Posted: 15 June 2003 at 23:15 | IP Logged

my first real antelope hunt was the fall of 2002, and i learned quite a bit. if anyone is interested, i'd like to post some observations here.

if you are coming out west to hunt antelope (or east, if you are coming from the west coast), i personally would forget the guide, but that is just my style. instead get an atlas for the state you are hunting and learn where the public land is, especially the BLM and school districts. the antelope don't know the difference, and you won't have to pay huge guide fees, trespass fees and who knows how many other fees.

i learned quite a few things this last year while hunting antelope in north-central montana. the first is that antelope tend to run a big circle when they get riled up, and will most times end up right about where they started if you give them time and a chance to do so.

the second thing is that antelope tend to stay in a territory and use fairly-well established trails. my father and i sat in one spot last year and watched several different antelope pass through this one same spot. he was able to "pick out his buck" though this observation, and it was a nice one (14 inches).

also, antelope mothers are quite protective of their young, and they are pretty smart in doing so. i watched a doe stand with her fawn on a very small rise, just a couple of feet above the surrounding land, out of pratical rifle range, and wait out several hunters until it was safe. she then headed for the nearest coulee like her tail was on fire, the fawn close behind.

if any sort of weather comes around (wind, snow, rain, dark clouds), i have noticed that the antelope bed down in the coulees and creek bottoms. this is the last place i would have looked for an antelope, but last year when the weather turned and we were about to give up for the day, we went back home through a coulee and found them bedded down in the creek bottom, scaring up a fair-sized herd.

if you stay out of site, keep to the low ground, below rises, walk along the sides of hills and pop up on them, and so forth, even if you crawl through tall grass or stake out in a clump of bushes, you can stalk very close to them, which will improve your chances of a good hit, and clean kill. this is a good general rule for any hunting, but especially good for antelope, which are quick to flee. i don't know how else to say it, but think like a sniper.

shot opportunities can be found at any range from 50 yards to well-past 300. practice for the long shots, but hope for a good solid opportunity which is in your "comfort zone."

regarding rifles, cartridges, calibers, chamberings and bullets, the trend is toward fast, flat-shooting cartridges in the 25-27 caliber range. i myself would recommend the rifle that you have the most confidence in, for that way you can be assured that shot you take will be the best that you can take.

psp/spitzers around 130(6.5mm and 277cal)-150(7mm and .30 cal) grains are ideal in my opinon, but there is nothing wrng with going up to 165 or down to 120. i would recommend a boat tail for flatter shooting and more retained velocity/energy downrange. SST and ballistic tips are great, i hear, though i have no personal experience in this area. the thin skin of antelope make the b-tips naturally a good choice, though. i would recommend heavy-for-caliber weights if you choose b-tips (i.e., use 165gr for .308 or .30-06, 140gr for 6.5 or .260, etc).

last year's antelope was taken at roughly 330 yards with a remington m700adl (early 70's, VERY pre-lawyer) in .30-06 with 150-grain factory psp's from federal.

last thing. if you get a big old buck, keep your hands, clothes, face, and everything else away from his cheeks and the side of his neck!

these pix are of my dad with his 14-inch antelope buck, shot just a couple of miles from home. the kids in the picture are mine.

Posted: 31 March 2004 at 22:57 | IP Logged

Fella's;

I'll have to go up & scout the herd in our area. 

900F

Posted: 01 April 2004 at 07:38 | IP Logged

Just got back late last night from a day-trip over to Wolf Point and back (from Great Falls).  The typical herds were seen just before dropping down into the Loma Valley and on the flats before Big Sandy.  On HWY 2, large herds were seen east of Harlem, just before Malta, several places between Malta and Glasgow and just before we hit Wolf Point, with singles and smaller groups here and there along the way.  All told, we probably saw 300 - 350 animals the trip over.  Don't know about the specifics of the winter-kill this year, but what we saw yesterday was typical of any trip that we've taken to the east in past years.  >>  klallen

Posted: 01 April 2004 at 09:54 | IP Logged

i'll ask my dad to keep an eye open in the area around chinook. i will probably hunt somewhere between great falls and lewistown this year, if i go for antelope.

so far i have seen lots of deer (both species) and antelope right here around my house in sand coulee.

Posted: 01 April 2004 at 10:05 | IP Logged

I've been hunting 'lopes ever since I was a hayseed kid in Park County, Wyoming.  Your observations are correct.  I'll add a few items:

A guy can make a ground blind in advance of the season and expect a fairly short distance shot if eveything goes as plannned.  A plywood silouette of a black angus cow is fairly simple to fabricate and this works well also.

Look for a buck with well defined prongs and thick bases.  The longer his forward facing prong is shaped makes for generally, better scoring horns.  A 16 inch buck is supposedly the premier size for a buck.  But a 13 inch buck with exceptionally well defined prongs will score higher and look more impressive.   I have one large trophy mounted in our family room.  Since then, I've focused on does and average sized bucks for their tasty meat.  I feel it's dumb to hold out for a trophy each and every year. 

Antelope are easy to kill.  They have a thin hide and enormous heart, lungs, blood vesels.  A hit anywhere in the chest = a dead 'lope.   I prefer our old Remington slide action in .243 because it is accurate, hits hard, and can shoot quickly. I usually receive a double license each year and shooting two quick shots = two dead 'lopes.  Black Hills Ammo makes a very accurate 95 grain Nosler ballistic tip load.   FEDERAL 80 grain Sierra Pro Hunter or 80 grain Speer make dandy 'lope topplers.  The antelope hunter should focus his thoughts for his antelope rifle on accurasy first and foremost.  Bullet diameter and weight are secondary factors.  Practise for a 275 yard shot.  If you can hit an empty 1 gallon paint can at this distance each and every shot using make-shift field rests, you'll do well. 

I like to skin 'em right away.  Then quarter the meat, place in large cooler, and cover with ice.  Antelope meat can sour fast in warm weather because their hollow hairs hold in the body heat. 

Teddy 

Posted: 01 April 2004 at 22:04 | IP Logged

Glasgow antelope report.

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