Wyoming Antelope Hunt

[Riles1050]

Drew my first antelope tag in Wyoming this year. The hunt is September 15-Oct 31 with the option of getting a Archery Stamp to start August 15. When is the best time of year or rut for Antelope? Any season are antelope hunting specific tips? Thanks

 

[wytx]

Avoid the opening week. End of Sept is nice, weather cools off some, leaves are turning and fall is in the air. Oct can be nice as well or windy, cold and snowy.
The rut kicks in last of Sept and goes into early Oct. , the mature bucks will have doe groups herded up and will be constantly making sure they stay that way. He will chase off smaller bucks that get too close and go after a doe that tries to leave the group and herd her back. If a doe gets hot he'll stay with her, like a whitetail. The bucks seem to be constantly on the move during the rut. After the rut the big bucks will probably go off alone and rest up.
Late Oct might get you a wintering area hunt if we get some heavy snow and cold weather. They will winter in large herds and can be very tricky to sneak up on then, multitude of eyes watching.

Use the terrain, even low rolling hills to peak over, don't put yourself skylined. You'll need knee pads and gloves for cactus.

 

[Riles1050]

Great Information! Thanks a ton!

 

[Samuel Niziolek]

I live and hunt in Wyoming. Don't be scared to hunt anytime from Aug 15th through October. The earlier the better because the antelope have not been pressured too much. As soon as the rifle hunters come in it gets crazy (in some areas) What area did you draw? If it is an area like up by Gillette where they issue a few 1,000 tags, once rifle season opens up the antelope are on edge. Also I have seen bucks rutting on Aug 15th. It seems they Rut for almost 2 months as does come in and out of cycle. Shoot me a PM and I'd be more than willing to help anyway I can.

 

[wytx]

I live and hunt in Wyoming. Don't be scared to hunt anytime from Aug 15th through October. The earlier the better because the antelope have not been pressured too much. As soon as the rifle hunters come in it gets crazy (in some areas) What area did you draw? If it is an area like up by Gillette where they issue a few 1,000 tags, once rifle season opens up the antelope are on edge. Also I have seen bucks rutting on Aug 15th. It seems they Rut for almost 2 months as does come in and out of cycle. Shoot me a PM and I'd be more than willing to help anyway I can.

Good info here. Tags numbers do come into play. I never hunt the high tag number areas so I'm thinking Samuel is right go early for more laid back antelope. After the season has been going they do get very truck shy even. Use the terrain to avoid being spotted.
They do have a stretched out rut. A buck may have a good sized harem early then switch too following around one doe who may be about to come into heat.
If you want to pm either of us with your area, I'll give info on any areas I have hunted.

 

[Broknhorn]

Bring knee pads and leather gloves for crawling on the high-prairie. All good advice from what has already been said. Antelope have eyes like hawks so you will want to minimize your appearance as much as possible!

 

[Riles1050]

Has anyone used decoys? What was your experience. Thinking of picking up one of those light flip out cow decoys.

 

[Mk7mmSTW]

I’m the opposite of the above opinions. I live in the middle of several of the most desired goat units and watch/hunt them each year as friends/Family draw tags. Yes goats get truck shy after getting shot at by every road hunter since opening day. Yet the universal go time for elk is mid October for most the state. I have yet to have seen a antelope hunter during the last couple weeks of the season which is my favorite time to chase goats. Additionally if your unit has private ground, most ranches will have deer/elk hunters on them which again pushes goats back to public.

Another reason I prefer the last two weeks is they are typically herded up in large pre winter groups so spotting them from a distance is a breeze. It also helps in determining trophy size when your looking at 10-30 bucks in a group (I hate judging a solo buck).
I typically tag out elk during archery so I have friends come mid to end of Oct and we always have a no pressure public land hunt with a crazy amount of bucks. Winter weather is a plus in my book as again, it just herds them up more. Just remember this is antelope, you can kill one any time of the year. I’ve never once heard of someone drawing a goat tag in WY and not filling it if they actually got their butt out of the truck and walked. It’s hunting, not a McDonalds drive through.

 

[plainsrunner]

I’m the opposite of the above opinions. I live in the middle of several of the most desired goat units and watch/hunt them each year as friends/Family draw tags. Yes goats get truck shy after getting shot at by every road hunter since opening day. Yet the universal go time for elk is mid October for most the state. I have yet to have seen a antelope hunter during the last couple weeks of the season which is my favorite time to chase goats. Additionally if your unit has private ground, most ranches will have deer/elk hunters on them which again pushes goats back to public.

Another reason I prefer the last two weeks is they are typically herded up in large pre winter groups so spotting them from a distance is a breeze. It also helps in determining trophy size when your looking at 10-30 bucks in a group (I hate judging a solo buck).
I typically tag out elk during archery so I have friends come mid to end of Oct and we always have a no pressure public land hunt with a crazy amount of bucks. Winter weather is a plus in my book as again, it just herds them up more. Just remember this is antelope, you can kill one any time of the year. I’ve never once heard of someone drawing a goat tag in WY and not filling it if they actually got their butt out of the truck and walked. It’s hunting, not a McDonalds drive through.

 

[plainsrunner]

We hunt the 2d and 3d week of October usually and have the places mostly to ourselves. The goats can be touchy about vehicles, and can tell when you roll the window down! lol

I've taken to hunting on foot. I'm finding they like and follow structure, so now I do too! It's also a frequent escape route if they get busted. I also don't think their hearing is quite as sharp as a deer or elk so pussy footing around is a little easier.