The 1 Thing You Learned- ANTELOPE

[Chirogrow]

This has been a really helpful thread!! I just drew my first antelope tag here in southern utah and I can't wait to get out there! Any insight into bedding habits? I have always hunted elk and deer the back country way with pack on my back and would like to try this approach for antelope. Should I be scouting places with heavy cover within a mile or so of water and feed or do they tend to bed down out in the open?

 

[diamond10x]

One thing I learned is their eye sight is incredible and you will not fool it.

 

[Rich M]

This has been a really helpful thread!! I just drew my first antelope tag here in southern utah and I can't wait to get out there! Any insight into bedding habits? I have always hunted elk and deer the back country way with pack on my back and would like to try this approach for antelope. Should I be scouting places with heavy cover within a mile or so of water and feed or do they tend to bed down out in the open?

they lay down in the open - everything is about eye sight w them.

 

[Lou (Louis)]

So, I have something (antelope relate) that I apparently need to learn. This year's antelope doe while not at all gamey is some of the toughest game meat I've ever eaten. It doesn't matter what cut of meat, you'd better have your jaw ready for a workout. I've even gone as far as pressure cooking it until it falls apart, but the individual muscle fibers are still tough and chewy. This doe was shot at 150 yards, drt, quartered And on ice in less than an hour and in my home freezer 3 days later. She didn't appear to be an old doe. Cooler was drained multiple times each day. Anyone care to school me on the one thing (or multiple things) that I still have to learn About antelope meat care?

Hang it in refrigeration for 10-14 days?

 

[Lou (Louis)]

Bringing back this old thread. I'm heading to Utah this fall for my first antelope hunt and this thread is great. Definitely has given me some good things to think about.

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Good luck!
Dream hunt

 

[Lou (Louis)]

This has been a really helpful thread!! I just drew my first antelope tag here in southern utah and I can't wait to get out there! Any insight into bedding habits? I have always hunted elk and deer the back country way with pack on my back and would like to try this approach for antelope. Should I be scouting places with heavy cover within a mile or so of water and feed or do they tend to bed down out in the open?

Good luck!
Again: dream hunt

 

[Fordguy]

Hang it in refrigeration for 10-14 days?

Not even sure that ageing for a few weeks would have helped that antelope doe. I pressure cooked a roast and it was still tough. It was the first meat I've that wasn't tender after pressure cooking. I ended up grinding the rest. It made some really good antelope burgers, sausage, chilli, and more.

 

[Deleted member 8-15-23]

I have 3 in the book with a bow, all waterhole hunts. Have waved a white t-shirt for a buddie also. They taste great, hate crossing fences, not very smart imo.

 

[Wags]

I learned that after a lifetime of hunting them they all look the same (worth shooting) when they get to a certain size. I can't judge them for anything.

 

[long hunter]

I have 3 in the book with a bow, all waterhole hunts. Have waved a white t-shirt for a buddie also. They taste great, hate crossing fences, not very smart imo.

Curious about the flagging, have read a bunch about it but never really tried it, Question is does it really work that well, I know they can be curious at times.

 

[Deleted member 8-15-23]

Curious about the flagging, have read a bunch about it but never really tried it, Question is does it really work that well, I know they can be curious at times.

Works in the rut, 9/15 ish. Easiest critter to put in the book. Hot weather, sit water, they have to drink.

 

[long hunter]

Thanks for the rep;y.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

It's fantastic to see that so many of you have got some value out of this thread! I thought this was going to be my year to draw the Silvies tag in Oregon. Due to point creep, it looks like I have to wait until next year. I'm still getting excited about it though!

A month ago I went sage rat hunting near Burns, Oregon. I just published a blog about that on the Spartan website, and it's cool because you can see some of the country I'll be eventually looking for antelope in the background. While varmint hunting, we did see some decent bucks, and it was majorly helpful to get a visual sense of how the unit is laid out and where I can hunt. Have any of you hunted the Silvies unit in Oregon?

 

[Lsorum13]

I had only archery hunted for goats. The hardest lesson I had to learn was to always aim low. They are masters at ducking an arrow.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

I had only archery hunted for goats. The hardest lesson I had to learn was to always aim low. They are masters at ducking an arrow.

Super valuable tip! Hopefully they won't be able to duck my Creedmoor bullet lol

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Just a few things I picked up over the last 35+ years (a lot of them covered I'm guessing):

-They can run REALLY fast. Don't even attempt a running shot, just a waste of ammo
-Their eyesight is unbelievable
-They can navigate a barbed wire fence. I have watched them jump over, crawl under and crawl right through
-Get them out of the hide as quickly as possible
-The meat is delicious (wife continues to urge me to shoot more)
-If warm, bring a lot of ice

 

[Extrapale]

Not even sure that ageing for a few weeks would have helped that antelope doe. I pressure cooked a roast and it was still tough. It was the first meat I've that wasn't tender after pressure cooking. I ended up grinding the rest. It made some really good antelope burgers, sausage, chilli, and more.

Weird, I have found them to be the most tender meat there is. I ve only shot buck, but you'd think a doe would be more tender than bucks. A couple aged 5.5 yo.

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[wytx]

Cold shortening perhaps. Getting the meat reduced down to quarters and iced a little too fast.
Put your carcass up on a sage bush and let the breeze blow across it a few minutes to start the cooling process before quartering.
Was she running before the shot?

 

[wyogoat]

One trick I swear by that if you are hunting a waterhole and it’s flat, ride a bike in if you can and stash the bike…in the blind or whatever cover there is.
They recover much quicker and don’t really pay that much attention to it as opposed to walking in. Game changer for afternoon hunts.

 

[philos]

Most people don't really try to get closer shots but you can almost always get closer. Too may antelope are wounded and not found because people think they need to shoot them at 500+ yards. The stalk may require some thought and planning but you can often get considerably closer than folks think.

Be creative in your hunt. The last time I hunted antelope I got tired of folks driving around and trying to shoot from the roads over & over. I walked maybe 400 yards from the main road and sat down beside the tallest sage I could find. The bucks were running wild & rutting and all I needed to do was to sit & wait for them to come by. I could have shot 10 different ones within 200 yards and they were not running wide open while a road hunter blasted away. Some folks go antelope hunting and some go antelope shooting.