I am planning to take my son on his first western excursion next year. I went to Canada in October to hunt waterfowl and I left him home. I promised he could go on a hunt next year. He wants to hunt antelope and I think given the reported success ratios, it will be a nice hunt for a fourteen year old.

I've never hunted antelope and I'm not really keen on guided hunts. I just think hunts are more special if I do it on my own. I know there is abundant public land in both states. I have considered South Dakota because I though we might be able to sneek in some pheasant hunting...something I've always wanted to do if the youngster gets a goat early. My question is: Are you aware of public land opportunities in either SOuth Dakota or Wyoming where a guy could have a decent stab at an antelope? Is camping allowed? What is BLM land and what procedure should I use to gain access?

Thanks in advance guys.

There are plenty of units in WY you can DIY. I've not hunted SD.

Regarding camping, you should contact the DNR in both states on that.

I've been fortunate while hunting in WY. I've always had my tags filled in a day or 2 at the most. It is an excellent opportunity for your son.

Born to hunt,

Great idea. There is no more fun for a fourteen year old than antelope hunting. Let me give you my experience, I hunt both Wyoming and South Dakota on a regular basis.

Wyoming would be a much better choice.

Wyoming has alot more antelope and much more public land that holds antelope. South Dakota has public land but much of it isn't antelope country. Private land is much better hunting in South Dakota than public.

Wyoming will be a much easier draw. I have two preference points for South Dakota right now for antelope, hoping I will get the tag I want one of these years. Even though South Dakota is allowing more tags the past couple years, it is a drop in the bucket compared to Wyoming. If you haven't applied before, Wyoming will be a better first time draw.

Lastly, there aren't alot of antelope where the pheasants live and most of the antelope seasons are done by the pheasant opener. Antelope Seasons either started on the 4th or 11th of October this year, I believe and the Non resident Pheasant opener was on the 18th. South Dakota has a resident only season the weekend before (October 11th-13th).

Hope this helps. If you have any questions feel free to pm me.

ddj

Wy. would be my first choice. Have hunted it and man do they have goats!!
Pheasants sould be plentiful as well.
SD. would also be good. never hunted it but spent a lot of time riding there during bike week and they have great numbers of birds as well as goats.
MM

Wyoming would deffinately be my choice for antelope. They are one of my favorite animals to take a first timer out for. If you can put in a couple days hunting you are almost assured you will fill the tags. This year the group I was with took 6 goats opening day, 5 of those were by 11:00 AM including a lunch break. Our goats averaged scores in the High 60's.

I agree with wyoming, I took my 14 year old son last year and had a great time. I'd also suggest trying for an easy draw unit so he gets to go for sure.

Another vote for Wyoming.I just got back from a great hunt .There are antelope everywhere.PM me if you are interested in a guided hunt.I can set you up on a hunt at a very reasonable price.

Unless you're skunked by weather/unfortunate events (injury, vehicle or rifle problems..so on and so forth) the only reason you shouldnt get several chances at goats in WY would be holding out for a certain size. Its quite amazing to sit out on the prarie and sometimes see several small groups meandering about, if you're in good country, there are goats everywhere! Just remember, they often look a lot farther away then they really are, not very large critters

Before we go on a crusade, is this the act of one man or the policy of an entire firearms company? I have read that the Board of Directors at Cooper has demanded Cooper's resignation as they were shocked to find out he was such an ass as to support the gun grabber Obama. Keep in mind that not all gun manufacturers always support the firearms community. The dear departed Bill Ruger never allowed a concealable Ruger to be made while he lived. Now that he has gone to commune with Sturm there are neat little Rugers aplenty. He wasn't opposed to the magazine restrictions either if memory serves, never saw the Mini 14 in civilian guise as anything but a hunting weapon. We still buy Rugers by the thousands because we realize it was ol' Bill, not the corporation. Lets not destroy a whole company for the perfidiousness of one misguided loon.

Sounds like Wyoming it is. Which of the easier to draw units would be best for antelope numbers. Again, we are not interested in trophies...just seeing some goats.

This is ony thing I don't like about AR, the signature lines need to be seperated noticeably from the post. The Cooper boycott is my signature, and I'll be happy to discuss it via PM or through one of the MANY Cooper threads. Lets keep this on topic.