Hunting water

[Planopurist]

I’m planning my for antelope hunt this year. When hunting water/tanks on public land, are you guys setting pop-up ground blinds and leaving them for a few days/weeks prior to hunting? How much of a risk is theft?

Or are you packing in, setting up, and hunting right away? How immediately spooked are antelope by new structures like blinds?


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[Gumbo]

I don't hunt blinds but I see them on public land where I hunt and many are set up for days on end. I think it would be kind of a dick move to set up a prime public land location and leave it up for a week without hunting it. Doing that kind of puts other people in a rough spot whether or not to hunt that water hole or other prime spot that you have essentially claimed with your blind. If I were going to hunt for a few days I'd leave it set up, but if I weren't going to hunt for a week I'd take it down simply to give the green light to others.

 

[timbrhuntr]

Interesting point about leaving the blind up on public. I have only hunted antelope 3 seasons so not an expert by any means put the first year I went I put the blind up the day I arrived and most of the goats in the area steered clear of it for at least a week and then only a few does would come in and it was really dry that year. The next 2 years I left my blinds with my buddy and he put them up a couple weeks before I arrived and man what difference I had whole family groups including several bucks coming to water every day ! This is on private though.
I will state that the first year no bucks coming to water made me get out and stalk and that was definitely fun makes it hard to sit in blind !

 

[MikeG]

I set up in the dark the morning of, goats come in the same day. Plenty of other water around, but they're creatures of habit. They do come in super cautious, and the buck is almost always last to drink.

 

[Planopurist]

I put the blind up the day I arrived and most of the goats in the area steered clear of it for at least a week ... put them up a couple weeks before I arrived and man what difference I had whole family groups including several bucks coming to water every day ! This is on private though.
I will state that the first year no bucks coming to water made me get out and stalk and that was definitely fun makes it hard to sit in blind !

I just may make a scouting trip to setup my blind before the opener, then come back to hunt later. That’s what we do for whitetail, but that’s on private land as well.



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[BuzzH]

IME, it depends a lot on how much water there is, how many pronghorn there are, how hot it is, and how many choices they have for water.

I watched the buck my wife killed this year water a couple days before the rifle opener. Set up a blind in the dark, about 120 yards from the waterhole on opening morning of rifle season. By 9 AM, probably had a couple hundred pronghorn come in to drink, 50 or so bucks. Right on cue about 9:45 the buck she wanted came into water.

For the situation we had, the blind was the best option, mainly because there were so many pronghorn around, stalking a particular buck was going to be tough.

 

[timbrhuntr]

Couple things I would add first I did set up the blind in the light the first year but so did my buddy the next 2 years. Also this was bowhunting so the blind was basically right on the water if it had been rifle I could have easily killed one the first day as they did come in within a couple hundred yards just would not come right in. I would also note they were saying it was a drought year and this was the only water hole for miles. The second year there was a lot of water everywhere but I had activity right at the water hole everyday. Again this was only my experience over 3 years but I did notice a big difference the first year after the blind had been there a week even had my target buck come in but I rushed the shot and shot over him augh ! Man I can't wait until September lol

 

[Planopurist]

this was bowhunting so the blind was basically right on the water

That’s a point I took for granted, I’ll be bowhunting as well. How far off the water did you set the blind in each case? I’m thinking 30-yard shots?

Also, did you brush them in any kind of way?



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[trad_bowhunter1965]

I set my blind up opening day and killed my buck the next day,

 

[timbrhuntr]

I set the blind right on the edge of the water hole with a shot to the other side of about 25 yards !

 

[timbrhuntr]

Didn't brush them in.

 

[MikeG]

Same as timbrhuntr, right next to the water facing the side with the most tracks. Water's edge was 21yrds, shot the buck at 30.

 

[Planopurist]

Didn't brush them in.

Can’t make out much in that last photo???



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[timbrhuntr]

The last photo I was seeing a nice buck going to this cattle tank so I went in early and set up a blind but he never did come close after that . The pic is from inside the blind .

 

[rfertig]

When I've hunted on public land and tried to set up a blind in the dark morning, the goats knew something wasn't right and were pretty skittish around it. I could get them in to 80-100 yards to squawk at it, but not closer. (I ended up laying in a ditch for 10 hours near where they were coming from and used the blind as a distraction--when they squawked at the blind I sat up and shot one. I've also set out a blind weeks in advance on private land--they weren't bothered by the blind when I hunted it. I would never leave a blind on public land for any length of time. Besides being pretty inconsiderate to other hunters, I would worry about it getting destroyed or stolen.

 

[Hammond]

Last season I had a water hole picked out and arrived before light on the first day we could legally set them up and there were already 2 blinds on the water hole. I was not happy to say the least. Opening morning came a week later and nobody was sitting them, so I helped myself. About half way through my sit they showed up. I packed my stuff up and left. They really weren't upset about me sitting it after I explained to them I tried to set up on the opener but they were already set up.

 

[BuzzH]

I've had pronghorn touch my blind the same morning I set it up. I've also had them stand at 2-3 yards staring into the blind trying to figure out what was up. Some are pretty skittish as well.

I think it depends on the amount of water, number of pronghorn, etc. etc. more than anything else.

 

[Planopurist]

I’ll keep an eye on water availability through the summer and probably plan to setup 1-2 weeks before my hunt and pack a mobile blind as well.


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[hutty]

I set up 2 blinds last year on private where we hunt. A lot of water sources had dried up. Set one up near the cattle area where people drive by all the time and they antelope didn't give it a second look. We set up another one a few miles away by a small pond that was still holding water (thank you ducks for letting us know.) and those antelope were skittish and did not come in till after dark.

 

[Rich M]

Anyone use a ghost blind? The ones I've seen seem to be lightly constructed and flex a bit.