Hunting & Fishing Wyoming speed goat units with the most public hunting areas.

[Nuke Man]

A friend and I are wanting to do a Wyoming DIY antelope hunt. I have been going over gmu's with good draw results and large amounts of public hunting areas. I would like to hunt the south east part around Laramie, but open to any other suggestions. I can look at maps and odds all day, but actual ears and eyes are better. I'm not looking for your secret hunting spot, just a place with good odds you may know about. So if anyone is willing to divulge some info and help out I would greatly appreciate it.
Also I don't have any preference points built up. Do you think that is a problem? I would be just as happy with a doe tag also. This is our first western hunt and are going to use this as a learning adventure.
Another question is what part of the season is better or is it all about the same? And we're planning on hunting with our rifles.

 

[kraigWY]

Not south east, but north east. Area 7 (near Newcastle) has a lot of goats and a lot of public land. Plus, there is a lot of walk in areas on private land. If you look at a map, near the airport south of Highway 16, is 6 Mile Basin, all government land, not the only government land in area 7 by a long shot, but its where I go.

Give you an example, year before last I left the house at 7:30 and was back by 9:30 with a nice buck. Last year it wasn't until about 2.30 before I got one. This year, wife and I had three tags, we were finished hunting, collecting all three by 11 AM.

Not the only place in Wyoming, but its the one I know. Draw an Area 7 tag get a hold of me prior to hunting, I'll put you on some critters.

Hunting opening day is the best.

 

[rbrummond]

South central WY has a lot of public land, regions E and W. I would stay away from the Laramie area. Very easy to draw but hard to get access without a lot of$$$. Definitely hunt opening day unless you want to try your long range abilities.

 

[Trevor300wsm]

I stayed a week in Casper last year. I was coyote hunting (during antelope season) and seen literally hundreds of antelope everywhere I went. I was hunting in the Shirley Basin area. There was plenty of GMU and public hunting. A few places I went where you had to cross private property required a small trespass fee ($5-$10).

 

[Nuke Man]

Great! Thanks guys. Kraig if your serious I will definitely get a hold of you! Are there plenty of places to camp. And can you just pop up camp anywhere?

 

[Nuke Man]

Here's a dumb question. Looking at 2013 draw results, area 7 quota is 40. First choice applications were 236. So does that mean that there were only 40 tags available to those applicants? Looking at the quotas there are not many tags available for nonresident. Am I on the right train of thought?

 

[kraigWY]

Kraig if your serious I will definitely get a hold of you! Are there plenty of places to camp. And can you just pop up camp anywhere?

Being public land you have to whole world to camp. Though its a short distance from town, a tad farther from my house, I still camp out there. I love laying out on the prairie listening to coyotes and watching stars. I like a small tent, but yes you can park your pop up just about anywhere. I mentioned Six Mile Basin, there is a dirt road on a ridge that seperates two huge basins. Lots of places to pull of an glass both sides.

However depending on the conditions, the county may have a fire burn meaning you cant have open fires, so you'll have to cook on a camp stove.

As I and others mentioned, opening day is the best. Our club has "sight in days" last two days of Sept, before the season opening on Oct 1st. This is open to the public but geared for out of state travelers who what to check their guns before the hunt. I work the range these to days, you can find me there and I'll show you exactly where to go.

Again, keep me in mind if you decide on area 7 and get drawn there.

 

[Nuke Man]

So looking at the draw odds and available tags for NR it looks like the Casper area will be my best bet. Trevor you talked about trespass fees. Was it easy to get a hold of the land owners? Does anyone have more info on the public ground in that area? Kraig I think we will put unit 7 as our first choice. But I don't think we will have a chance without preference points. Thank you guys for all the info so far!

 

[Wes_Mantooth]

Hey Nuke Man, give me a call, I'll get you some ideas & landowners.

 

[Nuke Man]

Will do! Wanna share a campfire?

 

[Wes_Mantooth]

Maybe, I have another pronghorn obligation pending for next fall. If that falls through we can go, I've got a few guys who want to go with. If nothing else maybe we can caravan out together and do some prairie dog or bird hunting after we kill a few antelope.

 

[Nuke Man]

Sounds good. I'll be in touch!

 

[Capt Academy]

I have very good luck in the units West and East of Rawlins on the north side of the highway. I always find plenty of goats. The west unit is harder to draw, plus the goat are bigger.

 

[Nuke Man]

Called the game and fish department today. The Casper area biologist pointed me in the direction of Unit 70. She said without preference points there aren't many options. 70 is almost a guaranteed draw, but very little public ground. On the plus it's almost all alfalfa fields. Was told the goats taste better off alfalfa.

 

[Nuke Man]

After some Web searches, area 70 sounds like a dud. Without any preference points this may prove to be harder than I originally thought. If anyone knows of any units that are an easy draw with a good herd let me know. We're not looking for trophy animals, just a good time with good opportunities to harvest. I'm also hoping to take a doe or 2 also.

 

[huntermanpaul]

I can second the vote for Shirley Basin near Casper. great area.

 

[Nuke Man]

I'm starting to get frustrated. I would have never guessed tags were this limited! Looks like I will have to wait a few years to build up preference points. I really do appreciate all the help yall have given. I'll put in for my top 3 and watch for leftover tags. I'd be more than happy with a doe tag or two!

 

[Capt Academy]

That's the process I follow and I seem to get a buck tag every three years. Good luck!

 

[Nuke Man]

Ya it looks like 3 points to get ur first choice in good units.

 

[yellowXJ]

I have purchased leftover tags for 3 years and have harvested 3 animals. My single best piece of advice is to have a Garmin GPS and spend $100 on the WY hunting SD card map software. It clearly defines public land, private land, game unit territories, land owner names, etc. We would have been hopeless without it this year in our unit (23).

 

[badwolf]

Stopped in Gillette a couple yrs ago , mid Oct could buy buck and does tags over the counter.only had 1 day to hunt so just bought a does tag. Found some private land open to hunting and got a does in a few hrs. Saw plenty of bucks. Wish I had more time