Wyoming Non Res Units?

[durangobrad]

I am looking to take my girlfriend on her first big game hunt and it sounds like Wyoming antelope could be a lot of fun (target rich environment). Can you guys point me towards some areas or units that a non res can draw tags with no points? Can be doe or bucks. Needs to have some good public access and a place for us to camp. Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[power54]

You've got a lot of options. The new WYGF hunt planner is great for finding zones. The zones with an asterisk in the hunt planner have tough public land access, and from my experience they are pretty accurate. I would follow their advice.

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Hunting/Hunt-Planner

Next I would check out the draw reports based on whatever zones you pick out with the hunt planner. This one is 2015 NR full-price any antelope (type 1 or type 2):
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Hunting/Drawing Odds/DRAW_ANT_RD_NONRES_2015.pdf

NR reduced price doe/fawn (type 6 and 7):
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Hunting/Drawing Odds/DRAW_ANTDF_NONRES_2015.pdf

The type 6 and 7 antelope tags in WY are the best NR hunting deal offered, at least that I know of. They are $45 or something like that. I know units 90-92 and 96 and they are good zones but hard to draw. You may have better luck doing some homework and figuring out places with better odds. Just about anywhere you will draw a tag in Wyoming is going to have decent antelope hunting.

 

[durangobrad]

Thanks I have found those links but also had a tough time reading them. I see the quota vs how many 1st choice apps for that hunt, but that doesnt mention anything about points required to draw? Also are there success rates listed anywhere?

 

[wyo_gasman]

I think a lot of the eastern units go undersubscribed and some guys do well on them. I've read a lot of the landowners dont like the antelope on their property and will let you hunt. It doesnt show success rates but does show how many points it took to draw.
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Hunting/Drawing Odds/DRAW_ANT_PP_NONRES_2015.pdf

 

[wapitibob]

Type 6-7 don't use points.
For a 0 point doe hunt, almost guaranteed draw, you will need to be on the East side of the state. All those units will be listed as poor access. You will need to look at each unit, combined with the county gis map showing county roads, to see where access touches state and blm land. You can also get overlays from the blm but you need to back check for easements, again with the blm for the chosen area. Pain in the ass but required when dealing with those 0 point units.

Don't worry about success rates. They're 100% unless a guy chooses not to shoot.

If you want good access you'll have to rely on luck to pick up tags in the draw. Not a bad option because you can party and each choose 2 tags, 4 for the two of you but you risk not drawing. You could try good access as 1st choice and one of the poor access as 2nd knowing you'll be hunting but 2nd choice will require some study.

 

[power54]

Thanks I have found those links but also had a tough time reading them. I see the quota vs how many 1st choice apps for that hunt, but that doesnt mention anything about points required to draw? Also are there success rates listed anywhere?

The links I posted above were random draw, so no pref points involved. They have 2 draws in Wyoming for non-res, one random and one preference point so you can you still draw without preference points with reduced odds. The reduced price doe/fawn tags aren't eligible for preference points so that is always random.

I usually just divide the number of first choice by the quota to get a rough estimate of draw odds as a percentage. If you're looking for harvest success rates, they have detailed harvest reports on the WYGF website. They are kind of a mess to read but the harvest rates are in there.

 

[durangobrad]

If you want good access you'll have to rely on luck to pick up tags in the draw. Not a bad option because you can party and each choose 2 tags, 4 for the two of you but you risk not drawing. You could try good access as 1st choice and one of the poor access as 2nd knowing you'll be hunting but 2nd choice will require some study.

How does applying as a party help or hurt our odds? I was originally just going to get a tag for her but if we can both hunt thats great also.

 

[molliesmaster]

This may be a dumb question, but can you not just drive down the county roads to where state and BLM lands touch it and hunt from there?

 

[wyosteve]

Yes, if a county road touches State or BlM lands, you can access there. Trouble is: 1) many folks look to do the same thing 2) because of no. 1, it doesn't take long for antelope to leave the country, especially on State lands which are typically only one section, i.e. 640 acres and 3) a lot of State or BLM does not have a public road going through it for access. Applying as a party doesn't change the odds, it just means, everyone draws or no one does.

 

[power54]

Yes, if a county road touches State or BlM lands, you can access there. Trouble is: 1) many folks look to do the same thing 2) because of no. 1, it doesn't take long for antelope to leave the country, especially on State lands which are typically only one section, i.e. 640 acres and 3) a lot of State or BLM does not have a public road going through it for access. Applying as a party doesn't change the odds, it just means, everyone draws or no one does.

A group application is treated like one application. So, if you do a group application you will have one "name" in the draw hat for 2 people. If you applied separately, you'd have 2 names in the hat but its possible only one would get drawn. If you don't care whether you both get tags and just want to go on a hunting trip together, your odds would increase if you applied separately. I doubt your girlfriend would be very happy if she didn't draw a tag for her first hunt but you did! In this specific case, if you were only planning on applying for one tag anyway, the group app wouldn't change your odds.

 

[durangobrad]

Can you find out how many tags will be issued for the upcoming draw?

 

[wyosteve]

Unfortunately, the Game and Fish Commission doesn't meet until late April to set season dates and numbers of licenses which is past the non-res. application date. However, they usually do not fluctuate significantly from year to year unless there's a major winterkill, which, so far, doesn't look like it will happen this winter.

 

[wapitibob]

Tag quotas will be published the 3rd week of march for use in the public meetings. They rarely change between proposed numbers and approved numbers. You have plenty of time to get things lined out.

 

[durangobrad]

Yeah, looks like the deadline for applications is May 31 so I will wait on my app until I see the proposed numbers

 

[power54]

Yeah, looks like the deadline for applications is May 31 so I will wait on my app until I see the proposed numbers

Yeah, the NR application deadline for antelope was changed from March 15 to the end of May a few years ago . Might as well wait it out. Good luck!

 

[durangobrad]

Thanks guys for all your help. Understanding all the different states draws is a tough one....

 

[NoWiser]

You should be able to plan a real good hunt in a guaranteed draw unit. You have plenty of time to do the research. Pick a few units and get on the phone. You'll get some good information. Keep in mind many roads in Wyoming are NOT public. Wapitibob offers good advice. You will need to do some digging to make sure the roads you are on are not private. Following your BLM map or GPS chip can get you into trouble. The unit we hunted last year showed roads everywhere. Only a small percentage of them could we actually drive on without trespassing. Finding antelope on public land was very easy with a bit of hiking. We are heading back this year and will draw it as a second choice. Good luck!

 

[leerussell]

I came across http://www.toprut.com while trying to do research on Utah elk hunts. It looks like there are lots of options in Wyoming for Non-Residents with zero points in the regular draw versus the special draw. The challenge with the 100% draw odds is the lack of public land access.

Here is a link to the sites antelope draw odds: http://www.toprut.com/hunt/wyoming-antelope/

It looks like Unit 38 might be a pretty good option for you. 100% chance in the special draw with zero points, plus, it appears there is plenty of public land available as well. http://www.toprut.com/hunt/wyoming-antelope-unit-38/

Like NoWiser and WapitiBob said, you have plenty of time to research - take full advantage of the time you have before selecting your hunt!

 

[durangobrad]

Tag quotas will be published the 3rd week of march for use in the public meetings. They rarely change between proposed numbers and approved numbers. You have plenty of time to get things lined out.

Wanted to bump this back up. Where can I find the tag quotas?

 

[norcal-noodler]

Tag quotas for 2015 are listed on the game and fish department

Or look at this
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Hunting/Drawing Odds/DRAW_ANT_PP_NONRES_2015.pdf