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Antelope Archery #7017857
10/15/20 07:53 AM
10/15/20 07:53 AM
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 3,897
Wisconsin
E
Eagleye Offline OP
trapper
Eagleye  Offline OP
trapper
E

Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 3,897
Wisconsin
Planning a future bow hunt for Antelope, input on locations, units and experiences would be appreciated. Leaning into Wyoming as the location but open to other areas, the preference point system by unit is something I need to investigate for more for clarity. Thanks in advance.

Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7017869
10/15/20 08:08 AM
10/15/20 08:08 AM
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 6,190
Kansas
Pawnee Offline
trapper
Pawnee  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 6,190
Kansas
I’ve bird hunted north of Rawlins Wy for sage grouse a few times. Most goats and quality bucks of any place I’ve hunted. Im sure there are guys on here that can contribute a lot more. Not sure on how their point system is set up. Good luck that’s all I’ve got.


Everything the left touches it destroys
Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7017871
10/15/20 08:10 AM
10/15/20 08:10 AM
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 269
West Virginia
W
WV Danimal Offline
trapper
WV Danimal  Offline
trapper
W

Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 269
West Virginia
My experience, easiest and least expensive big game adventure you can ever take when hunting over water. Beautiful animals and plenty of them when I hunted Wyoming but it's been a while. I'll go ahead and start the meat argument: I don't flip what you do to the meat or how you handle it, it's nasty! But then again, some people can eat things like liver and pickles and are still alive lol.....


Trash your goals and plans for life. Just wing it and you'll never be let down!
Re: Antelope Archery [Re: WV Danimal] #7017882
10/15/20 08:23 AM
10/15/20 08:23 AM
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,745
eastern washinghton
7
70sdiver Offline
trapper
70sdiver  Offline
trapper
7

Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,745
eastern washinghton
Antelope is by far my favorite big game meat,they have to be skinned within the first 30 minutes.



Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7017914
10/15/20 09:11 AM
10/15/20 09:11 AM
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 3,852
meadowview, Virginia
E
EdP Offline
trapper
EdP  Offline
trapper
E

Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 3,852
meadowview, Virginia
I hunted pronghorn in Wy in 2016 and again in 2018 and 2019. A buddy and I planned to hunt this year but the lottery system got blown up by a drastic increase in applicants and reduced quotas in some areas. The odds of drawing a tag (w/o pref pts) for the unit I hunt was over 80% in 2018 and 2019 but dropped to below 10% in 2020. In general, the units with lots of public land have the most applicants thereby lowering your odds of drawing a tag. Units with good odds have little to no public land. By doing a lot of homework I was able to find a unit with good odds and enough public land for a fun hunt despite competition from other hunters. At this point I have no idea what the next few years will bring. A lot of hunts that folks had booked with outfitters got pushed into future years. I think this put them looking for other options for their annual western hunt and pronghorn became the back-up plan of choice. Combined with herd reduction from winter kill in some units the odds of drawing a tag changed drastically.

I will second what WN Danimal said about it being a whole lot of fun and not particularly expensive compared with other western hunts. Very practical to do DIY also. He is completely wrong about the meat though. It is excellent if handled properly and cooled quickly. I hunt small public land parcels and my kills have been less than a mile from my truck. The animal is promptly field dressed before I go for my deer cart. I bring a bag or two of ice back with the cart and put them in the body cavity for the haul back to the truck. The carcass is cooling down via ice in less than an hour after the shot. Once back at the truck the animal is skinned and broken down right there on the side of the road (a hitch mounted hoist helps) and put in a cooler with more ice. Treat the meat right and you will have the best meat the west has to offer.

Good luck with the draw and your hunt!

Re: Antelope Archery [Re: WV Danimal] #7017939
10/15/20 09:50 AM
10/15/20 09:50 AM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,943
South Dakota
H
Hydropillar Offline
trapper
Hydropillar  Offline
trapper
H

Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,943
South Dakota
Originally Posted by WV Danimal
My experience, easiest and least expensive big game adventure you can ever take when hunting over water. Beautiful animals and plenty of them when I hunted Wyoming but it's been a while. I'll go ahead and start the meat argument: I don't flip what you do to the meat or how you handle it, it's nasty! But then again, some people can eat things like liver and pickles and are still alive lol.....

x2 we always dress skin and quarter on ice pack in coolers..... dont take long on a antelope.


The only place you find free cheese is in a mousetrap !
Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7017951
10/15/20 10:11 AM
10/15/20 10:11 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 582
Montana
D
D.T. Offline
trapper
D.T.  Offline
trapper
D

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 582
Montana
Agree with all of the above. As far as timing mid sept is a great time to decoy rutting bucks. It is kind of a two man deal if you will have a partner at all. Much more exciting than a blind though that is effective too. Ive been guiding this way a bit in SE MT and i can usually count on 3-5 good encounters a day. Be forewarned. Ranging is weird in the prairie. They arent as big as they appear. And if they come in they will be there in the blink of an eye. They are a riot to chase

Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7017953
10/15/20 10:14 AM
10/15/20 10:14 AM
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 673
Southern Wisconsin
F
Fishdog One Offline
trapper
Fishdog One  Offline
trapper
F

Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 673
Southern Wisconsin
I will start by EdP has it corrrect, thought we were hunting this fall and nope on the lope's. As far as meat they are just fine, we have ours boned out and on ice in about an hour or two, boned out in the field if too far from truck.


Born twice, die once
Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7017958
10/15/20 10:19 AM
10/15/20 10:19 AM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 7,142
Wisconsin
M
Moosetrot Offline
trapper
Moosetrot  Offline
trapper
M

Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 7,142
Wisconsin
I have never hunted antelope but need to relate a story by a guy I knew who did...

He was archery hunting from a ground blind near a waterhole. He had a really nice buck come in, but stayed out of range. It was pretty much a stand-off. He finally decided to stay in the pop-up blind but picked it up and moved it, Wiley E. Coyote style, until he got in range of the antelope buck which stood there the whole time. He killed it.

Not sure if it was an "ACME Movable Antelope Blind" but his tactic worked!

Moosetrot

Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7017966
10/15/20 10:24 AM
10/15/20 10:24 AM
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 4,822
Nevada
N
nvwrangler Online content
trapper
nvwrangler  Online Content
trapper
N

Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 4,822
Nevada
More antelope in Wy then people.

You have until the end of the month to buy a point so grab one now. Look into other states Montana, new Mexico not sure which others might offer enough tags to make it worth while to apply. States like Nevada take several years worth of points but if you apply for 1 species apply for all .

Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7017981
10/15/20 10:42 AM
10/15/20 10:42 AM
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 20,233
The Hill Country of Texas
Leftlane Offline
"HOSS"
Leftlane  Offline
"HOSS"

Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 20,233
The Hill Country of Texas
I have a friend who says DIY antelope hunts are the way to go so long as you find a rancher who will let you hunt under his wind mill.


“What’s good for me may not be good for the weak minded.”
Captain Gus McCrae- Texas Rangers


Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7017990
10/15/20 11:02 AM
10/15/20 11:02 AM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 3,035
wyoming southeast
D
danvee Offline
trapper
danvee  Offline
trapper
D

Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 3,035
wyoming southeast
Wyoming and hunt a unit that has a season that allows hunting in mid Oct the bucks are in full rut this last week and if you can get close to a herd with a decoy and pop it up your in business. You will be competing with rifle hunters but most have all ready harvested their antelope and are now chasing elk and deer.

Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7018017
10/15/20 11:26 AM
10/15/20 11:26 AM
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 269
West Virginia
W
WV Danimal Offline
trapper
WV Danimal  Offline
trapper
W

Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 269
West Virginia
If it's a scorcher it can be a rough one to sit in an oven blind all day. Even worse I think is when my friend sat all day on a little board atop a windmill in the open sun. Typically I am wearing heavy jacket and shivering before dawn and then in my underwear in the blind by 8:30 am. Practice shooting out of a blind well before you go. My friend shot through the side of my blind (under the window) but still killed his buck. Nearly all the bucks looked the same size to me and I am happy with the one's I've taken. Difficult to judge for a whitetail hillbilly. The potential is there to really fill a freezer if you wanted and the population is good. On one place, the rancher was nearly begging for us to shoot all the doe we could but we only took one each after we got our bucks. I believe we could've gotten 3 doe tags over the counter then.

Good binos and a good book are a must for the sake of maintaining your sanity on long sits. I always carry a small radio with earbuds, battery operated fan and small cooler in the blind as well. Lazy man style!

CACTUS! Learned that WY has lots of them! Little ones that you don't notice until you set a knee down.


Trash your goals and plans for life. Just wing it and you'll never be let down!
Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7018029
10/15/20 11:34 AM
10/15/20 11:34 AM
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,213
NE
M
Marty B Offline
"arbitrary noob"
Marty B  Offline
"arbitrary noob"
M

Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,213
NE
Times have changed, it will take you a few years of points to draw just about any unit now.


Except unit 23 in wy, probably still leftover tags there now, but its almost all private land.



Even doe tags sold out on the first draw this year.



The hardest part of antelope hunting is getting a tag.



Some of the finest game meat on the planet.

Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7018066
10/15/20 12:08 PM
10/15/20 12:08 PM
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 3,897
Wisconsin
E
Eagleye Offline OP
trapper
Eagleye  Offline OP
trapper
E

Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 3,897
Wisconsin
As always- really good dialogue and information gentlemen and appreciated. I just put in for a preference point and looks like I'll have some time to research.
Should I be thinking of a combined hunt? Deer and Antelope or other?

Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7018094
10/15/20 12:47 PM
10/15/20 12:47 PM
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 64
OHIO
M
mimusp Offline
trapper
mimusp  Offline
trapper
M

Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 64
OHIO
I bow hunted pronghorns in the Thunder Basin Nat'l Grasslands around Bill, WY for many years in the 80's, 90' and early 2000's. Except for one of those hunts when there was a big thunderstorm and a pretty severe cold front, it was always very hot during bow season. Instead of hunting from blinds over a waterhole, I preferred going mano y mano with them wherever I found them. I killed my last buck perched on a limb of a big, solitary cottonwood where he and a couple of does had been loitering in the shade most of the day. When they left for the waterhole late in the afternoon, I climbed up into the tree. Got the buck when they returned.
I always found the meat delicious except in extremely dry years when they had to resort to eating sage. Then, the meat had a distinct, but not necessarily disagreeable, sage flavor. (It made some rather tasty sausage patties). As related above, field dressing and cooling ASAP was a must. But then, I treat all my big game carcasses in that fashion.

Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7018098
10/15/20 12:54 PM
10/15/20 12:54 PM
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 1,684
Henry Co, IL
3
3togo Offline
trapper
3togo  Offline
trapper
3

Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 1,684
Henry Co, IL
What Marty B said. The point system in WY can be a PITA until you understand it. I have 5 points now and may be able to draw one of my choices next year. There were no leftover tags this year for many units, all sold during the regular draw. You may want to contact WY F&G and ask about the private ranches that participate in the walk in program that allows hunters to access private land. Or get lucky and maybe pay a reasonable per day trespass fee to hunt private round. Your phone may be your best friend. Antelope are fun to hunt. And yes, tasty.

Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7018183
10/15/20 03:42 PM
10/15/20 03:42 PM
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 3,852
meadowview, Virginia
E
EdP Offline
trapper
EdP  Offline
trapper
E

Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 3,852
meadowview, Virginia
The Wy F&G site has all the info you need on the Walk In Areas. It's a bit hard to find (not particularly intuitively obvious) but it's there on the site. Where they are located, what species they are open for, what dates they are open, whether or not you can use blinds, etc. The WIA's are numbered sequentially according to the county they are in. The maps on the site also show other public land such as State Trust land, BLM land, National Forest land. Some counties have websites showing the public road system right down to county right of ways that have no road yet.

Note that some of the Walk In Areas don't open until opening day of the season so you can't scout ahead of time on those parcels. They take trespassing very serious in Wy so it pays to be sure of the dates.

Re: Antelope Archery [Re: Eagleye] #7018197
10/15/20 04:05 PM
10/15/20 04:05 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,746
S.W.Oregon
newhouse114 Offline
trapper
newhouse114  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,746
S.W.Oregon
[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]
These are two that my son an I got this last August. Public land in Oregon but the draw sucks big time. Lucky to hunt once every ten years in a good unit.


Life Member NTA & FTA
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain

http://alaskastoneanivory.com/index
Re: Antelope Archery [Re: EdP] #7018245
10/15/20 05:43 PM
10/15/20 05:43 PM
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 3,067
Wyoming
C
cmcf Offline
trapper
cmcf  Offline
trapper
C

Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 3,067
Wyoming
Originally Posted by EdP
I hunted pronghorn in Wy in 2016 and again in 2018 and 2019. A buddy and I planned to hunt this year but the lottery system got blown up by a drastic increase in applicants and reduced quotas in some areas. The odds of drawing a tag (w/o pref pts) for the unit I hunt was over 80% in 2018 and 2019 but dropped to below 10% in 2020. In general, the units with lots of public land have the most applicants thereby lowering your odds of drawing a tag. Units with good odds have little to no public land. By doing a lot of homework I was able to find a unit with good odds and enough public land for a fun hunt despite competition from other hunters. At this point I have no idea what the next few years will bring. A lot of hunts that folks had booked with outfitters got pushed into future years. I think this put them looking for other options for their annual western hunt and pronghorn became the back-up plan of choice. Combined with herd reduction from winter kill in some units the odds of drawing a tag changed drastically.

I will second what WN Danimal said about it being a whole lot of fun and not particularly expensive compared with other western hunts. Very practical to do DIY also. He is completely wrong about the meat though. It is excellent if handled properly and cooled quickly. I hunt small public land parcels and my kills have been less than a mile from my truck. The animal is promptly field dressed before I go for my deer cart. I bring a bag or two of ice back with the cart and put them in the body cavity for the haul back to the truck. The carcass is cooling down via ice in less than an hour after the shot. Once back at the truck the animal is skinned and broken down right there on the side of the road (a hitch mounted hoist helps) and put in a cooler with more ice. Treat the meat right and you will have the best meat the west has to offer.

Good luck with the draw and your hunt!


Second this ^^^^^
Times a thousand on skin and quarter and on ice within the hour. They have a very mild liver better than calf liver IMO. Leave it pink in the middle very tasty. I wonder about archery though, they have some of the largest adrenal glands for their size of any animal. I have always disconnected their coil wire at the base of the skull so the signal never got sent. No adrenaline no problem.


“The world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined” B. Disraeli

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