Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game WY antelope unit ?

I've got the max number of points for antelope and was going to try my chances at drawing for one of the Red Desert units and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on if one unit is better than any of the others in this general area as far as trophy quality, public land access, and odds of drawing. I realize that the chances of drawing a license as a non-resident in any of these units are pretty slim, but thought I'd give it a whirl anyways. Units I am looking at are 112, 59, 58, 57, 53, 92, 60, and 61. Also, I would imagine that the oil and gas development has been quite heavy in some of these areas. If I should take that into consideration when deciding which area to put in for, please let me know.
Thanks for any assistance,
Test

I'm not sure of exact winter range(s) for all of those units, but last year's snows did a 'snow job' on many deer and antelope. I suggest that you do your research on current vs historical numbers and quality. It might be too soon to stake high expectations on the region.

Don't know about the red desert, I've always hunted unit 68. Lots of antelope, mostly public land, animals not to spooky, not much hunting pressure. Tha farthest I've shot one is about 225 yds. and probably could have got closer. The closest was 100 yds. Quite a few p.d.'s too so take a varmint rig. I've drawn a tag in that area everytime I applied.

Thanks for the responses, guys. I guess no one else feels like sharing!

BRoper, thanks for the info. I'll have to look closer at 68.

Test

I was looking up the odds while you were typing. Nonresidents with the maximum points last year had a 43% chance of drawing a license in area 53, 11% chance of drawing a license in area 57, 10% chance of drawing a license in area 58, 34% chance of drawing a license in area 59, 2% chance of drawing a license in area 60, 7% chance of drawing a license in area 61, 32% chance of drawing a license in area 90, 17% chance of drawing a license in area 91, 78% chance of drawing a license in area 92, an 88% chance of drawing a license in area 96, and an 18% chance of drawing a license in area 112. Those people are no longer competing with you in the preference point drawing, so your odds should be better. Drawing in areas 92 and 96 should be easy with maximum points this year, and area 68 only required one point last year. Success rates in 2007(results not out yet for 2008) were 84% in area 68, 89% in area 92, and 82% in area 96.
You should draw areas 92, 96, or 68, and you could list area 68 as a second choice with one of the others as your first choice.

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Thanks, DrHJH! You too, elkhunter76. Good information. I guess what I was really after was the answer to the question: are the areas with the low percentage draw success, like 57, 58, & 60, that much better for seeing big bucks than the other areas in the Red Desert that have higher draw success? I'm surmising at this point that my chances of seeing a really good buck is about the same in any of these area, but is still a game of chance.
Test

test1328,

Theres a lot of hunters that put little merit into the B&C record books, apparently even some on this board.

But, if you look at one, you'll notice that there are only a handful of counties in Wyoming that produce a vast majority of the record book antelope.

Its possible to find a record book buck in just about any given unit...but your chances are much better in some than others.

The bigger question you have to ask, is what type of buck do you consider a "really good" buck?

If you're just after a mid-70's buck and would be happy with one of that size, theres units you could draw every other year and get one that size...with not much more effort than just laying off the trigger and sorting through a bunch.

If you're talking about awards book antelope (80+)...different story. I'd stick to some of the units you mentioned.

However, the difficult thing about waiting several years to draw a tag in those units, you have to hope the year you draw is a good year. If you draw following a drought, a severe winter, etc. its much more difficult to find a high scoring buck.

Just because you draw the right tag in the right area, doesnt mean you're going to be seeing a bunch of really good bucks.

Its pretty common to hear people say they waited 5-6 years to draw one of the premier areas in Wyoming and then find out they shot a low to mid-70's antelope. Thats a fine antelope, no question, but I personally would not fight 20% draw odds to kill a 70 inch antelope when I can do the same thing in other units every year.

I think given the right year and if you're selective, the units you listed would give you a great chance at a really nice buck. But, even in the right year and area, you'll need to cover some country and look at a lot of antelope to find an exceptional one.

Good luck.

I've hunted antelope in Wyoming a lot and know many other very serious pronghorn guys that hunt regularly in several areas of Wyoming. Buzz is 100% correct. This is my take on the red desert units and antelope hunting in Wyoming, in general.

The trophy quality of goats in Wyoming, even in the very difficult to draw units, even on good years is MARGINAL. What Wyoming's got is numbers - lots and lots and lots of goats.

If you are going to be very pleased with a fun hunt, and a good-looking "mounter" buck that's in the 13.5-16" range that will score in the 70-75" range.. pretty much ANY unit in Wyoming will provide that on any given year, and it can be done comfortably in less than 3 days. Pick a unit and go hunting..

If you are looking for a buck that will score 80+.. my suggestion is to wait to submit your application until the last day, watch the winter severity in the units you are considering, talk to G&F/BLM field biologists and find out the winter condition, and based on that - pick a unit that has good numbers, and lots of ground that you can hunt, and plan on spending a week to look. Even on a good year, in one of the top units, you'll likely have to pass up dozens and dozens of those "mounter" bucks I'm mentioning above before you come across a legit 80+ monster caliber pronhorn. That's just to maximize your odds though, because almost any unit in the state "could" produce a great buck. Some units that are very easy to draw produce giants. I've scoured the most isolated areas in region 57 for days on days and didn't see anything remotely worthy of that tag... then have seen giant bucks within a short drive of town, along side a highway in easier to draw units. Go figure.

Most of the units considered "premier" by many in the Red Desert were hammered last winter. Huge winterkill. My suggestion would be to stay north of I-80 at a miniumum.

Thanks once again for answering my question. It's good to hear from those that have hunted these units firsthand and know the trophy potential. I think I've got a good idea of how I'd like to proceed now. Just to clarify, I'm not necessarily looking for a B&C buck since I know just how rare those guys are. However, I am looking for a really nice one. I'm not a guy who goes around scoring animals and when people ask me "What'd he score?", my answer is always the same: I don't know and I don't care. I just knew he was a good one! So, as Greenhorn said, a buck in the 14-16 inch range would be great and I figure these areas in WY give me a heck of a better chance at something like that than I can get here in CO.
Test

The really large bucks I've seen recently came from some rather unusual areas, not some of those in the Red Desert, mostly northern Wyoming, and they all were from areas with water and alfalfa close by, restricted access, and no killer winters.

Hunted 58 last year. Thought it was overrated, and there were gas/oil workers, and roads everywhere! I think the winterkill was worse than indicated.

It really was a shame to see how the roads and gaswells have scarred up the countryside.

After a bad winter all antelope areas seem to be over-rated, including all of the other hunt areas in the Red Desert. With all of the things affecting antelope in those hunt areas, what you said is pretty much true in all of the Red Desert hunting areas. In light of increasing oil/gas production, and the fact they're not making any more of that stuff, loss of habitat will only continue, as nearly all of western Wyoming is already leased, if not being developed. While we're assured the development can be done without affecting antelope, that is a load of manure. Roads and well pads aren't habitat, and antelope aren't drinking the crap in the ponds at those sights. The advent of ATVs hasn't helped either, as the former refuge areas for deer and some of the bigger antelope are now either full of roads and well pads or being accessed by people who won't stay out of the few areas without roads. Having young males running around bored with new trucks, new guns, and time on their hands doesn't help either, as wildlife crime increases with every development. Add a bad winter, wild horses, and drought to all of that, and trophies are harder to come by. There was a time we couldn't kill enough antelope to control them, and the effect of too many antelope on the plants that support them in winter shouldn't be discounted, either.
But, that's "progress", and as long as the population of the U.S. keeps growing, and demand for fuel increases, it isn't going to get any better.

Was the winterkill in WY units 92 & 93 as bad as it was closer to Baggs last year?
I talked with a friend near Ogden, UT ealier today and he said their winter has been much milder than last. Is the same true for the area near Fontenelle/LaBarge?

Doug~RR

I don't know for certain, but I'd suspect yes, that so far it's been a mild winter there. I was in a valley (6500ft) a bit to south of there and there's really not much snow on the winter range right now. Let's just hope that enough comes to get through the summer and get the range growing good feed...

Son had a tag for Unit 61 last year. A very neat place, but being drilled like crazy. Lots of public land. The winter before was very harsh. Still lots of animals.

We only had limited time, but in four hard days, looked over hundreds of bucks and did not find one that we estimated would be over 75". Son has shot a lot of nice critters, so he went home with his tag in his pocket. With more time to scout, we may have lucked out and found that whopper.

Time to scout is the most important thing with pronghorn in a state like WY. A big buck or two exists in most every unit, but plan on doing a lot of looking before you find that really big one. Or, just get a good streak of luck and he might be the first one you see.

Happy Hunting.

Came across this site to check snowpack for areas of various states. It may be of some help, but seems geared more towards the higher mountains.

http://www.wrds.uwyo.edu/wrds/nrcs/updatesur/updatesur.html

We are looking to draw as well and are considering drawing in the north.(80,78,77) Does anyone have any experience/input on the recent trophy quality in the northern zones? How have the last couple winter been for the country along the Montana border? How is this winter progressing? Thanks in advance for any help.

While we have had snow pack in the high country, near as I can tell, there hasn't been much winter in the lowlands throughout Wyoming, with not much snow that lasted and little cold weather. That should remove or at least minimize the effects of winter on horn growth in most areas.
When there is a bad winter, what usually die are fawns, yearlings, and does that have had fawns and aren't in good shape because they haven't recovered from nursing fawns, in that order. Those are the does that look so skinny with the ratty-looking hides in the early part of the hunting season because they haven't completely shed their old hair.
After a bad winter, the antelope hunting is usually pretty good for a couple of years because the Game and Fish Department tries to maintain a high proportion of bucks in the population after the season. With 40 bucks:100 does in the herd at the end of the hunting season, you should be able to still find some trophy bucks even during a late season hunt. But, after a bad winter you have lost three age classes, so there will be less bucks and does for about three years until the animals that died during the bad winter are replaced. Trophy quality will be affected until the bucks get to be 4 years old. That's why hunters always say the hunting wasn't as bad as they thought it might be the year after a bad winter, then grumble for three or four years afterward. The inevitable reduction in licenses following bad winters is designed to maintain some good bucks and speed up recovery by shooting less animals. Herds in good shape on good habitat recover fairly quickly. After the winter of 1978-79 antelope numbers were higher than before the winter by the fall of 1981. After the winter of 1992-93 following several years of drought, it took herds four years to recover. Unfortunately, nothing can be done about the weather.

There's part of that country has been under snow and a bunch of it since mid November. Been some pretty severe cold temps as well, but all told its probably closer to a real winter than there has been for several years.