Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game First WY gun season, WOW it's not archery any more!ea

Yesterday started my first WY gun season, specifically for antelope. I've been hunting 3 areas since Aug 15 with my bow. All public. Pretty much alone, I think I've seen one other archery hunter.

Should have seen this coming when I was out Sunday evening and found tents setup in public places I've been hunting (wonder if they know they put the tents right where antelope have been reliably found feeding and bedded?)

In several weeks of archery hunting I never failed to have at least one good stalk chance. The best of which was Sunday, blown by a truck, but that's another story.

Yesterday, grabbed the rifles and the wife and off we went, rifle revenge for all the blown stalks!

WOW LOTS OF OUT OF STATE TRUCKS.

For the first time, no stalks, we saw 2 groups of antelope, both running flat out after being shot at 100's of yards away. Every hill we climbed to glass we found hunters.

We did see one lucky group of 4, putting 4 mulie bucks and an antelope buck in teh truck. Good problem to have, they were trying to figure out how to fit them all in the truck.

Hope this is a short term population boom and it dwindles away after opening week!

Next thing you know the bastids will be moving there.

LoL.

Just wait a few days and get away from a road.

touche! :-)

I am not complaining, we are having a BLAST. Just an eye opener to see the change! It's a VERY good thing for the town I live, hotels, restaraunts etc are full, all help when heading into the winter when many of them just shut down!

We heard it would be crowded but didn't know what to expect. We hoped it would be "crowded" like the golf course when they say "crowded". Golf "crowd" in New England means 5-6 foursomes backed up on the 1st tee and having to wait on every shot in a 6-7 hour round. "Crowded" here means maybe 1 or 2 people infront of you and you still cruise around!

One neighbor says "yup, that's why I don't hunt week 1"

And oh my the mud! Rain/Snow for the first 2 days, don't think my truck has ever been that dirty, or my boots to be that cacked with mud!

TFF.




Bob - good luck in your quest!

Here it's a one day season for many. Even if they're unsuccessful.

Bob, First off, welcome to Wyoming.

Was talking to a warden a few yrs ago, and his opinion was that 75 % of pronghorn are killed on opening weekend. Judging by how the crowds drop off here after the 1st week, I'd say he is probably not far off.
The season for my area started on 9/21 and I still haven't went out. No hurry. They are easy to take with a rifle.

thanks byron!

My suprise, even though I expected more people (heck I saw basically none in archery season) was the sheer number, everywhere we went, hunters. It's already dropping off. wife and I went yesterday afternoon, with a plan to get way away from the entry point to this public 5000 acres. Within the first 1/2 mile we ran into 2 groups of hunters glassing, funny part they couldn't see each other and were essentially glassing the same places!

We changed paths and went 2.5 miles back deeper, we saw nobody, but the only goats we saw were actually off the back of public on private land. Good 6ish mile stroll with my wife on a sunny day!

We do have access to a small 36 acre plot, normally it's to small, but there majority of the land is two large hills with a nice draw in between. On our way out we swung by there, nothing. Headed home, but on the main road there was a large group of goats, we just stopped at the side of the road to watch the bucks herding does together and 2 bucks sort of standing each other off, it was interesting. 8 of them then broke off and went into that draw on land we can hunt!

We went back in, wife went one way, I swung aroudn the other way, we should have had both ends covered with them between us on a facing hill. Nice safe shots out to 150ish yards. Almost worked. they caught her (she never saw them) and came my way before I was in position. I was caught flat footed as they came over the ridge, I saw ears and dropped to the ground, they didn't like something, backed out and circled to the top of the ridge. I had a big fat doe (we have doe tags) at 50 yards broadside, but skylined with a house 200 yards behind her. I dind't feel right pulling the trigger, so passed and hoped they would come to me, they didn't know what I was just kept staring at me.

When they went out of sight, I ran around the hill to try to "herd" them back towards my wife, but nope. Went over to where she was setup on the bipod, she saw nothing.

Probably taking the weekend off, then next week business trip Mon-Thur, then back at it (well we are closing on a house Friday, so moving is mixed in, but I have the following week off as deer/elk also come back into season with rifles!)

I saw all of two hunters during antelope season. It was nice.

Week days should have far fewer hunters and once elk and deer open, pronghorn take the back burner for most. If you're season is long enough they will herd up for winter and more may move into your area with snow. If yours are a migratory herd out then get them before the winter weather moves in.

Good luck and wise choice on the no shot taken.

We had planned to take Friday off after a 6-7 mile day in the sage hills thursday where the only sighting was cows, and two mulie doe. but when my boss kicked me out of work early, we went.

1 of 4 doe antelope tags now filled! We found a lone doe bedded about 600 yards away, we had to cross a SMALL opening to get over a ridge to get close and she saw us. She was bedded when we first glassed her, but we double checked while in that opening cause we weren't 100% sure it wasn't yet another "antelope rock" as we've dubbed them. Well she had us pegged and was standing looking at us. I am amazed at the eyes on these things.

We made our way around anyway, hoping she'd forget about us due to distance. We got to where we could come back up over the ridge and be close enough for a shot. We got there and still couldn't see down to where she was bedded, but ooooops, here comes the rancher on an ATV (this area is a walki n area intermixed with BLM and state land). We quickly sat down, got the bipod up and waited, figuring the ATV might push her up our way, or at least where we could see, other side of the little basin was 250 yds. Well, NOTHING. Hmmm.

Wife snuck down to look into the basin and nothing.

Off we went continuing further away from the truck. Wife spotter her again, probably 500 yards bedded, this time we had a better path where she'd never see us. now if she would jsut cooperate and stay put! Got to the small hill with rocks on top we had to get to and I eased up, crawled, then belly crawled around the top, yup, still there bedded, 178 yards. Boom, dead goat! Finally got to test out our "video knowledge" of the gutless method, our new game bags and backpack/packing setup! All worked great for the 1.1 mile pack back to the truck.

One down, 3 to go!

Opening day of antelope rifle season is always a clusterfuuck…..

He's in the club now.....

THIS...exactly.

We always waited till the second week of season, then did a little walking. Things are calmed down a bit then.

What a difference a week makes, you guys are right, as usual! Filled my second tag yesterday, after a 3+ mile walk, was starting back towards the truck a bit over a mile away and a group of 5 does started up the opposite slope, they must have been close to right under me and I didn't see them. Took the lead doe at 200 yards, she was nice enough to roll part way back down the hill so I didn't have to climb so high to get her!

Had my wife out this morning and we caught a group in the open within sight of the truck! We got out, looped around and she missed. We will keep trying