Antelope post shot reaction

[JZelk22]

Hi All;

I have an antelope buck AND doe rifle tag for this coming season in Colorado. I have harvested one antelope in the past and he was by himself. If fortunate enough to be presented the situation of a buck and does together, I'm trying to figure out which to go for first. Aside from the obvious of if it's a very nice buck, I was curious if any experienced antelope hunters have seen the reaction of a buck versus a doe if the other is harvested in close proximity. Does one tend to stick around more than the other to present a second shot, or do they all just scatter?

The additional catch here is that the doe tag is private land only (I do have some access), and the buck tag is good on public and private. So if the situation is on private on the front end of the season and it's just a "decent" buck, I may be more likely to go for the doe first.

Thanks!

 

[turbobrick]

From my experience, if the buck is paying any attention to the doe before the shot, he will hang around if she drops.

 

[JeffP_Or]

Limited experience here - Oregon public land; 2nd afternoon of the season:

2 bucks came into a playa and milled about. Joined by around a dozen does which came from a different direction. They all mixed together when I decided to take one of the bucks from 180+ yards. Hit the buck, he reared up and did a back flip in the middle of the crowd then never moved. A few does immediately next to him jumped and ran about 40 yards. All the others flared and went heads up. The second buck walked over to the dead one and looked at him. They all settled back down and didn't move off until I stood up from under the small juniper I was in front of.

Keys to my mind:
they were at ease to begin with.
i was not overt in my movements leading up to the shot [I did move around with binocs and rifle ready]
sun was at my back.

 

[wapitibob]

I shot two big does one time in WY. The pack out was way harder than the killing. The herd moved a little after the first one but not much.

 

[Laramie]

Bucks hang around after you shoot one of their does about 50+% of the time. Last weekend my son shot a doe and a pretty decent buck stayed within rifle range the entire time we worked on her. I haven't seen does hang around after shooting a buck very often. This is in a sample size of around 100 antelope over the past 30 years.

 

[roadrunner]

From my experience, if the buck is paying any attention to the doe before the shot, he will hang around if she drops.

This.

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Also may depend on if they know where you are and where the shot came from

 

[mtnrunner260]

A buck in the right mindset will attempt to mount the doe after she goes down...

 

[downthepipe]

A buck in the right mindset will attempt to mount the doe after she goes down...

Had this happen too.

 

[TxLite]

Shot my buck at 260 yards with a suppressor. His 3 does came over to check him out and stayed there until they saw us walking over to field dress.

 

[idahomuleys]

I killed a buck last weekend with a suppressed rifle. All the does just looked around until i started walking over to him. The shot was ~150 yards.

Sent from my SM-G981V using Tapatalk

 

[JZelk22]

UPDATE:

Thanks all for your replies. I went out yesterday afternoon and doubled up. I decided to take the buck first, and the smaller doe bedded 40/50yrds behind him after he dropped.

 

[JZelk22]

UPDATE:

Thanks all for your replies. I went out yesterday afternoon and doubled up. I decided to take the buck first, and the smaller doe bedded 40/50yrds behind him after he dropped.

 

[wytx]

Nice buck and congrats on the double. Good eating right there.

 

[go_deep]

I've doubled several times out of Antelope herds. If they don't know where the shot comes from, it doesn't matter.