First time antelope hunter

[NebraskaKID]

Last Saturday I had my first taste of Antelope hunting with my little brother. We had been applying for Nebraska antelope tags for the last three years and this year we were lucky enough to draw either sex tags. I have always wanted to hunt these speed goats but have never pulled the trigger on going out of state but I am have a feeling that that will all change in the years to come. Well we hunted from Saturday till Monday morning and each day we managed to find antelope. On Sunday morning we glassed up a decent buck but when we made a stock on him he put the slip on us and the rest of the day we could not locate him. Since I have never hunted antelope before I have some antelope behavior questions that if anyone could answer I would truly appreciate their input on the subject. Do antelope prefer open areas which they can see predator coming or does hunting pressure dictate where they will go most of the time during hunting season. Also do antelope have travel patterns that they seem to follow daily such as hitting the same watering hole?

 

[Tim McCoy]

?.. Do antelope prefer open areas which they can see predator coming or does hunting pressure dictate where they will go most of the time during hunting season. Also do antelope have travel patterns that they seem to follow daily such as hitting the same watering hole?

Antelope are often thought of as open country animals, and I suppose most are. That said, I've found them up hi on mountains, in moderately thick cover, etc. Not sure it was due to pressure, I think they lived there. What I do notice is pressure makes them very skittish, and open country goats may run with little warning.

Antelope are almost always near water. I've seen groups water around the same time each day often. Pressure could blow that up I suppose. The more water holes in the area, the more unpredictable that gets is my guess. We always speculated that once the dominant bucks got a herd of does, they almost seemed to stick to a set watering time to avoid other dominant bucks when not pressured. I've watched water in MT & SD where 4-5 herds used them daily at different times.

Best advice I can offer is to glass a bunch with the sun at your back. You will eventually find one. They are up and about much of the day. Good luck!

 

[NebraskaKID]

Thank you Tim! I appreciate you replying to my questions and offering insight on the behavior of antelope that you have hunted. Would a dominate bucks that has a set boundary during the rut abandon his territory after the rut to herd up with other antelope.

 

[Rich M]

I had my first antelope hunt this year - seemed to be peak rut. Had bucks fighting, rubbing their heads on bushes and pawing up the ground. It was pretty cool to see. The immature bucks were all by themselves and were sometimes in easy to stalk positions. I regretted not buying a buck tag.

Don't get caught up on antelope having a "territory". The goats were here one day gone the next where I hunted. Even before the season, there would be a herd here today and not tomorrow. Sure they did hold in some areas but not like I had imagined from what I had read. Private land held them much better & consistently than the limited access public land did.

We put a bunch of goats to sleep in 2 spots the night before the season and they were not there at first light. And there were more guys than we had imagined or seen while scouting for 2 days.

I was dropped off on a public piece and made a move on a herd of 8 (big buck, almost big buck, 2 does, 4 fawns) that kept running back and forth through a lightly wooded hilltop - ended up shooting my first antelope, a fawn at 25 yds out of the herd as it stood there watching a truck to the east, hunters to the south, and a truck driving by to the west - I was on the north.. Then had a herd of 6 sneak by me - other guys spooked em. Then had a lone small antelope come tiptoeing by at about 340 yds - it actually hid behind a bush when a truck went by. I shot it for antelope #2.

Hunt partner was so sure he was on a mature buck - we put it to sleep, and they were in that area all day 2 days in a row, right... No antelope at all when he went in. Then he started doing the truck parade thing - got in line and just plain out-glassed the other guys, saw 2 horns out on the prairie, crawled within 350 yards and waited for the buck to stand up and stick his neck out straight, shot for the ribs holding into the wind and made a perfect neck shot. It was windy that day. 2 days later I used my antelope movement knowledge and put him on a doe so we could leave and head home.

 

[Hilltop]

Antelope "territory" is much larger than people might guess. The do typically hold to an area or territory but that may be many square miles in size. Antelope also migrate in some areas so they are capable of large movements. In Nebraska, your antelope is still in the area unless he was harvested. The area may be 5 miles x 5 miles though... Keep at it and be patient as long as you can.

 

[ScottR]

Antelope "territory" is much larger than people might guess. The do typically hold to an area or territory but that may be many square miles in size. Antelope also migrate in some areas so they are capable of large movements. In Nebraska, your antelope is still in the area unless he was harvested. The area may be 5 miles x 5 miles though... Keep at it and be patient as long as you can.

Yeah it isn't small, but it can be distinct when they are on the edge. My estimates have always been aproximately 3 milesx 3 miles but wouldn't be surprised if bigger.

 

[NebraskaKID]

Awesome stuff guys! I truly appreciate all the input and personal hunting experience that you guys have shared with me. Unfortunately I have run out of time on this hunt. The antelope season here in Nebraska runs from October 14 until October 29. I hunted from 14 to the 16 and on those days I was able to find antelope each day so I thought I was starting to figure out these speed goats. So I went back on October 20 till the 22 and I was unable to locate any antelope. I picked apart the country glassing with the sun to my back put on the miles on the old buts but in the end was humbled by these speed goats. I feel like I have learned things that I could have only learned by attempting to hunt this prairie ghost. Overall my first antelope hunt was fun and I was given the opportunity to create some memories with my little brother that is in college and I do not get to see as often as I would like.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

Great advise here. Congrats on going out of state to get your hunting goals accomplished