So the family and I booked a week in Sheep Mountain lookout (near Buffalo if you're unfamiliar with it). Looks like Antelope and deer are in season while we will be there (late october), the deer tag is a bit more money than I'd want to spend but a doe antelope tag looks like it's the right price.

I was hoping somebody could give me some pointers on zone 102, or antelope in general. Never been to WY, never hunted antelope(although I've wanted to for a while), hell I've never been in the mountains.

If that's the old Fire Look out tower, on Sheep Mountain, just down from Powder River Pass, then it's pretty close to my cabin.  We go there for day rides on the 4 wheelers in the summer.  

It's pretty high up there.  The weather will not be nice in october.


Are you staying in the actual tower?  I'm not sure I'd let my family sleep in that.  It looks pretty infested with mice.  I didn't know there were still allowing people to stay there.  We just usually walk around the upper deck when we are there.  At least the bugs will be dead in october.  

Read winter kill was pretty high this year and based on what I saw for available doe/fawn tags this coming season it seems to be the case.
I also have an uncle with a ranch in  46 and 47 (Med Bow / Hannah), I've been poking sod puppies and yotes since April every couple weeks and have come across more than usual carcasses and herd / fawn pop appear be down. Same can be said about Muley's too, but the Elk are doing good.

Left over tags will be available to draw next week.
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Hunting/Leftover-Licenses

No, I was going to put in for one but couldn't get anyone to go with me so I decided to try again next year. Some plans changed and now my wife has time to come along so we decided to go this route and I figured I'd just go for a OTC tag, but I see now they're doing a left over lottery so I will have to get in on that. I've got Vortex glass and a decent rifle but the long range shooting is a bit difficult. The range only goes to 300 yards, which is probably a little shy of what I would consider maximum distance for a shot on an antelope, but I'd like to practice past my "max" range. My buddy has a farm that I can shoot pretty far on but I don't want to burden him with being there all the time.

Yes, it's an old fire lookout. Sounds like you know the area well, if you want feel free to PM me with details on the area. Yes we're staying in the lookout, it would be a shame if it's in rough shape since the website made it look pretty decent.

As far as weather goes I'd love a little local knowledge on what to expect. I figured it would get cold, maybe snow, but not sure on how cold or amount. I looked up some average high/lows for the area online and it didn't seem much different than our climate here in WI for the time of year, but I'm not familiar with the elevation and such.

That seems to be what everyone is saying. I'll be looking for left overs next week, hopefully there should be some for this area. Based on previous draw info it looks like there is a decent chance.

The tower is above tree line, barely.  


There will be constant wind up there.  It will feel much colder than the temps show.   October up there can be nice....50-60F during the afternoon, but normally below freezing at night.  October can also be very, very cold, and possible big storms.  Feet of snow at that elevation is possible.  


Some days hunting in October up there is tshirt weather.  Other days, we've been snowed in at our cabin, about 2000 ft lower than the tower.

As to condition, the deck, and steps were not all that sound last summer when I was up there last.    The inside is always boarded up and locked when I've been there, so it might not be that bad.  It just looked dirty in the little bits you could see through the window covers.

Read the part about it being a frequent stop for people coming to get a view.  May not be as bad in october, especially if the weather is bad, but during the summer, it's a constant flow of people on 4 wheelers.  In 25yrs of going up there at least once a summer, I've never seen anyone actually staying there.  

My uncles place runs for 6500-7400' and yes some days it s t shirts and then next you're being pulled out of drift by one of his tractors. Just checked drawing results for non resi's  and I'm not eating speedy goats over the winter. Guess that's why we raise beef.

Well that's about what I assumed for the weather. Hopefully the lookout isn't too bad but I guess we'll see and just make the best of it if not. The website said it is a popular spot for people to stop and check out, which I can see being annoying but unless they're assholes I doubt it will be a problem. Jun 15 - Oct 31 is when it's available to be reserved, and it's pretty much reserved every day except a handful in Oct this year. If there are a lot of 4 wheelers out there what about dirt bikes? I have a couple I could bring along but I don't know anything about WY OHV laws.

What's your Uncle's # in case I end up in one of those drifts?

There are a few dirt bikes running around up there too.  I suppose you have to buy an ORV tag just like a 4 wheeler.  They'd be fun on roads up there.  There are a bunch of roads you could explore on.

Awesome. Looks like the ORV tag is only $15 so that's not bad.

OHV regs:
http://wyotrails.state.wy.us/ORV/Requirements.aspx

Uc doesn't have a cell, they check V-mails on the house phone once a day and hard to get a hold of..... yes I'm jealous.

Didn't draw tags this year, been denied for the last 4 yrs, so I shoot sod puppies instead.

Put in my app for the leftover lottery, now we wait and see. It said there were 170ish available doe permits, and because I've never done this before I put in for one of those so I don't waste $280 to find out I really suck at antelope hunting. There weren't any deer permits left. Worst case scenario I just buy a small game license.

If you intend to spend time in Wyoming over the next few years you would do well to start accumulating preference points now.

Trust me on this one.

I tried to get my wife to go for a ride up there Monday, but the weather was a bit spotty so I couldn't talk her into it.  Hell of a windstorm went through the whole area last night.  Incredible winds.  There are a lot of very large trees down.  


Glad I wasn't up there at the lookout during that.  It was scary enough at my cabin

If I make it up there over the next few weeks, I'll take some pictures for you.

That's the plan, or at least part of it. I'm going to try and build up some pref points while hunting areas that don't really require any. That should give me a chance to learn the area and gain some experience before going "all in".

We've been getting some nasty storms and wind here also, had a couple tornadoes touch down nearby yesterday.

I would love some up to date info and pictures if you get up that way! Anything to help me be as prepared as possible for our trip would be excellent.

You've got me a bit nervous about it snowing when we're up there. I was already planning a for a new set of tires on the truck but now I'm thinking I should find some chains just in case. They're not really legal for use here so I'm not even sure where to pick them up.

Tirechains.com is where I got mine.

So here is my plan for the trip...

Leaving on a friday morning, 3am.
Drive to Rapid City, SD and go through Badlands National Park on the way.
Once in Rapid City either find some kinda touristy BS to do with the family(assume we make good time) or just check into our hotel and rest up.

Leave Rapid City saturday morning, 5am.
Drive to Mt. Rushmore, spend about 2 hours there.
Leave Mt. Rushmore, take 244 to 16A, then 16A to S Playhouse Rd, then S Playhouse Rd to 87/Needles Highway, then 87 to 385. I'm hoping I wont need to pay for a Custer State Park sticker on this route, if anybody knows I'd appreciate the info.
The next stop is Devils Tower. Google Maps recommends taking 385 to 16 and then into WY. It also suggests 385 back to I90 and then into WY. But I see a little road called Deerfield rd that looks like it might be a more scenic drive, and time wise it says it's about the same. Any input here would be appreciated.
Arrive at Devils Tower, spend about 2 hours there.
Drive to Gillette, WY and check into hotel, there is also a auto museum there that I'd like to check out.

Sunday morning leave Gillette and head towards Buffalo and then Sheep Mountain, they say the check in time is 11am for the lookout tower.



Driving home friday will be a straight shot, no stops.

All of this is of course if the weather lets me, lol.

We were coming home today, but my riding buddy wanted to get going at 5:30 this morning so I decided to make a quick trip to the look out station to take a few photos for you.  

I was surprised at the condition of it.......there was some one staying there!    My FIL thinks they remodeled it last summer.  The outhouse is much closer to the tower.  It used to be down to the east in the trees.  The deck looked better and obviously, the panels were out and allowing the people a pretty nice view.

Takes about an hour and a half to get there from my cabin.  
Here is looking over at Powder River Pass.  The tower is just over the rise on the right side of this photo.


The sign for the road when you come from Buffalo.  It's about a 20 min drive from the highway to the tower from here.  The road is very good until the last mile or so.


Beautiful spot on the way up. We stop here on hot days and take a break.  I was surprised there were no campers here today.


It's hard to visualize how far up it is from that last picture.  This is getting closer to the top.  You can see the tower on the horizon.  There was still patches of snow next to the road in the trees at this point.  


Another photo a little closer ...tower on the horizon.


Looking East.  The outhouse is in the corner.  The people that were staying there were just getting ready to leave at 7am.



Looking north.


Looking South.
I'm sorry I couldn't go up and take pictures from the tower, but it would have been kind of rude at 7am.


Looking more west back at the pass.  You can see the highway if you look closely.




I want you to notice the snow on the peaks to the N. West.  It's the 4th of July.  It's going to be cold up here in October.


Heading back to my cabin on the west side again and looking back at where the tower would be on the east side.  It was a pretty morning for a ride.  It's too hot down here in the real world tonight.

Thank you! It's beautiful!

I'm not worried about the cold, we're used to it being cold here. I'm not worried about driving in snow, I'm used to that as well. I'm mostly worried about trying to drive up or down a mountain in deep snow or ice, haven't done that before. Although, I think if the weather gets that bad they will probably close the lookout early and that kinda ruins the trip then.

Either way I plan to bring everything I might need in case of an emergency.

Looks like I got my leftover antelope tag, woohoo.

Good for you!

We struck out in Wyoming this year. Awaiting the 28th for SD results.

Took another trip up there yesterday morning with some friends.  Again it was occupied.  


It was cold and windy enough and threatening rain that we didn't stay too long.  Still, gorgeous views.  I'll bet it's pretty amazing at night.

Sounds amazing. Did you see any antelope? lol. I'm going be buying the onX map for wyoming but any tips on where to hunt in that unit(102) would be appreciated!

Actually, yes.  

There's been a small herd of 8 up here on Web Creek Flats all summer.  They even ventured down to my cabin one morning, earlier in the summer.  Kind of crazy seeming them up this high.

Our family use to have a cabin behind Hazleton. Awesome pics.  Never a dull moment there!  Guns are you from Buffalo?

Powell.

Wish I lived in Buffalo.  

See you on the Hill in October??  I got 35.

All I'll get to hunt this year is general deer up there, so, yeah, ......if the weather isn't too sucky.  

I take it 35 is for elk?

Weather will be beautiful, positive thoughts

So what's the deal with public access in WY?

I'm looking at the map on the F&G website and obviously it shows what's what, obviously you can't cross private to enter the public property but I see very few obvious access points for the properties that have a road going through them or whatever. Here in WI our DNR generally has at least one designated access point for a property, you don't HAVE to use it but it's nice. We can park on the side of the road that crosses it or borders and just walk in wherever also. So on these properties that have a road going through them I see most of them are fenced(using google maps street view). Can you just cross the fence or is it basically inaccessible? I've seen a few places that look like they have a designated spot to park or have a gate for access but I don't see any signage, WI generally has signage at any designated parking area and along the borders of the property.

I know around the lookout this wont really be a big deal since it's all just NF but I also don't intend to see any antelope up there.....so...

You will need permission from the landowner to cross, and.......you will probably be asked to pay a trespass fee.

Towards that side of the state, it gets harder to find BLM.

Some land has "Walk in and hunt" rules where the G&F has already paid a fee to the landowner to allow people to hunt.  It will be marked.

But what about land that is clearly public, with a public road going right through it? Just pull over and go hunting? That's how it works here but there aren't usually fences to cross for state land. I've only encountered fences on private land leased to the DNR.

If you can access it you can hunt it. Park and start walking. Even off the Interstate, but I haven't done that.

OnX maps has phone apps and GPS chips for locating public land. You also need to be mindful of roads. Just because it looks well used does not mean it is a public road. Very little land in Wyoming is marked, and it is your responsibility to stay off private land.

Buy good boots. Break them in.

With the multi-use policy for BLM land, there are lots of fences on public land here.  The fences along the roads are to keep livestock off the roads.  

As long as it's public, hop the fence and hunt on.

I have the OnX maps app, but just happened to be looking at the F&G website, which had a pretty good map as well.

Ok. That's what I was assuming but I wanted to be clear on it. Thank you guys.

Yes, pull over and go hunting!

Soooo.... Shits windy yo.


But it is beautiful!

It looks like it could be nice up there today. Tomorrow is another story.

Yesterday and today was nice. Sunday and monday were very windy.

So yeah, we had a blast in WY. Can't wait to come back!


edit: I guess now is when photobucket decided to crap out on me, fixed the pictures.

I put in for another tag this year can't wait to come back!

Not making a big trip out of it this time, coming by myself or with a hunting buddy if he fills out the app and depending on weather just camping out of my truck or grabbing a cheap motel. Will be able to go hunting for more than a day since the family wont be there