I drew an area 70 antelope tag for 2012. Chose this area based on previous draw results plus it had some public land to hunt. Has anyone hunted this area in the past? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I will be coming out to the Casper area from Springfield Illinois, my dad and I will be tent camping in the Alcova area. First time out West!
WY Antelope Area 70
- Thread starter Airborne1
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Nimrod
Well-Known Member
Congrats!
I hunted unit 70 last year, the best advice I can give you would be to get the Wyoming GPS map from the LRH store, you will need it in unit 70, there is also some walk in area hunting available. You will also need the Casper BLM map. Also if at all possible, plan on being there on opening day. I will check my GPS and see if I still have anything marked, if not when you get your BLM map maybe we could get together and you can copy the information from mine, I'm in Missouri. If you are planning to camp at Alcova Reservoir I should be there too, I camped at Blacks Beach last year. If you don't want to pay $7.00 per night for camping there are free sights along the North Platte river on the "Trappers Route". If it rains you will need a 4 wheel drive (really should have one anyway) and chains for all 4 wheels.
If there are any specifics I can help with let me know!
Bob
Nimrod
Well-Known Member
Last year was the first time I camped there and I went late in the season, there were no other campers when we got there, a few came in later in the week to start scouting for the deer opener. There are several spots along the river and there is some camping at Pathfinder Res. as well. You can also camp on BLM land for up to 2 weeks. I don't think you will have any problem finding a place to camp.
Hopefully Buffalobob will see this thread and chime in he has hunted the area a bunch and camps at Alcova also.
Hopefully Buffalobob will see this thread and chime in he has hunted the area a bunch and camps at Alcova also.
Whats your opinion of HA 70 for antelope? I'm not looking to get a trophy or anything just looking for a decent goat and have a good time. There is some public ground in the southern half of the hunt area, not much in the northern half. I have permission to hunt on a ranch I believe is in the northern half of the hunt area but will no for sure where his property is located when I talk to the guy later to day to get directions. I already have the BLM quad map for area 70 but it sounds like a GPS with the wyoming hunt area maps will be very helpful. We'll keep in touch, thanks for your help.
James
James
Buffalobob
Well-Known Member
Tent camping at Alcova or Grey Reef is a unique experience because all of the camp sites have concrete floors and the wind will blow 30-40 mph when a front rolls in. I tie my tent into the structure4 so it does not blow away.
I also use tarps to enclose the structure around the cooking area so the wind does not affect the stove.
The most importation map is of the walk in areas. Without that you will pass up a lot of hunting land
I also use tarps to enclose the structure around the cooking area so the wind does not affect the stove.
The most importation map is of the walk in areas. Without that you will pass up a lot of hunting land
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F224
Well-Known Member
Accurate maps and a GPS will help you stay legal. Most ranchers are pretty understanding about recovering a wounded animal. But if you are not sure, just wait for another chance.
Enjoy your trip, it will be one you will always remember.
Enjoy your trip, it will be one you will always remember.
Buffalobob
Well-Known Member
P.S.
There is no water at the campground but you can buy water for $.10 a gallon at the mobile home park just after Sloan's General Store. You will note the blue water jug on the seat of the picnic table in the picture in my previous post.
Of course you can buy water by the bottle in Casper at every super market
There is no water at the campground but you can buy water for $.10 a gallon at the mobile home park just after Sloan's General Store. You will note the blue water jug on the seat of the picnic table in the picture in my previous post.
Of course you can buy water by the bottle in Casper at every super market
Been looking at the area 70 BLM map and access to public land seems limited but I already knew this before I applied for the area. I'll probably hunt around Ryan Hill and east of Ryan Hill plus I have aquired access to 2 ranches located in the Northwestern section of area 70. First time hunting any western state looking forward to a hunting experience outside of the Illinois border.
Buffalobob
Well-Known Member
One other thing is that Alcova is situated on an outcrop of the Morrison formation. This formation has lots of easy to find fossils if you enjoy that kind of stuff. There is one campground dedicated to the fossils.
My dad and I had great success on our first antelope hunt in Wyoming. Scouted hunt area 70 for 2 days and found a good group in WIA 11 with 2 nice bucks. The group was close to hunt area 69 so I decided we needed to talk with WG&F to make sure the group was located in area 70 but come to find out they were in area 69. This was the only group of antelope we saw in area 70 so we decided to go ahead and hunt the 2 ranches we had permission to hunt in the northern portion of area 70. I killed a nice buck openning morning at 6:30 and a doe 30 minutes afterward. The following day dad killed 2 does by 7:00am. One of the does actually had prongs which the G&F officer who checked our tags soad is very rare. The hunt was great and we're already making plans for next year.
