Wyoming antelope unit 27 and 7 gun hunt.

[razorbackhunter]

Hi, My name is Robert and Im from Arkansas. Im looking for some info on unit 27 and 7 for a gun hunt. I stayed in Wyoming last summer and fell in love with the state. The amount of game one can see driving down the road is mind blowing. Antelope were standing everywhere,I even seen my first moose also!
I have a few questions.
I bought 1 PP last year and from what Im reading I can draw a hunt in these 2 units.And there seems to be public land also. Im not looking for a record book goat, just a fun time hunting.

Where can I find the best maps so that I dont tresspass on to private land?
How much public land is there in these 2 units?
Can I just pull over onto public land and camp?
I dont know anything about how harsh your winter was, so has there been a big winter kill? Are the number of goats good?
Are there many rattlesnakes and can you kill them legally?
Do you pay for your tag after you are drawn, or when you submit?
I have never hunted out west. Any help would be great.

THANKS, Robert

 

[Ikeepitcold]

Robert. Welcome to the forum. That's a lot of questions. I would think you will be able to answer pretty much all of those with the exception of the snake question if you look through the threads. Look in the Wy section and maybe try a search with your areas in the serch field. Good luck

 

[Wyohunter]

I have hunted area 7 all my life some years there are goats every where however the last couple of winters were pretty hard and the population is but down still a good area though. The souther part of the area has quite a bit of public land but tends toattract a lot more hunters. I started hunting area 27 last year it has a smaller quota that area 7 so there is less pressure on the antelope which makes for a better hunt, also much more public land in this area. Bot areas are in the Thunder Basin National grassland which has a pretty good map. You should be able to get a map from the game and fish website. You can camp anywhere on the green parts of the map which marks the grassland. The purple on the maps is state land and you cannot camp there. There are a few snakes in both areas but I have only once encountered one while on foot, and as far as I know they are a non-game species that can be killed without any sort of a licence. The tags for both areas have to be paid for when the application is submitted but will be mostly refunded if you are unsuccessful on the draw.

 

[ssliger]

I'm not familiar with the area's but can give you some help. In Wyoming you can camp on public land unless it's posted with a sign stating you can't. So just pull over and setup camp. You can kill rattle snakes, I'm not sure if they are a problem where your going. You pay for the tag up front. If you don't draw they send you your money back minus the application fee which is like $4 or $7 dollars.

 

[Wyohunter]

Very familiar with area 7 and has good amount of public land in the southern part of the area. Area 27 has more public land and fewer tags resulting in less pressure which I feel makes the hunt better. I don't encounter many snakes while on foot but they are there and you can kill them. You can camp on national grassland but not the state lands but you can hunt both.

 

[NDHunter]

Welcome to the forum Robert. There is a lot of info on this forum about unit 27, including quite a bit of info that I've posted. In my opinion, 27 is much better than 7 as far as land access goes. For trophy quality, they are probably the same.
For maps, order the Thunder Basin National Grassland map from the national forest store website. You can also get BLM maps. Here is a link for the BLM maps. http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wy/resources/gis/state/images/2011/hunt-areas.Par.63081.Image.-1.-1.1.gif The Reno Junction and Bill maps will cover most of the unit. Also, a Wyoming chip from huntinggpsmaps is EXTREMELY helpful. 27 has a LOT of public land and a LOT of antelope. Not many big ones, but lots of them. 7 is much more scattered for public land. I was in 27 around October 10th last year and didn't see any snakes. I think you can kill as many as you want, not 100% sure though. As far as I know, this winter has been a cakewalk so far for the animals and so assuming no spring storms, there shouldn't be much winter kill at all. Hope that helps!

 

[mconway951]

Ill help ya the best i can here
Lots of good info on the MRS section of this website esp on winter kills in the wyoming antelope section. I know that those units saw some harsh winter kill in winter of 2010-2011.
My favorite place for maps is mytopo.com and scroll down to the bottom right of the page and it says western states hunting maps if you go to the wyoming ones it has maps for every unit with the borders of the unit marked. Also i suggest getting a gps with the landownership chip or download from huningpsmaps.com i have them for my garmin and it was invaluable on my hunt last year in a unit in WY with very little public land.
You can camp on BLM ground but not state land.
I have hunted antelope a handful of times in 2 states and have honestly never seen a rattlesnake or heard one, but probably the area i am hunting i guess. the biggest thing to watch for is the prickly pear cactus that stuff sucks if you get into it.
You pay right up front for your tag and money is refunded if not drawn. You may want to look at spending the extra $ if thats and option and do the special draw with the preference point that is what i have done and the hunts are usually less pressured with more animals and better land access.
Any thing i can help you with i will feel free to ask. Just have fun with it it isnt hard and any antelope hunt is a fun hunt. Here is a few pics of the bucks we got last year in a unit that had left over tags. We bought these tags after the drawing so we could build a PP and still hunt in the same year.

 

[BobT]

Hey Robert, There are several areas that you can draw with 1 PP, I've never hunted 7 or 27 either one so can't help there. Not sure if you are aware or not but the deadline for antelope tag applications is March 15th. so if you want to hunt this year it's getting down to the wire. I have seen several rattlesnakes while chasing pronghorns in the early season but it is easy enough to walk around them or move them out of your way with shooting sticks. Pronghorns are a great hunt IMHO, have fun!

Bob

 

[Wyohunter]

Robert if you were just choosing between the two areas choose area 27 there are fewer tags more public land and more antelope. I have hunted area 7 most of my life and just started hunting area 27 and it is by far better but if you were to put in for area 7 as a second choice you would most likely draw a tag it is a good area but 27 is better

 

[razorbackhunter]

Thanks everyone, I plan on putting unit 27 as my first choice and 7 as a second. I will be living out of my truck and did not want to get in trouble for camping in the wrong spot so the info is great. I'm planning on buying good knee pads, spotting scope, and a gps, all things you don't need for hunting back home. Any other things I need to know about? Also I have been given several different opinions on how antelopes taste, are they good or should I have them ground up into sausage like we do with hogs here at home.

 

[mconway951]

They are my families fav wild game to eat dont turn them into sausage just take care to get it skinned out quickly and take your time cooking it get the fat and silver skin off marinade it and grill it at low temp it is great

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

My wife prefers it over any other game...and we eat it ALL! The real problem as I see it is how you take care of it after you shoot it. Usually most of the hunting is in September and it can be pretty hot and that can effect the meat big time in a hurry. Gut, skin and quarter ASAP. Get it cooled down. I have a couple of the big 150 qt coolers that I use. Before I start hunting I fill one with ice. I take the quarters and put them in big plastic garbage bags and seal them. Put them in the empty cooler (after I've added some ice to the bottom) and cover them with ice. As soon as I can I start to debone.

I have a small 5' freezer and generator I take. While I am in camp I start the butchering and packaging. Usually I get most of it done (less the grinding for burger/sausage) before I leave for home.These animals arn't very big and it doesn't take all that long to get the job done. We take each persons animal and put it in one of the garbage bags with their tag so everyone knows which animal is theirs.

If you do butchering in the field you must remember to leave evidence of sex on an edible piece or chunk of unbutchered meat. On an either sex tag it is not as important as on a sex specific tag. I have been checked several times and one time we could not prove sex on a doe tag and got a ticket. An expensive lesson.

One thing to remember on game meat...DO NOT overcook it. Rarer is better, more moist and savory, not like a piece of leather! I also trim off all the fat...usually not much there on the goats!

 

[BobT]

Also I have been given several different opinions on how antelopes taste, are they good or should I have them ground up into sausage like we do with hogs here at home.

In my opinion they are the best eating game meat period! I try to drop them where they stand and get them quartered and on ice ASAP. I also try not to shoot at alarmed animals or those that have been spooked and running.

Bob