Drinking from a fire hose......

[manitou1]

I have posted this before. Not to discourage folks, but to educate them. I go to WY every fall to hunt antelope and mule deer now. I kill 3-4 antelope every season and have never left with an unfilled tag... until this past season. I always take a 70" plus buck and pass smaller bucks and usually set aside 8 days to hunt. This year, due to moving my wife out there and building a new house there, I went 5 days prior to season and had an additional 10 days to hunt. I saw ONE antelope buck on public at 780 yds and he was running... and only a handful of does. I could have filled my two doe tags from the one group of does I saw several times, but didn't have the stomach to do it due to the numbers being so dismal. My wife is from WY and we have gone out there for 24 years. This past season we saw maybe 5% of the antelope as normal. The areas I hunt in NE WY got hit hard with disease, plus the worst drought year in decades for that area. Antelope were dying off... badly. I ran into several other hunting parties, including two groups at my camp that threw in the towel and went home early. Talked to two guys who had collectively walked 28 miles in two days and never saw an antelope on public.
I myself, quit hunting a couple days early. This was the Buffalo area, an area I am VERY familiar with. I did tag a decent muley, but would have never dreamed I couldn't fill my antelope tags in WY.
Just keep these things in mind so as to not get disappointed. Hopefully, this coming season will be better but I suspect it will take a few years to recover.
I know many areas didn't suffer the same fate and I also know there were a few animals taken off adjoining units to where I hunted, but not near the numbers as usual from what we saw.
Study the WG&F web site, pick a few GMUs and contact the local road dept to see which roads are public, which is the clincher. Many roads that appear public are not, so do a little homework in that venue to make sure you have access.
As stated above, look for open plains when choosing a unit. Antelope like to see rather than hide in brush or heavily broken terrain. Unlike most game that prefer staying hidden, antelope want to see... and run! Not a lot is flat out there, with rolling hills the norm on the plain, which is fine.
Good luck to all with your draw and the hunt!

 

[Jmahunter915]

A general rule of thumb in Wyoming is that the more public land and quality bucks available the more preference points it requires to draw a tag. Last winter was horrible in some regions in Wyo and not bad in others. Wyo antelope tags were cut in a lot of regions in 2020. Obviously when tag numbers are up it takes fewer years to draw tags. In lean years there are few 2nd choice and leftover tags available.....and it generally takes more pts to draw. You can likely draw a Wyo antelope tag with 0 to 1 pt but the unit may be almost entirely private and you will likely have company on the little public land that is available.

If you don't want to wait for a quality antelope hunt I would highly recommend New Mexico where you can hunt every year. In New Mexico there are landowner tags available as well as an outfitter draw with fairly good draw odds and quality bucks available in some units.

 

[Dalep]

Wyoming I’ve done DIY twice with never stepping foot in the area prior to arriving. We weren’t looking for a toad and had a few antelope to choose from. Just put in for a unit where 0 points is close to 100% draw odds. Be full of people but you’ll see antelope

 

[Caleb Miller]

research some of the mid october start dates in wyoming they can be much easier to draw

 

[CullenMS]

A group of three of us went out in WY 20 this year. There was pressure on every square inch of public land. Every. Square. Inch. We hunted from October 21st-25th.

On the 21st, we saw exactly 5 Antelope on public land, 4 does and a barely-a-buck. On the 22nd there was a blizzard, and when we got out we saw 0 Antelope on public land. On the 23rd it was a nice, crystal clear, single-digit temperature day, and we saw 0 Antelope on public land. On the 24th, it was back to blizzard with white out conditions. We saw a small herd on public, but lost them in the whiteout before we could get a shot . On the 25th, visibility was wildly better than the 24th, but there was virtually no one out. The significant snow had reduced pressure, and the worsened conditions had made more of the terrain accessible only to lifted 4WD vehicles with a locking rear differential. We were able to get into a more remote section, and successfully got two bucks.

There were lots of antelope on private land, and many hunters stopping their vehicles directly opposite the fence on public land, guaranteeing that the antelope were staying on private. Take a look at Google Maps/onX when you're looking at your unit. Unit 20 is like 40% public land, but probably 2/3 of it is mountainous and not Antelope country. Don't just look at a public land percentage and think that correlates to opportunity, some public land sections are 100% land locked.

Appreciate the thorough write-up and perspective you've provided. Like the original poster I'll be heading west for the first time this fall. Excited about the journey but definitely a steep learning curve in all facets...so every bit a shared knowledge helps and is appreciated.

 

[D.Blake]

Nebraska will be archery only for you guys being nonresidents. It's a tough game that a lot of people try to play. Not much public and a lot of competition. Beautiful country though.

 

[Timberline001]

I'm attempting to dive in, and research my 1st Antelope hunt for 2021. I have a basic understanding of the point system, but can't quite make sense of some state statistics for draw odds.

Trying to choose my best course of action, with 0 points. (3 of us will be going together. All 0 pointers)

Wyoming?? South Dakota?? Nebraska?? Where would you toss your hat in the ring for a DIY hunt?

Are you wanting to hunt rifle or archery? There are some great Archery tags you guys can draw guaranteed. But as everyone’s said decent rifle tags usually take some points or luck.

 

[Claypa]

How does the pressure compare archery to rifle in Wyoming and South Dakota? 1/2? 1/10? In a similar situation as the op

 

[Sccritterkiller]

OP pick a zero point unit and go hunt get out of the truck and walk, you can't see them from the road but they are there. I have gone 2 for 2 the last 2 yrs in a unit with "limited public access" according to WFG one of them was 2nd choice. They weren't B&C bucks but it was good time and good eating. Don't over look "small" parcels. Good Luck!