Need help for a DIY Wyoming antelope hunt.

[Swift One]

Me and my buddy are planning a DIY antelope hunt in Wyoming in 2011.  Neither one of us have been To WY and I would like to get some information on how some of you Do-it-yourselfers get it done.  I have done some extensive research on WY Antelope but quite frankly, the rules and regs are quite humbling when I am used to the 12 page book for Indiana, lol.
Here is what how we want to do it.  We want to drive out there.  We want to camp and not stay in hotels or lodging.  I notice that there is a lot of BLM land (especially in the western part of the state) and we want to stick to the BLM land for hunting and as our base camp.  We would like to get buck tags, but are not out looking for anything “record book”.  Now if one of those comes along- great, but we are more or less looking to have fun hunting and harvesting speed goats.

I have discovered through research that you can generally get within and under 300yds of what you are trying to shoot.  I have also discovered that some units are a lot easier to get drawn that others.  I am assuming that the harder ones hold more trophy animals? A few questions (And I am sure once I get the answers, they will produce more questions, lol).

1.Considering ORV permits.  Do I need one for my own vehicle if we are on BLM Land?
2.Is camping on BLM land considered a good practice? Meaning, do people generally respect other people’s campsites and is it even legal to camp on BLM land.  Or should we establish are base camp at an actual campground?
3.What kind of weather should I expect to experience during the antelope season?  (ie, general temps, snow/ no snow, and what about this prairie clay that I hear can get a vehicle stuck bigger than sh$t?
4.We plan on using rifles.  7mm-08 and 270 Winchester to be exact.  Are some areas “overrun” by hunters on BLM land during the rifle season?
5.Are there any areas with a high percentage of success for first time draws for nonresidents?  Are these areas worth anything for harvesting a modest buck/ non trophy?

Like I stated earlier, we are looking to experience the western hunt, enjoy the sights and harvest animals.  We are not necessarily looking to “make the books” with our harvests.  Any help would be greatly appreciated…. 

[james]

You can get the hunt results from Wy game and fish to find the most successful public zones.  The application booklet identifies the zones that are private land with difficult access.  Some of the better (most public land) zones are not 100% draws so I sometimes put in for a second choice.  That can bite you as my buddy and I drew our buck tags in our second choice and our doe tags in the first choice zone so we had to move about 40 miles to finish our hunt.  If you drive over 20 hours as we do, you might as well put in for an extra doe.  My family really likes the meat and the trip is kind of anti climatic if you only fire one shot the first hour you are there.  It has never taken me more than two years to draw in a desirable zone.  When I apply for an area I have never seen, I make a June weekend scouting and prairie dog shooting trip to that area.  I've hunted the opening weekend once and there were too many hunters for me.  I prefer the second week and since I have retired, I hunt the middle of the week.  A couple of days of hunting will be plenty unless you are looking for a trophy.  I use a small tent and cook on the tail gate.  I don't take a 4 wheeler and wonder why they sell ORV stickers when it is unlawful to drive off the roads. 
Good luck, it's a fun hunt.

 

[Dogshooter]

PM sent.........

[bilmac]

Maybe the drawing success for nonresidents is different, but for residents almost all of the western side of the state where the public land is is pretty iffy to draw. There are lots of areas in the eastern side of the state [east of Casper] that don't fill up, you have 100% chance of drawing. Then you are dealing with private land, but if you make a scouting trip it's pretty easy to find some place to hunt. Most will charge a very reasonable trespass fee.

Yes there are areas where the gumbo can definately stop you if it gets wet. In extreme cases it builds up on your tires until the wheels won't turn anymore. Best advice is if the weather could turn wet, camp near a road that at least has a gravel surface. As far as hunting in wet weather, you can stay on improved roads, and walk from them. Antelope are plentiful enough that even walking you won't have any trouble filling your tag in a day or two. I would just leave the 4wheelers at home and bring a wheeled game carrier instead. The antelopes aren't big and the country is open so a game carrier goes real easy, and you avoid having to drag a trailer all that way, you can fit everything you need to camp in a PU or SUV. If the ground is dry it is common practice here to drive your vehicle to the game to retrieve it. Probably could get you a ticket if you did in front of a lawman but everybody does it.

Camping on BLM is legal and common. I've never had anyone bother my camp. You can't camp on State lands, the blue colored lands on your maps, but you can hunt on them.

Weather can range from glorious to kind of miserable. You could get rain or snow, but the snow won't last. Temps maybe as low as 20s at night to as high as 70s in the day.

It is usually not crowded. Like James said, avoid the first few days of the season and weekends, but don't wait too long, you will be more likely to run into bad weather.

I would suggest either butchering your game yourself or having it butchered and frozen and then hauling it home in coolers. Antelope is good eating if you take care of it. If you do the job yourself, keep the hair off your meat.

[freddogs]

  I've done a few DIY hunts.
1.You need a ORV permit but it's not expensive or hard to get.
2. Your campsite should be fine. I've never had a problem camping but it is possible.
3. The weather can be anything like the other posters say. There are generally lots of nice days in Oct. It's a good idea not to drive your vehicle anywhere you think you might get stuck. I take a set of tire chains and a shovel with me. I haven't had to use the chains yet.
4. Your rifles are fine. Most hunters hunt the first week or week ends. It doesn't hurt anything to hunt later. This year I hunted the last week of season to comine antelope and deer hunting.
5. Most antelope hunting is pretty successfull. In general the areas with lots of public land get the most hunters applying for licenses. Eastern WY with plenty of antelope has mostly private land so often there are left over tags. All you need to hunt eastern WY is find a place to hunt. Sometimes paying a tresspass fee may get you a place to hunt and the rancher may let you camp. Check with fish and game to see what areas give you a good chance to draw.
Eyeryone has given you good advice, good luck hunting and practice your shooting.

[Swift One]

Thanks for all the advice fellas.  Dogshooter, check your messages.......