Planning a DIY antelope hunt

[rhendrix]

Ok gents, I want to get out and arrow a speed goat in the next year or two, obviously WY is the place to go for any DIYer since there's a healthy antelope population and OTC tags. The only problem I'm having though is that land access is confusing due to the state property laws. I can't necessarily afford to pay a trespass fee that will cost me as much or more as the total cost of the trip. Can anyone give me a couple of suggestions as to go about finding a reasonable place to gain access to a piece of property, or even better, a unit that has small tracts of public land that has lots of smaller tracts that you can access easily (I know, I know this is the holy grail for antelope hunters in that part of the world)? I should also mention that I'm not married to the idea of going to WY, living in TX its a damn long drive, so if I could find something closer that'd be great, I just don't have the funds to pay a lot of money to an outfitter. Thanks for any help and feedback guys, I really appreciate it!

Ron

 

[realunlucky]

Ron with no points I would look at a 900 series(archery only) tag in Montana. Draw odds are better and you can hunt most units ( at least that's how it was) worth looking into

 

[rhendrix]

Thanks buddy, I'll look into MT as well. Kinda wishing I had my own private airplane, should would make the logistics part of all of this easier.

 

[bbrown]

Last time I hunted speed goats in Wyoming they had a ton of walk-in access. Maybe check that out for the areas you are looking at.
Once you find an area don't be afraid to knock on some doors.

 

[wyosteve]

There is a ton of BLM land to the northeast and north west of Rawlins. Used to be pretty easy to get a tag, but I haven't checked in a few years.

 

[345 kv]

If I was a nonres. I would not consider getting a tag East of Larimie. Unless willing to pay to hunt. Tag numbers have been down in most areas.

 

[rhendrix]

It's not that I'm willing to pay, I just don't wanna pay an arm and a leg. I'll check out the areas you mentioned bbrown, thanks for the help!

 

[jmez]

Look at South Dakota. Archery tags are unlimited and there are no units. There are tens of thousands of acres of walk in areas in Butte, Meade, and Harding counties. I believe around 50,000 in Meade county alone. Most of the antelope in the state reside in those three counties and they are all together in the NW corner of the state.

You can just hop from spot to spot when hunting. Most all of them will have goats on them.

 

[rhendrix]

Jmez, didn't you hunt for mulies in SD a couple of years ago? Ever see any goats?