DIY Western Hunt

[sportsman94]

Alright guys, I am looking for advice from anyone who has done a DIY out west hunt. I have a group of buddies who are looking to do several hunts throughout the next few years if possible. We are all age 25-30 right now and in fair shape. We will be in better shape by the time the trip actually happens. We are looking to go on our first hunt next year if at all possible. We are looking into rifle antelope without any priority points. Is there anywhere we have a good chance of drawing a rifle antelope hunt without points that we actually stand a chance of having a fair opportunity at them on public land? We have no size expectations and are not necessarily looking for something easy. Basically, I would rather go somewhere that we may walk 50-100 miles in a week trying to get on antelope next year than wait a few years to be able to kill one 100 yards from the road in a better unit. Would also be interested in the doe/fawn draws. I have tried looking at public land maps of Wyoming but don't really know what Im looking at. Is there a map that shows public land in each unit? Is there antelope all over the state or are there pockets that don't have any? I have researched about 100 pages of threads on this forum looking for information and have searched several states websites but am feeling a little overwhelmed trying to plan this. Thanks for any help!

 

[mallardsx2]

You can draw a lot of antelope tags with 0 points. There are also a lot of whitetail tags in Wyoming that can be drawn with 0 points.

 

[NMH5050]

I shot a good goat on public land in Casper WY 9 years ago without any points. I think the unit was 68. Antelope is a great way to start hunting the west. If you are not that picky it should not be an issue to fill your tag. The one that I shot was a 13 and my friends was 14. Good luck to you and let me know if you have any questions.

 

[NMH5050]

Also make sure that you rent a full size truck that is a 4x4 and have really good glass. We drove down the this road and spotted several and shot them both on the first day. Its big country out there.

 

[acurasquirrel]

Unit 16 in Wyoming can be drawn with no points and Antelope can be had if you are willing to put in the boot leather. Both these bucks were taken in 2017 from unit 16. We were about 5 miles from the truck on each of these. We had never done a western hunt before and it took 3 days of hunting to get these 2. Onxmaps is your friend. Pay attention to borders as it’s easy to accidentally cross into private if you aren’t paying attention. There will be a lot of hunters, but very few venture more than a few hundred yards off the road.

 

[deers2ward]

PM sent

 

[NMH5050]

Unit 16 in Wyoming can be drawn with no points and Antelope can be had if you are willing to put in the boot leather. Both these bucks were taken in 2017 from unit 16. We were about 5 miles from the truck on each of these. We had never done a western hunt before and it took 3 days of hunting to get these 2. Onxmaps is your friend. Pay attention to borders as it’s easy to accidentally cross into private if you aren’t paying attention. There will be a lot of hunters, but very few venture more than a few hundred yards off the road.

Good advise about crossing into private. Private will pop up and only be a small patch that you don't want to go onto.

 

[rawolfee]

We do a DIY hunt every year in Wyoming. We base out of Kaycee or Buffalo and hunt deer in Region Y and antelope in area 22. Never have any issues pulling a tag for either with no points. The mule deer aren't the biggest in this region, but we don't care. It's more about the experience. Plenty of BLM and State land around.

 

[JonathonJEB]

Go to Wyoming game and fish website. They have a hunt planner with a virtual map that shows public land and also draw odds for each unit. Doe and fawn draw uses 0 points so you have the same chance as anyone. Also check out Rokslide and Hunt Talk forums. You should check out New Mexico also.

 

[Mac]

following thread would like to do the same

 

[sportsman94]

Thanks so much for all the information everyone. Super helpful! We are definitely going into it for the experience with a kill coming second. I don’t think any of us plan to be picky but will probably shoot the first legal antelope we get a chance at. Hoping to try elk and mule deer over time. The fear of the unknown makes it hard. You guys make it a little easier for sure!

 

[C.Killmaster]

toprut.com is a good place to find draw odds for each unit and be able to see hunter success in those units. Find the unit with the highest hunter success that is still 100% draw with no points and start your research around that unit.

 

[NCMTNHunter]

toprut.com is a good place to find draw odds for each unit and be able to see hunter success in those units. Find the unit with the highest hunter success that is still 100% draw with no points and start your research around that unit.

This. I would also add that along with success rate you should only look at units with high percentages of public land. A unit may have a high success rate but if it is only 20% public then most of that success happened on private land. It’s like a Georgia county that has good deer hunting but the hunting is tough on the 1500 acre WMA.

 

[175rltw]

You won’t find units with large percentage of public land that’s accessible for 0 points. At this point 0 point units will all have an asterisk with a message that says “difficult public access”

- Which doesn’t really deter anyone anymore since they can just use an app in there smartphone to help them stay in public land.

There are regional deer tags in Wyoming that will give you opportunity at mule deer or whitetail that are available with 0 points in the draw or even as a second choice in the draw, in addition to the type 3 whitetail tags that can often be had second choice (for those who want to hunt and build points at the same time)

If you are whitetail hunting in Wyoming be thinking >130. On public land. Pretty awesome. There are defintely some sleeper whitetail tags to be had out there. Idaho as well. I wouldn’t drop the hammer on a whitetail smaller than 130 there either.

There are a handful of antelope units that can be had 0 points or a couple second choice but that’s fading every year. AnywY- those units all have the same story online, any of the forums, anyone who has gone will basically tell you the same, there just not much to say- get the County maps that show what roads are maintained- and what roads have easements. There will be lots of gates that you go through some on public some on private and you’ll need to be able to know if your ok to travel that road and onx etc don’t show that. Otherwise burn up boot leather. 3 guys is a lot to bring 4 or more is too many. Someone’s getting shortchanged or you all will if you bring too many. But it’s an easy hunt for anyone to do no need to camp out or backpack in.

 

[Professor]

Spend a lot of time on the Rokslide forum.

 

[Professor]

Also, if you are wanting to get into western hunting then antelope might not be the best place to start. You are all young and willing to get in shape so I assume you are wanting to backpack hunt. I really wish I had started 20 years ago because it is an incredibly rewarding challenge. You can get over the counter tags in a lot of the states. In Idaho for instance you can get OTC elk, white tail, mule deer, and black bear tags all for the same hunt. That is a lot of species. Additionally, any of those tags can be used for a wolf or lion if you were to run into one. I know researching western hunting is confusing. There are so many districts and regions. I suggest you zero in on deer and elk and start looking at the OTC or easy draw areas. Consider what other species you can hunt in the area. Compare the price for licence and tags. Look at accessibility. Narrow it down to a few areas and then research every thing you can about those areas.

 

[deers2ward]

I would join huntinfool as well. They break down each state by unit, and show you odds as well, and will send it all to you the month or so before the application period.

 

[GTHunter]

I use gohunt.com to determine where to hunt out west. It is a pay service, but totally worth it in my opinion (along with OnX). If you split it with your hunting buddies it is an even better deal. You input the state, animal, and number of points you have and you get the draw odds, success rates, trophy potential, public land %, and a whole pile of other data points that help you decide where to hunt. Once you have a few possible units, then scour the internet for any forum post or federal study, literally anything about your unit(s) that you can find. I even dig through instagram and youtube posts.

These guys on here have done you a big favor by flatout telling you good units (many forums are not as friendly as this one) but you can use GoHunt to validate that you are still able to draw in those units and determine which one might be better than the other based on the other factors presented. Good luck.