Wyoming preseason scouting

[Outdoorsman]

I?m from Pensacola FL and will be in Wyoming this spring on a turkey hunt. I was thinking about scouting an area for antelope mainly to identify access areas and learn the lay of the land. Never given any thought to the antelope range in the springtime. Are they similar to deer in that you will find them in the same general area? If I find a pile of antelope would that mean it?s a good spot to check in the fall?

 

[Ikeepitcold]

There are a lot of antelope in Wy. If you see them on a area in the spring but hunt during the rut they could be anywhere. But if you hunt out of the rut they usually will be in the same general area.

 

[wy-tex]

Some areas are wintering area so they may be just moving back to home ranges. An area around Laramie is a wintering area and they are really moving back to spring range right now. You should be in good shape to see what your area may hold for fall.
Tops are mostly, if not all, grown out already and bases below prongs are getting going. You should be able to tell which have good prongs and some mass showing.
Good time to fish also, moss is not up yet and fish are hungry, bring a rod and reel. Good luck with the turkey.

 

[Bearlodge10]

I agree with WY-TEX. Even with nasty spring weather, they should be moving back into the areas they will summer in and thus be close to where they will be during the rut. If the nature of the scouting trip is to get the lay of the land and access ideas, I think it is worth it as well. Sometimes it is nice to see the areas that are holding water now so that you can make a plan for sitting water etc. However, a bunch in an area now will mean a good place to check in the fall but do not put all your eggs in that basket. It is worth a shot to knock on doors now to gain access as opposed to doing it right before or during hunting season.

 

[Billybob]

I agree with WY-TEX. Even with nasty spring weather, they should be moving back into the areas they will summer in and thus be close to where they will be during the rut. If the nature of the scouting trip is to get the lay of the land and access ideas, I think it is worth it as well. Sometimes it is nice to see the areas that are holding water now so that you can make a plan for sitting water etc. However, a bunch in an area now will mean a good place to check in the fall but do not put all your eggs in that basket. It is worth a shot to knock on doors now to gain access as opposed to doing it right before or during hunting season.

I agree also. I thought on another one you were looking at the Black Hills for turkey, maybe I am getting confused. The turkeys were getting pretty vocal in the Southern Hills Sunday, Bearlodge there probably knows more about the Northern part. I thought I heard they were getting snow again today up there. The ice is finally off of the fishing ponds, so I am excited about that. I thought the ice was a little sketchy there for a couple weeks. If I would get off my butt and get my SD license this year, I should try all those streams on that side. They can be pretty good, too.

 

[ScottR]

Antelope bunch up into huge groups for most of the winter, then this time of year they start to spread out back onto the other areas in their ranges. This can make winter counting challenging...

Bear in mind that there are very few true migration antelope hunts. Many of them tend to be what is there at the moment is what you are hunting. The exception tends to be any unit that runs two separate hunts, especially if there is a later start date for one of the tags. The other exception is long season dates for units that butt up to the major mountain ranges. After the first major storm you will see new bucks in the lower country as the goats will leave the higher elevations are are antelope friendly.

FYI, there is an elk unit I have hunted here, 6 miles back in the wilderness...that had respectable bucks in country almost 11,000 feet in elevation.

 

[Outdoorsman]

Lots of good info here. Thanks for the help!