Wy Antelop

[Scoot]

My brother, son, a buddy, and I did a public land, unguided antelope hunt in Wyoming this August.  It was a GREAT trip and we had a blast.  Pics below.  

 

 

[leech~~]

Nice work on public land.  You're son got a dandy!    No video of the stocks?

Edited September 5, 2017 by leech~~

[Scoot]

No stalks leech-- they were shot out of blinds while sitting over water.  Plus I'm not much of a video guy, I much prefer still pictures. I have tons and tons of pictures from the trip. If you're interested in seeing some of them shoot me a private message and I will get you a link.

[pumper317]

That is awesome Scoot!  Way to go to you all!  It sure looks like fun!

[paceman]

Way to go! Congratulations!

[bigbucks]

Very nice

 

[monstermoose78]

Congrats !! Looks like everyone had fun!

[DonBo]

Great job guys!  

[certified jumbo]

Sweet

[minky]

Great hunt!

[ZachD]

Any pointers for a first timer that wants to go out that way and try a diy public next year?

[Scoot]

Zach,

 

Here are my suggestions:

1) Pick a state- WY, MT, and SD are good options, but certainly not the only options.

2) Research the state and find areas with high densities of goats.

3) In those areas, what areas can you draw with 0 or 1 point?  Like it or not, preference (or bonus, depending on the state) points are part of the equation.  To put it in perspective, the hunt we went on required us to have five years worth of points.  I believe you can still get a point in WY for this year, but I'm not positive about that.  If you can, I'd suggest you buy one immediately. 

4) Of the units that you have a shot at drawing, which ones have adequate public land to draw?  Some units are easy to draw because there's not much public land in them.  These could be great options if you can find a place that will give you permission.  You also might consider paying a (hopefully) small trespass fee in one of these units.

5) Once you've got a unit picked, start looking at the public land (or private if you find an option there) on google earth.  Places that don't have a ton of water holes are the best.  The antelope congregate close to the water.  Locate all of the water in an area and mark it on google earth.

6) Take a trip out there in July.  This is the tough one!  But, it's worth its weight in gold.  If you don't do this step, you're starting behind the 8 ball.  This step is important the first year for general scouting and intel, but it's important for all years due to how blind shy antelope are when a blind is first put up.

7) Locate likely waterholes in person.

8) Pound in four T posts in the location you'd like to put your blind.  Make sure it's big enough for your blind to fit in when you get there.  Wrap the T posts in burlap or something similar.  Wire in the burlap so that it will stay up.  Do this at several waterholes so you've got some options.

9) Patiently wait for your trip back to try kill a goat.

[Lunker]

Nice work! Those are some of the fattest goats I've ever seen!

 

For the question above, WY preference points can be purchased through the end of October I believe. Pretty sure Nebraska has over the counter tags for non-resident archery as well.