The 1 Thing You Learned- ANTELOPE

[mtguy]

more bullets & beer than you think you need.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

more bullets & beer than you think you need.

Especially if you're hunting out in the middle of nowhere! Or using some specialty caliber. Or cringe at the thought of paying $20 for a 6 pack. Ahhh, don't ask how I know...

 

[Oregon Hunter]

If you make a bad hit, don't be afraid to push them.

I think that open country gives us a bit more freedom to chase after wounded game

 

[Oregon Hunter]

I wish they were bigger because they taste great on the grill.

I love making them into dinner sausage. What's your favorite way to prepare them?

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Muzzleloader low pressure tip. When the rut is kicking and the herd buck runs an intruder off, sneak in on the does. You can be in clear view of the buck and he can watch you crawl or walk towards the does and it has no impact on him. He'll still come right back to them. So the goal is to get to 100 yards downwind of the does and then wait for him to trot back into range.

I've just shot does doing this but hoping to draw a buck tag for this fall. But each time I have had bucks come right into range without spooking despite seeing me.

Great tip! If you've never hunted antelope during the rut, you'll be amazed at how focused the bucks are on breeding. Setting up an ambush like this is really effective. I'll echo that you can get away with more during the antelope rut then you can what other animals.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Learned that I should have moved to a state where I can hunt them every year. Deer hunting in Michigan is a very distant 2nd place now!

Living in the west, I never realized how lucky I am to have hunting opportunities every year. I'm curious and would love to hear from all of you, what unique things are you thankful for about growing up in the area you did?

 

[Oregon Hunter]

I was mostly being a wise-ass

CO has pretty limited public land access for OTC speed goats. High pressure. Tuned up animals.

True story I once watched 12 hunters on one bedded buck.

All that being said, it is a heck of a time and I will be there again this year.

My advice - stalk when an animal is bedded. Take your time, the flat land has more contours than it initially appears, hunt mid week to avoid weekend pressure, if/when you blow a stalk don’t get discouraged and keep your head on a swivel - I once busted a bedded buck on the walk back to the truck after busting my target bedded buck.

It's valuable information to hear about your experience hunting Colorado. Growing up, from all the stories I heard it made it seem like there would be big bucks around every bush in trophy states like Colorado. The stories are fine to hear, until you invest years applying for a unit or make the effort to travel there and are disappointed to see that a zillion other hunter had the same idea, and the animals can be big, but also super smart.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

I'm headed to WY this year for my first rifle antelope hunt. I really appreciate all of your comments.

What part of the state are you heading to? I've hunted the far eastern part, and it was a blast!

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Oregon Hunter, Things can change dramatically from 1 year to the next in Wyo depending upon conditions. There are general trends that occur for antelope movements at different times of the year. As an example, "most years" antelope tend to migrate a certain direction after the first deep snow. If you've spent time on the Shirley Basin during the summer there are hundreds if not thousands of antelope. After it snows it is a wasteland with almost 0 antelope.

Another example is a giant ranch where I've hunted for years used to have antelope scattered through the entire ranch. After historic drought years in 2012 the antelope pretty much voided about 1/3 of the ranch when water dried up. The feed and water on the other end of the ranch was a lot better and they've pretty much concentrated in that area ever since. With a few wet years they've trickled back to the other 1/3 of the ranch but not near the density they were before the drought years.

I'm certain in moist winters and springs at least some of the springs and reservoirs have water in the units I mentioned in my first post but if the antelope find better feed and water elsewhere they may not return. This same thing has happened in units 2, and 3 in NW Colorado. There are only a fraction of the antelope there compared to the 1980's and early 1990s due to lack of water.

As we all know winterkill can make or break a hunt.

I guess what I'm eluding to is it's always good to be aware of the year to year weather conditions before selecting a hunting unit. This may change dramatically from one year to the next!

Thank you so much for explaining this! A lot of us, myself included, have never experienced states where there are migrations or weather severe enough to cause major die offs. This is worth paying attention to if you invested a lot of years building up points for a trophy area

 

[Slowlerner]

What part of the state are you heading to? I've hunted the far eastern part, and it was a blast!

Eastern side as well, within an hour of Cheyenne

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Eastern side as well, within an hour of Cheyenne

that will be a lot of fun! Be ready for some wind lol

 

[Timberline001]

One thing I learned archery hunting goats this year on public land in Idaho was they had very set routes of travel to their fields and not much will deter them from those routes when it’s time to eat. This year I plan to pick out the goat I want and sit his main route of travel. Last year I tried stalking bucks and 10-20 failed stalks a day was rough.

 

[Two Roads]

I love making them into dinner sausage. What's your favorite way to prepare them?

Burgers cooked medium rare over really hot coals w Mayo and sweet onion.

 

[HAP]

Pronghorn is some of the tastiest big game there is. When I'm cooking steaks you can smell the sage almost like it's an herb, smells great.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

One thing I learned archery hunting goats this year on public land in Idaho was they had very set routes of travel to their fields and not much will deter them from those routes when it’s time to eat. This year I plan to pick out the goat I want and sit his main route of travel. Last year I tried stalking bucks and 10-20 failed stalks a day was rough.

Being wheelchair bound, your tip is something I think can help me. I'm no good at stalking anymore, but taking time to learn travel routes then sitting to wait for an ambush could be productive. Now, if I can just draw a tag...

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Burgers cooked medium rare over really hot coals w Mayo and sweet onion.

You nailed that with the medium rare. In case any people are fairly new on this thread, I think you need to cook wild game 1/4 less than you're used to with beef.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Pronghorn is some of the tastiest big game there is. When I'm cooking steaks you can smell the sage almost like it's an herb, smells great.

Lots of butter makes it extra delicious!

 

[Timberline001]

Being wheelchair bound, your tip is something I think can help me. I'm no good at stalking anymore, but taking time to learn travel routes then sitting to wait for an ambush could be productive. Now, if I can just draw a tag...

You don’t have to be far off the road either. When I ended up getting a shot opportunity last year I was standing behind a telephone pole not far from the blm road.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

You don’t have to be far off the road either. When I ended up getting a shot opportunity last year I was standing behind a telephone pole not far from the blm road.

So true! Biggest Buck ever shot was less than 100 yards from the major highway in a brush patch most people would overlook because of its proximity to town

 

[Oregon Hunter]

We’ve had an outstanding response from all of you on these “1 Thing You Learned” series. I just created a new forum thread about cooking wild game. Head over to this link if you’d like to share one thing you learned about cooking wild game, trade food horror stories, or want to learn a secret for making the most out of your hard work in the field!