Wyoming draws are open

[Fjold]

My regular hunting group are putting in for antelope this year. All of us have 4 preference points so we're counting on Type 1, any antelope.

[SDCarpenter]

Yea wyoming used to be a shoe-in, struck out 2 years in a row now

[Fjold]

Yep, we always go every other year and buy preference points in the years that we don't go but we didn't get drawn for bucks last trip. We're hoping that with the four points we'll get the buck draw this year.

[Vigilante]

Originally Posted by SDCarpenter

Yea wyoming used to be a shoe-in, struck out 2 years in a row now

Point creep is a real problem in WY. My take on it is that allowing people to buy points without actually applying for a hunt is driving up the points needed to draw, even in mediocre units.

I thought I was a shoe-in last year for general elk, but I didn't get drawn. This year I should be able to, but I'm worried that it will take 4 points to draw the next time around.

[CartridgeCalls]

Hunted wyoming in 2020 and none of us drew antelope. We all drew Mule deer/whitetail either sex tags. I was the only one to get a small forky out of 11guys. Good luck with your successful draw.

[180ls1]

I just saw the updated AZ elk draw and point creep is real there too. I guess its everywhere.

I have 1 pt in WY for antelope but am going to start to build more and head up there one day.

[180ls1]

Originally Posted by CartridgeCalls

Hunted wyoming in 2020 and none of us drew antelope. We all drew Mule deer/whitetail either sex tags. I was the only one to get a small forky out of 11guys. Good luck with your successful draw.

No antelope either?

[USMCM16A2]

Put in for cow elk, again 106 type 7. I have 6 points for pronghorn 5 for deer, 4 for elk. A2

[RHSth4]

Good luck everybody! Should see the heard of antelope and elk I pass on a daily basis out here. There’s plenty to share.

[Fjold]

Basically no snow accumulation yet this year in the entire State so maybe a chance of less winter kill.

[NapalmCheese]

Wyoming is getting tough. It's getting more and more crowded every year with out state of road hunters feeling entitled to easy game and competing with each other for easy tags. The locals are getting wise and becoming more pay to play. The best areas are being taken out of the HMAs. A couple of tough years for the animals has reduced numbers, and predators (wolves, lions, and grizzlies; oh my!) certainly haven't helped. You have to be on your A game as enforcement has been stiffened (at the behest of the locals) and warnings are rare these days. It's no longer the paradise it was 10 years ago.

[Bainter1212]

Unfortunately, the state has also bumped up some tag prices for residents.
IMO, non-residents should be fleeced to the maximum extent possible. Before I moved here, I would never have been able to afford to hunt here. The (mostly older) guys I knew who hunted WY as non-residents could easily afford it. It was pocket change to them.

IMHO if there is a lot of competition for non-resident tags, that just means it is too affordable. Our economy is fragile enough here, I say jack up the prices as high as the market will allow.

[Fjold]

Pick a cartridge that bucks the wind!

In Wyoming, the National Weather Service in Cheyenne reported a 105-mph gust near F.E. Warren Air Force Base and 16 other gusts of 80 mph or more in the last 12 hours.

[JackEllis]

Originally Posted by NapalmCheese

... out state of road hunters feeling entitled to easy game and competing with each other for easy tags...

A few years ago my wife was in Wyoming for a few days during elk season. She said trucks were lined up along a road at the edge of a wildlife refuge waiting for the elk to walk out of their summer range. When they finally made their appearance, it was going to be like a shooting gallery.

I'm sorry but in my book that's not hunting.

[CartridgeCalls]

Just put in for Elk, Mule Deer and Antelope.

[Fjold]

We just got our party hunt application set up and applied for the antelope draw, Area 47 type 1 (any antelope)

[180ls1]

Originally Posted by NapalmCheese

Wyoming is getting tough. It's getting more and more crowded every year with out state of road hunters feeling entitled to easy game and competing with each other for easy tags. The locals are getting wise and becoming more pay to play. The best areas are being taken out of the HMAs. A couple of tough years for the animals has reduced numbers, and predators (wolves, lions, and grizzlies; oh my!) certainly haven't helped. You have to be on your A game as enforcement has been stiffened (at the behest of the locals) and warnings are rare these days. It's no longer the paradise it was 10 years ago.

Its getting like that everywhere to be honest. ID just changed a bunch of stuff for this year. The elk tag I like in AZ jumped 2 bonus points in 1 year. In Utah on my deer hunt I was running into locals complaining about out of staters.

Honestly though, when I see locals complaining the majority of the time its someone who could stand to lose some weight and get off the roads.

[Garand Hunter]

Hi Frank, last year we drew either or any antelope ( buck ) no problem for area 20 north of Casper no problem, 83% odds. And one each for doe antelope same unit. It used to be easy for two does but that slowed and we got one doe each in area 29 Douglas. Wyo is getting much more attention nowadays. Three of us bought a point for mule deer each for this year, see what happens. Hope it works for you ! I had to use my any antelope license and my doe license when I dropped two does running out of a draw with one shot last year, no complaint on that ! 7mmRem mag do cut the wind !

Psalm 1

[Fjold]

We normally go every other year for the famous cigar and whiskey hunt but we cancelled in 2020 because of Covid (two of the guys work in health care).

We didn't draw bucks in 2018 and have 4 points so we should have a pretty good chance. We're hunting a friend's 300,000 acre ranch so we only have two hunt areas that we can draw in.

[Vigilante]

Originally Posted by 180ls1

In Utah on my deer hunt I was running into locals complaining about out of staters.

I always find stuff like this kind of humorous. Utah only allocates 10% of tags in each specific hunting unit to non-resident hunters, so it's not like the place can get packed full of out of staters. I guess some people just like to complain.

Also, I want to say something that is not related to to quote above, but it is related to the main topic of this thread. While the WY draw is open for species like antelope and deer, the actual deadline is not until June, so I would suggest holding off until later to submit an application. Unlike CA, which only requires a small $9 application fee, WY requires that an applicant pay upfront and in full for the tag and they issue a refund if you don't draw, so if you apply for deer or antelope now, then WY will hold onto your money for 5 months or so.

Now, if you're putting in for WY elk, the deadline is next week, so it's time to hit the "apply" button and pay up.

[180ls1]

Originally Posted by Vigilante

I always find stuff like this kind of humorous. Utah only allocates 10% of tags in each specific hunting unit to non-resident hunters, so it's not like the place can get packed full of out of staters. I guess some people just like to complain.

Also, I want to say something that is not related to to quote above, but it is related to the main topic of this thread. While the WY draw is open for species like antelope and deer, the actual deadline is not until June, so I would suggest holding off until later to submit an application. Unlike CA, which only requires a small $9 application fee, WY requires that an applicant pay upfront and in full for the tag and they issue a refund if you don't draw, so if you apply for deer or antelope now, then WY will hold onto your money for 5 months or so.

Now, if you're putting in for WY elk, the deadline is next week, so it's time to hit the "apply" button and pay up.

Yeah, one guy was like "look around 2/3's of the plates you'll see on the mountain are from CA"


Good point on the paying ahead of time. NM is the same way.