2015 Wyoming Antelope Hunt!

[NoWiser]

2015 started out with high hopes of drawing an elk tag, but as the dust settled in May from the chaos of the draw results I, along with my cousin, found ourselves tagless.  The news wasn't all bad, though, as my dad and uncle drew a great NM archery tag for elk.  My cousin and I would go with to serve as scouts, camp cooks, packers, and whatever else was needed.  Though it lessened the sting of the draw, knowing we had zero tags still hurt.  So, it didn't take each other long to nab a couple of leftover antelope tags in Wyoming.  It would make for a cheap hunt, a short 12 hour drive, and hopefully a chance to tag an animal that was completely unfamiliar to us.  Not surprisingly, my dad couldn't stand missing out on a new adventure so he grabbed a few tags as well.  The stage was set for our first antelope hunt.  We were Wyoming bound!

Most all Wyoming leftover antelope units have an asterisk near them in the regulations, warning of difficult access, and our unit was no different.  The Game and Fish department wants to warn hunters that, even though they have a tag for an area, it doesn't mean they will be able to find a place to hunt.  The BLM (Bureau of Land Management) maps I ordered for the area showed a good amount of public land, but it was tough to determine what was actually accessible.  You see, in most cases in Wyoming, if a road runs through private property, that road then becomes private and you can not drive on it.  Even if the private section is 50 feet wide and there is 10,000 acres of public land on the other side, you can not legally access it.  The exceptions are roads maintained by the state or county, of which there were very few in our entire unit.  To make matters worse, you cannot quickly glance at a map and tell which roads are public and which are private.  This results in many non resident hunters getting trespassing tickets every single year.  A quick call to the county, though, provided a Google Earth overlay showing all maintained roads, which I transferred to my BLM maps.  Further questions were answered by the game warden, state biologists, and BLM biologists from the area.  With this information we had our hunt narrowed to 3 tracts of land that would give us plenty of room to explore.  The only question was, would there be antelope there?

Every Wednesday night I, along with a few other family members, go to the nursing home to play Hearts with my grandpa.  Wednesday the 21st was extra special as it was my grandparent's 65th anniversary, so we skipped the cards and celebrated with pizza and homemade apple pie.  With full stomachs, Dad and I hooked up the trailer and headed off with my cousin at 8:00 pm.  The drive went quick and we pulled into our hunting area about 40 minutes before shooting light on Thursday morning.  Just enough time to change into our hunting clothes and get organized.

Our plan was to hike back, following a maze of public and private land, to hopefully find some groups of antelope that hadn't been harassed yet.  First we wanted to familiarize ourselves with the roads, so we drove through the unit, glassing a bit as we went.  We saw plenty of animals on the private land, but it didn't take long for me to spot a lone buck on a piece of state land.  45 minutes later I was belly crawling over the top of a hill on my first ever stalk on an antelope.  Trying my best to avoid the cactus (a major distraction) I glassed as I crawled, expecting to see the buck a few hundred yards away.  It was a rookie mistake and I lucked out, as the buck suddenly popped up at 60 yards, completely unaware of my presence.  After meticulously crafting handloads and practicing out to 300 yards, I popped up on my knees and shot him offhand, dropping him in his tracks!

We had decided before the trip that given our lack of experience, limited time, and love of eating wild game, that no buck would be safe regardless of size.  So, while not a trophy, I was thrilled to put my tag on him.  We quickly quartered him and had him on ice in no time, ready to look for more.

After driving a bit more we got antsy and decided to stick with our original plan, which was to out-walk the competition.  We went to one of our predetermined tracts of land and set out on foot.  The country was rugged and nothing like what I'd ever pictured as antelope country.  It allowed us to crest plenty of ridges for glassing, but also was perfect for concealing groups of antelope.  A couple of miles in we found a herd, but by using a combination of GPS, compass, and rangefinders determined them to be on private land.  We continued to the next ridge and my cousin immediately glassed up a couple of animals about a mile away.  We marked a bluff about half way to them and booked it there.  We needed to get close before they wandered off of the public land.  When we got to a good starting point for a stalk, I held back and observed with binoculars while my dad and cousin made the final approach.  I watched as the antelope bedded and figured there was no way to approach without getting busted, so I dozed off a bit (we'd gone 36 hours without sleep at this point).  A shot jolted me out of my sleep and I raised my binoculars to see the antelope down for good.  At the same time another buck that I hadn't seen took off out of there, followed shortly by my dad, who was giving chase.  About the time the buck disappeared I saw him take a seat and aim his rifle.  The sound of the bullet hitting the buck reached my ears before I ever heard the gun, and just like that, we had all of our buck tags filled!

As quickly as we could, we filled our game bags and started the grueling hike back to the truck.  It was a brutal hike and we had two options.  The first was 5 miles by road and the second was 2 miles that involved two major canyon crossings.  Dad said cross country was out of the question for him, so I decided to take the "short cut" back to the truck and then pick them up on the road.  Now, I've packed out multiple moose, elk, and deer, but few packouts hurt as bad as this silly antelope trip.  Maybe it was the lack of sleep or the lack of food (it had been 24 hours since we ate) or dehydration, but I wasn't sure if I was going to make it to the truck.  Or, maybe I'm just a wimp?  Eventually I made it, picked them up, and we made camp on the spot, slurped down what food we could, and fell asleep immediately, with rain pattering on the top of the tent.

Friday morning the wind kicked up and we didn't crawl out of bed until 8:00 a.m., unsure if we'd even be able to get up after the previous days activities.  But, we had 3 doe tags to fill now and we were going to give it our best shot.  It didn't take long, though, as I glassed up a herd about 3/4 mile away during breakfast.  We planned a stalk and an hour later we were perched above the herd on a rock outcropping, 150 yards away.  We each picked out a doe.  My shot rang out first, followed by my cousin's, and then dad's, and just like that our tags were filled!  We got the does quartered and on ice, packed up camp, and pointed the truck back to Minnesota, arriving home at 2:00 a.m.

For a first antelope hunt, in an area we'd never stepped foot, and on a leftover tag, we were tickled with the results.  I think every time I talk to Dad he mentions how much fun the trip was.  I know the hunting would have only gotten better had we needed to hike farther into the public land.  As it was, a short trip was just what we needed after spending 17 days in New Mexico (a story in itself.)  I have to mention the meat, too, as it's among the best wild game I've ever tasted, from the burger to the backstraps and steaks.  I already have permission to head back next year from my wife if I bring back more antelope meat!  That is not an opportunity that I am going to pass up, either!

So, there you have it.  Our 2015 Wyoming antelope hunt story, short and sweet just like the trip itself.  If you want to give western big game hunting a try, I don't think you can beat chasing this animal!  Give it a shot!  With cheap tags, plentiful animals, and adequate public land, you just can't go wrong!

[icehole10]

Sounds like an awesome trip, thanks for sharing! Congratulations!!

[ozzie]

awesome thanks for sharing awesome hunt...now I heard and have been waiting to read up on a New Mexico Elk hunt...can't wait and hope to see the write up soon!! haha  Congrats Nowiser!!!

[Pigmeat]

Great story! I've recently gotten the bug to do a public land antelope hunt in 2016. Had been thinking South Dakota as I have at least some knowledge of the general area, but Wy sounds like a good option as well. Obviously not you kids' first rodeo planning a hunt, but would be mine. Definately fueled the fire! Thanks

Edited November 3, 2015 by Pigmeat

[NoWiser]

awesome thanks for sharing awesome hunt...now I heard and have been waiting to read up on a New Mexico Elk hunt...can't wait and hope to see the write up soon!! haha  Congrats Nowiser!!!

I'm trying to find time for the NM story, but it's tough.  It takes quite a few hours by the time I get one of those together, and this time of year I'd rather spend those hours hunting!  I will say that it was nowhere near as easy as an antelope hunt.  Or was it??

Great story! I've recently gotten the bug to do a public land antelope hunt in 2016. Had been thinking South Dakota as I have at least some knowledge of the general area, but Wy sounds like a good option as well. Obviously not you kids' first rodeo planning a hunt, but would be mine. Definately fueled the fire! Thanks

Just do it!  A hunt like this is about as low stress as you can get.  It's all about just plain having fun.  I don't know much about SD antelope, but I'd definitely recommend Wyoming.  You can buy doe tags for $34.00 which can either help offset the cost of a buck tag ($270.00) or, if you want a really cheap hunt, just get a handful of doe tags.  I don't think you can hardly go wrong with any of the units between Sundance and Sheridan.  Call up the game wardens in the area (after hunting season is over may be best) and they'll point you in the right direction.

Good luck!

[mrklean]

Great story, I think its a bummer the way Wyoming treats the roads to public land, there is a massive amount of public land there you can only get to by pulling out the check book.  That has been one of the reasons I haven't gone there, hopefully apply to go back to Montana for antelope next year its a blast.

[DonBo]

Love antelope hunting and the prairie lands they live on.  So much fun.  Congrats on your successful first adventure.