Antelope spot and stalk archery tips and tricks

[CGW05]

Anyone use the stalker decoys?

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Find a creek drainage or deep wash. If you are in good country, even if you don't see antelope from the road, get down in there and walk it. Every so often pop up slow like and peek. Do that enough and you'll eventually get in on some. To boot you'll blow the stink off you and see country most humans don't ever see.

 

[muleysnelk]

I've had success using a moo cow decoy.

 

[MOcluck]

One last run through my gear checklist then I'm loading up and heading out so I can get a couple days of scouting in before the opener on Saturday. Thanks once again for all the tips and good luck to everyone that gets the opportunity to chase speedgoats this year!

 

[Camslameron]

This is probably not a common occurrence and I attribute a lot of it to luck. But I brought along my mathews vertix last year on my first antelope trip. We were on an alfalfa pivot and all you could see were the ears of a few doe sticking up through the green. I didn't fully expect to get a shot off at any of them but I attempted anyways. My dad and I crawled for about 200 yards, he was periodically ranging them as we moved forward. Eventually we weren't able to hide from them. I ended up connecting with one from my knees at 52 yards, slightly quartering shot to the lungs. Awesome experience, definitely one I will remember. That being said, I've never attempted with a decoy or anything like that. In my very limited experience, cover is your friend if you are stalking... hard to do with an animal that can see basically 360 degrees with a quick twitch of the head LOL. Have fun and good luck.

 

[THBZN]

I would vote that bowhunting antelope is my favorite thing to do, hands down.
Bugling bulls, big mule deer, bears, etc. are all fantastic, but the all-day opportunity that antelope present is what is so appealing. Also, there are few big game animals, in my opinion, that are so visually striking with their coloring and black horns and huge eyes; they almost have an alien like look to them. Add in their speed and wariness, and it is a recipe for a great hunt.

I don't have the patience for sitting over water, and like many others have noted, terrain, timing and moving when you can to get into position is 3/4 of the formula to get a shot at an antelope with a bow. I have had the good fortune to take 13 with a bow, all spot and stalk (shot a small buck on 8/15 midday) and I only wish I had another tag. I am bummed it is already over, but grateful for the freezer getting topped off again.

My two cents on bowhunting antelope:
- Good optics in the 10x42 or 12x50 range will work well for keeping tabs on animals as you hunt an area or are in final stalk mode (bring a spotter for the truck if you are glassing up animals from a distance or really keen on shooting a big buck)
- Rangefinder -- have it where it is easy to get to without even looking for it, and range every chance you can get. Guessing yardage in big, rolling sage fields is tricky, and many times you will underestimate how far an animal really is.
- Knee and elbow pads. Lots of sharp stuff in the prairie....
- I have shot antelope from 27 to 75 yards, bedded and standing. Dial in your system and practice on a smaller than usual "target zone", somewhere around 8-10". Their vital area is smaller than you think, and don't believe the hype around "just shoot them in the antelope". They are tougher than people think and will cover a ton of ground if wounded.
- The highest percentage opportunity is a bedded antelope on the lee side of a hill or feature. If they bed among rocks/small boulders, bonus. Keep something between their head/eyes and you, and your chances go up nicely.
- Be prepared to leave the truck to go after an antelope and be gone for hours; water, a few high calorie snacks, kill kit, tag and headlamp and you are good to go. Thankfully they can be hauled out field dressed whole, or broken down and carried out with little issue due to their size.
- At the truck, have a 75 qt. or so sized cooler loaded up with ice so when you get one on the ground, you can easily quarter it up and pack it away for the ride home. Be vigilant with the heat and get it on ice pronto. Antelope are far too delicious to risk wasting meat due to heat spoilage. I have used a big cooler before and taken off the legs at the knee joints, head and hide and packed the cavity, etc. with ice to get it home to process, too.
- If you blow a stalk (and you will) don't panic. Watch the antelope, give it some time to settle down and if it beds again or works into a stalk-able situation, go after him again. Keep at it, and enjoy the time in the prairie.

Good luck out there!

 

[dxbernie]

Got my first lope at 54yds on second day of the season this year. Spot and stalk is action packed and highly recommend “flagging” although we used more of a balled up white t shirt And just moved it slightly to look like the ass of one walking or feeding. 5 bucks bedded down stood up immediately and walked right towards it giving me a shot.

 

[Whiskey_Fish]

Got my first lope at 54yds on second day of the season this year. Spot and stalk is action packed and highly recommend “flagging” although we used more of a balled up white t shirt And just moved it slightly to look like the ass of one walking or feeding. 5 bucks bedded down stood up immediately and walked right towards it giving me a shot.

I’m intent to try that before September is over. How far away were you before you initiated that move?


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[steadytowingandshot]

Decoys work well if they're rutting. We made a buck decoy out of spray paint and a refrigerator box. A couple of times I thought we were going to get run over buy pissed off bucks.

 

[SigM1]

No matter what you MUST stay out of sight if you are within 800 yards of them. Not even the slightest peek over a hill or around a corner with your head. They will see you. Their eyesight is literally insane. Mark the spot where they are, and stalk them completely out of sight


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[MOcluck]

I actually ended up harvesting a nice buck (13 3/4 inches). We had to watch him for 3 days before he made the mistake and ended up in an area I could use the terrain to put a stalk on him. Bow hunting antelope is a lot of fun but they always seem to be a hundred yards from any kind of cover that you can use to get within shooting range. And if they are a hundred yards from anything they might as well be a mile.

 

[voyageurpursuits]

I actually ended up harvesting a nice buck (13 3/4 inches). We had to watch him for 3 days before he made the mistake and ended up in an area I could use the terrain to put a stalk on him. Bow hunting antelope is a lot of fun but they always seem to be a hundred yards from any kind of cover that you can use to get within shooting range. And if they are a hundred yards from anything they might as well be a mile.

Let's hear about the stalk and see some photos!

 

[MOcluck]

On the morning of the third day we located the buck with a doe hanging around a butte that had a nearby ditch that ran about ten yards away on the west side. We watched him for about two hours before he made his way to a sagebrush patch on the east side of the butte, then used the ditch to gain access to the butte and climb to the top to see what we could see. The buck and 11 does were bedded about 250 yards to the southeast. Around noon they got up to water a rancher came by on a 4 wheeler along the property line and busted them up. One doe was hot and that's where his attention was. They ended up about a 1/2 mile away but where we could still keep tabs on him. About 5 o'clock they began feeding back toward our location. As they approached there was a slight depression in the terrain on the edge of the sagebrush patch that was enough to conceal my movement and they way the land laid they were in a kinda funnel that had a pinch point that came out into the sagebrush patch. I got down and slipped in to a spot that offered enough cover for me to duck down on my knees and not be silhouetted. Two does came within 40 yards followed by the buck. I ranged him at 53 yards, drew my bow back as I sat up (kinda tricky) and the whole bunch just stood there looking at me until I let my arrow fly. I made a bad shoot and he ran about a hundred yards and bedded. I then had to belly crawl through the sagebrush for a follow-up shot where I acquired a few cactus quills in each hand. I got within 50 yards before repeating the draw and sit up and putting another arrow in him. He ran another hundred yards before bedding down to expire. Those damn things are tough! And the country they live in is tough to crawl around in. I think next time I'll pack a rifle!

 

[voyageurpursuits]

Awesome feat! Congrats! Cactus quills are part of the game haha.

I've killed a few with a rifle and it's not always easy, but it sounds way easier than that! Next year I'm going to go a week early and bring the bow -- and save a couple days at the end for rifle hunting, just in case.

 

[MOcluck]

Well good luck to you sir! It's fun but very frustrating at times . There's definitely plenty of them to chase. I think the archery gear adds a whole nother element of hard. Beautiful country though, it seems like you could walk forever.

 

[MOcluck]

They set you up for mental failure as you drive in and they stand 10 yards of the road looking at you without a care in the world.

 

[xOttox]

Congrats! Are you hooked now? I've been going for three years now, hoping this is the year.

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[MOcluck]

I wouldn't say hooked but I'll go back for sure. You think to yourself this is going to be a cake walk. It ain't! Archery antelope ain't easy people. The antelope definitely have the advantage

 

[bjfoxhoven]

For all you spot and stalk guys without a decoy... how the heck do you draw and get a shot without them spooking? I had several opportunities last week when out. But how the heck can you get drawn and up to get a shot on a Lone bedded Buck. Got to under 30 on one, thought he was facing directly away, drew and slowly rose up... well I must have been on the edge of his peripheral vision because he left at 60mph out of his bed.

 

[MOcluck]

Get on them before they get pressured. I think given my same scernio after antelope have a few encounters or even one encounter with a hunter would yield different results. The tolerance for mistakes goes down dramatically.