The 1 Thing You Learned- ANTELOPE

[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 hard lessons learned about choosing scopes for hunting.

Head over to this link if you’d like to share one thing you learned about scopes, horror stories, or want to learn a secret for making the most out of your hard work in the field!

 

[wweaver]

Have your buddy hold your shells for the first two days. Unless it’s definitely over 80 Of course.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Have your buddy hold your shells for the first two days. Unless it’s definitely over 80 Of course.

Hahaha that's funny! Probably smart too. Many of us aren't used to seeing game every day and we get too excited

 

[hunterdanman]

So here is something I would like to learn. I will probably go on one or two antelope hunts I'm my life. Would you choose gun or bow?
Also I would guess I may have around 10 points before going, would you get the best unit you can or find somewhere where you may be "wasting" a few points if it would up your odds of success. I would much more interested in harvesting a ok buck than waiting for a trophy.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

So here is something I would like to learn. I will probably go on one or two antelope hunts I'm my life. Would you choose gun or bow?
Also I would guess I may have around 10 points before going, would you get the best unit you can or find somewhere where you may be "wasting" a few points if it would up your odds of success. I would much more interested in harvesting a ok buck than waiting for a trophy.

I'm partial to a rifle, and that may up your chances for success on the first time hunt. I am also a believer in choosing decent units so you get more hunting experience than waiting for a trophy hunt. You will be a better hunter after having a few under your belt. Then when it comes time to draw a premium tag you won't be trying to learn how to hunt antelope

 

[ToolMann]

more bullets & beer than you think you need.

Had to smile and laugh at this. True story here. My first every big game hunt, age 27, was for pronghorn in Montana with a guy I became best friends with in college (Nevada, where I'm from). I fly up and meet him and his other buddy. Enough beer was never a problem although we kept it respectable during the day when hunting. Ammo may have become an issue. I was shooting my 7MM WSM, never had hunted before, and proceeded to run out of ammo. I mean c'mon, I only brought a box and a half. You aren't finding 7MM WSM in easter Montana at the gas, food, ammo store. Borrowed my buddies rifle and after I stopped aiming 2' high thinking they were all a few hundred yards further than they were, I connected. So what did I learn: Get better! I've never had to shoot at any other big game animals more than once except for a few elk that needed some extra sauce to go down. We still laugh about that story 17 years later.

 

[hunterdanman]

I'm partial to a rifle, and that may up your chances for success on the first time hunt. I am also a believer in choosing decent units so you get more hunting experience than waiting for a trophy hunt. You will be a better hunter after having a few under your belt. Then when it comes time to draw a premium tag you won't be trying to learn how to hunt antelope

Yeah that's kind of what I'm thinking. I would probably be happy with any buck bigger than a yearling so waiting for a trophy unit won't happen unless I have no time for the hunt or the budget doesn't allow for the tag for many years.

 

[Wags]

They're hard for me to judge.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Had to smile and laugh at this. True story here. My first every big game hunt, age 27, was for pronghorn in Montana with a guy I became best friends with in college (Nevada, where I'm from). I fly up and meet him and his other buddy. Enough beer was never a problem although we kept it respectable during the day when hunting. Ammo may have become an issue. I was shooting my 7MM WSM, never had hunted before, and proceeded to run out of ammo. I mean c'mon, I only brought a box and a half. You aren't finding 7MM WSM in easter Montana at the gas, food, ammo store. Borrowed my buddies rifle and after I stopped aiming 2' high thinking they were all a few hundred yards further than they were, I connected. So what did I learn: Get better! I've never had to shoot at any other big game animals more than once except for a few elk that needed some extra sauce to go down. We still laugh about that story 17 years later.

Been there too. It's amazing how small they are, which makes them look much farther away. Rangefinders are our best friend

 

[Oregon Hunter]

They're hard for me to judge.

Mike Eastman's book on hunting trophy antelope made it easier for me to gauge them. Now if I could only get more tags...

 

[Buschwacker]

Bring as big as of cooler that you can and have it filled with as many frozen milk jugs as will fit. Get the hide off and the meat off the bones and get that meat on ice. Don't open the cooler unless absolutely necessary. It is a lot hotter in the high desert then you think and shade is at a premium

 

[DoubleDropMuley]

There are 2 things I’ve learned, 1- tags are getting harder to draw, 2- Don’t shoot the first good looking buck . My goal is try and get a book buck and took it for granted in the past and always shot mid to high 70’s bucks and now tags don’t come as often, so hopefully I get the chance to make it happen. Only apply in home state of Wyoming and I’m fine with that haha

 

[JM57]

Have fun and don't worry if it scores 80 or 60. Its all good.

 

[Freeride]

Dont hunt elk the week before then try to guess the range on antelope without a rangefinder.

I Flung an arrow over the back of my target buck at 60 yards, turns out he was 20 yards.... came in so fast I didnt have time to range and I forgot how small they are because of elk hunting the week before.

 

[ltkasten]

Went on an archery hunt in Montana. I was dead set on getting one spot/stalk and didn't sit water until the final day and ended up leaving empty handed. Key takeaway being that you have be adaptive and willing to use different methods.

 

[Reckless428]

Scout two days and have your buck picked out for opening morning. Get there a couple hours early to beat the crowd and shoot him. Otherwise things get considerably tougher every hour that passes.

Thanks

 

[NoriHunts]

- Go early in the season if possible. By late season they are keenly aware of public vs private land boundaries and will stand one foot across the boundary just to mess with you.
- Topography is your friend. Pronghorn have insanely good eyesight and having even the smallest hill to work off for concealment is huge.
-Don't overcook! Antelope steaks are some of the BEST meat in my opinion, but they should be served darn near rare. The flavor really changes for the worse the more you cook it.

 

[Grundy53]

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.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

 

[kcm2]

Pronghorn are a lot smarter than people think. I hunted an area near Craig for many years. We would ride around, find a herd we could stalk, and then, drive over a hill, get out and do the stalk. After a couple of successful years, when the truck went out of sight, the bucks would move the herd a quarter mile further away so we would start parking the truck a little further away but visible.

In Wyoming, we've hunted the same area for over 12 years, a mix of public and private land. Their habits changed every year.

 

[Jimss]

One of the toughest things I've learned over years of hunting antelope is proper field judging. Antelope are one of the toughest critters in North America to field judge correctly. Mass is the biggest % of antelope B&C score. There were several years when I first got started where I walked up to a buck and was disappointed by "ground shrinkage".

The 2nd thing I've learned is to know the history of the past couple years of a unit prior to drawing tags. It's possible to draw the historic best unit in a state and in any given year horn growth may be totally off. There are usually a number of reasons and considerations that will pull your odds of harvesting a high scoring buck in your favor. There's nothing more frustrating than drawing a high demand tag after years and years of applying and horn growth is horrible that particular year. Local knowledge is key!