Hillbillies go a'huntin' (WY Unit 70)

spinal tap · May 3, 2018

Greetings all,

My wife, son and I are planning our first western hunting adventure in WY. We only have a few days available during my son's fall break period from school this year, so we're looking at flying from TN into Denver in mid-Oct and driving to the Casper region to hunt antelope in Unit 70. I talked to a rancher there who said it would likely be a decent time to hunt with fewer hunters and better weather. I realize the antelope may be a bit harder to hunt post-rut, but we only have a short time available to do it, hence the choice of a unit close to town.

I know Unit 70 is not known as a trophy or highly populated area, but the rancher I spoke to didn't seem to think we'd have much trouble punching tags - which is really our only goal on a first western hunt. I'm planning to apply for a special buck tag for myself, a youth tag for my son and try to draw a doe tag for my wife. Any suggestions for or against this plan?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

wytex · May 3, 2018

You could fly into Laramie also and rent to drive up. United Express flies 50 seat jets right to Laramie from Denver.
Plan on weather issues with travel if we get snow.
Bring cold weather clothes, but it could be warm then too lol.
Plan sounds good, maybe more doe tags.

Not sure why he said better weather though, maybe less wind.

spinal tap · May 3, 2018

wytex said:
You could fly into Laramie also and rent to drive up. United Express flies 50 seat jets right to Laramie from Denver.
Plan on weather issues with travel if we get snow.
Bring cold weather clothes, but it could be warm then too lol.
Plan sounds good, maybe more doe tags.

Not sure why he said better weather though, maybe less wind.

Great, I'll look into Laramie and will plan accordingly for any weather. Thanks for the advice!

Topgun 30-06 · May 3, 2018

The plan sounds okay IF you can draw the tags! Last year unit 70 only had 10 buck tags issued to NRs with 3 in the Special, 5 in the Regular, and 1 each in the two Random Draws. It would only take a few other applicants to possibly screw up your plan with that few tags issued. Good luck!

spinal tap · May 3, 2018

Topgun 30-06 said:
The plan sounds okay IF you can draw the tags! Last year unit 70 only had 10 buck tags issued to NRs with 3 in the Special, 5 in the Regular, and 1 each in the two Random Draws. It would only take a few other applicants to possibly screw up your plan with that few tags issued. Good luck!

Good to know - thank you!

Wy067 · May 3, 2018

Hoping you draw, but like Topgun said it may be iffy depending on your preference point situation. Looks like there was about an 88% chance of drawing a doe tag in the unit last year, but I've been on the wrong side of those percentages more than once. Area 70 is close enough to Casper that you can get a hotel and drive out there everyday with no issues. When I have family out here hunting a neighboring unit, that's what we do. As Wytex said too, the weather can be a toss up, about the only thing we can guarantee is the wind will be blowing. If it does snow or rain, be careful on some of those back country roads. The Wyoming mud gets slick when wet.

icebreaker12 · May 3, 2018

If you are going to fly you might as well fly into Casper.

I do think it is a reasonable time to hunt. You will see less folks.

Goatshoes · May 3, 2018

icebreaker12 said:
If you are going to fly you might as well fly into Casper.

I do think it is a reasonable time to hunt. You will see less folks.

What he said.

And if you get snow on the ground followed by a little sunshine, there is nothing easier in the world to spot than an antelope standing on a snow covered landscape with the sun making his/her coat glow.

ovis2 · May 3, 2018

I've hunted Unit 70 several times over the last couple of decades - but back when you could draw at as a secondary choice, even got it as a leftover to one time. I can't remember the name of the ranch we hunted on, but it was off Poison Spider Rd. Easy to find now, because the new highway by-pass goes right through it

. We always tagged out, the last time we hunted it they were actively putting in the bypass, but we still had lots of antelope, seems the were farther to the west on the property though. Another cool thing about that area, is there was an old site of a cavalry/Indian fight on the property, too. I always find it fun to touch history a little. We've also found a few fossils out that way. Fun country.

spinal tap · May 3, 2018

This is great information - thank you to all! I really appreciate it. I'm just hoping we can draw a few tags and have a good time out there.

LCH · May 3, 2018

I prefer to drive rather than fly, but I suppose if you're pressed for time it may give you an extra day of hunting time. I just priced flights from Nashville to Denver, Laramie, and Casper though, with flights to Laramie and Casper running
$300-400 more per person than to Denver. I think I'd rather drive the extra 2-4 hours from the airport than shell out an extra $1200 to land in Laramie or Casper.

spinal tap · May 3, 2018

LCH said:
I prefer to drive rather than fly, but I suppose if you're pressed for time it may give you an extra day of hunting time. I just priced flights from Nashville to Denver, Laramie, and Casper though, with flights to Laramie and Casper running
$300-400 more per person than to Denver. I think I'd rather drive the extra 2-4 hours from the airport than shell out an extra $1200 to land in Laramie or Casper.

Thanks, I checked and found the same. I think we'll fly to Denver and drive. Just have to hope for decent weather.

Dougfirtree · May 3, 2018

spinal tap said:
Thanks, I checked and found the same. I think we'll fly to Denver and drive. Just have to hope for decent weather.

I was just going to say: You'll save a ton of money by flying to Denver and driving the rest. It's not terribly far and you can do the drive without any mountain passes, if the weather is bad. Good luck on the draw!

spinal tap · May 3, 2018

Dougfirtree said:
I was just going to say: You'll save a ton of money by flying to Denver and driving the rest. It's not terribly far and you can do the drive without any mountain passes, if the weather is bad. Good luck on the draw!

Thank you!

buckbull · May 3, 2018

check out google flights. from nashville to casper on oct 9 - oct 13 is $581 round trip on delta. I picked Tuesday to fly out as its normally the cheapest day to fly.

https://www.google.com/flights/#flt=BNA.CPR.2018-10-09*CPR.BNA.2018-10-13;c:USD;e:1;sd:1;t:f

I put in for antelope 69 and might stay in Casper. There are a few places in Alcova which puts me closer to the unit and will check them out too.

Dougfirtree · May 3, 2018

buckbull said:
check out google flights. from nashville to casper on oct 9 - oct 13 is $581 round trip on delta. I picked Tuesday to fly out as its normally the cheapest day to fly.

https://www.google.com/flights/#flt=BNA.CPR.2018-10-09*CPR.BNA.2018-10-13;c:USD;e:1;sd:1;t:f

I put in for antelope 69 and might stay in Casper. There are a few places in Alcova which puts me closer to the unit and will check them out too.

I flew from Albany, NY to Denver last fall for a hunt. $298.00 round trip on Southwest.

ida homer · May 4, 2018

Dougfirtree said:
I flew from Albany, NY to Denver last fall for a hunt. $298.00 round trip on Southwest.

Budget friendly fares, budget friendly motor fans!

brianfromtulsa · May 4, 2018

After you all fill your tags on the first day, there is some good fishing in the Alcova area

spinal tap · May 4, 2018

brianfromtulsa said:
After you all fill your tags on the first day, there is some good fishing in the Alcova area

Thanks - I hope we get the opportunity to do just that! Thanks again to all for the info and good advice. I really appreciate it.

Jwill · May 4, 2018

I've flown Southwest to Denver and hunted WY a couple times successfully. That's the way to go!

Hillbillies go a'huntin' (WY Unit 70)

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