks of public land are. You should also take a look at the Hunter Management and Walk-in Areas at this link. I snagged a leftover tag last year and used a Hunter Management Area to tag a buck after failing to draw my first and second choice tags in the units of my preference. Finally, reasearch the units you're interested in (call the WGF or ask around here) to determine the average success rate and overall satisfaction with hunting in that unit.

I spoke with some guys who went out to unit 25 and they were done by 9am on opening day this year on public land. 3 nice pronghorns. Douglas area seems to be good as well, I think unit 26.

I prefer 32, 31 but they seem to be getting harder to draw.

look at the drawing odds in area #7 they got a bunch of new walkin areas and there's a lot of antelope. Lot of doe/fawn tags also.

The eastern part contains moe private land, western more public land. But hunting opportunites abound in the east.

Here's my one and only tip, and it's the most valuable tip on this page.

1. You need land use maps! Also known as BLM land use maps.

2. Then you need to compare those maps to the area/unit listings on the applications.

3. Is some rancher going to give you permission based on a tresass fee? Probably not, but maybe. A ton of Western ranches have been privatized by large corporations (or their management anyway). A ton of these folks are just new money guys that wanted a piece of the American west to call their own. If you had the money you would do the same thing. So access even for a tresspass fee is not always guaranteed. So you need to hunt BLM land, even if BLM land is leased it is still BLM land and unless you had to cross private land to get to it, it is available for you to hunt.

There is one more type of land I should talk about. It's called BLM checkerboard, and is very previlant in the Red Desert and Southern Wyoming. Basically it is like it sounds private and BLM checkerboarded. As long as you never touch private land to get to it you are not breaking the law. If a guy owns a strip surrounding a piece of BLM the law in Wyoming is that the BLM is his regardless of wether or not he is leasing it from them. Your not allowed to cross private land to get to public.


One more commonly broken Wyoming law has to do with the legal caliber. Wyoming law is .23 caliber, which means that only the the bullet must be at least .243 diameter. As your not allowed to round up so the .223, 22-250, 220 swift and so on are illegal. It's a commonly broke law and you could lose your gun, truck, and trophy for breaking the law.

I would try for areas 62, 61, & 45 in that order. Area 62 is northeast of Rawlins & 61 is northeast. Area 45 is west of Laramie. Area 62 has a lot of rolling hills which makes for easier stalking. Areas 61 & 45 have a lot of open flat lands where shot can be long. All 3 have public land interspersed with private with 45 having the most private land.

If you can time it come during the rut. They get freaky.

Anything near Rawlins is going to be hard to draw, that is the best area in the state.

yes it's illegal, but I seriously doubt you'd loose your truck for shooting an antelope with a 22-250. On another note, I'd apply for the red desert areas. It may take a few years to draw, but you will have all the public land in the world, and won't have to worry about trespass issues.

I've had good success in the past up around Gillette and down around Douglas. Private landowners usually charge a tresspass fee and your game grazing tag. We go the week after opening when the crowds are few and game kinda spooky. Good shooting.

I know we have talked before but area 32 might be good to try. It has enough public land and plenty of antelope. I would go for the first season in area 32 so the antelope won't be a spooky.

Areas 61 and 62 will take many many years to draw. If you want to hunt a trophy antelope in Wyoming, apply for preference points with you first choice and then apply for 32-2 (second season of area 32) as your second choice. You should draw that tag and still have a good hunt.

If you have any other questions feel free to pm me.

ddj

You can't have a preference point if you draw a tag. Or what would be the point of preference points.

You can have a preference point if you don't draw your first choice. I have hunted in Wyoming the last 3 years and have 3 preference points for elk, deer and antelope.


ddj

I know the states make preference points and drawings very confusing. It is a game we have to play to draw good tags.

If you look on page 6 of the new 2009 Regulations you will see the information for preference points. It is possible to draw a tag and recieve a preference point.

http://gf.state.wy.us/download...pBooklet/09NRALL.pdf

ddj

BTH,

I don't live in and have never hunted in wyoming, BUT I've been researching a hunt area near gillette for a possible 2010 hunt. Lots of tags available for the unit and some public land access. If you're interested, I'll give you all my resources (and you can tell me how it goes).

There are always alot of leftover tags in the Gillette area. There are alot of antelope but most of the private ground is leased. There area some pockets of public land, school sections, BLM, ect.

ddj

If you are interested in coming out to MT let me know and I can hook you and your son up with lots of public land and antelope. The 700 tag is pretty easy to draw and lots of goats. I would be happy to help you guys fill your tags! PM if interested. I went to WY this year and bought an OTC antelope tag and got a nice 13.5 buck near Sheridan. It was on public land and yes maps are the key. IN MT there is plenty of BLM and block land so ha ving to pay a trespass fee can be avoided.

There are tons of antelope in the Gillette area, and thus many extra tags, but the public land situation simply sucks. Yes, there are school sections here and there, but each one is packed with hunters who can't find any other public land. Gillette area public land hunting would be a waste of money in my opinion, especially if you are driving a long way and making a vacation out of it.

Twilli is a gentleman to give an offer like that. But getting a Montana antelope tag isn't as easy as it was several years ago. The draw rates are usually 1 in 3 without bonus points. Montana now give the second choice to residents before nonresidents. Most residents put in their first choice for antelope then choose 700 to make sure they get a tag. Their aren't the number of tags left for nonresidents as there once was. Stick with Wyoming for your hunt and plan on hunting with Twilli in the future. Apply for Montana, pay an extra $20 for a bonus point, hunt with Twilli next year.

ddj