First Pronghorn Hunt

[fargoflyfish]

This year, I plan on surprising my dad with a pronghorn hunt. I was thinking about either Montana or Wyoming, but I am not exactly sure. Does anybody have suggestions about where to hunt/apply that would fill these criteria:?
1. Good odds of drawing a pronghorn buck tag
2. Large number of horned pronghorn
3. Good public land access that contains the #1 & #2

Also, this isn't meant to be only a trophy pronghorn hunt. More of a father/son outing for a few days for his 60th bday.
Thanks for the advice!

 

[ginkgo72]

Have you hunted pronghorns before? When I first went out west - I tried to get into an area with decent public land to hike...in WY. The animals were everywhere. I did this in an area where there were left-over tags. It might be good to check on the drought status before buying the tags. I often use mytopo.com to check areas with a high density of public lands...draw the tags and buy the map. It's pretty simple hunting if your rifle shoots straight and you know how to hunt them...away from your truck.

 

[Big Fin]

Unfortunately, your first priority is usually not in play, if priority #2 and #3 exist. The better access and populations are, the lower the drawing odds.

That said, even the units with good drawing odds have enough access. The units east of I-25 have difficult access. West of there, it gets better, the further west you go. Go to the Wyoming private land/public wildlife page and see the information on HMAs and Walk-in areas. Lots of good units with good drawing odds, if you are willing to hoof it a bit.

Here is the link - http://gf.state.wy.us/plpwhmprogram/default.aspx

This is a great program. Surprised how few non-residents use it. I guess that is good for those of us who do use it.

 

[mdunc8]

My dad is coming out for the first time too. Unfortunately, with numbers being exceptionally low in much of eastern Montana, it's going to be tough for a nonresident to draw a tag in most units with sufficient public access. I'd suggest going to Wyoming especially after having a ball hunting a leftover tag myself last year.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

If it's a Father/Son deal and you don't want to be trampled by hunters, you may either want to pay an access fee for a ranch or at least go the second week if you want a DIY hunt to avoid the crowds. If you want to pay the extra money for ranch access, I would suggest unit 23 that's loaded with antelope and you can get a list of ranchers by contacting the G&F Office in Gillette. The unit is south and west of the Gillette area and you could do a hunt from a motel or camp out depending on what suits you. Good luck!!!

 

[dustinf]

If it's a Father/Son deal and you don't want to be trampled by hunters, you may either want to pay an access fee for a ranch or at least go the second week if you want a DIY hunt to avoid the crowds. If you want to pay the extra money for ranch access, I would suggest unit 23 that's loaded with antelope and you can get a list of ranchers by contacting the G&F Office in Gillette. The unit is south and west of the Gillette area and you could do a hunt from a motel or camp out depending on what suits you. Good luck!!!

That's exactly what we did last year, but we stayed in Kaycee. I was hunting with a good friend/mentor that has some fairly severe health issues, staying in town and easy access are the only way he was able to hunt.

We had never hunted Wyoming before, and I was glad we did our first hunt in that unit. Ton's of antelope, and OTC doe tags. I ended up shooting both of mine on public, but we paid a trespass fee to access it.

Edit: Just to clarify, we were in 113, not 23.

 

[brownbear932008]

Yes I agree with everyone above MT. lope numbers are way down right now. WY. is your best choice do your research. Look for some BLM/WIA areas there are some good areas if you search around. My buddy picked up a leftover tag 2 years ago we made the hunt happen in less than two hours after driving the area and doing some scouting the day prior after our research early in the year on WY. game and fish site. You shouldn't have a problem at all having a good hunt. I would highly suggest getting a good GPS with Huntingmaps.com plat map.

 

[Carrion Carrier]

I would agree that waiting until after the first few days turns many areas into a hunter's dream. Usually there is no one out after the first weekend (at least where I hunt). Sorry, can't be more specific than Western MT because I want to draw there this year. Consider also applying for doe/fawn hunts. They are easy to draw and you may have the chance to take two antelope.

 

[Carrion Carrier]

Consider calling the Region 6 and the Region 7 MT FWP big game biologists. They will be able to steer you in the right direction, closer to home.

 

[wyoming556]

You will be abel to draw a much better tag in Wyoming IMO. Sometimes my family members in MT can't even draw a good tag themselves. Wyoming just has a whole lot more antelope. Also don't wipe out the entire eastern part of the state just becae there is less public land. There are plenty of HMA's and walk in areas for extra access. Best investment you can make would be a gps chip like has been mentioned. For antelope hunting just use it in my vehicle GPS so you can see the pulic land while driving in the unit. Just have to study the draw odds for each unit to find whayou can draw with 0 preference points. You can do that on your own or subscribe to something like Eastmans which will organize it all for you so it's easier to understand. Might checkout the areas around Rawlins, Douglas, and Gillette. NE of Rawlins there are some units you can draw with 0 points that have some great antelope and excellet access. Lots of lopes in those areas. I even did some hunting in 26, one of the worst units in the state for access, this year which had leftovers even during the season and had a good time but you can do much better than that drawing a tag. Be ready to shoot more than 100 yards for sure, 200-300 yard shots are much more common IMO. Have fun, PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[Bowhuntrben]

I hunted in an easy-to-draw unit near Newcastle, WY this past fall for the first time. Even though the weather was kind of crappy, I saw loads of antelope and got my buck on the first day. I should've maybe held out a little longer so I could've spent more time enjoying watching all the critters
I had a preference point to help me draw the unit, but there are many units (including the one I went to) that you would be guaranteed of drawing if you do the special draw. If you don't want to do the special draw, I have seen plenty of success stories from people hunting leftover units in WY.
When I was out there, I showed up a few days after the season opened, and I didn't see a terrible lot of other hunters.

 

[mdunc8]

Consider calling the Region 6 and the Region 7 MT FWP big game biologists. They will be able to steer you in the right direction, closer to home.

I don't know for sure about Region 6 (I'd imagine they're in the same boat though), but don't expect Region 7 to increase their tags this year. Therefore, nonresidents are looking at about 10% draw odds in Region 7 without any points. The best you could do in Region 6 in 2011 was about 30%; however, most units were much lower than that. Go to Wyoming.

 

[handwerk]

6 years ago I took my dad(65) on his 1st big game hunt chasing antelope in Wy.
I'd take the adice you've already been given and go the 2nd week of the season, weekday if possible. It's a great trip.

 

[awapiti]

You do not need to pay an access fee to have a good antelope hunt in Wyoming. Save your money and buy a land ownership chip for your gps and go hunt. There are so many antelope, you should not have too much difficulty.

 

[fargoflyfish]

So the consensus seems to be to head to Wyoming rather than MT, stay west of I-25, get a landowner chip for my gps and use the great website that BigFin posted. Thanks for all the advice so far. Can any of you recommend any specific units to apply for that don't require any points and are in the regular draw? Thanks again!

 

[sdeshazo]

Im in the same boat with trying to plan out a Antelope hunt for me & three friends for this Fall. I've been looking around Newcastle since the draw odds are good & the public access is pretty good, but you guys have me rethinking my plan.
I've never set foot in WY & it sure is nerve racking trying to make the right calls on this stuff.

 

[Kevin W]

Same here, first time for my 12 year old son and I. I think I've changed my application 4 or 5 times already and am thinking of just upping it to the special tag for double the price to draw forsure in a good unit with good access to public.

 

[Toadslayer]

Depends on how picky you are. You can get a 12 inchers all day long with easy to get leftover tags and hopping from lone state section to another, or BLM piece to another. Easy as pie in my neighborhood.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Same here, first time for my 12 year old son and I. I think I've changed my application 4 or 5 times already and am thinking of just upping it to the special tag for double the price to draw forsure in a good unit with good access to public.

If you have actually already applied, you can't change it to the higher priced draw without completely withdrawing and starting over. You can only modify your unit within the same draw price without completely withdrawing and starting over. It would also take a long time to get a refund of your money on the first application because unless they've changed their procedures it isn't refunded until after the draw.

 

[Kevin W]

If you have actually already applied, you can't change it to the higher priced draw without completely withdrawing and starting over. You can only modify your unit within the same draw price without completely withdrawing and starting over. It would also take a long time to get a refund of your money on the first application because unless they've changed their procedures it isn't refunded until after the draw.

Hey it is what it is, still a nice option to have.