I'm looking to go to Wyoming next fall for rifle season. Any advice on places to hunt that won't require a preference point? I've looked at the Lusk, Douglas and Newcastle areas but I've never stepped foot in the state of Wyoming.

We're planning on flying to Denver and renting a vehicle and driving up to the hunting area. Planning to stay in town in a motel, so we're looking for an area that is within reasonable driving distance of lodging.

Reccomendations on BLM, walk in, tresspass hunts, motels, restaurants, tips and techniques are all welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks

I live in Lusk, and shoot goats in area 9 every year.

You would be advised to stay away the first two weeks of season, because every out-of-stater hunts antelope the first two weeks (us locals do not start until the end of October) and shoot everything that moves, which kills your chances of seeing anything on public land.

I would put in for the Shirley Basin, as there are many more trophy Speed Goats out there than there are around Lusk.

Here is the secret:

Antelope are only popular to non-local hunters (locals call them prairie maggots, and only hunt them when elk and deer are done for the season), and the further away from a hotel you can get, the better chances you will have.

Very nice!
Fine trophy.
I think a mature antelope buck is one of the prettiest trophies on the planet. I just love the colors, horns, everything...

Is it possible to get multiple "reduced" price tags - for does? A co-worker of mine managed to get 4 antelope doe tags for this fall. To me it would make the trip north worth it if I could 2-4 for meat.

the wyoming fish and game site is confusing as all get out.

I hunted around Newcastle this year in unit 8. Started off on public land and wound up finding a rancher that I paid a trespass fee to and got to hunt a huge chunk of private land on the cheap. Get a gps and the card that shows you public and private lands. It is worth the money and will save you headaches and "shit can I shoot it" moments.

Good binoculars ex. redfield rebel 10x as a minimum

Drive around. Glass. Glass. Glass. Stalk. Shoot.

Stay at
Sundowner Motel. Staff is awesome and hunter friendly.

Eat at
Antlers cool old building good food and cute bartender when we were out there.
Pizza Barn cheap tasty food and game processing
Donna's is ok if you want pasta
Taco Johns for breakfast and is right next to hotel

Any other questions shoot me a pm and I can try and answer it for ya. You will have a ball ,one of the best hunting trips I have been on and will be back next October hopefully. Hell I think antelope is tastier than some Illinois whitetail.

I hunted up around Gillette this year. Didn't get an antelope, only saw 12 on public ground in five days of hard hunting, and very few elsewhere. Numbers were WAY down from what I've seen in the past. Other hunters confirmed what I was seeing. I would recomend staying away from northeast Wyoming for the next few years and hope the herd recovers.

out of state doe tags are only like $48.
Wyoming is FULL of antelope. I mean everywhere. Right up until you cross the border into your GMU.

Work on long shots. Wyoming is BIG AND FLAT with little cover and antelope have excellent vision. a 200 yard rifle shot is quite close. Antelope are a lot smaller than you think. I was blown away the first time we went hunting. They look so much bigger from the side of the road at 60mph. I bet my Great Dane is bigger than most antelope. I bet on average most people get about 25lbs of meat off an antelope.

It's excellent meat. Extremely lean. Some people say they taste the sage in it (lot of sagebrush in wyoming) but I never do.

Kaycee is tiny, and does have limited lodging/dining. It is named after the brand of an old ranch that was near there "KC". It is in good goat country.

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Scratch that, motels in Kaycee are booked up. We've got a room reserved in Buffalo.

Anybody got any info on the local processor, restaurants etc? Hows the fishing in October?

As S_M_L said, Shirley Basin is a good area, just north of me. I can show you some nice areas around my town, Laramie, to hunt of course, I have a buddy who owns a 9,000 acre ranch in Sybille Canyon and his speed goats eat off his alfalfa fields (Damn they taste good and that's high praise for a goat) and another buddy lets me hunt on the ranch his brother manages, and that one is 120,000 acres.

I just ran out of my antelope summer sausage!