WY Antelope For a Newbie?

[WyoBowhunter21]

It all depends on a couple things. Are you coming to hunt antelope or hunt a mature buck antelope. I love hunting antelope and have hunted almost the entire state, by my tags or friends/family. With that said, our numbers in some parts of the state are really hurting. I believe paying a trespass fee was mentioned and I will say I disagree with that. There are plenty of places to hunt public, you just may not be able to be picky. In some places you may shoot the first black patched goat you see. In others, it might be the second or third. As stated before, if your looking for a buck to go on the wall, get your points built up. If you want to hunt and have a good time, get some delicious meat, get a leftover and go hunt.

 

[ClearCreek]

Laramie and Double Drop Muley:

The list is NOT the 2022 proposed antelope license quotas.

The Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act (WAPA) requires that when a Wyoming State agency proposes a change in regulations (in this case antelope license quotas for 2022) there be a draft proposal of that regulation change made available to the public.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department uses the previous years regulation (in this case the finalized 2021 antelope quotas or regulations) to meet the requirements of the WAPA.

The proposed 2022 license quotas for each hunt area are being determined at this time. The finalized quotas will not be made pubic until about the middle of March.

The date at the end of the document is the date of the April 2022 WGF Commission meeting where the proposed license quotas will be discussed, finalized and adopted by the Commission, thus becoming regulation.

ClearCreek

Here are the actual proposed Wyoming antelope license quotas for the 2022 season. Notice these quotas are quite different than what was previously identified as the 2022 quotas.

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Get%20Involved/2022%20April%20Regulations/CH-5-Draft-03-16-2022-3.pdf

ClearCreek

 

[EdP]

CC, thanks for posting.

 

[DoubleDropMuley]

Here are the actual proposed Wyoming antelope license quotas for the 2022 season. Notice these quotas are quite different than what was previously identified as the 2022 quotas.

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Get%20Involved/2022%20April%20Regulations/CH-5-Draft-03-16-2022-3.pdf

ClearCreek

Haha nice!! I could of swore they put the stuff out earlier last year, you nailed it

 

[DoubleDropMuley]

Wished they didn’t update lol now I’m on the fence again about my strategy lol

 

[RyanT26]

Some big cuts, but they are needed.

 

[manitou1]

Drastically needed. Should have done it three years ago.

 

[tbowers]

Sounds like the lope tag cuts are the right thing. Should make pt creep increase even more! 0/1 pt units are not going to be a thing any longer

 

[chris_hanson]

i attended the season setting meeting last night in NW wyoming at yes the antelope cuts are significant statewide. Better for the long run. I'd recommend calling WY game and fish for some advice on areas, they're a wealth of knowledge and its their job to facilitate hunting in the state- from the most experienced hunter to the newbie

 

[long hunter]

I understand the needs and reasons for the tag reductions and believe it to be a good attempt at giving the antelope a chance to re-cover hopefully. But why not just shut the season completly down to all hunting say for two years for the antelope, re-evaluate and go from there, The 90/10 split is not a good finicial situation for the state as I see it, sure the residents deserve first dibs on tags, but I think this is going to have a monetary effect on the supporting venues such as hotels, food that sort of thing. it will drive the outfitters prices out of reach for the average out of state hunter who may have saved for a few years for the once in a lifetime hunt.

 

[Brentreese]

I'm a Chicago kid and my first out West hunt was WY antelope. It helps if you can stash a few points, but it isn't necessary. Whatever you do, DON'T shoot the first buck you see. My brother and I tagged out in 3 hours and sold ourselves short the full experience. If you drive home empty, it probably means you forgot your bullets in the truck. WY lopes is the best possible introduction to Western big game hunting. Enjoy it!

 

[JDMotown]

Pronghorn is easily the best Western intro hunt. Pick a 0pt unit with good harvest stats (most above 80%), know which roads you can drive on, and hunt hard. Very fun hunt, and the meat is out of this world!

 

[Dougwise]

We hunted WY for Antelope about 12 years ago and had very easy access and very good success on public land and paying a trespass fee. 3 years ago my buddy went back and found a VERY different situation in the same general area. He reported that land had been leased up by people offering guided hunts and the trespass fee thing was out the window. The public land that was accessible had VERY few antelope on it and they were very quick to hop the fence onto private land. He finally got a nice antelope for his son, but it was VERY hard work and pure luck (Ended up bumping into a nice rancher who offered the opportunity for his son to harvest an antelope). I now have 7 points or so built up and plan on heading back out in a few years to try for a big buck antelope.

 

[Jmb413]

Wyoming has great antelope hunting opportunities however I know the north east region has had a major decline in numbers in the past 5 years. That being said, I strongly believe if you are able to draw a tag in any part of the state and are willing to spend the time an opportunity will present itself.

 

[Laramie]

Wyoming has great antelope hunting opportunities however I know the north east region has had a major decline in numbers in the past 5 years. That being said, I strongly believe if you are able to draw a tag in any part of the state and are willing to spend the time an opportunity will present itself.

Northeast isn't doing too bad and tags are still easy to get- The southeast is where the huge declines happened.

 

[TundraDude97]

Tagged

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[PARKLANDDIVING]

Great info. Thanks!

 

[Kcjackson17]

You're already spending $300 for a tag, and probably $300 for food and lodging, and probably another $300 for gas. You might consider paying $100-300 for a trespass fee in the NE corner of the state, pick up a tag that is likely to be a leftover, and go hunt this fall. Unless you are, for some reason, dead set on hunting public. Then you are probably 3 years away from a drawing a decent hunt. For me, I'd rather just go hunting.

I would have loved to see $100-300 for trespassing fees. Was out their last fall they are $1000 to $2000

 

[Kcjackson17]

Eastern Wyoming antelope on public land is very do able. A buddy and I went out this past year with a ton of hunting knowledge but minimal or the west and zero of antelope. Best advice I can give…. Cover ground. Glass as many locations as possible and you will be surprised how many animals are in seen on “flat” ground

 

[cem3434]

Lots of really good advice here. With the changes to the special draw, it will change the landscape of how you draw some tags in WY moving forward.