As you know, I was lucky enough to draw one of Don Peay's 200 convention tags in Salt Lake last February. I had applied for everything with horns or antlers, and so I didn't know a thing about the unit I drew. After doing a bit of checking around, the consensus was that the unit is loaded with antelope, but they don't get very big. A check of the B&C website showed ONE entry for the county...an 81" goat killed in 1985.
I went up two days early to learn a bit about the area and see if I could find a decent buck. After hunting the last few years in WY, this place was a shock. I drove over 100 miles of backroads each day, stopping on every hill to glass, and couldn't believe the lack of goats. I don't think I saw over 150 either day. And the quality really left something to be desired. Even several of the locals I talked to said that there were not nearly as many antelope around this year.
Can you believe not a goat in sight from this vantage point (ironically called Antelope Springs Draw)?
Found some 'lopes up at 9,600', along with a couple of sage-grouse:
Lots of these guys around:
I camped near "Elsie's Nipple":
Sunset:
Different land management practices. BLM on the left, USFS on the right:
I decided that I would have to find the best looking 12"er and hunt him like a booner. The last evening I found a buck that was a bit bigger than anything I had seen, so I decided to try for him on the opener the next morning. I watched him through the spotter until dark and just threw the sleeping bag in the back of the truck right there. Got up and headed out before sunrise the next morning and hiked the mile or so over to the little plateau he had been on. After a bit of searching, I found him heading down a draw on a mission, right towards me. I found a good spot to wait and let him step out about 90 yards away. Hunt over at 7:30am:
So, I don't know that I'll put $5 in the draw for this hunt next year. Not much in the way of quality in the unit, but the up side is that I was hunting antelope. Far better than working!
I went up two days early to learn a bit about the area and see if I could find a decent buck. After hunting the last few years in WY, this place was a shock. I drove over 100 miles of backroads each day, stopping on every hill to glass, and couldn't believe the lack of goats. I don't think I saw over 150 either day. And the quality really left something to be desired. Even several of the locals I talked to said that there were not nearly as many antelope around this year.
Can you believe not a goat in sight from this vantage point (ironically called Antelope Springs Draw)?
Found some 'lopes up at 9,600', along with a couple of sage-grouse:
Lots of these guys around:
I camped near "Elsie's Nipple"
:
Sunset:
Different land management practices. BLM on the left, USFS on the right:
I decided that I would have to find the best looking 12"er and hunt him like a booner. The last evening I found a buck that was a bit bigger than anything I had seen, so I decided to try for him on the opener the next morning. I watched him through the spotter until dark and just threw the sleeping bag in the back of the truck right there. Got up and headed out before sunrise the next morning and hiked the mile or so over to the little plateau he had been on. After a bit of searching, I found him heading down a draw on a mission, right towards me. I found a good spot to wait and let him step out about 90 yards away. Hunt over at 7:30am:
So, I don't know that I'll put $5 in the draw for this hunt next year. Not much in the way of quality in the unit, but the up side is that I was hunting antelope. Far better than working!
