Your 2018 Hunt Plans
Indiana
What do you have planned for this year?
Indiana turkeys in the spring. Wyoming antelope on Labor Day week in Wyoming. Indiana whitetails in the fall.
Brent, are you doing DIY or guided antelope?
Me, just the Porkapalooza in Oklahoma and Indiana deer and turkey.
Turkeys with Grace this spring, WY antelope with Dad in September, then back to turkeys and whitetails in Indiana. Rap the year up shooting ducks and geese - God willing.
Dad and I each have 5pts in WY so should be 100% draw for the unit I have been researching. He is going to be 72, so we will go during the rifle season. I will hunt with the bow and Dad will probably use the 270. Bittersweet for me to think that this may be our last trip West together. That said, I am very excited to see the sage with him again!!! Pete
Pete, are you doing the antelope DIY or with an outfitter? What unit are you looking at? I've got 7 points for antelope and deer that I want to use in the next year or two. Sounds like you have a great year lined up for 2018.
Finally get to do a Coues whitetail bowhunt later this month.
Going to Greenland this fall, for a Muskox and Caribou bowhunt.
Might be able to draw an Iowa archery deer tag this year with my 3 points.
For any other hunts will just need some huge luck in the western draws ;-)
Good luck to all in your adventures!
Mike, we (my dad, cousin, and I) are going to Tongue River Outfitters near Parkman, Wyoming for antelope. We will be using compound bows and mostly sitting on water holes in blinds with a possibility of some spot and stalk.
Hogs and turkeys in Georgia in March on the way to Florida for Spring break. Surf Fishing in Florida and a trip or two out into the Gulf on a Charter again. Turkeys in Kansas and Nebraska in April, and then home to Indiana to hunt. Family Fishing trip to the U.P. in July or August. Time to get ready for Indiana Deer season again after all of that.
My 2018 hunt plans have all but come together. Still waiting on one extremely long shot draw, but highly unlikely that result will change anything.
Spring Turkey in Indiana (already in the books), Colorado in August for Bighorn Sheep, Colorado in September for Elk, Indiana in November for rutting Whitetails.
The Colorado elk tag was the original Western plan. Hoping to get a good friend his first elk. Headed back to the old stomping grounds where I arrowed my first three bull elk. The unit is not what it used to be, but still pretty darned good elk hunting by most comparisons.
After 19 years worth of applications, the Colorado ram tag came as quite the surprise. That's the good news. The not so good news is the area I drew has traditionally poor success rates. There has only been one ram killed there in the last three years. That said, I feel very fortunate to finally be realizing my dream of hunting bighorn rams with my bow.
First time in my life, I have hired a big game guide for the first week of the hunt. With zero sheep hunting experience going in...and a once in a lifetime tag, it just felt like the right move. Fortunately, I have enough vacation time to hunt the entire season if necessary. Hoping to learn enough the first week to carry me through the remainder of the 27 day season hunting solo. Low success is better than no tag....so I'm all in. Either going to kill a Bighorn ram...or have alot of fun trying!
That's a dream hunt for sure pav. Congrats again on pulling the tag. And I'd agree it was a smart move utilizing an outfitter.
Congratulations Paul!! I know how long you've wanted to chase those sheep. Best of luck.
same as usual, hunt turkeys in the spring ... chase bikinis in the summer... Hunt deer in the fall/winter ;0)
Dad and I drew antelope in WY. We will be headed out the last week of September with 3 tags each. Dad plans to rifle hunt, and I plan to shoot the Bowtech since we will be in the heart of the rut. Unit took 5pts to draw and Dad will be 72 so unlikely that we will do this hunt together again... gonna be a special trip! Pete
Pete, 1.Congrats. 2. What unit? 3. Any outfitter? I've got points I need to burn and I'm looking for the best opportunity. I think I've got 7 points. Best of luck.
Mike, Thanks! We each had 5 points. Unit 73 NW of Casper. We have hunted 72 (South of 73) DIY with good success a few times but the herd in 72 has not rebounded well from a blizzard and drought in 2012. Unit 73 has more public land and the herd is doing very well according to the Biologist that I spoke with. We are going to hunt 73 DIY as well.
I will let you know how it goes and you are welcome to my map as I always mark it up as we hunt. Pete
Congrats Pete. One of my co-workers also drew WY 73 for antelope this year. He's planning to rifle hunt late September. This is his first Western big game hunt. Big unit, but you might happen to see a white Toyota Tacoma with Indiana plates. Best of luck to you and your dad!
Thanks Paul! And good luck to you on your CO bighorn and elk hunts - I'll be rooting for you!!! If we see your friend in the Tacoma, will definitely stop to chat. Sounds like we will be out there at the same time. Pete
Good luck guys. I am a weak man and have had a busy summer. Needed a break and will head down to Oklahoma for 3H hunt. Heat, humidity and hogs.
I got my Wyoming any antelope tag in the mail Thursday. It's getting real! Headed out there Labor Day week for a 4 day archery hunt.
Bas - Hope you had a great adventure and found the antelope willing to play! Pete
Weeeellllll Pete, it was a very fun trip and the antelope were willing to play but as we all know when bowhunting nothing is guaranteed. It was a 4 day hunt. Day 1 I sat in a blind along a ranch road that the antelope liked to use to travel. I passed on 4 smaller bucks at 50 yds that went by in the last hour of light. Was the only antelope I saw all day of a 12 hour sit. Day 2 Same blind and I saw about 30 antelope including the same 4 small bucks and a definite p&y buck. They stayed on the ridge in front of me and never got within range. Day 3 I tried a short spot and stalk after we dropped my dad at his blind. We got within 93 yards and no shot. I then moved to an alfalfa field. I saw over 40 goats including a huge buck and a ton of deer, both muley and whitetail. Day 4 I went back to the same Day 3 blind and watched the same huge buck herd 23 does and run multiple small bucks off. The closest they got was 97 yards. Day 5 (yeah I know the math doesn't add up but we decided to add a day) I moved to closer to where the goats from Day 4 watered. Everything started fine with the goats coming in. Then a neighbor decided to let his dog out and cleared the field. After the dog left, a single buck that was borderline p&y came to the field but didn't want to water. After a short stalk and some patience, I finally got within 65 yards. I do not like shooting over 40 yards because of all the possible problems and factors like the animal moving, wind, poor form, etc. that can affect the shot outcome. However, it was the last day and I didn't want tag soup. I released the arrow and the goat slightly turned away at the sound of the shot. The arrow passed low through the back ham angling through as if quartering away but did not enter the body cavity or hit an artery. It was not a vital hit and he did not act hurt as it left but we still tried to look where it last disappeared. There was no blood except for on the arrow and it was lightly coated with very thin muscle type blood. I then moved to another ranch for the last 5 hours of Day 5. I set up in a stack of hay bales next to an open gate entering into an alfalfa field. This was an obvious spot but we didn't gain permission on this ranch until the guide got the okay at noon on day 5 after some sweet talking. We had seen several goats used the open gate every morning we passed by on the way to the other ranches and blinds. It was pretty much a guaranteed shot. We spooked out deer and antelope driving to the bales but they were back in the field within 30 minutes. As a group of 40+ goats filed through the gate at 20 yards I waited until the buck I picked out got in front of me, drew, and completely punched the trigger and pushed the bow botching the shot. The arrow cleared his back by an inch. I was sick. No other shots were to be had and the night ended with a mix of over 500 antelope and deer in the field. Crazy amounts of game out there and I am ruined for life. Whitetails in Indiana will be almost boring this year. I can't wait to get back out there. I am trying to make a way to do the same trip next year but only time and finances will determine that. Any good recipes for tag soup? I did shoot a porcupine through the head with my bow when we got back to camp the last night. The cook about walked into it when she was walking to her car to leave for the night.
Brent,
Sorry to hear the shot opportunities didn't pan out this trip. That said... thanks for taking the time to write up a little play-by-play of your trip!!! It is truly one of the things that I love about Bowsite. You are right about Western hunts ruining Indiana Whitetails (at least for a good part of the season anyway) because you get to see so much game! Add in the terrain that allows for long beautiful views and it's easy to daydream about the next chance to hunt out West! I hope that you have an uncommonly successful season here at home and that you get to head West again soon! Pete
Thanks for sharing your hunt report bas!
Can't stand it, just booked a hog hunt at Shiloh for the first day of winter.
I hear you Mike! New Brunswick May 2019 bear hunt is my next planned trip. Good luck on your hog hunt!
Thanks Brent. Best of luck to you this season.
