Pronghorn Antelope DIY hunt in Wyoming

[jpoole1]

Hello,
My father and I are planning on conducting a pronghorn antelope hunt in Wyoming in 2015 and was wondering if anyone could give me good units and areas for public land hunting, BLM land open for hunting or private land owners that open their land for hunting? Any information on good units with high antelope opportunities for a DIY hunt would be greatly appreciated, along with any additional information we might need to be aware of. Thanks.

 

[IdaRam]

Hey jpoole1,
Might be able to help you out a little, but likely there are others around here that are more knowledgeable than I am. Gillettehunter comes to mind...
First thing, Wyoming Game and Fish website is a great resource. If you aren't already familiar with and using it I would spend some time on there. You can search and filter units by public access, drawing odds and season dates.
Preference points are the biggest determining factor of what units you are going to be able to hunt. The best producing units and the units with best public access are going to be the toughest to draw. Some units such as Red Desert are going to take a bunch! of points to draw. If you are a non-resident with zero preference points your choices are going to be very limited. There are usually a few units with left over tags and public access, but the tags are left over for a reason. Poor hunt quality or very limited to zero public access.
You may already be aware of this, but if not here's the scoop on preference points. If you apply for a tag and do not draw, you get a point. You can also just purchase a point if you don't want to be in the draw. One point per year. The more points you accumulate the better chance you have of drawing the tag. For more detail see Wyoming Game and Fish website
I believe there are a few units with decent hunting and some public access that only take 1 or 2 points to draw in central Wyoming around Casper, but I am not familiar with them beyond that.
Someone who is buying a point every year can realistically plan to hunt "decent" units for pronghorn every other year / every couple years. "Good" to "really good" units every 3 to 6 years, and a top unit probably once or twice in a lifetime depending on your age.
If you don't have to shoot a buck every year, there are units with over the counter or left over doe tags every year. Makes for a fun hunt and some units I believe you can get multiple doe tags. Just think of it as mini-safari cull hunt
I hope that's at least a start for ya Sorry I don't have any specific units to recommend, but the research can be half the fun. Keep doing the homework and I am sure you will put a good hunt together. If you want a really nice 15"+ buck you will probably need a few points.
Private land hunts are available all over Wyoming. If that's an option for you, AH has a guy! James Jeffrey is the official hunting agent of AH. User name HuntingAgent.com. I bet he's got connections to line up a good Wyoming pronghorn private land hunt. Not sure how expensive that might be though.
Good luck and let us know how things shape up!

 

[gillettehunter]

Like Idaram says I'm kind of in the middle of it all. If I was a non resident coming in to hunt I'd take a look at the area between Moorcroft and Newcastle. Areas 4,5,6, and 7. Areas 4 and 6 were way undersubscribed with first choice applicants. This info is available on the Fish and game web site. Look at those areas and determine how much public land is available to hunt. Apply for that area. Then my suggestion is to come to WY early. Maybe 3 days before the season opens. Scout and find the one you want. Plan to be in position at least 1 hr before daylight opening AM and try to get him before he gets pushed or killed by someone else.
You can hire a guide, but don't have to. Some ranchers allow access for free. Usually listed by the F@G. Most will allow access for a tresspass fee unless they have their ranch leased out to a outfitter. That is the basics. Let me know if you need more info. The further north units lost a lot of antelope a couple of yrs ago. Still lower than they were a few yrs ago. Bruce