Top ten mistakes that a first time Antelope hunter makes!

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drycreek

Guest
How about all of the pros give us first timers their take on the top ten most common mistakes that first timers make. I'm sure there are more first timers who would like the info. This info might also help us first timers avoid making the mistake that could cost us a shot of a lifetime.

Larry
 
The first time I went antelope hunting in Wy was 18 years ago. My Dad and I didn't know much about them. It was great because there were so many around. After taking 2 or 3 shots at different goats, I thought my scope must've been bumped because I'm either shooting over or under these goats. Well, the rancher never found any dead goats but later in the hunt we learned that after being shot, because of their make up, they can go run distances....and not look hurt at all. I ended up taking a goat that trip and just hope that I didn't fataly hit any of the other 2 or 3 that I first shot at. I never once found blood so that was a good sign. The thing to remember is to always re-locate the buck in which you just shot at. Make sure you missed him because there is a good chance you hit him right, they just may not show any signs of being hit. I'd say more than 75% of the goats I've shot to date have run at least 100 yards after being fataly hit. GREAT THREAD!

Steve
 
Glass baby Glass, Buy yourself a high quality spotting scope & binos, and let your eyeballs do your walking, you'll never be sorry!
 
I am far from considering myself a pro, but one thing I do know is to know and be comfortable with your rifle. I know a few guys who pull out their favorite hunting rifle wipe off the dust and they are ready to go. I try and shoot as much as possible. Doing this will help you know where you're hitting at different distances. I have a tough time geting close to these critters so being able to shoot out to 350 400 yards has helped me. Good luck!
 
Not following up on shots thoroughly, as noted, is a biggie

Not trying hard enough, too much time at camp midday, etc.

Not scouting (map scouting as well) and not having sound knowledge of the area that could even have been gained remotely.

Not glassing enough, thinking you can see what needs seeing with bare eyes.

Not covering enough ground or area of the unit. Not seeing animals one day is not a good predictor for seeing them in the same spot the next day so keep moving till you find what you seek.

Poor or untested equipment issues.
 
Great thread!

One thing I did learn on my buddy's lope hunt this year, is not be too prideful. Don't think you are too good to use a decoy, sit a water hole, tie sagebrush to your body during mid stalk, etc....Alot of guys say sitting waterholes is for kids and lazy bums....Hey man, whatever gets you a shot!!!


"...I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six..."
 
Here's another one the first timers may not know....when either field dressing or skinning, do not pull on the hair or think you can hold onto the hair and pull the skin back. You will get that hair everywhere! The hair on antelope is hollow hair and it slips extremely easy. Be very careful when skinning especially not to get the hair on the meat. It is very difficult and a huge pain in the arse to get off.

Steve
 
When judging a goat, mass is very important. Don't shoot one just because he looks tall, mass is every bit as important on a goat as length is. Goats get 4 mass measurements that can equal more than half the total score. A 13 inch goat with great mass will score way better than a 15 inch goat with no mass.
 
Don't judge horn length and mass during mid-day heat waves. They always look heavier and longer in heat waves.

Don't try to hide in brush, ridge, or ravine after being spotted. Hiding after you've been spotted makes the antelope very nervous and they will run off. If you have been spotted but the antelope haven't run off yet, continue your stalk, angling toward but not directly at the antelope. Make a large sweeping arc, slowly closing the distance. They are very curious, and many times will allow you to walk to within rifle range as long as you are not heading directly at them.

Use a range finder. They are smaller than deer, and in wide open terrain range estimation can be difficult. A good range finder will take range estimation errors out of the equation.

If you blow a stalk on a good buck, don't give up on that buck or settle for a lesser buck. The good buck will return to his home range/territory. Patience is a virtue. This is especially true for hunting antelope.

Antelope are difficult to judge. Get some good videos and study them. The difference between a good buck and a great buck can be very subtle at 400 - 1000 yards through a spotting scope. Tony Grimmett's video, "Size Is Everything" is one of my favorites.

Hope this helps, Smokepoler63
 
Especially on the big ones if you can see them they can see you. Don't think that your movement at 1000 yards isn't being noticed. Curiosity kills the lope for the small ones, but the big guys tend not to find out what you are. I always tell people that antelope hunting is the easiest hunt out there untill you decide you want one over 80 inches


"blaming guns for violence is like blaming spoons for Rosie O'donnell being fat."
 
This is an awesome thread. Archiving it for sure!

UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)
 
This is a very cool thread. I have never drawn a buck antelope tag but I have shot two doe antelope. The one thing that really suprised me is how far they can run after they have been shot in the lungs. My first doe I shot in the lungs and it ran for a pretty long clip. My second antelope i shot in the shoulders and it dropped like a pile of crap
 
They are small animals- judging the distance to them is tough. Especially if there are no trees around to give you a proportion aspect. Use a range finder!

If you are looking over lots of goats during your hunt, hold out. Don't shoot the first goat you see. Typically goat hunts allow the hunter to look over many many goats.

Buy knee pads!

Never ever underestimate their eye sight.
 
Couple things i don't think were mentioned yet;

Lots of guys only plan only a couple/few days for a lope hunt. If you're looking for a really good buck, plan the time as if you were looking for a good muley. It's big country, lots of places to hide and inevitably, some of the best bucks in the unit are going to be in places few people look. Also, i enjoy just looking over the bucks in no real rush, looking and hunting to pick out the very best one for what i like.

A big mistake that could be made in shooting a young buck instead of the doe that your extra tag might call for. Young bucks can have really small horns and hard to see from some angles. Be sure you're looking at a doe before getting wrapped up in the shot.

Joey
 
are the antelope running long distances because the bullets are not performing like they would on big game? Meaning are they just punching a small hole because they are thin skinned light boned animals animals which makes the bullets not expand and unload the energy in the animal. Instead they are putting the energy in the ground 100 yards past the antelope.

I think you need to match the correct gun to the critter over gunning is almost as bad as under gunning.

4a7d1f93337c7fd7.jpg

Archery is a year round commitment!!
 
Thanks guys it just keeps getting better! I know I'm taking notes. I'm thinking 270 Remington bolt action 130 grains soft point.

Larry
 
Hard to add to what has been said.


Get away from the roads. Go to places other Antelope hunters wont go. While glassing an area at long range it may look flat but as you walk thru it you would be surprised at how many hidden depressions there are. Find these spots that can't be seen from the roads and you may find the giant you have been searching for.
 
Lessons learned on my first lope hunt;

Don't get in a hurry to shoot. I shot a decent goat but missed a lot bigger one, and should have waited to find him or another big one again later in the hunt. Take you time when you decide to shoot and be sure you know where to hold. They are a lot smaller than elk, big mulies or even whitetails.

Bring the best glass you can buy or borrow. My spotting scope was nearly usless, it serves well at the rifle range but was not clear enough at "lope distance".

.257 Robert's with 120 speer spitzer boattails performed excellent.

Hope to hunt them again soon and learn more. A fun animal to hunt.

Phantom Hunter
 
SW, that was exactly the point I was trying to make but I had to cut my post short because the power went out at my business half way into writing the post and I was typing on battery back up. My first loper I shot in the lungs with my 300 rum with 165 grain nosler accubonds that I handload. I figured that bullet ripped thru the lungs without doing alot of damage. So the next time I went I took my 25-06 that I load 110 grain accubonds for. Even though i hit her in the shoulders im betting the 25-06 would have preformed better had i made a lung shot.
 
DON'T SHOOT THE FIRST DECENT BUCK YOU SEE!!!!

Antelope huting is a blast! Tons of action, tons of animals, and VERY high success rates. Another great thing about antelope is that there is typically decent trophy potential on nearly any unit you will hunt...IF you can stay off the trigger for a day or two.

Problem is, at a couple hundred yards or more it is tough to tell the difference between a very average 12" tall buck that will score in the high 60's and a very respectable 14-15" goat with good mass and prongs that will go 75" or better.

Take your time, look at A LOT of bucks closely, then go back and get the best one you have seen after looking the unit over for a couple of days. Don't worry, you'll get a buck. No sense ending it all in the first couple of hours of the hunt.

Of course, shoot any buck you want and as long as you are happy it is a trophy to be treasured, but the question was the biggest mistakes made by first timers and in my opinion this is it. I can't help but wonder how many 12" bucks are shot dead on the first morning of a hunt when a much better buck is standing just over the next rise, or around the next corner.

Have fun!
 
look in the non typical places. I hunted antelope for the first time last year and saw lots scouting, but also saw a lot of hunters watching all the antelope out in the flats. We were driving a rocky road through a saddle with very steep wall on one side and watched a doe go up and over the top. We went to take a look on top and found 5 differant groups of antelope all with decent bucks. This area was a side of a large mtn and didn't look like antelope country, but when you got up the first hill there was a large platue. The funny thing was we sat there not 200 yds from the road all bay watching the antepole my wife was going to shoot, and we watch hunter after hunter drive by never seeing any of these antelope. Look for the big ones where you don't expect them to be. just something that work for us.
 
+1 wiskeybent

I personally don't believe there is a one gun that fits all. that is why I have several. It cost to much to shoot rabbits with a 300 mag and it isn't effective to shoot bison with a .22
Sure they all will work just one works better.

choosing the proper gun is just as important as choosing the proper arrow blazingsaddle so if you need help in that part I can help.

4a7d1f93337c7fd7.jpg

Archery is a year round commitment!!
 
1- Not practicing with your gun.

2- Shooting the first 'nice' buck you see.

3- No Scouting

4- Not cooling the meat and removing the hide quick enough

5- Not getting your buck mounted (full head mount).

6- No shooting rest/sticks.

7- Bad Binos

8- Forgetting to buy a Wyoming Stamp (my friend did this LOL..)
 
Antelope have larger lungs and over-sized windpipes. This does have something to do with why they are able to go so far even though you make a good lung shot. I'm sure the type of bullet and caliber used, as mentioned above, has something to do with it as well.

I've found that once a goat has spotted you and spooked, don't "chase" them. They'll rarely let you get into effective shooting range after they've been spooked. Either make a huge circle and try to cut them off or find another band to go after, then come back after the ones you have spooked after they've calmed down. Read a book on antelope. I did and I learned a ton about how they are built and also their history on the plains. They are a very fascinating animal. You won't be sorry you read up on them before your hunt.

Steve

Yes.....don't forget to buy the conservation stamp. That would suck to get popped on a $12 item!
 
I went on my first antelope hunt this year and it was a lot more fun than I expected.

I took my 300 win mag that my wife bought me for fathers day. I shot 180 grain power points cause that's what I practiced with. I didn't realize they are as small as they are but my buck soaked the bullet up pretty good. I did not get a pass through at 400 yds but it did throw him down.

My cousin shot his with his 7 mag at 75 yds, he took off but He was able to get another shot in him at about 300 putting him down. Both good shots.

I wish I wouldve held out knowing there are bigger bucks in the area but I got buck fever and a really good angle without taking the time to really look at him.

We took a ladder to hang them up and skin and quartered them and put them in coolers on ice and they both taste very good.

Take pictures, lots of pictures.

Go back and shoot coyotes off the gutpiles.

Have some fun and expirament and practice stalking does and small bucks so you have a better idea what works and what doesn't so you will be ready for the big one.

4b1db2ac644136c4.jpg
 
LAST EDITED ON Jan-07-10 AT 04:41PM (MST)[p]In windy country like Wyoming, & eastern Montana antelope often get down in cuts & coulees to escape the strong wind.
Often you can drive by big herds and not even know it.
get out of the truck and investigate hidden cuts in seemingly wide open country.
It often yields bucks that you and many other hunter have driven right by.
HH
 
When I dropped my lope off at the butcher, she said it is very important to cool the meat ASAP. She said if it's going to go sour it will be within the first 2 hours, so get that meat in a cooler.
 
Larry, Your 270 is a great choice for speed goats, i use a 280rem with handloaded sierra gamekings. I'll give you the same answer i posted on the NAHC board: Don't forget Tire Chains & Knee pads!!

7 Mag
 
antelope are territorial and if you find a big buck, don't push the stock until he is in a good spot. Leave him and wait for your chance. If you do blow him out, wait he will come back sooner or later to his area.

Wind, know what your rifle does in the wind. It is always windy in antelope country. Everyone goes with a lighter rifle then they are used to and get a ton more bullet drift then they are used to.

Be patient and continue to look, first timers always shoot to early thinking it is like deer season and the lopes will be gone, they won't. Some of the best hunting is at the end of the season,

Rich
 
1. Be patient - but sometimes (this happened to me) the best one can be seen on the first day. I killed a 84+ buck in Oregon and I tried like hell to pass him up becuase it was the first day.

2. If they look at you and they are big you will see BLACK BLACK BLACK. Horns, face etc. BLACK. If you have to try and stretch they aren't that big.

3. If they are in the rut use a decoy or if they see you drop immediately. I had several bucks in Nevada come to me because they didn't know what I was and they were being "rut" stupid.

4. Be patient. They seem to do the smartest things and then once in awhile they do the stupidest thing!

5. Enjoy the hunt and give it time. In Oregon and Nevada I have seen 95%+ of the hunters leave after the first weekend. I hunted in both states for several days without ever seeing another person because they killed small bucks or didn't allow the time. This is a great tag. I had 9 pts. in Oregon and 7 in Nevada. I devoted scouting time and the full week for the hunt.

6. Great optics. One inch means everything with goats and you need a chance to look at them. If they are BIG you can see it.



Jazz

Jazz
 
Most everything has been said. Here is one that is missing. Be careful to shoot only one lope. Because they are in a herd most of the time and it is pretty easy to have a bullet go right through one and hit another one. Also be careful if you shoot at a buck running in the herd because the one right behind the buck might fall if you are not use to there speed.




"Let's keep things in perspective.I mean for Peet's sake there are kids in Africa that don't even hunt....hello" Jimmy Big Time
 
Smokepole touched on this...

If you get busted in your stalk, don't give up. But, continue on in more of a roundabout way. If they're locked on you, slowly arc around, or indirectly pursue them.

On my bud's bowhunt, he got busted on plenty of stalks when ~400 yards away. After getting busted, multiple times, he would just walk diagonally past the group and be well within rifle range.



"...I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six..."
 
There has been a lot of good info given and I think these are the type of answers that any newby would be glad to know. Thanks guys for all of this great info.
 
One thing I learned along time ago. Take a great pack frame with a large shelf like the Kelty frame and pack your antelope out instead of dragging them. I can get a full antelope out on a pack frame way faster then any other way. (I'm guessing aroud an 80 to 90 lbs pack). Never drag a goat especially if your going to mount it. You will ruin the cape even if you drag it a short distance.
 
Tk and Wiszard touched on the cape. Never drag the goat. Get the cape off of the head immediately. The black face patch on the jaw will slip extremely fast. Their hide is like nothing else. Everything else has been stated. Mature bucks usually live by themselves, in a remote corner of pasture that is often overlooked. Have fun!
 
If you're a fairly young and inexperienced hunter like I was, figure out how many boxes of ammo to take.......and double it!:)

Eel

Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.
 
I would like to thank everyone who replied to this post. Lot of great info I know that will help on my first hunt.

Again Thanks!

Larry
 
Dutch I think that happens to more than just Antelope hunters. I watched a friend snap an empty chamber on a 180+ Witetail not once but twice, he bolted an empty chamber twice without looking, he then saw he had never put any rounds into the Mag..

Larry
 
I'm a little surprsied that no one has said not to skyline yourself. Literally crawl over ridges next to cover if possible. Antelope will see you from over a mile away if you skyline yourself. Always "peek" slowly over ridges.


And always have a good rest. I always try to shoot off of a fluffy pack. It's just the steadiest and best thing going. With the way the wind blows here in Wyoming, get a really good rest.

Get a good range finder and know the distance if you can. In level country, even a good range finder does not always work perfectly, but it sure helps.

Good coments; most everything else is right on track.
 

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