Criticism of road-glassing?

[James K]

FNG from NJ here. Been branching out hunting since starting late at age 30. I primarily do coastal/tidal waterfowl, some turkey, went to S. Africa earlier this year and now am completely hooked. I think I really want to try a NR pronghorn hunt in WY for 2024.

First off, by no way am I implying road HUNTING.

I've been doing a fair bit of research. Why does it seem like there is a lot of hate for road-glassing and then putting a stalk/closing distance on foot for a ram you like? What is the alternative? Hike/pack/camp in or into an area where you think they are?

In my mind, I figured I'd head out, drive around the unit I plan to hunt, glass around, if I see something I like I would make sure I'm not trespassing and put a stalk on it.

 

[KHNC]

Well, they are Bucks not Rams,lol. But what you are describing is road hunting. And most everyone does it at some point for antelope. Its the most common way people hunt antelope. Not the most successful, but definitely the most common.

 

[James K]

Well, they are Bucks not Rams,lol. But what you are describing is road hunting. And most everyone does it at some point for antelope. Its the most common way people hunt antelope. Not the most successful, but definitely the most common.

I don't say this argumentatively but rather just genuinely wanting to know: What is more successful? Scouting out a specific piece of land where they are and getting in way early (or late, depending how you look at it) and going from there?

I guess it's parsing words but road hunting to me was shooting from the road which I always knew as being illegal and unethical. That isn't my intent here.

 

[Wrench]

People like to be critical. People want to tell you how they hiked in 12 miles with their x brand widgets and killed a booner with their y brand rig.

You want to kill a goat. Spotting a goat from the road and stalking it isn't going to be a piece of cake....so give it a whack.

The community here is all about doing shit the hardest way possible for the coolest story. If you just want to kill a goat, try it. You can make up an acceptable story later or just be satisfied with your tactics.

I personally would be proud to stalk a herd of goats from a parking spot as they're all eyeballs.

 

[Drenalin]

Don't post hunt stories on the interwebs...problem solved.

 

[Soj51hopeful]

I killed my first antelope this year glassing from the truck and making a stalk in. Then my buddy did it after driving around, glassing and passing a lot of bucks. You know what? It was a frickin blast! That hunt was really fun.

 

[James K]

Don't post hunt stories on the interwebs...problem solved.

I more was concerned about pissing someone off while there.

For example: Here in NJ we get a lot of guys who will jump shoot ducks in the refuges (despite being against the regs).

 

[WeiserBucks]

Who cares what people think as long as it's legal.

 

[Jimss]

The more bucks you see in a day the better chance for a whopper. Just make sure you are hunting public land or have permission or you could get a big ticket.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Using roads and vantage points to cover and glass a lot of country is just intelligent when it comes to pronghorn. Just don’t assume you see everything which is where hiking in to look at hidden folds comes into play. Spot them and plan a stalk which may not be very straightforward.

Relying on trucks too much and spooking off pronghorn is where it switches to amateur hour.

 

[packer58]

OP, your last sentence pretty much describes how the vast majority of antelope are hunted. Antelope hunting is about as much fun your going to have in the field, there on there feet most of the day and easy to spot. Finding good glassing spots is key weather it be from your pickup or hiking in to a vantage point.

Edit: As i was typing my comments others were making the same ....

 

[hunt1up]

That's about the only way to antelope hunt in my mind. Drive, stop, glass. Drive, stop, glass. Drive, stop, glass. If you want to walk 1/4 mile off the road to glass to feel better about it, then hey, have at it. You'd waste a lot of time doing that. The name of the game is to cover ground and see as many animals as possible. If I couldn't truck glass for antelope I wouldn't hunt them.

 

[James K]

Relying on trucks too much and spooking off pronghorn is where it switches to amateur hour.

I can see this being a problem which I guess is why it gets criticized.

In my mind, I'd probably want to close most of the critical distance on foot. I'm guessing 1500 sized pickup trucks get spotted pretty easy by a herd of 100 eyeballs.

 

[robby denning]

I use it a fair amount on buck hunts, at least to learn an area but in some places with good glass, you can see country from the road better than you can being in it. It's a tool that is useful in some places.

but...check all the laws of the state. Sooner or later you might get a shot while glassing from road and every state is slightly different on where you can shoot from. I learned the hard way that just getting off the road doesn't mean its OK to shoot from the vehicle (Idaho). dumbest hunting mistake of my life and got me a F&G warning. Since it happened, I've talked to a fair share of hunters who didn't really know what their states laws were, especially the coyote hunters. Be careful.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I can see this being a problem which I guess is why it gets criticized.

In my mind, I'd probably want to close most of the critical distance on foot. I'm guessing 1500 sized pickup trucks get spotted pretty easy by a herd of 100 eyeballs.

Yeah it’s folks who try to close the distance in a truck or stop abruptly in a truck which also spooks them often (they are used to trucks driving past at a distance, not trucks stopping or driving at them). Which sucks if you’re stalking in and someone foolish blows them out or pushes them off public.

 

[EdP]

My preference is to find public land that holds pronghorns and get out there walking and glassing. It involves some driving about to see that there are pronghorns around, but not spotting a particular animal to stalk from the truck. It's a personal preference. I enjoy hiking and like being away from the truck in open country. The land often looks flat but is actually undulating and there are pronghorn in the dips and between ridge fingers that can't be seen from the road. I also am not all that picky, any decent buck will make me happy.

The state of Wy manages the herds, sells tags, and crafts regulations. Any method that is allowed in the regs is ethical in my mind. You just have to find what gives you the most enjoyment, or in some cases, what you are capable of doing.

 

[xsn10s]

I drive around and glass all the time. I've noticed when you stop all sort of big game and predators start moving. So I agree it's going to be challenging after that. But if you can figure out where key areas are you can park in a strategic spot and walk in. I drive around locally and glass. Makes for a good day.

 

[wytx]

A steady window mount and a good spotting scope can be a real asset for pronghorn hunting.
You can get a good idea if an animal is worth a closer look from a good distance and not spook them.
Use the terrain to park closer, maybe, but out of sight and move in on foot to glass and judge and take a good shot.

 

[manitou1]

FNG from NJ here. Been branching out hunting since starting late at age 30. I primarily do coastal/tidal waterfowl, some turkey, went to S. Africa earlier this year and now am completely hooked. I think I really want to try a NR pronghorn hunt in WY for 2024.

First off, by no way am I implying road HUNTING.

I've been doing a fair bit of research. Why does it seem like there is a lot of hate for road-glassing and then putting a stalk/closing distance on foot for a ram you like? What is the alternative? Hike/pack/camp in or into an area where you think they are?

In my mind, I figured I'd head out, drive around the unit I plan to hunt, glass around, if I see something I like I would make sure I'm not trespassing and put a stalk on it.

This how over 99% of antelope are killed IMO.

When in Rome...

 

[manitou1]

My preference is to find public land that holds pronghorns and get out there walking and glassing. It involves some driving about to see that there are pronghorns around, but not spotting a particular animal to stalk from the truck. It's a personal preference. I enjoy hiking and like being away from the truck in open country. The land often looks flat but is actually undulating and there are pronghorn in the dips and between ridge fingers that can't be seen from the road. I also am not all that picky, any decent buck will make me happy.

The state of Wy manages the herds, sells tags, and crafts regulations. Any method that is allowed in the regs is ethical in my mind. You just have to find what gives you the most enjoyment, or in some cases, what you are capable of doing.

"The state of Wyoming manages to over sell tags".

Fixed it for ya.