Drew Antelope in WY - First Time

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maninthemaze

New Member
Apr 4, 2016
47
0
Kentucky
wjohnson1983 said:
I'd rather not do a guide, but if you don't mind me asking, who did you use and how much was it?

Someone above said if it was dotted on a BLM map it's a two-track and private. Are some of the two-tracks not public BLM tracks?
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Two track roads that are on BLM are public. Two track roads that are on private are of course private. The only roads that you are allowed to drive on that cross private is a county maintained road. Most of those roads have numbers on them. The best way to find out which roads are public and which are private is to either call the county road department or the game warden. They will be able to tell you which is which.

Basically, if you are driving on a county road, you can cross private. If you aren't on a county road, ie a two track, you cannot cross private. So let's say you are driving thru BLM/State property and turn onto a two track road. You can continue to drive that two track as long as it remains within the BLM/State property lines. If while driving on it, you come to private property, you aren't allowed to continue. This is where the GPS is invaluable, because there are very few fences or property line markers out there.
 
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480/277

Very Active Member
Feb 23, 2013
629
1
Good link
Is there a main page to pick a county or are they individually maintained pages?
 
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Nate K

New Member
Jul 27, 2016
16
0
West Tennessee
If you want to find these maps just Google "Johnson county GIS" (or whatever county you are looking for). The county's mapping system should be in the first two or three links. Some county's maps are better than others and some will require you to be in Internet explorer for them to work. One of the more useful things I've learned as a civil engineer!
 
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Yell Co AR Hunter

Very Active Member
Dec 10, 2015
868
724
Yell County Arkansas
That is good information. So the way I see it. If the road is on the county map. it should be open to public use. You really need good maps to avoid stopping on private. Also if county road you should be able to cross private land to get to public. Please correct me if I am wrong.
 
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Yell Co AR Hunter

Very Active Member
Dec 10, 2015
868
724
Yell County Arkansas
Yell Co AR Hunter said:
That is good information. So the way I see it. If the road is on the county map. it should be open to public use. You really need good maps to avoid stopping on private. Also if county road you should be able to cross private land to get to public. Please correct me if I am wrong.
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I did not intend it to sound as if you could get out on the private land. If the road is on the county map as public.
 
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steveokanevo

New Member
Sep 22, 2016
23
0
Tennessee
Congratulations, Nice buck! That is exactly what I am after. I'm going to try 25 on second choice draw next year. Since its fresh on your mind can you offer any advice? I looked hard at hiking into the area south of Midwest and camping. Also thought about the HWA closer to Casper but it seems those get slammed.
 
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wjohnson1983

Member
Jun 19, 2014
57
2
Harvest, AL
Thanks guys. I don't know where that one falls in for measurements/trophy status, but I was ecstatic about him for my first one. I didn't have a tape with me, but used a dollar bill to rough measure him at about 12.5 tall, 6.25 at the base, and 5.5 - 6 prongs. I need to look, but this was a second choice draw, so I think I have 6 points now or it could be 5. Getting close to that mythical red desert draw unless someone has a better suggestion.

As far as pointers, have some good maps for that unit and know how to read them. We didn't go to the HWA, but we looked at everything else at least once in the unit. I would temper expectations of trophy status in this unit going in. That antelope that I shot was probably one of the top 3 we saw in 4 days, and the other two were on private land. I did see some taller than that one, but with weaker mass and prongs. Practice long range shooting! I was lucky to find him in a place I could sneak into within 200 yards, but I had been practicing out to 400. These are pressured antelope with a short season and a lot of tags. I did try to get within range on a different group the day before this one, and they bugged out in a hurry at 350 yards. We got out of the truck to put the spotting scope on a group of 4 bucks from about a half mile away and they took off before the spotter was even up. We also looked at hiking in that area you are talking about. We decided that we would rather be able to move around and attempt a shot at an "average" antelope than throw our eggs into one unknown basket.
 
Cobbhunts

Cobbhunts

Veteran member
Jan 22, 2014
1,060
1
Kentucky
That's a good amount of points. You can draw some slamming units with that many points as opposed to chasing the desert tags. With point creep you could be chasing them for awhile longer. My first hunt (only one so far) was in unit 73 in 2014. Took us 4 points then and looks like it takes 4.5 +/- for 100% now, which isn't that bad of a creep really. Either way, you can either wait it out until you draw a desert tag and keep hunting leftovers, or go for a great unit and start building again. The mass on your lope is fantastic. And I agree with practicing long distances. Mine was 313 yards, my brothers was 275, and my friends was 365 if I recall. Congrats on a great hunt!

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