2 Wyoming Antelope Questions

[packmule]

Hi to all the experienced HuntWA Wyoming antelope hunters.  Our hunting party has accrued enough points that we should draw a good unit next year.  It will be our first trip and we hope to be hunting near Cody, Meeteetsee, Thermopolis, etc. 

My 2 questions are:

1)  What's your preferred method for handling and storing meat that you get in the first day or two of a four or five day hunt.  Do you bone them and store in coolers with ice? Do the Wyoming towns typically have lockers where game can be hung in a cooler for a small fee until the hunt ends?  Any thoughts would be great.  I'm very experienced with processing game so I'm not looking for gutting or boning tutorials, just any strategies you've used in the past that has worked well.

2)  I plan to phone a couple of Fish and Game offices along with some other contacts in Wyoming soon but perhaps you can help with this rather simple question first.  If we draw buck or any antlerless tags in a specific unit and the hunt finishes up quickly, as I've been told is common.  Is it possible to go to a  neighboring unit and buy over-the-counter antlerless tags if they are still available.

Thanks in advance!

[JLS]

I don't know about buying OTC tags, I think you can buy up to five antelope tags a year in WY but I cannot say this is fact.

Boning out the meat and packing it on ice works fine.  Duct tape the cooler lid and keep it in the shade.  Cover with an old sleeping bag if you can.  Sometimes meat cutters will hang them, but if they do a lot of business they may not have the room to do so. 

If you do bone the meat, make absolute sure that you keep evidence of sex on each of the critters.  If you don't I think it's highly likely you'd get a ticket for it if you get checked.

Best of luck, antelope hunting is a LOT of fun, and Cody is a great area.

[RadSav]

Wyoming is still very much a frontier state.  Meaning most of it is very hunt friendly and most towns have meat lockers and butchers to handle your meat.  We have actually had guys get their lopes cut and wrapped before the end of a four day hunt.

In the past "Ye"s you could go to a nearby unit and aquire OTC doe tags.  But most of those are in units with mostly private property.  And I expect after the huge decline in antelope numbers over the past few years your choices will be very limited.  Sure as heck doesn't hurt to give it a try.

You guys will have a great time.  Love Wyoming!

[cohoho]

Get the hide off immediately.  Bone it out and get it on ice. Utilize a rack to keep the meat bags off the ice.  Can fit four Antelope bone out meat bags - about 25lbs per bag per 150 quart cooler.   Get it cool quickly...  Utilize a skinning pole.  You can put in during draw for doe tags, then as soon as they release the extra tags buy them before going.  Wouldn't wait for over the counter as the number did drop drastically this year of available tags. We lost out on three tags waiting this year....    Even in area 30 they sold out this season....   I take a freezer with me and as soon as the meat is bleed out - about three days, I process it, grind it, steak and wrap it and it is completely frozen and already packed up when I get home.  Only need two strong backs to lift the freezer from the truck to the garage... Be prepared for an addiction.....  I love Antelope hunting and go for five every year for the past several years...

[fishinmike]

When I was working as a guide in Wyoming, the clients who did not want to have it done there by a butcher would just pack it in a cooler with dry ice and duct tape it shut.

[Widgeondeke]

Ditto on all the above. 
We would always gut immediately and skin asap. Depending on the temps I skinned mine within a couple hours.  One year it was cool enough that we could hang em overnite, but not typically.  We would quarter them the same day if warm and usually did all our deboning on the last day. A good cooler is a must.
Also, especially on the bucks. Keep the hair off the meat.
Most towns have a place that sells dry ice.  It helps a lot. 
If going to an area of decent size, wait to get most of your food & ice there.  Why drive 1400 miles with the extra weight and have ice melt. 
Can't wait til next year.  My family loves the meat. We think its better than venison. 

[Bigshooter]

Put them on dry ice.

[packmule]

All,

Thank you, your insights are definitely appreciated!

[Bob33]

(2) Wyoming has leftover tags that go on sale in July. They are leftover because the quota was not filled from the Spring draw. They sell first come, first served. There are "any antelope" and "reduced price doe/fawn antelope" tags. Some units do not have any surplus tags. Some have a few that sell out quickly. Some units have tags that never sell. The units with unsold tags consist primarily of private land.

You can legally have (up to) four doe/fawn antelope licenses, and (up to) two any antelope tags.

The tags can be purchased online, or locally.

The simple answer to your question is therefore "yes".

Here is the link: http://wgfd.wyo.gov/web2011/HUNTING-1000153.aspx

[Moose-head]

I will reiterate what others have said.  Get the hide off immediately and cool the meat ASAP.  This is more important with pronghorn than with other game.

[cryfowl]

When I went we stayed in a hotel.  I brought a little freezer and put it in our room.  Boned our meat in the field and vacumn sealed it in our room.  Had a power inverter in my truck so threw the freezer in the back and plugged it in for the 19 hr drive home.  Worked great

[Bwana Bob]

Packmule,

I used zero box meats in Cody last year to process my antelope while I hunted deer. They will cut your meat for $1.09/lb. I skined and quatered them and striped out the loins and t-loins. It will be cheaper if you bring it to them that way. They did a very good job.
The guy in Thermopolis is a dick and very expensive, $95 an antelope with no break if you bring in three.
The others that posted gave you some great info on what to do with them.
Never had a bad antelope if you get them cooled out fast.