Wyoming Antleope Area 63

[BWO]

My dad drew Wyoming area 63 for antelope. Does anyone have any info they would be willing to share? He has been out to the area a couple times looking around. Said he hasn't seen much yet.

Any suggestions for camping sites, lodging, or any other useful info.

Thanks in advance for any information.

 

[muleywarrior]

We have hunted 63 four of the last five years, will be out there again this year and like your Dad I haven't been seeing to much to get excited over. It is an o.k. unit and we have had some good hunts there the past few years but after the 150 tag increase, I am afraid this will be the last year I will be applying for this unit. I didn't see where the unit could substain the tag numbers they issued last year but what the heck, lets increase the tags! I live nearby the unit and my buddy drew a deer tag in 87 so I have been trying to get out that direction on days off, spent about 10 days out there and it isn't looking very promising!

The first year we applied and drew 63 tags we stayed over on Green Mountain in the cottonwood campground, it was fun but one heck of a long drive to 63. It was nice to get up out of the desert and get into some trees and shade. Every since that year we have just driven back and forth from my house to the unit. We spend generally 6-7 days hunting goats, that drive gets brutal but it is nice at the end of the day to get a shower.

 

[WITUfan]

My Dad and I have the same tag so I am curious what you mean when you say that he hasn't seen much yet. Is he seeing low numbers of antelope or do you mean he isn't seeing trophy size bucks? We live far enough away that a scouting trip is out of the question for us. From the research I had done, I was thinking this area had good numbers of animals and we could just show up and hunt. We aren't trophy hunters (Dad has never hunted antelope at all) so if your comment is about trophy size bucks then I won't panic. However, if you guys aren't seeing antelope at all that makes me nervous.

As far a lodging is concerned, we are staying the night we arrive at those cabins in Alcova. I have the information for the place if you need it. That is up near the north end of the area and we figured it would be out of the way, so we just plan to tent camp wherever darkness catches us once we start hunting.

 

[BWO]

He hasn't been seeing much as far as Antelope. We haven't even got to the point of worrying about trophy quality yet. Thanks for the responses. WITU I have the information about the cabins in Alcova. That is definately an option. I will keep you posted on what we see. I think he will be heading out again.

 

[marburg]

LAST EDITED ON Jul-24-11 AT 06:18PM (MST)[p]>My Dad and I have the
>same tag so I am
>curious what you mean when
>you say that he hasn't
>seen much yet. Is
>he seeing low numbers of
>antelope or do you mean
>he isn't seeing trophy size
>bucks? We live far
>enough away that a scouting
>trip is out of the
>question for us. From
>the research I had done,
>I was thinking this area
>had good numbers of animals
>and we could just show
>up and hunt. We
>aren't trophy hunters (Dad has
>never hunted antelope at all)
>so if your comment is
>about trophy size bucks then
>I won't panic. However,
>if you guys aren't seeing
>antelope at all that makes
>me nervous.
>
>As far a lodging is concerned,
>we are staying the night
>we arrive at those cabins
>in Alcova. I have
>the information for the place
>if you need it.
>That is up near the
>north end of the area
>and we figured it would
>be out of the way,
>so we just plan to
>tent camp wherever darkness catches
>us once we start hunting.
>


You won't have trouble finding a goat to shoot but its not what it was. The magazines and tag increases have done damage.

 

[muleywarrior]

Yep, Thats what I was saying! I have not only not seen much for quality but also quantity. I don't have any idea how the game and fish can justify 150 additional tags this year but someway somehow they were able too! Spent two more days this weekend out there and still haven't seen one goat worthy of filling my tag. Its a shame!!!! I will be finding a new unit this off season for next year.

 

[sageadvice]

Nothing like a man on the spot for current advice but here's my take on the Unit. I hunted it year before last, both 63 for lopes and 87 for deer. My partner and i found hunting to be excellent for both. I took a 80" lope, we passed on others as big or maybe a little bigger, and being late in the season, no doubt there were bigger lopes taken. We glassed many large groups of 50 or much more and several hundreds of buck antelope!

My partner hunted it again last year and it was the same story. Lot of lopes, some really nice ones but no monsters seen. Again it was later in the season and the local Taxidermist had several "book" heads in his shop, taken from earlier hunts in that zone, for mounting.

My partner, actually his wife, will again be hunting this unit again this year. He expects, and i agree with him, that they will have a great hunt. No doubt that the increased tag allotment will have a negative effect on hunt quality in that unit. I would think though that for a year or two, only the guy after the super trophy will hunt that zone and come away disappointed.

Joey

 

[muleywarrior]

For a guy just looking to do some goat hunting it is a great unit, and there are some real good goats in that unit still! Unfortunately I am one of those looking for a super trophy! What I have seen is decreased herds as well as decreased trophy potential, but there are still bucks to be had and a super fun hunt. For a long time that unit was a hidden gem because it isn't very close for anyone to drive too. Being from Rawlins the attention is still on units like 61 and 62, most folks never even consider 63. Casper folks are hunting whatever unit that state record came from a few years ago or area 47. I will also say the landowners in 63 are starting to tighten the "knot" as far as giving permission. I have already been told by two ranches that have had no problem letting us trespass the past 5 years that they will not be allowing any hunters this year because they have sold the hunting leases to outfitters. Too bad too because I let a goat walk last year that has haunted me from that day to the present. I was really wanting to have another go at him this season.

I have been spending as much time as possible this summer out in the area as my buddy drew a deer tag on 87 and we both drew 63 antelope tags and time is going to be something that we do not have alot of this year. The deer and elk look spectacular from what I have seen but the antelope just do not seem to be doing as good. Time will tell!

I guarntee that there will still be some book heads coming in from 63 this year! It is a hard unit to hunt from a trophy standpoint because the genetics are like nothing I have seen before. The goats in this unit are very short-horned, however generally speaking the mass and prong lengths is ridiculous. My buddy shot a goat four years ago that net scored 84 5/8 and his longest horn was just over 13", but his first two mass circumference measurements were over 9" and his 3rd and 4th circumferences were out of this world as well, don't recall the exact number but it was the craziest antelope I have ever seen. In fact when we walked up to this antelope I was mad at myself for giving him the green light to shoot. It wasn't until 5 days later when I put a tape on him when we realized he had shot a stud. We knew he was massive but didn't think he was that massive. Since then we have shot 3 other antelope that netted b and c. The goat I let walk last year was of the same caliber as my buddies that went 84 and change. It was so misleading to see the short horn but the mass was undenieable.

 

[SouthernWyo]

Higher quotas in area 63 are nothing new, they've been increased significantly for the last 2-3 years. The antelope herd in the area was and is highly over objective, hence the additional "any" antelope and doe/fawn tags.

If you're seeing fewer critters, it probably means that the additional harvest is working and moving the population back to the sustainable objective. We tend to get obsessed with trophy quality and forget that harvest objectives are developed with the overall health of the resource (both animals and their habitat) in mind, and not the size of horns for trophy hunters.

 

[WITUfan]

Good info guys. Thanks. As I said in my previous post, my Dad and I are not really trophy hunters. I just want to get out there and enjoy a vacation together, see a bunch of antelope and get a couple of average bucks. We shoot our fair share of whitetails and turkeys here, but going after something like antelope is a pretty big adventure for me.

Our current plan is to simply head out to the unit and find some high spots to hike to and glass, particularly near water. I assume that will put us in antelope. We plan to hunt however long it takes us to get a couple and if we do that rather quickly we might do some general exploring of the area. We are particularly hoping to spend a day or so in elk unit 24 (we have max points on elk and are going to try and draw a tag for our first elk hunt in the next few years). After all that, we plan to spend a day or two over in 64 trying to fill a couple of doe permits we picked up. I messed us up and didn't apply for doe tags for 63 in the drawing but I have been in 64 before and I think we should be able to find a few does. Now that I write all that out it seems like way too much for the time we have, but we will have a good time and do what we can.

If anyone more familiar with the area or antelope hunting in general has any helpful tips, they would be most welcome.

Thanks!

 

[DidIDraw]

Lots of camping on public lands in the area. The wind can blow hard so finding a sheltered spot is a good idea. Most of the roads are pretty sandy so getting around after a rain storm isn't overly concerning. There is a public campground near Alcova but I don't know if it offers hookups. You can get fuel and some basic supplies at Muddy Gap.

You will see lots of antelope and hopefully a couple of big bucks. Last time there we drove around a bit and found the antelope just about everywhere although they seemed to congregate in the hilly areas and not so much in the big flats. They are much more wary of someone on foot that in a vechicle so plan your stalks carefully.

I drew a tag this year as well and can't wait to get out and enjoy the place again.

 

[BWO]

Thanks for all the information and responses. I appreciate it.