I have a party of 4 that has accumulated a few points and I"m trying to decide what units to look into. Is there a resource that would make this process easier? I would also like to get my son a doe tag and looking for that info too. I'm asking for a resource and not asking for anyone's favorite spots. Just looking for the best way to begin this process.

Thanks

MM

goHunt has the tools you’d find helpful

Quite frankly the WQG&F Hunt Planner ha all the info right there. https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Hunting/Hunt-Planner/Antelope-Hunting/Antelope-Map
Pull up the pronghorn map
From the top right part of the blue drop down menu click on the four squares and set the base map to topography map and hit the x to close
Click on any area and it will show the season in a box
Click on More info at bottom of that popup box and all kinds of info will popup on left of map

The Hunt Planner map will show public lands on it and should show all the public access on private via HMAs, Walk in areas and WHMAs. Just click them and it tells what is available to hunt on that spot.

Just draw odds by area are shown here for last year, expect it to take 1 more PP than last year to draw an area, https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Hunting/Drawing-Odds/2020-Drawing-Odds

The Special draw is more expensive and usually better odds for the same tags as the regular draw.

But hurry, Application period ends week from Monday

Oh I know it, seems like it snuck up on me though

Antelope tags have been reduced this year-----Good luck on the draw.

Good luck with that POS website WG&F runs- something out of 1989 would be more efficient....

The best way to learn a unit is to go hunt it.

True, but you have to pick one to go hunt first. Antelope units are very varied.

Varied yes, if a guy wants a trophy wait the 10 years +/- to draw, looking for experience pick a unit with lots of public land and high number of tags.

Spoke with a couple biologists and got the impression it might not be a bad idea to forgo this year because of tag cuts and build more points. I’m on the fence, talking with my hunting partners and weighing the pros and cons

If you don't like Wyoming, we would be happy if you hunted somewhere else.. Best of luck!!!

Heck with waiting for points. I am too old to wait and a Pronghorn is on my bucket list.

I am going with an outfitter and applied for a Type 2 tag. I know Pronghorn is a good DIY hunt, but I don't care. Food and lodging will be a nice change. Never did an outfitter hunt.

Headed to WY this Fall for my first out West hunt!

Good luck to all that apply

Sako, good luck.. You will have a good time I hope, and as age gets to us help in the field and a nice camp and good food is a enjoyable experience.. Shoot straight..

Thank you!

You couldn't be more wrong, but hey if it keeps you from applying.

Good luck Sako and don't shoot the 1st decent buck you see, outfitters are well known for filling tags on 12 inch bucks. make sure they know you want a mature buck.

Trophies can come out of any area in Wyoming, not just the high PP areas.

I always had good luck calling F&G in Cheyenne..then the local warden in that area. Always good info from both.

Get on website and spend some time looking at units, available land and draw odds.

Whatever it says the odds are expect it to take more points than last year. Then spend lots of time looking at maps to find what you want.

There's no really a short cut. Just lots of reading. It's a fun hunt.

-Jake

I hunted with that same outfitter, first time out our guide wouldn't let us shoot a 12 inch one, said if we insist later we can find them all over the place :-)

Happy to hear that !
Been seeing some decent bucks around so even with iffy conditions last summer and winter there are some good ones running around.

I also use the Wyoming website as one tool. Some good information there.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This^^^^^^^^^



About 12 years ago I started DIY Antelope hunting Wyoming and buying points . I hunted a unit that had leftover tags every year. And multiple antelope doe tags were $35 IIRC. Yeah those days are gone.....

I hunted that unit 5/6 years in a row.
Got experience hunting antelope and had some great times. Introduced family and friends to hunting. All except my brother ,first time hunters . All killed bucks and does.

Then I would spend the rest of my time driving through units I wanted to use my points on.

My experience is don’t follow internet information blindly.

About 6 years ago I was going to use my points on unit x. So after we hunted my unit on leftover tags we scouted the “trophy unit” I wanted to draw the next year.
It was a much touted “blue chip” unit. I spent two days looking that unit over.
So glad I didn’t waste 6 points on it . Some bad winters and it was in a really bad Down cycle.I would have been so mad at myself to “waste” my points on that unit, that year.
Yes there was large public land tracks with easy access.
Very few decent bucks. I never saw a buck I would have wanted to take in a “trophy unit”. I killed much better antelope on the unit I could hunt on leftover tags.

Another year I went through another “blue chip” unit. Lots of public land with easy access. Good/excellent trophy potential.
But scouting the unit, it was a dry year. Very few antelope on public land. They were all on private land in irrigation fields.
If you didn’t or couldn’t get private land access you would have had a bad experience.

So go hunt an easier to draw 2nd choice unit this year. Or get your son a doe tag and just take him this year.
Get some good experience. Then scout the unit you want to spend points on . You might find the unit that borders it is just as good or better, is easier to draw and take less points .

spend those hard to accumulate points wisely.

You can still have good hunts on units with limited public access. Have Good maps. A GPS with Wyoming chip. Burn some boot leather and you will kill lopes and have fun.
Then go look over “trophy units” to use your points on.

OP
how many points do you have?

THIS!

If JeffP knew about the tag reductions and PP creep then his advice might be solid, but with tag reductions I'm betting second choice licenses will be few and far between. PP creep has pretty much made even the lower access areas hard to draw.
I would opt for my preferred area as a 1str choice.
Look over the draw odds online, then you have an idea of what areas you can draw, add 1 PP to get odds for this year based on every other draw that has taken place so far.
Email the biologist for the areas , they will have the herds conditions and any access issue answers. Their contact info is also online.

Doe tags are a random draw and cheap so they are very popular now, don't count on leftovers as they have been reduced this year as well.

Good bucks can be found in any area, some areas however produce big bucks more often.

That’s why I posted that “Yeah those days are gone.....”


Draw odds
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
I didn’t put in for my area two years ago. Red desert.
My draw odds were about 50%
Fewer people put in and I would had drawn easily with less points .
You also have to stay in the game.

Yup.
Unit I put in for does last year was 100% in 2019. Last year, 10% with same quota.
Will be a huge crap shoot this year.

Been seeing some nice bucks and fawns are dropping in one of the areas hit hard by the drought and late snow storm. Things are looking up in our neck of the woods but this year's draw odds will be tough.
Put 3 choices for the first time in years, usually draw our 1st choice every year but tag cuts may get us too.

Good luck folks, the tags may be cut but the hunting may be great with less pressure.

I spoke to someone from WY F&G today about license stuff and doe tags. He said that he didn't think there would be a drop in hunter success because of the weather conditions this past year. Especially true on private land. A reduction in tags does not mean a reduction in success rate.

Looking forward to my first Antelope! Good luck to everyone applying for tags! June 17 is the notification date. I will also buy an over the counter type 7 tag if the landowner will allow does to be taken.

.tag