best wy antelope

Cobbhunts · Jan 23, 2015

kesand72 said:
Cobbhunts,
I'm looking at unit 73 for this year. Did you camp or stay in town? It looks like there are only 20 doe tags issued, did you hunt bucks only? How would you rate the overall experience in 73?

We camped. We were about hour and 30-45 minutes from the closest gas station. I would NOT hunt this unit without camping or sleeping in my truck (Woodtick lol). It's just too big and you'd waste a bunch of time driving from Casper to get into the big tracts of public land.

I did not put us in for any doe tags, nor did I know that there were only 20 given out. That's hard to believe because there were antelope everywhere. Our overall experience was....we had a great hunt and all 3 took bucks right at or above 70" -- on the first day. I'll caviot that by saying that this was our first antelope hunt ever. So there may very well be better hunting in other units. But we sure had a blast and the hunt/unit exceeded our expectations. Good luck, if you draw I'd be glad to point you to some places to check out. If you want to see pics from our trip just go to my profile and select "started by" and you can find the thread I posted them in.

stevevan · Jan 23, 2015

I'll echo what Cobbhunts said. I had a bed made up in the rear of my explorer and stayed out in the unit. Hunted about the 3rd week of the season. I did this hunt solo as I do many of my hunts. I took my goat on day 3. I'm a very experienced pronghorn hunter from having been a Wyo resident for over 25 years and have had the opportunity to sample some of the units across the state. Having said that, if a guy is looking for an enjoyable antelope hunt with a very good opportunity to see/harvest a good mountable buck then Unit 73 would be a good choice. If he has his heart set on that lofty level of an 80"+ buck then I would wait 'til you have enough points to draw a true Blue Chip unit such as those in the Red Desert. That's not to say that someone won't take a B&C buck from 73 as any unit in Wyo. has that possibility, however the odds go way up when you do hunt a unit where the tags have been kept to a minimum over time and the G&F has specifically labeled the area for trophy/older age class bucks. I know that many considerations are given when any unit is given a "CHIP" designation but from my limited time spent in 73 I'd have a difficult time labeling it a true "BLUE" chip unit from at least what I saw this last year. Just my read.

woodtick · Jan 23, 2015

I had the pleasure of sleeping in my truck for 3 nights and hunting solo in 73, it rained for 2 days straight and was one hell of a muddy mess. I couldn't get around on any of the roads, typical Wyo in bad weather. So that left me walking 8-10 miles day looking over goats. Like Cobb and Stevo have said it's a good unit but not a blue chipper. I've hunted some of the top end units in the state and this unit ranks in as one of my favorites as far as #'s of goats you'll look over, access is a little sketchy depending on what portion you decide to hunt. I harvested a goat in the top end of that 70" range, I think I could have done better if I coulda looked over more goats but after 3 days of walking farther than I ever have on a hunt he looked way to good to pass up. I had 10 days to hunt but I didn't need that many

I think a guy could really put down a giant if he hunts that border between 73/75 and really spends some time. Just my thoughts but make sure you don't sleep in the back seat of a pickup when you've been trekking across the high desert all day it doesn't help with the muscles getting a rest, I was just trying to cut weight and excess time of running back to camp!!!

Bonecollector · Jan 26, 2015

Looks like it took 4 points to draw these last year, correct?

kesand72 · Jan 27, 2015

Thanks Cobb, Steve, n Wood tick ! Yeah the 4 of us going would like to see lots of goats n low/mid 70s bucks would be great.
I'm the only one that has hunted lopes before, I took the buck in my avatar in unit 67 in 2011. That was an awesome solo adventure with lots of goats and several upper 70s spotted.

kesand72 · Jan 27, 2015

48 and 73 are blue chip. 47 is green.

woodtick · Jan 27, 2015

Haha there all green chippers!!!

MWScott72 · Feb 5, 2015

lazarus said:
U think 47 or 48 are considered "blue chip" areas or is 73 closer to blue chip?

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I don't know that I'd put 48 as a blue chip unit, but it's a solid green. There are large tracts of public land in 48 but there is a lot of private / checkerboard too. A chip helps out immensely in knowing whether or not you're on public or private - especially on the main county road that goes between the upper end of Pathfinder Reservoir and the town of Hannah to the southeast about 25-30 miles or so. If you draw 48 make sure and apply for access to the two HMAs on the unit (Hannah Draw and Simpson Ridge). After a certain point in the season they are unlimited access (still have to have a permission slip though), but early in the season, they limit hunter numbers. If you camp along the Miracle Mile, bring your fishing gear...great fishing if you need a break from hunting. Hunt hard and a mid-70s buck is very possible. If you gave yourself a week you might find that magical 80s buck, but it will take a lot of laying off the trigger on the smaller bucks.

HuskyMusky · Feb 11, 2015

Honestly a bruiser can be in many blue or green units in WY and others too.

Find some public land, personally I'd go a couple days early scout, or even bowhunt while you scout... and then come opening morning be ready!

My dad and I were just talking about 2 nice antelope we took around the 78" mark, not booners, but darn are they big and look amazing on the wall!

go_deep · Mar 26, 2015

lazarus said:
I know I've beaten a dead horse but which one ?? 48 or 73? Which one would be better for public land and bigger bucks?

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73...... Problem solved, go kill a big buck.

WapitiBob · Mar 26, 2015

They're cutting 30% of the tags in 48. I'd figure out where I could draw and go from there.

BruinPoint · Mar 26, 2015

48 is in the hurt locker right now... A guy might find a good buck but lots of places to choose from that are fairing way better. When I ran into the biologist in 2012 he said the herd was down by roughly half from 2010 and it looks like it's not recovering well judging by this year's additional tag cuts. I consider it "my" unit but I'm looking at the 60s and 70s units for the next few years.

Triple BB · Mar 27, 2015

If yer a resident, I'd definitely be considering 48-2 as a first choice if yer wanting to hunt the area. In 2014, 48-1 had strong demand, 48-2 didn't and would've been guaranteed as a first choice and had decent draw odds as a second choice. Even with a reduction in tags you'll probably have 100% draw odds if you make it a first choice pick...

WY ME · Mar 28, 2015

Triple BB said:
If yer a resident, I'd definitely be considering 48-2 as a first choice if yer wanting to hunt the area. In 2014, 48-1 had strong demand, 48-2 didn't and would've been guaranteed as a first choice and had decent draw odds as a second choice. Even with a reduction in tags you'll probably have 100% draw odds if you make it a first choice pick...

I've never hunted 48 but I'm looking at areas down that way since my daughter is going to school at U Dubb. I see 48 has a reduction of tags by 1/3 this year. That sounds like the antelope in that unit aren't doing too well right now.

Triple BB · Mar 28, 2015

Other than 73, what areas in central Wyoming haven't seen a reduction in tags during the past couple years. Two years ago while hunting elk, I saw one of the best goats I've ever seen and it was in 48.

WY ME · Mar 28, 2015

Triple BB said:
Other than 73, what areas in central Wyoming haven't seen a reduction in tags during the past couple years. Two years ago while hunting elk, I saw one of the best goats I've ever seen and it was in 48.

I'm not looking to hunt in central WY. Like I said I'm looking for areas by Laramie which is southern WY. Of the areas near Laramie 37, 38, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48 & 50 only area 48 is seeing a reduction in buck tags this year so I just thought it curious that you recommend 48 as a first choice for residents hunting that area. Since I've never hunted any of the units in the Laramie area I can only go by what I see on the WG&F website and what others comments are. If you feel this area is better than the others near Laramie I'd be interested in hearing why as I have absolutely no hunting experience down that way.

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