Any places to check out? Any places to avoid? I see WY is a good spot to go but don't know which guided place to go.
Thanks alll!!

I’ve been told that a guide isn’t really needed on a pronghorn hunt.  That you find them and close the distance.  Access is the biggest part of the equation.

Guide isn't needed for goat hunting.  Tons of public land across the west.  WY has high pop density. AZ has huge goats.  NE New Mexico has good population but season is really short.  NV is another top spot.

Check out Randy Newberg's YouTube channel.  He hunts public land almost exclusively.  Tons of tips and techniques.

Rifle hunting is almost a slam dunk if you're not picky.  Spot and stalk archery is a real challenge.  You'll come into camp after chasing goats for miles and miles, covered in dirt and cactus needles, tired and cussing.  But you cant wait to go out again the next day.

This one was a KS Muzzleloader kill.  15 in horns.  Big for KS. Attached File

You certainly don't need a guide for Antelope hunting.  It's one of the easiest hunts i've done.  Bot of the goats i've shot were on the first day of the hunt and usually well before afternoon.  Best thing to do is to use a good map that shows public land and private land.  Good spotting scope and binoculars and you're golden.

Just curious - if you could pay, say, a $500-$1000 trespass fee to hunt a large block (10k+ acre) private land in WY, would you guys ocnsider that a worthwhile expense?

I am mulling over the idea of an antelope hunt with my wife and kids. Possibly more than one tag, possibly 3 or more, possibly some doe tags if available.

Looking at private land in eastern CO (guided) and private in WY (unguided) and very casually considering WY public unguided. We saw a ton of antelope on our trip in October. I just don't want to fight with high hunter densities on public BLM land.

Get you a good Map or OnX Hunt where it shows Public or private lands.  OnX shows the hunting Units of the state so you can choose your areas.  Read up on the herd density in the Units and the success rates on the States Department of Wildlife sites.  Pick the top 5 areas you want to hunt and then study the maps for water sources.  Google Earth/Google Maps is another good source for scouting potential hunting areas as well.

I wouldn't get to hung up on worrying about other hunters.  Hunting out west is nothing like back east.  It's not like you're going to be hunting on a small piece of land where one other hunter could blow it for you.  You'll be on Thousands of acres so if you see someone then drive a mile or so down the road and hunt.

I am not picking on you OP, but this kind of thread really brings to light the very different views, experiences and realities of the East and the West.    You don't need a guide, you don't need to pay a "trespass fee."   There are MILLIONS of acres of public land - and you can hunt all that is in your tag district - for free.  Pack a lunch and explore the high desert. It's a really cool place.

I did this on my first WY antelope hunt.  Paid a trespass fee of $1000 for about 25k acres of private access.  No other hunting pressure but my buddy and I.  Great way to try it out for less cost than fully guided hunt.  Once you have access on property with antelope, hunting them is not too hard to figure out.

First antelope hunt was DIY on WY HMA land.
Made contact with rancher who owned property, over 50k acres, got open invite.

Do your homework, very doable.

Tag

Draw unit is more important.  Seriously, get a good draw unit…have a flat shooting 6mm of whatever flavor, drive around, find one, walk up to 200 yards and shoot it.  Me and three dogs get closer than that frequently while hunting sharpies and huns.
Attached File

I have pondered the idea of booking a guided hunt in CO and drawing a public tag in WY (I have one preference point in WY).

But realistically I'll probably do a guided hunt in CO. Been talking to an outfitter and have another to call next week and I hope to book with one or the other of them.

If all goes well, the whole family is going this year. Going to try to get the wife a tag, too.