Bow Hunting Antelope

[haydenbates098]

I have 13 Antelope points in Oregon and am planning to draw the Warner unit for archery this year. I have been down a couple times to scout and am finding some decent numbers of antelope. My question is, some tips on archery hunting antelope. I have been doing some research on it and am overwhelmed with people saying to just hunt water. Call me stubborn, but I have no interest in this. I am more looking for tips on spot and stalking them. I am a teacher, so I do not work in the summers. The tag is during my summer break so I am spoiled and get to hunt the entire season without having to worry about work. I plan on trying to make several stalks on antelope throughout the week. The terrain out there is very flat and does not have much for cover apart from sagebrush. Any tips on how to make these stalks more successful? I know I could sit water and probably have better odds of success, but I do not want to sit in a blind. I would rather it be more difficult and go home empty handed than sit still all day everyday for the hunt.

 

[Trapline]

Stalking them on an open plain is not easy. Get one of those cow decoys Randy uses, only way you are going to get close enough. That’s why being in a blind near water works so well.

 

[TylerTheTerrible]

Water isn't the only way but you're going to have to have incredibly lucky timing or they just make a mistake during the rut. Pronghorn decoy can help. For reference, I killed a buck on my ~35th ambush/stalk/attempt in 2021. Didn't kill in 2022 and put in 20+ attempts Also prepare to shoot far.

I'm going to get a blind and mix in sitting water this year.

 

[haydenbates098]

Water isn't the only way but you're going to have to have incredibly lucky timing or they just make a mistake during the rut. Pronghorn decoy can help. For reference, I killed a buck on my ~35th ambush/stalk/attempt in 2021. Didn't kill in 2022 and put in 20+ attempts Also prepare to shoot far.

I'm going to get a blind and mix in sitting water this year.

I made a cardboard cutout of an antelope and painted it up. Not quite as nice as one that you'd buy but it was pretty much free so. I planned on using it some. I have heard that when stalking them, stalking at them in a diagonal line can kind of help as well. Any experience with this? And I am dialed out to 100 with my bow. I have a slider as well. I don't really want to take any shot's further than about 70, but am dialed that far if need be.

 

[S.Clancy]

In my experience decoys don't work very often. I have had luck with a doe and small buck decoy together, but you need at least 1 other person to make this work. The other problem I have found with decoys, is the antelope are "tuned up" when they are coming in, makes the jumping the string happen way more often. And with antelope, they don't just duck, sometimes they aren't even there anymore by the time the arrow gets there.

I've killed all my antelope spot and stalk, it was 6 in a row until last year. My string stop had come loose and shifted down, causing more vibration noise. I had 3 bucks "duck" the arrow, all 70 or under, one that was bedded. Make your bow quiet!!!!

I have never killed one from a blind, but basically everyone else I know that kills them regularly does so from a blind. You'll be surprised how bad you want to sit in a blind after your 10th (or 30th) failed stalk.

Which brings me to my last point. Spot and stalk archery antelope is like getting punched in the nuts for days until someone randomly gives you $100K, that is basically how it feels. The lows are Grand Canyon low, the highs are real high. Good luck.

 

[HoytHntr4]

Hunt for stalkable terrain, then look for antelope there. Don’t waste your time trying to stalk bucks in the wide open, just move along to find one in a better position. Decoys are hit and miss, sometimes they can give you an extra second or two to get a shot off. I recommend picking up an ultimate predator decoy that attaches to your bow.

Having a blind along to set up at a water hole is sometimes nice to have as a back up plan, or if you just need a break for a day after too many failed stalks. I killed one over water this year for the first time and found enjoyment in being able to watch them so close to the blind

 

[haydenbates098]

In my experience decoys don't work very often. I have had luck with a doe and small buck decoy together, but you need at least 1 other person to make this work. The other problem I have found with decoys, is the antelope are "tuned up" when they are coming in, makes the jumping the string happen way more often. And with antelope, they don't just duck, sometimes they aren't even there anymore by the time the arrow gets there.

I've killed all my antelope spot and stalk, it was 6 in a row until last year. My string stop had come loose and shifted down, causing more vibration noise. I had 3 bucks "duck" the arrow, all 70 or under, one that was bedded. Make your bow quiet!!!!

I have never killed one from a blind, but basically everyone else I know that kills them regularly does so from a blind. You'll be surprised how bad you want to sit in a blind after your 10th (or 30th) failed stalk.

Which brings me to my last point. Spot and stalk archery antelope is like getting punched in the nuts for days until someone randomly gives you $100K, that is basically how it feels. The lows are Grand Canyon low, the highs are real high. Good luck.

Love that! I want the challenge. I plan on having a buddy with me for the first couple days so hopefully he can run a decoy for me. I have a Mathews bow, so hopefully that is going to be quiet enough. Thank you for the tips, it is appreciated!

 

[roosterdown]

Not an expert, so add salt...but i killed my first one this past season after three years of spot & stalk attempts.

The top lesson from this past year was...knowing when to say 'no'.

We'd see an animal that looked good...however if it was not in a position where we could see a realistic way to get him killed, we moved on immediately and located another one. Didn't even try. So we ended up getting 6 or 8 decent attempts in each day, and stopped trying ridiculous stalks on great bucks who were as safe as safe could be.

 

[haydenbates098]

Not an expert, so add salt...but i killed my first one this past season after three years of spot & stalk attempts.

The top lesson from this past year was...knowing when to say 'no'.

We'd see an animal that looked good...however if it was not in a position where we could see a realistic way to get him killed, we moved on immediately and located another one. Didn't even try. So we ended up getting 6 or 8 decent attempts in each day, and stopped trying ridiculous stalks on great bucks who were as safe as safe could be.

I like that. Seems like it would definitely help from getting frustrated for sure. Thank you for the tip!

 

[Jaden Bales]

Spot and stalk is so much fun but everyone here's basically said it all. Here's an article I wrote about my first goat with a bow if you want a little more reading. But it sounds like you got some good intel.

Pronghorn Persistence - Wyoming Wildlife Federation

Tripping on sagebrush brought me back to earth (literally). Few words described how excited I was after many failed attempts to take a pronghorn.

wyomingwildlife.org

 

[AnnualRye]

The Warner unit lends itself to spot and stalk with the terrain and junipers. Lots of antelope there. You'll have a good hunt, no matter how many stalks it takes.

 

[Grassymike]

I have bow hunted antelope a lot. I built a 1/4'' plywood decoy about 35 years ago when the decoy idea had just started. Copied roughly the Mel Dutton decoy.( Anyone remember him ?) I have killed five antelope bucks over the years and have never sat on water. Four came to my decoy. If you are trying this you have to hit it right time wise ,for me in Alberta that usually equates to Sept. 15 and the 2-3 days before or after. When the small herds that have a buck trailing with them all summer start to have other bucks hanging around that is the start of decoy time. When they start trying to "steal'' does from said herds and the buck reacts ,this is it. You need to get close (under 200 yards) and ideally with the does between you and the herd buck. Then stand up the decoy AFTER you nock an arrow. DAMHIKT. Decoying as a buck falls apart after the first doe in the herd comes into estrous, the herd buck will leave his herd and stay right beside her until he breeds. You will see a buck and doe running at breakneck speeds following the path of a waterbug, zigzaging around the prairie. Now you need to decoy as a doe. This is dynamite, all those frustrated bucks who have been repelled over and over see you by yourself and figure "whohoo I am going to get lucky". They come in on a string for 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile out. I cut the horn off my decoy and drilled a hole then installed it with a bolt so my decoy can identify as male or female. Sometimes even earlier in the rut I will flip the horn down if I see a buck by himself.

 

[NickKreutz]

I wouldn't rule out your pronghorn decoy. especially if you can get in closer to their rut, not sure when it hits in your area but look into it. If you can find a buck with his does he is very territorial. Use what little terrain you can to get close, 150 yards is plenty if they havent seen you yet. What worked the best for us is have the decoy guy in front, about 10 yards. give him the range finder, you just focus on the bow. Have him show the decoy at the last minute and keep an eye on the bucks response. Keep the decoy guy between you and the buck as he comes in, watch the crest of the hill for horns. Decoy guy rattles off ranges and dial accordingly. We decoyed 9 bucks into 60 yards using this method, second and third weekend in September.

 

[wildwilderness]

Sounds like the bigger challenge would be to learn to love sitting water

 

[haydenbates098]

The Warner unit lends itself to spot and stalk with the terrain and junipers. Lots of antelope there. You'll have a good hunt, no matter how many stalks it takes.

I am super excited about it. I will be able to stay down there for the entire season which will be a big benefit. Should be a bunch of fun either way!

 

[haydenbates098]

I wouldn't rule out your pronghorn decoy. especially if you can get in closer to their rut, not sure when it hits in your area but look into it. If you can find a buck with his does he is very territorial. Use what little terrain you can to get close, 150 yards is plenty if they havent seen you yet. What worked the best for us is have the decoy guy in front, about 10 yards. give him the range finder, you just focus on the bow. Have him show the decoy at the last minute and keep an eye on the bucks response. Keep the decoy guy between you and the buck as he comes in, watch the crest of the hill for horns. Decoy guy rattles off ranges and dial accordingly. We decoyed 9 bucks into 60 yards using this method, second and third weekend in September.

I have had a lot of people tell me about this strategy. It seems to be really effective, I will definitely try it. My hunt will be the 2nd-3rd week of August so I hope it still fires them up.

 

[8seconds]

Blind on water is how most of the bow hunters in the unit adjacent to Warner hunt. I am an avid bow hunter but could not see myself sitting in a blind in that hot of weather all day. I got the premium tag and 2nd season rifle tag in 2021 in an adjacent unit. Killed 1 book lope and the other one was just under 70". Best meat I have ever ate. Good luck.

 

[Laramie]

I have done it stalking and from a blind. My closest shot (that I took) stalking was 55 yards. I could have killed some smaller bucks at closer range through the years.

My advice is to set up a blind on a water hole a few weeks before the season. Give stalking a solid try but have the water hole as a backup plan. in case you can't connect chasing them.

 

[kcm2]

Good luck. Antelope have fast reflexes and can easily move out of the way of arrows. My best buck, shot at 25 yards, was right side quartering away. I hit him left side quartering away.

We had one buck we called the "St Christopher buck" because he'd hang up at 45-55 yards from the waterhole, and when you'd shoot, he'd just take 2 steps forward and watch the arrow go behind him. I think he did that half a dozen times, including twice on me.

 

[23cobowhunter]

Sit on a fence crossing.