Wyoming Pronghorn

[TriggerHappyJake]

Alright, I'm gonna be leaving for gunsmithing school out of state in a few months so my deer hunting is gonna be put on hold for a while. I'm gonna make up for it though by going out west on a pronghorn hunt while I'm still young. Wyoming looks like a beautiful place to do it. I may be a broke kid by the time I get back but I gotta do it before I take that long nap. I plan on using a rifle and would like to hire an outfitter. I just wanted to know if anyone has been there, done that and maybe have some advice on such an endeavor. Thanks.

 

[Throwback]

In on this. I'm seriously considering this as a retirement gift to myself in a few years.

My personal advice is do it while you can and are young. I had planned on making a mule deer/antelope hunt as a graduation (college) gift to myself but kept putting it off then ended up getting married and having kids soon after. so obviously that and other things that followed caused me to not be able to do it.

 

[Pointpuller]

My advice is to go for it. Its a different kinda hunt and habitat but I love it. Just applied for me, my wife and Dad today for WY. If we draw it will be my 3rd time hunting speed goats with the bow. Usually takes about 4-5 pref pts. to draw the unit I hunt.
My advice if you are set on a guided rifle hunt is to ask the outfitter about other options(fishing,rabbits, grouse) because you probably gonna be tagged out quick. I usually see 50-150 goats per day on public ground.
Good luck and enjoy.

 

[holton27596]

WFO wyomings finest outfitter is in the buffalo/sheridan area. less than 2 grand for an antelope hunt

 

[acurasquirrel]

I wouldn't spend the money for a guide. My buddy and I went last year and hunted a unit with OTC tags. This was a unit designated as poor public access by the fish and game. Neither of us had any western hunting experience at all, but we both managed to fill both our tags in 3.5 days of hunting.
If you are willing to walk more than 1/2 a mile off the road you can be successful pretty much anywhere in Wyoming. Hiring a guide really only opens up more land in the poor access units.
Definitely recommend using Onxmaps to make sure you are on public land if you are hunting a hard to access unit and check the county websites for what roads are actually public.
Just as an example my fall back unit this year is designated as poor public access, always has OTC tags left, but still has 112 square miles of ACCESSIBLE public land, meaning it isn't landlocked by private property.

 

[ben300win]

We went last year on a DIY hunt in South East Wyoming. All tagged out in 3 days. Hunted mostly private land thru hunter access programs. We did go the last 3 days of the season so they were spooky. Had to make a 500 yd shot. Windy as all get out so shoot alot before you go.

 

[gordylew]

I hunted with a couple of buddies in Wyoming a few years back. We had a great time. We all tagged on Antelope bucks and had a few missed opportunities. I tried bow hunting the first few days and missed a couple of shots before grabbing the rifle. A Guide isn't needed to for antelope and we hunted a private property that was enrolled in their walk in program. We met 2 kinds of people out there. The nicest you could ever hope for and a couple of the biggest bungholes. One came within seconds of getting shot when he decided to go to his truck. He luckily turned around with a pen and not a gun. another story. We hunted near Casper and saw a fair amount of animals but not the amount that my buddies saw years ago. Check on winter die-offs with game and fish before buying tags. The quality of the game we saw was fair but not 16-17" goats that maybe found in other places. BEst advise also is get an App for your GPS that shows private,BLM and Forestry land lines. Land is not posted and the DNR prey on out of towners who screw up by hunting a few feet over the line that is imaginary. G&F gave us a warning ticket after telling us a piece of property was OK to hunt. We drove in looked around and left. The owner called G&F and they met us 2 miles down the road to issue a warning. true story. So get the GPS App.

 

[Thunder Head]

Ill second the Onyx maps on a GPS. Takes the guess work out of Private versus public.

A lot of western states get tons of out of state hunters. Its real easy to mess up and lots of people do. As a landowner said to me one time. Let it happen to you 50 times every season and see how you feel about it.

 

[Pointpuller]

I was rejected in yesterdays Wy. antelope draw with 6 pref. pts. OUCH
Good luck.

 

[acurasquirrel]

I was rejected in yesterdays Wy. antelope draw with 6 pref. pts. OUCH
Good luck.

Yeah Wyoming really upped the tag fees this year, so I think a lot of people decided to go ahead and cash in their points. It also looks like it pushed a lot of people out of the special draw to the regular draw. I still managed to pick up buck (3rd choice) and doe antelope tags and a muley tag.

 

[TriggerHappyJake]

I have been looking at SNS outfitters. They say they can help in aquiring tags whatever that means. I'm off to gunsmithing school in 3 weeks so I wont be venturing much of anywhere for a little bit. Its just a dream at the moment but dang do I wanna go.

 

[acurasquirrel]

If you haven’t got a tag this year you won’t be getting one. If you feel like you just have to use a guide go for it, but in my opinion it’s not necessary. Chances are with a guide you’ll just end up driving around all day until you find a buck you like and shooting it less than 200 yards from the road.