While we are in WY pronghorn hunting question..

Amstaff · Mar 6, 2018

A friend and I will be driving to WY this coming October for our first ever pronghorn hunt. Neither of us has points, and we will most likely apply for only doe tags. The plan is to drive from PA over the weekend, have Monday-Friday to hunt, then drive home the following weekend. We have never hunted in WY, and have never hunted pronghorn. We're doing it this way for a reason... First, it gets us on a fun trip to the West. Second, we would potentially have a not-so-difficult hunt to get pronghorn meat in our freezers. Third, by hunting doe only, we could have a very short hunt (read: one to two days hopefully), which allows us to spend the rest of the week scouting other antelope units as we build our preference points. This seems like a good idea to us. In a perfect world, we'll be successful early in the week leaving us time to roam.

So to my question: Does anyone take time before/during/after their antelope hunts to go after coyotes? How about prairie dogs? This seems like a fun diversion for a few days while driving around scouting.

Thanks,

Amstaff

midwesthunter · Mar 6, 2018

I have done everything you are talking about. Prairie dogs can be hard to find depending on what part of the state you will be in. Not sure if your into fishing, but WY has some awesome trout fishing across the state.

wytex · Mar 6, 2018

Coyotes yes, but prairie dogs I would say this, would you want someone shooting prairie dogs in an area you are antelope hunting?
I have been in that situation, the hunters shooting prairie dogs kept everything on it's toes and the antelope were very jumpy and some left the area with the sound of the shots. Look over the area carefully and don't mess someone else up.
That being said lots of dogs out there to shoot, just find a good spot.
Fishing is a must if you have the days. Spawning brown and brook trout, maybe some bird hunting in the mountains for grouse and on the plains for upland birds depending on where you are, waterfowl will be open so maybe some ducks you don't get through your flyway.

Gunner46 · Mar 6, 2018

I hunted out of Newcastle a couple years ago. 6 days afield and saw exactly Zero Yotes. In AZ, along time ago, I saw 3-4 every morning & evening excursion ! Personally, I would apply for an Any Antelope tag as a 1st choice, and a doe 2nd. Even if you don't draw there are some leftover doe tags you can take a shot at.

jtm307 · Mar 6, 2018

If I were coming from out-of-state, grouse would top my list of species to hunt after my antelope tag is filled.

SFC B · Mar 6, 2018

I hunted near Lysite a few years ago. Shot a buck in about the first 30min of hunting and then pegged dogs for the rest of the day. It was a hoot but I will say the dog towns we hit were quite a ways from where the goats were hanging out.

Dougfirtree · Mar 6, 2018

If it were me, I'd bring a fly rod (or two).

Topgun 30-06 · Mar 6, 2018

Gunner46 said:
I hunted out of Newcastle a couple years ago. 6 days afield and saw exactly Zero Yotes. In AZ, along time ago, I saw 3-4 every morning & evening excursion ! Personally, I would apply for an Any Antelope tag as a 1st choice, and a doe 2nd. Even if you don't draw there are some leftover doe tags you can take a shot at.

That is not possible as they are two separate draws and you can't mix the two together like you're saying. Buck tags start as a PP drawing while all doe tags are random and don't use PPs.

1_pointer · Mar 6, 2018

Just be aware, that if you are hunting pronghorn on a Hunter Management Area your permission slip is only good for hunting the specie(s) on the slip or ranch rules.

Topgun 30-06 · Mar 6, 2018

1_pointer said:
Just be aware, that if you are hunting pronghorn on a Hunter Management Area your permission slip is only good for hunting the specie(s) on the slip or ranch rules.

Same with the WIHAs!

Amstaff · Mar 6, 2018

Thanks for all of the great info! It sounds like we're going to have some options to fill out our week.

As far as shooting (coyote/prairie dog), we would be cognizant of where we are at, and would not want to ruin someone's hunt. Because of my hunting partners work schedule, we will most likely be in WY during the third week of October. There should be less hunting pressure at that time, which could be a very good thing.

PA deer hunter · Mar 6, 2018

Maybe see you on I-80 on the way ! Third week is my favorite time to go. Little to no hunting pressure, but the trade off is spooky antelope that have been chased for a month. Puts the challenge in it tho !

Walkathon · Mar 6, 2018

One of my friends ended up shooting 4 or 5 coyotes last year while he was deer hunting in WY. He was in the central part of the state.

PAGOAT · Mar 7, 2018

One tip I can give you is do not follow your GPS on your way out. Stay on 80 when 90 breaks off toward Chicago and go to interstate 29 in Iowa up to 90 at Sioux falls if your hunting the north part of Wyoming. Do not go to Chicago, it really adds time to the trip. Other than hunting after the hunt a nice slow drive home is pretty cool if you haven't been there. SD, spear fish canyon, deadwood, Sturgis, devils tower, Custer park, the bad lands. All very nice things to see, did I mention skip Chicago haha. I hope you have a great trip.

jt13 · Mar 7, 2018

Hunted pronghorn in Wyoming last year and I'm going back again this year. Only change this year... bringing my .22lr to put the fear of God in some cottontails. They were EVERYWHERE last year, never seen so many in my life

wytex · Mar 7, 2018

You'll be fine shooting prairie dogs in a big flat, don't mean to discourage. Just look around before shooting .
Not sure which area you'll be in but wolves are being spotted in some new areas this winter, predator zones.

LCH · Mar 7, 2018

I was in NW Wyoming in 2015, cottontails literally everywhere. I was in SE Wyoming in 2017, saw a few but nothing like in the NW. Could have just been different times in their population cycle though.

If you plan on coming back for a deer or elk hunt in the future you could spend some time scouting areas for future hunts.

There are also quite a few whitetail doe tags that are easy to draw and run through the month of October in different areas of the state.

Gut Shot · Mar 7, 2018

Bring a shotgun along and shoot grouse and P-dogs during the day. Coyotes morning and evening.

uncle sage · Mar 7, 2018

We had some extra time one afternoon in thermopolis getting fuel so we, needing a good cleaning from tent camping, went to a big hot springs place just north of town. I thought it great until my 20 minutes were near up and felt the need to get out. When we finally got back to camp, i begged off cooking dinner until i had a nap, felt VERY exhausted, the Hot water really took the energy out of me. When i did awake, it was morning, time to get up and go hunt.

Topgun 30-06 · Mar 7, 2018

uncle sage said:
We had some extra time one afternoon in thermopolis getting fuel so we, needing a good cleaning from tent camping, went to a big hot springs place just north of town. I thought it great until my 20 minutes were near up and felt the need to get out. When we finally got back to camp, i begged off cooking dinner until i had a nap, felt VERY exhausted, the Hot water really took the energy out of me. When i did awake, it was morning, time to get up and go hunt.

You can now tell everyone that you were in the largest mineral hot spring in the world!

While we are in WY pronghorn hunting question..

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Active member

Member

Active member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Member

Active member

Similar threads

Forum statistics

Share this page