Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 1st Antelope hunt WY

I'm needing advice on hunting antelope for the first time. I'm seeking a semi or fully guided hunt for me and my two (grown) sons. I've been told a DIY is easy and inexpensive, if you have access to good herds and land. Many options are on the board but I can't afford to spend $10k on a 3 day fully guided hunt. That price is what I was quoted from one guide.

We are experienced whitetail hunters in Alabama and I've been west many times on fishing trips. I've just never hunted out west. We each have 9-10 preference points for antelope and deer. Getting more than a week off to hunt and scout will also be an issue due to work and school schedules.

Any information for guides, land access or other opportunities is greatly appreciated. I did contact WY G&F last year for information and will be speaking with them again soon.

Thanks for your help!

With 9-10 PP you do not need guided or private access, plenty of good areas to draw with those PPs and not pay anyone anything.

Quotas come out in April or so with numbers for this coming year, wait and look over those quotas.
There will be some PP creep this year in the Regular draw due to the price increase in the Special draw.
I would start by looking at say 6-8 PPs areas.

Our public land hunting is great for antelope if you get the right area, plenty of them.
Last winter was killer on some herds but not all.
Watched some big bucks this past Fall in an area that had little winterkill and saw no one hunting them on the public land.

If you want to spend your money on tags and not guides go the Special draw route, about $1200 per tag I think this year. The Regular draw should have a decent area to draw for you all.
Check back in April when quotas are out and winter is almost over.

Mule deer numbers are way down too in many areas, save those PPs for a later hunt.

In Oct of 2022 a friend and I hunted antelope in CO we used Double H outfitters from outside of Craig CO, they were top shelf( https://www.doublehoutfittersllc.com/) We hunted on landowner tags obtained by the outfitter .We hunted high prarie and could see the mountains of Utah and Wyoming. I took a buck the first day of the hunt and my buddy took his the second day. The outfitters cared for our animals and got them right to a butcher shop they worked with after the kill. The day we left out animals were butchered, frozen and vacume packed and we put them in ice chests with dry ice on top , taped the lids shut and they were still frozen when we got home to PA. The accomadations were great, living quarters, food the all of our needs were met. I would recommend them to anyone looking for an outfitter. They hunt antelope, mule deer, elk and lions. If you have any questions about the experience, pM me here. BTW, a three day Guided hunt will not cost you anywhere near 10 grand!

Congratulations on a nice hunt. Glad it happened for you.

Thanks for the “local” info!

You need to focus on access. If you pick a unit with public land (blm or state) you absolutely do not need a guide.

Check draw reports for odds. Then start looking at units for access. I'd also suggest reading the game and fish website's "hunt planner", pick the area and read this...



Good info in there usually.

Yes. About 52 or 3% of Wyoming is public land. Give oneself two or three days of front-end time to scout a piece of country and get with it. Hoping to get there myself in 2024.

With that many preference points you three can be done. By 0800 on opening day if you want to be.

Go enjoy the hunt.

-Jake

If that 10K figure included meals, lodging, and field transportation for 3 hunters that sounds like a very reasonable price.

It’s great that you have lots of preference points. But you don’t want to squander them.

Your limited time to hunt and your distance from the area are very limiting.

My sons and I hunted antelope in Wyoming several years, but the last time was about 10 years ago. We were using leftover tags purchased on line, so we didn’t have much invested. We found that if we hiked a couple of miles into public land without road access we could find antelope without much problem. We saw plenty of bucks from the road, but after opening day most had moved onto private land. If you have a good backpack a quartered up antelope is not too hard to pack out.

Coming from the Southeast, you need to think about good optics,(binoculars and possibly a spotting scope), shooting sticks or bipods, cheap kneeling pads (Home Depot garden center) to sit on while glassing, sturdy leather boots, and maybe leather gloves.
Everything in Wyoming has thorns.
I agree with wytex, don’t use your deer PP’s on the same hunt.

It sounds like you are doing things right by looking for information. Call G&F, and maybe ask about talking to a biologist in the area you are considering. Hunting consultants and outfitters can be helpful. Maybe Chambers of Commerce in some areas might have contact information for landowners who sell trespass hunts.

If you do your research you and your sons should have a great experience.

I would add, if possible get there with a day or two to scout before opening day.

A cell phone GPS map that shows public and private land is possibly the most important piece of equipment you can have. It’s not like here in the southeast where you can identify property boundaries by fences, land use patterns, and posted signs.

Parts of Wyoming and NW Colorado got hammered last winter, make calls to Colorado and talk with locals before booking with anyone down in that part of the state.

A 6-10 PP area in Wyoming will have great public access, get OnX for mapping.
Not all head to private land on opening day , depends on area and amount of public land.
A DIY hunt could take as little as 2-3 days and leave time for some great trout fishing.

April is the time to look over the regulations and quotas for each , until then look over areas that took say 6-8 PP to draw last year and look at the amount of public land in them.
The Hunt Planner map is great for that and draw odds from last year are online too but will be different this year with price increase on the Special draw.

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Hunting/Hunt-Planner/Antelope-Hunting/Antelope-Map
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/con...elope-Demand-Report-Preference-Point.pdf


Antelope are fun and easy to hunt in areas with good access and decent numbers. You will literally see hundreds a day, well should. The allure of antelope hunting is the animals are easy to find and plentiful in Wyoming. A guide is not needed unless you are concentrating on a true trophy.
Numbers are down in some areas but still good ones to be had, this Spring is important for a bounce back but I think tag numbers will still be low for this coming year. If you draw a decent area for access you should have a fun hunt.
Spouse's hunt area this past year had a big decrease in tags but we saw plenty of animals. Conditions varied widely across the state.

Some areas near to small towns that have lodging and food for the DIY hunter, no need to camp. Plenty of public land camping too, at no cost in remote hunting areas.

Thanks for all the information so far.

Call the CO or Chamber of Commerce in Medicine Bow and ask for a list of ranchers that have trespass hunts. Private land, reasonable cost and the ranchers always know where the animals are!

Following...

Actually the hunt cost $4,075.00 each for a 2 man guided 3 day hunt,(1 guide 2 hunters), food and Lodging included. Very nice accomadations and extremely knowledgable and nice people runing the operation.

I've been up there in the no points units and could have killed a good buck almost every day. I hunted 38 last year and could have killed 20 different bucks. They move constantly. Get out there. Sit down on top of a hill with good glass, and they'll usually wander by. If spot and stalk is your deal, bring some knee pads and leather gloves. Expect 2 to 600 yard shots.

And for antelope with o or 10 points? Forget the outfitter, you'll be in prime country. Grab a tent, a cook stove, and let the good times roll. I like October when it's cooler temps too. My last trip, I never seen another antelope hunter, mostly elk hunters.

tag

Lots of sound advice here from guys who know the country and lopes. However lots of hunters are coming from the other side of the country and really don’t know anything about the country, how to get around and know anything about the BLM or local people and land owners. My late Brother guided years in Wyoming and did a bit of antelope work. He always felt guilty taking the money always thought it was like he was guiding for Jack rabbits or coyotes. He often would run into guys at the local watering holes and charge them a $100-200 just to show them where they were then it was up to them. He usually found lots from Kemmerer to Rock Springs.

Rick

^^^ OnX takes care of that now.
It shows land owners names, public and private land and roads.
County Road and Bridge Departments have maps that show county , public roads.

Anyone acting as a guide for any compensation has to be licensed in Wyoming.

Heck the Hunt Planner map shows public and private land, roads and terrain.

Your PPs will get you a good area with good public access.
Lets see what the quotas look like in April/May and then you will have ideas on where to apply.

I know an area with decent public land, small town with lodging and supplies within 30 minutes of hunting that would be a fun hunt. They can be found all over the state.
Some better areas do require camping, lots of BLM land and no nearby towns unless you want to drive a bit every day.

Coyote I watched a 15+ inch buck in 38 this past year and no one was hunting that part of the area. Hope you got a good one.