Help me make up my mind here folks. I drew a WY antelope tag again this year and am trying to decide my weapon of choice. I will only have 3 days to hunt and I'll be hunting with 3 other rifle hunters. I have killed a couple antelope before including one representative animal and one all time B&C buck. I do not need to top any personal records. Even given my constraints, I'm confident I can kill a small buck or a doe with my bow (the tag is for any antelope). Or, do I go with the gun and hope for a better animal? Or do I try to pick up an extra doe tag, and try to kill a nicer buck with a gun and shoot a doe with my bow? What would you all do? There should be good numbers of goats to chase around, but heat and crowds may be a factor too. If I do bow hunt, it will be all spot and stalk, as stand or waterhole hunting will not be an option.
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Arrowslinger
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'guns for show, bows for a pro'
...uh, yeah, but i'd still have the 'long bow' in the truck. that's a long drive w/ an empty cooler.
...uh, yeah, but i'd still have the 'long bow' in the truck. that's a long drive w/ an empty cooler.
arizona hunter
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I'm a meat hunter first, so bring both, and use the bow the first day and if you don't get one then use the rifle the other two days.
antlrcolectr
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Do like I'm doing. You can bow hunt right up to the day rifle starts, so I'm going to bow hunt for at least 2 and watch the area while I do that. A lot of times there are three or four little herd bucks within good binoc distance. If I don't have one opening day of rifle season, I'll already know where to set up for one I find when I was bow hunting.
I have one from a couple years ago that scores right at 80" and would be happy to stick one remotely close to that. Say 70" or better.
what unit did you get?
AC
I have one from a couple years ago that scores right at 80" and would be happy to stick one remotely close to that. Say 70" or better.
what unit did you get?
AC
younghunter
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SDhunter,
Is there any way you could make just an archery trip in August?? It opens August 15th for bow. I know its a long ways but if you could that would be best.
I haven't been in unit 73 for years. Didn't you go scout it earlier this summer? How were the antelope reacting? Were they pretty spooky??? Is there a lot of oilfield traffic? if there is then they usually will not be so spooky and I would take a bow.
Overall though I would take a bow and a rifle. Bow hunt for the first couple days and then rifle hunt the last. Give 'er hell with the bow first.
Good luck! Oh and btw if you are going to bowhunt during the rifle hunt you do not need a archery tag.
Is there any way you could make just an archery trip in August?? It opens August 15th for bow. I know its a long ways but if you could that would be best.
I haven't been in unit 73 for years. Didn't you go scout it earlier this summer? How were the antelope reacting? Were they pretty spooky??? Is there a lot of oilfield traffic? if there is then they usually will not be so spooky and I would take a bow.
Overall though I would take a bow and a rifle. Bow hunt for the first couple days and then rifle hunt the last. Give 'er hell with the bow first.
Good luck! Oh and btw if you are going to bowhunt during the rifle hunt you do not need a archery tag.
yh,
My license is a type 1 so it is only valid from Sept 16 on. I don't think I can bow hunt early with that license. Due to time constraints I really wouldn't be able to get there in Aug. anyway. I'm just trying to figure out what, if anything, I need to do to be able to bowhunt with this license. Do I need some sort of special archery license in addition to what I already have? If so how do I get that? I tried to call the GFD today for clarification but the phone was busy all day. The printed regs are clear as mud.
I hunted 73 last year with gun. My brother and I went in totally blind without any first hand knowledge of the unit at all and we both killed good representative goats. We were very satisfied. There is some oilfield traffic in part of the unit and the goats there are not too spooky. There is also some topography there too, so stalking would be a little easier. I think I could have had bow opportunities last year, but we also hunted the late season in Oct so there weren't as many tags issued. Given we are hunting first season with more tags, I'm hoping crowds wont be too much of a problem.
My license is a type 1 so it is only valid from Sept 16 on. I don't think I can bow hunt early with that license. Due to time constraints I really wouldn't be able to get there in Aug. anyway. I'm just trying to figure out what, if anything, I need to do to be able to bowhunt with this license. Do I need some sort of special archery license in addition to what I already have? If so how do I get that? I tried to call the GFD today for clarification but the phone was busy all day. The printed regs are clear as mud.
I hunted 73 last year with gun. My brother and I went in totally blind without any first hand knowledge of the unit at all and we both killed good representative goats. We were very satisfied. There is some oilfield traffic in part of the unit and the goats there are not too spooky. There is also some topography there too, so stalking would be a little easier. I think I could have had bow opportunities last year, but we also hunted the late season in Oct so there weren't as many tags issued. Given we are hunting first season with more tags, I'm hoping crowds wont be too much of a problem.
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Nate,
Your hunt unfortunately has you pinned down by us as well. Even though a bow would be the ultimate success story, in the back of your mind, your clock is tick-tockin. You may only realistically get 2 stalks in 3 days with your bow. And with the bow, it is all in numbers and odds. Personally I would love to see you stick a speed goat. That would be awesome. But, with 4 in the same truck it could prove difficult. Either way, I will happily work the camera. For a fee of course. HA!
Your hunt unfortunately has you pinned down by us as well. Even though a bow would be the ultimate success story, in the back of your mind, your clock is tick-tockin. You may only realistically get 2 stalks in 3 days with your bow. And with the bow, it is all in numbers and odds. Personally I would love to see you stick a speed goat. That would be awesome. But, with 4 in the same truck it could prove difficult. Either way, I will happily work the camera. For a fee of course. HA!
THE ROMAN ARCHER
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SD, i say bow only because of the challenge that makes hunting game so exciting, but thats me because i am strickly a bowhunter. but if i had a choice i would use bow
for 2 days and gun
on last, good luck........tra
BOHNTR
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I think you answered your own question. You've already killed some good speed goats, so going home empty handed isn't neccessarily a bad thing. If you're like me, killing isn't the reason why I bowhunt. Take the bow and give em' hell!
Brent and Roy, you are onto my line of thinking. I've already got a couple goats under my belt and I'm not going to top the one on my wall. I'd rather bow kill a doe or a small buck that my buddies wouldn't shoot, than another sub 80" buck with a gun. Or if I went home empty handed, that would be OK too.
Brent G has my old 25-06 so I might take the bow and use that gun if I need or want to.
Or I might see if I can get a leftover doe tag, try for a doe with my bow, and maybe shoot a buck with gun. I guess I just want to have both options.
Last year there were does and little bucks that I could have shot right off the side of the road at 30 yards. Actually, I could have shot a nice buck from the doorstep of the motel room as he ate flowers out of the motel's landscaping.
Coues, you are right. That is always a risk. I also have to wear hunter orange too since it's rifle season. I would only break out the bow if conditions were just right and if it was for an approachable buck that none of my buddies wanted to shoot.
Brent G has my old 25-06 so I might take the bow and use that gun if I need or want to.
Or I might see if I can get a leftover doe tag, try for a doe with my bow, and maybe shoot a buck with gun. I guess I just want to have both options.
Last year there were does and little bucks that I could have shot right off the side of the road at 30 yards. Actually, I could have shot a nice buck from the doorstep of the motel room as he ate flowers out of the motel's landscaping.
Coues, you are right. That is always a risk. I also have to wear hunter orange too since it's rifle season. I would only break out the bow if conditions were just right and if it was for an approachable buck that none of my buddies wanted to shoot.
It sounds like you are lined up to be the only bowhunter in the group, you can always bust the rifle out at the last minute, but in my mind, stalking within archery range is a win either way, so if you do come home empty handed, you did it on your terms.
Either way ya'll will have a ball, and Brent makes a great bird dog, just have him run em to you.
Either way ya'll will have a ball, and Brent makes a great bird dog, just have him run em to you.
younghunter
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SDHunter,
The antelope license you drawn is rifle hunt on Sept. 16th. But you can bowhunt it starting on august 15th. For future reference all wyoming antelope units open August 15th for bow, unless it is a unit that is bow only (no rifle hunts in the unit at all). I'm not even sure if there are any "bow only" units in WY.
You only need the additional archery license if you plan on hunting the antelope with the bow before Sept 16th. After Sept 16th your unit opens for rifle muzz or bow, with no requirements for another license.
The wyoming regulations are confusing. I've been wrong before on a few things in the past..... I still love it how Wyoming classifies the jackrabbit as a predator.....
The antelope license you drawn is rifle hunt on Sept. 16th. But you can bowhunt it starting on august 15th. For future reference all wyoming antelope units open August 15th for bow, unless it is a unit that is bow only (no rifle hunts in the unit at all). I'm not even sure if there are any "bow only" units in WY.
You only need the additional archery license if you plan on hunting the antelope with the bow before Sept 16th. After Sept 16th your unit opens for rifle muzz or bow, with no requirements for another license.
The wyoming regulations are confusing. I've been wrong before on a few things in the past..... I still love it how Wyoming classifies the jackrabbit as a predator.....
