Questions from an Antelope Novice

[NPRI]

Great info. Public land hunting is a whole different animal than I am used to.

 

[silverbullet555]

I'm sure someone else said it. If you don't have onx, get it.

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[easttex]

I might have missed it but Antelope are the one species that I sometimes carry shooting sticks. You cannot always go prone and sticks can make a big difference. Quality of meat has been mentioned. Due to the normally hot temperatures it is critical that you get the body heat out asap. I always skin antelope as soon as practical.

 

[wytx]

Is a spotting scope necessary or is it a nice to have for pronghorn?

Not necessary but can save you miles of walking to check out a young buck. Our spotter goes on every antelope hunt and we have 10x42 binos as well. Spotter gets used mostly from the truck to judge if a stalk is in order.

 

[NPRI]

Not necessary but can save you miles of walking to check out a young buck. Our spotter goes on every antelope hunt and we have 10x42 binos as well. Spotter gets used mostly from the truck to judge if a stalk is in order.

Got it

 

[RDoucey]

How much state land is available in Wyoming to hunt for non residents, is it worth it for NRs or would it be better to shoot for another state such as Montana with more access?

 

[magnum44270]

How much state land is available in Wyoming to hunt for non residents, is it worth it for NRs or would it be better to shoot for another state such as Montana with more access?

blm, and state land scattered all over the place

 

[boutdoors]

There are also Walk in areas, which are private land open for the public to hunt n

 

[NPRI]

There are also Walk in areas, which are private land open for the public to hunt n

Where is the best place to find this info? State website?

 

[deerkiller]

There are also Walk in areas, which are private land open for the public to hunt n

most of the time those walk in areas have a parking area to stage from and often you'll drive through the private land to get to that staging area - the few ranch I know hate that but it's just a fact of life for them - WY fish & game has exerted a little influence to make quite a few decent access areas for hunters and fishermen

 

[boutdoors]

WY Website has a section for public access

 

[DoritoBoy]

Another vote for onx. Spotting scope. Wyoming would be a great place to start but also consider building points in other states as well. Doe tags can be much easier to draw and is still a fun hunt

 

[wytx]

About half of Wyoming is public land.

 

[deerkiller]

About half of Wyoming is public land.

True but it's not nearly all in one place and much is checkerboarded up seemingly infinitely

 

[RDoucey]

And only certin types are

True but it's not nearly all in one place and much is checkerboarded up seemingly infinitely

And only certain types are legal to hunt without a guide for non residents

 

[deerkiller]

And only certin types are

And only certain types are legal to hunt without a guide for non residents

THAT would be wilderness areas pretty much exclusively - the rule has been challenged and won but WY still insists on enforcing it mainly due to popularity with outfitters (go figure) AND It's mostly all about Grizzly confrontations … I don't know if last year's debacle with a Grizzly was in a WA though, might fuel more intensity but in any case, speed goats aren't generally in WA's anyway
as said, there are myriad BLM blocks all over the place and if you just set up in a good safe location and wait you are almost assured to have a pack of goats come by you - a lot of ranches will charge a nominal fee to trespass and often it's well worth the few bucks as it can be a real KICK to figure out how to stalk those sharp eyed critters

 

[wildwilderness]

WY has a lot of checkerboard BLM but most of those “private” squares are open for hunting anyway. A majority is oil company. A simple call to the local Game Warden/CO will clarify.

Also most ranchers dislike antelope and have no problem letting people hunt them. Once again I have had good luck with the Game Warden giving me names of ranchers wanting some antelope shot in the area.

Definitely get a reduced price doe tag if available in the draw. Very good meat and fun to hunt.

 

[RDoucey]

THAT would be wilderness areas pretty much exclusively - the rule has been challenged and won but WY still insists on enforcing it mainly due to popularity with outfitters (go figure) AND It's mostly all about Grizzly confrontations … I don't know if last year's debacle with a Grizzly was in a WA though, might fuel more intensity but in any case, speed goats aren't generally in WA's anyway
as said, there are myriad BLM blocks all over the place and if you just set up in a good safe location and wait you are almost assured to have a pack of goats come by you - a lot of ranches will charge a nominal fee to trespass and often it's well worth the few bucks as it can be a real KICK to figure out how to stalk those sharp eyed critters

thank you for clearing that up! research on the topic is kind of vague. Wyoming sounds a lot better now, do you know if public access in antelope territory is a similar situation in Montana as far as being broken up and having to deal with finding way to go around private?

 

[WRO]

Anything specific for northern New Mexico in late August? I'm in the market to upgrade my binos already.

I did it last year and going again this year out of Clayton. There's an overnight processor in tx line that will have you meat back to you in 30 hours roughly, easy peasy. Other than that good optics and plenty of ammo, there's plenty of prarie dogs to shoot.

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[deerkiller]

thank you for clearing that up! research on the topic is kind of vague. Wyoming sounds a lot better now, do you know if public access in antelope territory is a similar situation in Montana as far as being broken up and having to deal with finding way to go around private?

MT is completely different - the only place I've hunting goats in MT is on the Winnecook Ranch in Harlowton MT, they have a website I believe - I also shot PD's east (?) of there a 100+ miles (not much there in the way of civilization) and there were goats running helter skelter there, about 1/2 the time when you were aiming at a PD there were goats 300-500 yds beyond