Antelope help

[robb92]

Mt is a special drawing, it's $205 to put in for it, if not drawn they refund all but 5 dollars. I have applied for the last three years  and so far not successful in getting drawn. I would also agree with going to Wyoming.

[actionshooter]

Good info on this thread!

[Pathfinder101]

Well i dont wanna shoot a little buck that aint bigger then his ears. I want there to be plenty of public land to accualt get out and look for the right goat. Honestly i would like to go every 2 to 3 years.

You can probably draw a decent tag with 3 points.  I have 4 right now, and probably could draw a decent tag. I am going to wait a couple of years before I actually put in, but that's because I'm not in a hurry and I have other hunts I would like to do.   

[Stein]

My WY tag takes 2-3 points to draw depending on the year, this year would have been many more due to the lack of tags in the general area.  My area is pretty small and all the goats are concentrated in a very small area that is easy to miss and it has tons of restrictions on where you can hunt and when.

I think an area with a bunch of accessible public with goats on it will take a significant amount of research to draw with 2-3 points in the normal draw, but it varies year to year. 

In MT, the tag I have this year is also a 2 point, sometimes 3 point unit.  Again, a tiny chunk of ground the public can get at that usually holds goats and there is usually 2, maybe 3 decent bucks, no book bucks by any means but what I consider a solid mature buck, just not with the genetics to be great.  Most tags go to people hunting private where the opportunity is much better, but it's still not a great unit.

Those are all relative terms, what one guy considers tons of opportunity another guy may think is marginal at best.  Same with bucks, the difference between a good and great buck may only be 1-2" in length.

[ctwiggs1]

This was my first year for goats and everything I've read on this thread is pretty much what I found to be true as well.

The only thing I'd add is that Randy Newberg and the other guys who onX sponsors tend to make a big deal about how you can apply to those "*mostly private land" units and still have a lot of success with onX.  While there is some truth to that, the other side of that coin is that a bunch of your best buds have also heard that rumor and are out there with you.  When there are 15 or so 150 acre parcels that are being hammered by the same 50 people, it tends to get cramped.  My buddy and I ended up getting to know a lot of the other guys driving around because they'd always drive by and see us actually getting out of the truck to go glass for awhile.  We would be unloading and going "Oh there are those guys with the red truck and black canopy.  Think they want to talk about the Packers again?"

I didn't mind the pressure because most of it is road-based, I don't mind walking, and I wasn't looking for a "quality" hunt on this trip.  In addition, we were able to secure a few small pieces of private land a few days into our hunt which helped enormously.  That said, if you're looking for a "quality" hunt, I would focus on lower draw odd/higher public land access units.

[rainshadow1]

What are the prospects (MT or WY) of getting kids or new hunters a shot at a warm game animal? Does that still vary by unit? Can you drive a half hour from a drawn buck unit and get it done if the B or 6 tags are gone there?

The trip I'm considering includes getting a couple of my step kids back into hunting, one of my step kids first, and a couple cousins' and an Uncle's firsts. Trophies are not important!

[Pathfinder101]

This was my first year for goats and everything I've read on this thread is pretty much what I found to be true as well.

The only thing I'd add is that Randy Newberg and the other guys who onX sponsors tend to make a big deal about how you can apply to those "*mostly private land" units and still have a lot of success with onX.  While there is some truth to that, the other side of that coin is that a bunch of your best buds have also heard that rumor and are out there with you.  When there are 15 or so 150 acre parcels that are being hammered by the same 50 people, it tends to get cramped.  My buddy and I ended up getting to know a lot of the other guys driving around because they'd always drive by and see us actually getting out of the truck to go glass for awhile.  We would be unloading and going "Oh there are those guys with the red truck and black canopy.  Think they want to talk about the Packers again?"

I didn't mind the pressure because most of it is road-based, I don't mind walking, and I wasn't looking for a "quality" hunt on this trip.  In addition, we were able to secure a few small pieces of private land a few days into our hunt which helped enormously.  That said, if you're looking for a "quality" hunt, I would focus on lower draw odd/higher public land access units.

This post is spot on. 
Until you do it, you don't really know what you're up against.  We probably talked to 30 guys in our unit.  EVERY single one of them had OnX on their phones.  ALL of them were doing the exact same thing we were; hopping from piece to piece trying to find a goat that had accidentally wandered across the line into public.  A few years ago this skill was limited only to guys who can read a map and estimate distance very well (a much less common skill than most people like to admit).  Now, it's just a matter of pressing your thumb on your phone. 
I like Randy Newberg as much as anyone else (I truly am a fan of the guy), but he is selling OnX on his show/podcast etc...  He's not going to tell his viewers that "everyone else in the west is doing this too..." 

[andrew_in_idaho]

What are the prospects (MT or WY) of getting kids or new hunters a shot at a warm game animal? Does that still vary by unit? Can you drive a half hour from a drawn buck unit and get it done if the B or 6 tags are gone there?

The trip I'm considering includes getting a couple of my step kids back into hunting, one of my step kids first, and a couple cousins' and an Uncle's firsts. Trophies are not important!

My dad, uncle, 89 year old grandpa and I all went back to a easy draw unit in Wyoming this year and managed to go 12 for 12 on our antelope tags. As soon as my oldest turns 12 if he desires we will he back there hunting antelope


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[Stein]

I couldn't agree  more, OnX is pretty much a given for just about anyone out there these days.   The less public land there is available the larger the chance you won't find an animal.  Most of the time, it's a choice between taking bigger risks every 1-3 years or going for more high probability hunts every 5-10 years.

Of course, you can always throw money at it, buy permission to hunt on private or hire a guide that has access to private, or get really lucky and knock on doors and get cheap or free access although any landowner understands they can get money for access and likely gets asked 100 times a year from tons of people with out of state plates.

[rainshadow1]

What are the prospects (MT or WY) of getting kids or new hunters a shot at a warm game animal? Does that still vary by unit? Can you drive a half hour from a drawn buck unit and get it done if the B or 6 tags are gone there?

The trip I'm considering includes getting a couple of my step kids back into hunting, one of my step kids first, and a couple cousins' and an Uncle's firsts. Trophies are not important!

My dad, uncle, 89 year old grandpa and I all went back to a easy draw unit in Wyoming this year and managed to go 12 for 12 on our antelope tags. As soon as my oldest turns 12 if he desires we will he back there hunting antelope


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Sweet!

I was thinking of trying that because we're thinking of retiring in a more timbered region of WY. Kinda wante to look it over, so it'd be a good dual purpose trip... but there are still goats there. SOOO much to research!