West Desert, Riverbed Utah Antelope

HighDesertSage

HighDesertSage

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So I swung for the fence in Utah this year and was able to pull the only Non Res random tag in this unit. I'm pretty excited, it looks like it should be a fun hunt. I would love to talk logistics to anyone who has had this tag before. Where are the nearest services, ice, gas, where did you camp or stay, areas to avoid, quality of bucks, and pretty much anything your willing to share. Any pictures from hunt here would be awesome to. From what I can tell it seems pretty remote and I am concerned with getting meat cooled in time. As always thanks for any help or insight you can provide.
 
Nearest services is going to depend a bit on whether or not you are on the north or south end of the unit. It's big, and there's not very good way to get from north to south quickly. To the north, your best bet for services and supplies would be the town of Grantsville. If your in the middle part of the unit, hop over the mountains and the little town of Vernon has a gas station/cafe. Not sure, but I think the town of Delta on the south end has a services as well.

Most of that unit is BLM, so just camp where you please. There are a couple of BLM campgrounds that have pit toilets. The Simpson Springs campground wouldn't be a bad place to stay and there are pronghorns in that vacinity. Spend most of your digital scouting looking for water! To include guzzlers and livestock troughs. Not sure with the BLM or UTDWR gives out the locations to the big game guzzlers or troughs, but the wild horses make them pretty easy to find via google earth...

The only areas I would avoid are the ORV recreation areas. Anything near Little Sahara is going to be a wash with people. There's another, less popular or advertised one on the south end of Skull Valley near a big chunk of state ground, but the name is escaping me at the moment. Also, be aware of boundaries. There are military and reservation boundaries that you need to stay away from. There are some wilderness and/or wilderness study areas in that unit as well.

Lots of country to cover, but the pronghorn are easy to find. With a bit of elevation is possible to see a LONG way in some of those valleys.
 
Cell service is spotty at best. Unless you are near Delta or Grantsville.

Don't forget your rimfires as the jackrabbits are on an UP year. We used to go out to Simpson Springs when I was growing up and dig for Geodes. Lots of cool Pony Expresss history out there. Can't imagine how tough thos guys had to be.
 
ishootdasmallones said:
Wow, Thank you 1-Pointer, I really appreciate the help. Any idea on how cell service is?
Click to expand...
It's been 7 years since I've been in that country, but back then Verizon had MUCH better coverage than the other carriers. Still not full coverage. I wouldn't count on having it. It'd not be a bad idea to have more than one spare tire in that country. Not only from the rocks, but there's more than a bit of greasewood out there that'll deflate a tire.

PS- Did I mention to ask the UTDWR and/or BLM for maps to water troughs/guzzlers?? ;)

PPS- Also be forewarned that some of that country will have a fire this summer. Some of the fires can get BIG. Here's a good way to keep an eye on that:
https://www.utahfireinfo.gov/
 
Ok I found the fee, looks like its 15 bucks a night, which isn't to bad. Also, I didn't realize that the Simpson Springs CG is also on the N end of the WD, Vernon deer unit. That works out great, I'm hoping to draw that tag in the next few years. So if I punch my lope tag I can do some recon there as well.

Would you guys say the antelope are plentiful? Or just easy to find. UDWR says that the pop is only 450 animals, which seems low considering how huge that area is.

1-pointer/Stubaby, thanks again. I really appreciate the feedback.
 
I would not say plentiful, but are easy enough to find. If you are able to do some deer scouting, be sure to contact the BLM/USFS about the cattle grazing in the Vernon deer unit. For much of that unit, the grazing is managed cooperatively by the two agencies and follows a relatively strict rest rotation scheme. Might want to looks for deer where the cattle aren't. There is also a USFS campground at Vernon Reservoir, south of the town of Vernon. Would make a much better base for the deer scouting, but outside of the unit for pronghorn.
 
Thank you. I am going to focus my efforts on antelope in the simpson springs cg area and then focus on deer if I am lucky enough to fill my tag.
 
Be sure to take a look north from Simpson Springs. 'Twasn't unusual to see pronghorn just south of the main entrance into Dugway Proving Grounds.
 
So would there be anywhere to get lodging that you guys could recommend, and still access the unit? I'm think about bringing my family on this hunt now.
 
I don't know if there is any thing in Delta. I know there are hotels in Tooele and I80 would give you good access to the northern part of the unit from there. Be a bit of a drive 2X a day.
 
1_pointer said:
I don't know if there is any thing in Delta. I know there are hotels in Tooele and I80 would give you good access to the northern part of the unit from there. Be a bit of a drive 2X a day.
Click to expand...

You have excellent recon my friend. A few thoughts for "ishoot"

We typically see more antelope south of Dugway. Services are on the edges; Delle on I-80 on the north has gas, Vernon on east end has gas, best option is Tooele which is one hour away. I would plan to carry gas and water. For camping I would suggest looking at Lookout Pass. You are within sight of Dugway the military town next to the test range and there is traffic along the Pony Express Route. Cell is spotty at best.

Major roads are gravel and good to drive. If you have rain the two tracks can be horrible; clay.

We see good numbers of antelope but I've never seen a jaw dropping antelope in the unit.

Might be going out late August to check out how the Chukars are doing. I will send PM on areas I've seen antelope in the past.
 
Thank you for the tips and recon Dukes! I think it's probably safe to say that I would do well camping at Simpson Springs and heading out each day from there. That seems to put me right in the center of lope. I may have to leave the family home for this one. It seems pretty remote for two young children.
 
Truck is packed, I am heading out tomorrow morning at 3:30 AM to do some recon on the Vernon/Simpson Springs area with my chocolate lab. Hopefully I will report back with some good scouting photos.
 
Had a great trip this weekend. Saw about 30 lope Saturday afternoon and 90 Sunday morning, half of which were bucks. Saw 5 different bucks that I would have shot on any tag I could have. Definitely very nice. I didn't see very many antelope down by Delta, but saw a lot near DPG and in Skull Valley. All of them on public land. I think I will camp in Lookout pass, it does provide good access. Thanks again for all the tips. I'll post up on my hunt in a month. IMG_0448.jpgIMG_0449.jpgIMG_0450.jpgIMG_0451.jpgIMG_0452.jpgIMG_0453.jpgIMG_0454.jpgIMG_0455.jpgIMG_0456.jpgIMG_0457.jpgIMG_0460.jpgIMG_0461.jpg
 
Very nice! If you camp at Lookout Pass, just be aware that it can get busy with campers/ATVs on the weekends. Check out the pet cemetery near there. There's a special use area around there for ATV riding. You'll see signs that say No Target Shooting. That does not include hunting. If you find the critter you want, within that area you can still hunt it there.

Good luck!
 
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