Wyoming trophy units

[Dexter Grayson]

I have a few points built up in Wyoming, and I want to have a decent shot at a record book animal. I've killed antelope before so now I want a big one. Y'all have any suggestions? Please feel free to PM.

 

[Fishforfun]

Check out gohunt for trophy potential. Also look at eastmans and they will list what counties the most book animals come from.

 

[Cahunter805]

Plenty of units In WY with trophy potential. Look at the WY Game and Fish website to see what units can be drawn with your points.
One of the largest WY bucks ever was taken from a leftover unit.

 

[Jimss]

If you are looking for B&C the best resource is to look through the B&C county listings. If P&Y suffices, you can get a P&Y qualifier in just about any county in Wyo. As mentioned above B&C bucks can show up in odd units scattered across Wyo. A lot can change from 1 year to the next and from 1 unit to the next depending upon winterkill, moisture/vegetation conditions, fawn recruitment, etc. B&C bucks aren't that common and usually take a lot of time and expertise with trophy field judging to harvest!

 

[dtrkyman]

I think it was Carbon county that had a crazy number of B&C entries.


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[Fonkie]

That would depend on how many points you have & if your going DIY on public or paying an outfitter on private. Red desert units have the most trophy potential with public land but drawing requires a big bank of preference points.

 

[Dexter Grayson]

Thanks fellas! I've been doing some research and found that red desert is going to take a load of points. I have 5 points. Think I'll hold out a few more years and hunt the red desert. But in the mean time I'm thinking about putting in for 71-75 as second choice. Drove through that area not long ago and saw a ton of goats. Anyone hunted these areas? Appears to be plenty of public.

 

[bdan68]

You won't draw any of those units as a second choice. Need to look at the NE units if you want a second choice tag.

 

[Fishforfun]

Drawing type 1 second choice units got ridiculous this year. There were plenty of -1 tags that went to the leftover draw in 2018 that sold out in the first round this year.

 

[NoWiser]

Thanks fellas! I've been doing some research and found that red desert is going to take a load of points. I have 5 points. Think I'll hold out a few more years and hunt the red desert. But in the mean time I'm thinking about putting in for 71-75 as second choice. Drove through that area not long ago and saw a ton of goats. Anyone hunted these areas? Appears to be plenty of public.

You will not draw an area with plenty of public on a 2nd choice. That ship sailed a few years ago. With 5 points it's unlikely you will draw a red desert unit in the next 15-20 years. I have 8 points and have no illusion of ever drawing a tag down there. I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but this is the current and future state of Wyoming antelope tags given the preference point system. You do always have a tiny chance drawing a random tag, though.

 

[Fonkie]

A booner is not a guarantee even in the red desert units & a booner can be had in any of the public land units of western Wyoming if your lucky. I killed an 80 6/8 in a 8 pt unit last year. Pick a unit & go hunt

 

[Dexter Grayson]

Wow, you guys really know how to brighten a dudes day! And I thought hunting was a dying sport!?

 

[Trial153]

I would think outside the box because everyone is reading from the same playbook lately.

 

[wapitibob]

14 is max for 2020, you’re waaay behind.

 

[desertcj]

You know what's funny....driving along the freeway, I've seen thousands of antelope in Wyoming. None around the red desert though...lol.

 

[Jimss]

Back in the 70's and 80's there was hardly any interest in antelope hunting with loads of tags and antelope available. Deer, elk, and other big game tags were fairly easy to draw on a regular basis so few nonres were targeting antelope. In recent years a lower % of tags have been issued throughout the west to nonres hunters with more and more hunters vying for high demand tags each year.

5 to 10 years ago Wyo nonres figured out that they could draw antelope tags with few pts on a fairly regular basis....but those days are pretty much over! In fact, left-over lists tend to be dwindling by the year...especially in units that have ANY public land! Also, lower antelope tag quotas due to severe drought, winterkill, etc hasn't helped. Keep your fingers crossed that winters remain relatively mild and spring and summers wet throughout Wyo so antelope numbers rebound! It only takes one horrible winter and tags will be even tougher to draw than they already are! Back-to-back winters and you'll be waiting a heck of a lot longer for tags! Just a few things to consider when trying to figure out draw strategies! Sorry to paint a relatively sloppy picture...but as pointed out in several posts above....nonres antelope tags in Wyo tend to be getting tougher and tougher to draw!

 

[wytx]

You have a chance to draw a random tag , and it would take your PP.
My B&C buck is from right near home here and an area not kn own for trophies.
Wait for spring quotas to come out and winterkill affects to be known.

 

[desertcj]

Generally, I think the populations are currently pretty high from the research I've done. I think/hope it's just a fad. I've gone twice now, killed 3 goats and yeah it's OK. Definitely not my favorite hunt to do and I will probably wait several years before I go again. It's just not that challenging of a hunt imo. Hopefully, a lot of other hunters feel the same and maybe demand will level off or sink slightly.

 

[Rackmastr]

Wife has got 13 points and even she doesn't have ALL the options of Red Desert tags in some zones. We are narrowing in on about 5 different options though and should be going in 2020 if all goes well and winter isn't too bad down that way. Point creep is sure a real thing and I'm currently a 5 myself and dont have any aspirations or expectations to draw a 'top tier' unit. That being said, there are big bucks in a ton of zones, and drawing a 'premium' unit is far from a guarantee.

 

[NUGGET]

Good Luck! You'll need it to even find a book buck in the red desert units.