Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game DIY antelope

I'm from SC and want to plan an antelope hunt alone next year in rifle season. I've read things, but to keep my question brief, I'll break it down.

Should I fly or drive? If driving, closer states would be nice.

I'll probably mount any buck. So, what do you do with meat and head if you fly?

Or, are you better off just to pay a guide(which I rather not)?

JD, there are many public land areas in Wyoming to hunt. Stay away from the northern end of the state unless you have money enough to pay for a guide. I live here and I would never pay a guide because there is no reason to for antelope.
Non Resident tags vary from year to year as to their availability. But the Wyoming areas I recommend you try to get are 75, 73, 67, 60, 92 ,96 and 101. There is a lot of public ground in all of them and a LOT of antelope too.

Drive if at all possible. You'll need to have your own way around the country and you'll need some way to get the meat home. I had friends from Mississippi who used to drive out every year to hunt ,and they bought a small chest freezer and a small generator which they rigged into their pick-up bed. 2 folding saw horses and a 1/2 sheet of ply wood are the butchering table and we cut and wrapped the game right in the field and froze it. They could take as much time as they wanted and never had to worry about their meat going bad. The man and his wife have now given up hunting because of failing health, but they had the system down pat and I'd meet them every year when they came out.
But if you can drive and if you can use the system they did you will find all your logistics of your hunt and your return trip fade to small issues. Boned out, you can get 2 whole elk into a small chest freezer. I did it for them a few times, so that's not just a theory. A buck and 2 doe antelope would not be any problem at all.

If you fly you would need to rent a truck when you get here, and also pay for game processing and transportation of your meat and trophy back home.

Thank you so much!

For one kill, I'll probably put quarters in a big Igloo on ice and drain it on the 2-3 day trip back. We do the ice cure on whitetail here sometimes. It works ok.

Not sure how much i can help as it's really in the end, up to you to decide whats best.

Number one, you need to decide where to go. Most states have data thats easily accessible. I would guess that anyplace you go as a first time DIY hunter with no preference points (or the equivalent), and looking for a buck is likely to be crowded or, have lowish odds of success. I think you up your odds significantly by spending time on the ground and learning how to get around and where the animals are days in advance of the season. Think of the time as hunting without shooting. Otherwise, it's an armed recon for spooked animals during the season and you dont know where to go.

Given that, I think driving makes more sense especially when hauling your gun and all the other "stuff" you need to hunt is a non issue.

If you dont want the meat, call the state wildlife dept and see if there is a donation process; usually there is. Otherwise, have it processed, frozen, and haul it home. Talk to your taxidermist and be sure you know what they expect. Hauling a hide back to SC from someplace out west in 70deg temps is likely to start the hair slipping. So, you will have to decide how you are going to solve the "keeping the cape cool and dry" problem.

Guides are easy, just call and talk to them...a lot of them. Im sure a guide would love to have a hunter with an "almost any antelope will do" attitude and you may end up with a better than expected experience. A guide may not be overly more expensive than a DIY trip or 2 if thats what it takes to actually get an antelope. If it's a once in a lifetime thing, a guide may be worth considering. If it's something you think you will want to do again and again, DIY can pay off with a little work.

Not sure if this helps or not. szihn info is really good also.

That it a big help too! Thank you for the advice. The more I know, the better this will turn out.

That’s what we do, quarter immediately upon killing. In the cooler they go with ice. Drain water often. We are only driving 16 hours or so, but often wait several days to butcher. Keep deer, elk, and antelope this way. In my opinion, antelope is better than our grain fed whitetail.

Tag availability has gone way down while number of applicants has skyrocketed. At least where we like to hunt. Then you could be my coworker and his group, just luck into an astronomical odds tag like the 6 of them did 2 years ago.

Did you kill a buck your first trip?

I hope I can find a good area that is near beautiful mountains like the Wind River Range. I really don't want to hunt in a dessert off I-80 in the Great Basin.

Our first trip 2 of 4 of us shot bucks. We were on the Nebraska border. Minimal public ground. End of season. Public land antelope knew the safe private ground property lines for sure.

Our doe tags were 100 miles further west. Lots of public ground. Fewer tags. Good bucks were simply watching us there versus running at first sight of a truck or person. 4 of us had 8 doe tags. Day and half had them filled without really trying.

We have gone a handful of times since then and tagged out every time (other than a doe tag here and there, not because if lack of available antelope, just chose not to for various reasons). Biggest hurdle now is getting a tag with available public land. 15 years ago that wasn’t near as big a deal as it is now.

I hate to be a wet blanket here. But do you have any preference points built up?

Pronghorn are probably the easiest big game to hunt. I would never hire a guide. You have to know how to shoot, pick an area with goats and have at it.Find a herd, put them to bed at night and be there before it gets light. If you find place that they scoot under a fence,they usually use the same spot

Get the hide off ASAP if it is warm and carcass on ice ,wash out body cavity ASAP (carry water to do this), When skinning, take the cape off well in behind the shoulders so taxidermist has more work with and split hide evenly up to the back of the neck to the skull .

Buck pronghorns stink, a bunch, wear latex gloves when processing and keep hair off the carcass.Take an extra cooler to put cape and head in and ice. If you are driving stop ASAP and buy some dry ice to put in with the head and cape.Keep it as cold as possible.DO NOT KEEP COOLER WITH DRY ICE IN VEHICLE'S PASSENGER COMPARTMENT.If flying,you are going to have to find a processor that will freeze the meat and cape/head (separately).

Excellent advice. I have 20+ on the wall, get them home asap and run my 50 degree well water inside gutted carcass until cool.

Any non-trolls who draw in Pindale area can get free guide service from me.

2 miles from my house.

Someone mentioned preference points. I have zero. This is new to me.

I will address your question of driving and leave guided, or not, up to you.

My hunting partner and I have always driven to our destination. Newfoundland and Wyoming being the farthest. We both like to drive and like being able to take the gear we want and to bring back what we want. We take two 150 qt. marine coolers and buy dry ice for the trip home. We've never had any issues with the meat or capes going bad. If possible to freeze meat and capes, that helps.

Another reason for driving has not been mentioned. I consider going on a travel hunt to be an experience and part of that is the trip. We get to see parts of the country not previously seen and stop when something interest us. To take off from home and fly to a hunt would seem like I'm just dropping in to shoot something.

Go to WYF&G website.

If you have none, chances are small although a few tags are held back for a pure random draw.

That's how I drew a sheep with ONLY 17 points (years), took my outfitter 20 the next year.

Best outfitter in my area is Trophy Mountain Outfitters. Has speed goat hunts on ranches closed to public.

Yep. Fully agree with abolt. Driving is an enjoyable part of the experience.

Plan your route properly and enjoy the trip there and back.

Lots to see in this great country we call home.
-Jake

You need to start at the start. Before you think about all the other logistical things, you need to figure out where you’re going to hunt. As mentioned you might pull a random tag in one of the units with lots of public land. But the odds are pretty slim. The word is out on hunting antelope in Wyoming. Even the tags in areas with limited public land are hard to get. You’d be money ahead by setting up a trespass hunt or going with a guide. Otherwise your hunt will be very frustrating trying to chase a handful of very weary antelope on very small pieces of public land. Again, sorry to rain on your parade. But these are the most important things to consider if you want to have a quality experience.

Thanks for the tip. I've always kinda thought, go once with a guide, and then go for years on your own.

Little need for guide if one does a little homework. Might take a year or two and some preference points to score a tag now.

Any area in Wyoming that you can draw on one point or less will have to be a trespass fee hunt or guided. Doe tags are 100% random draw. Some major tag cuts this year will put a damper on that. Your best bet will be to get on wdgf go to hunt planner and learn how to use it. It takes some time to understand, but not as bad as some states. Good luck.

Any area in Wyoming that you can draw on one point or less will have to be a trespass fee hunt or guided. Doe tags are 100% random draw. Some major tag cuts this year will put a damper on that. Your best bet will be to get on wdgf go to hunt planner and learn how to use it. It takes some time to understand, but not as bad as some states. Good luck.