unit 69 for antelope

[Daybreak]

We have hunted 63 one year (2011 first year we hunted antelope at all) so am familiar with that area. Any ideas why unit 69, which is across the road, is not rated better in MRS? Not even deserving a "marginal" rating most years. Is it surrounded by a high fence, or what. Because of its location, bordered by good areas, seems like it must have some problems not obvious at first glance that affect it. Thanks for any info you can give.

[KILLBUX]

I can't say much for 69. How was 63? I'm thinking of possibly applying for that unit.

[Daybreak]

I can't say much for 69. How was 63? I'm thinking of possibly applying for that unit.

When you say "can't say much for 69", are you saying you know that it is poor, or you do not have any first hand info at all on the unit? Just need a clarification.

Unit 63 was not what we expected in some ways. We had a good time, and looked over quite a few antelope, but nowhere near the numbers or quality we expected from the MRS rating. Hunted 1st 3 days of season after 2 days of scouting - we hunted very hard, long hours, and put in the time with good optics. Only saw one really decent buck - really not a lot of bucks at all to choose from. We did see better bucks on the private land in the unit. We camped and hunted public only. Very few hunters on public. We three took bucks, but small 13" range.

Our first hunt, so maybe we did not have the experience to accomplish more than we did. Our biggest mystery about 63 is where do all the 500 tags get used? We saw very few hunters, and looked over 1/2 to 2/3 off the public land in the unit for 5 days. We did see more hunters on private land - maybe that is where a lot of the tags get used, or maybe later in the season. Good luck on 63 - of course you must have a preference point or two to draw the tag.

[KILLBUX]

For clarification, I don't have any first hand experience in 69. We hunted 68 last year and don't have the points to draw again mostly due to the fact that the huntin' fool suggests 68 as their #2 antelope unit in WY. It did seem odd to me driving the highway that divides the two units, there were significantly more antelope on the 68 side of the hwy. I was just curious about 63 for the same reason that you are asking about 69. Thanks for the input.

[HuskyMusky]

Cause antelope won't cross roads! haha, jk.

don't get too caught up with maps, sometimes an area looks like it would be good, ie next to an indian res etc...

a marginal area probably has more private land than public, ie tougher access.
also trophy quality can very greatly in a small area...

[ADavid]

How was Hunting in area 68 KillBux? I have hunted area 69 a few times and have never had trouble finding a buck i want to hang my tag on, there are plenty of antelope to look through and alot of public considering the size of the unit, it also is part of the rattlesnake HMA which opens up a little more land, I wouldnt consider it a first choice unit, It is listed as my second choice this year though, trying to decide between 75 and 68 for first choice.

[Daybreak]

How was Hunting in area 68 KillBux? I have hunted area 69 a few times and have never had trouble finding a buck i want to hang my tag on, there are plenty of antelope to look through and alot of public considering the size of the unit, it also is part of the rattlesnake HMA which opens up a little more land, I wouldnt consider it a first choice unit, It is listed as my second choice this year though, trying to decide between 75 and 68 for first choice.

Thanks for the info on 69. What do you know of 63? As I said in first post in the thread, it was not what we expected considering the blue chip MRS ratings, but perhaps being rookies our lack of knowledge hurt us, plus we were restricted to a short "3 days and done".

[KILLBUX]

Well, this was only my third wyoming antelope. I've also bowhunted antelope in Oregon and Nevada. By far, unit 68 in WY was the best antelope hunt I've been on. Lot's of bucks, lot's of public land, and after opening day there were very few hunters. Me and my dad went and both killed bucks the second day. I jumped the gun a little hoping to help him really look over the bucks and find an 80+. Then, he shot a buck before I could judge him well in the scope (he still get's excited when hunting!). Mine scored 74 6/8 and his was 75 7/8. They were the biggest bucks we'd seen to that point (looked over +/- 40-50 bucks by the second morning). I think if a guy had time, you could look over enough to find a monster, but it seemed like the long winter stunted their growth some. Very few of the bucks we looked at during our time there had much growth on the top end. It looks like it's a unit that's going to be very difficult to draw in the near future though, It's been Huntin' Fool's #2 choice two years in a row now, and Eastmans is now calling it a blue chip unit (I thought it was considered green last year). If you look, the number of apps tripled (if I remember right) last year when Huntin' Fool called it #2. That's why I'm looking around that same country to find another unit. I would like to be able to hunt in that general part of the state every year.

[BobT]

I spent some time looking around the eastern side of unit 69 last October, I saw a lot of pronghorns, several bucks but nothing much over 11 or 12" . I didn't see any hunters except one group that thought they were in unit 72 but I was there the last week of the season. I think I would probably look elsewhere for a good buck based on what I saw.

Bob

[EBOLAVIRS]

When you say "can't say much for 69", are you saying you know that it is poor, or you do not have any first hand info at all on the unit? Just need a clarification.

Unit 63 was not what we expected in some ways. We had a good time, and looked over quite a few antelope, but nowhere near the numbers or quality we expected from the MRS rating. Hunted 1st 3 days of season after 2 days of scouting - we hunted very hard, long hours, and put in the time with good optics. Only saw one really decent buck - really not a lot of bucks at all to choose from. We did see better bucks on the private land in the unit. We camped and hunted public only. Very few hunters on public. We three took bucks, but small 13" range.

Our first hunt, so maybe we did not have the experience to accomplish more than we did. Our biggest mystery about 63 is where do all the 500 tags get used? We saw very few hunters, and looked over 1/2 to 2/3 off the public land in the unit for 5 days. We did see more hunters on private land - maybe that is where a lot of the tags get used, or maybe later in the season. Good luck on 63 - of course you must have a preference point or two to draw the tag.

Your experience with 63 is the same as mine. There are antelope there but its not all that different than any of the other units I
have hunted in Wyoming. In my opinion it is way overrated. There are plenty of antelope but they give out way too many tags, the bucks seem to be all about the same size. Its proximity to Casper results in the unit getting hammered every year. If they don't cut back tag numbers in a year or two I would be shocked. I think its rep is still based of several years ago before it was "discovered" so to speak by all the hunting mags. I would not waste a bunch of points on 63, I think anyone who does will be disappointed.