Wyoming antelope

S

snapperhead

Inactive
Hi Everyone,

I recently went out of state for a Wyoming antelope hunt. What a blast. Antelope were everywhere. What a change to sneak up on a herd and decide to wait for a better animal.

We went two weeks into the season so there weren't lots of hunters. We saw a huge buck early the first morning. Unfortunately, my partner was too excited and missed. Doh! I've been ragging him since.

Weather was decent in the mornings and very windy in the afternoons. All three in my party got nice representitive bucks. Each in the morning. One a day. I would have been happy to just stalk those herds for the week. Getting a nice 4 year old buck was a bonus as far as I'm concerned.

I took the rack in to the taxedermist. He about had kittens. He went on and on about how great it was. It's no record but it was definately the biggest and best he had in his shop. It measures around 14" and has some outstanding cutters.

Satisfied? You bet! We are already planning next years Wyoming hunt. This time more friends and family want to go. I can hardly wait.

snapper
 
Congrats!, Snapperhead, and thanks for sharing the story. How difficult is it to set up such a hunt? Did you use a guide service or self-guide? Private or public land?
 
Haha. Thanks for asking. First, we set it up ourselves and hunted exclusively on public land. However, I think the land owners would most likely let you hunt on their property. Along with the license and carcass coupon we were given a land owner coupon. It's worth $11 to a landowner if they submit it to the state. Great idea.

I'm waiting for pics to get developed. My partner is out hunting moose in eastern Idaho. He has the film. I wanted to tag along but I just had to go back to work. I hope to have some pics in a week or so. I'll post them and add links then. I'll also post a pic of the mount. I decided that I couldn't afford a head mount ($400) so I went with what my taxidermist calls a southwestern horn mount. That's basically the skull (less lower jaw) bleached with the horns. My hunting partners 17 1/2" Boone and Crocket antelope is mounted this way and hangs in the largest sporting goods store in town. Next year I plan on a much bigger buck (assuming no major winter kills) and will probably go for a full head mount.

I have eaten some of the antelope and I must say that it is awesome. It's more gamey than I expected but it just makes it taste better. The meat is tender and tasty. I just wish you could get more than 20-30 pounds off a decent buck. I do expect to fill the fridge with moose though.

If you are interested in huntin Wyoming I suggest you apply in an area with several hundred permits. Some friends have been applying for years in "trophy" areas and have never been drawn. This was my first try. Our area had 750 permits. Out of state applications get about 20% of the total number of permits. So, your odds are better.

Some specs if you're interested:

Calibers used: .243, 25-06, .280
License cost: $200 out of state. Going up next year.
Conservation stamp: $5
Camping: free
Average shot distance: about 200. We managed to get with 75 yards of some herds. Others never let us get closer than about a mile (they were in a great place with little or no way to sneakup on them).

snapper
 
I am glad you had a great time. Stories like yours remind me how fortunate I am to live in Wyoming. BTW, I agree, antelope are a real blast to hunt and best of all you can do it without a guide.

Last Saturday, my two brothers and I went elk hunting. It only takes about an hour to get from my house to where we hunt. My twin brother had a six by six on the ground and ready to pack out by 9:00 AM. My other brother passed on a decent bull and he is coming back tommorrow and we will be looking for a monster bull Saturday and Sunday.

I will go out tommorrow after work and try to find a nice bull for Saturday morning. I think I am just spoiled rotten when it comes to big game hunting.
 
I was born a fifth generation Texan and have lived here all of my life. I've always figured that if this isn't God's country, it must at least be where he maintains a winter home! But you guys are making me think that I should head west. Fourteen inch antelope...six by six elk...only an hour's drive...hm-m-m-m-m-m-m.
 
Bad Medicine:

I live in Shoshoni, Wyoming. My elder brother shot a nice 7x7 yesterday afternoon, I took the cape and antlers to the taxidermist this morning and the carcass to the processor. Pretty good year. A 6x6 and a 7x7 in only two days. That is incredibly unusual, but I'll take it.
 
ron, i think the 5 feet of snow in the higher elevations helped...i know we were in area 91 and in the highest of elevations it was waist deep.somewhere around 9000 ft.
 
Gunmart:

Funny state we have here, you were in an area with five feet of snow and where I hunt there isn't that much snow in a year. In fact, we have no snow at all right now. We need to post a couple of photos later on.
 
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