Antelope Hunt

cohunter14

cohunter14

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Jul 10, 2017
5,345
Heading out today for a late season antelope hunt in south eastern Colorado. Really looking forward to this hunt! Missed it last year as they dropped tags significantly due to the drought. This is a difficult hunt due to the fact that the area we hunt is very flat, with very little to hide you in the event that you want to put a stalk on. Combine that with it being late season and the antelope are very skitish, making it really difficult to get close enough for a shot. Because of all of this, I got a new rifle two years ago and have set it up for some longer range shooting. After two years of preparation and practice, I am hoping that I am able to fill the tag this year!

Going along with me will be my father and a good buddy of mine who is looking to shoot his first big game animal. He will be priority number one! Hoping to get down there early this afternoon so he can practice some longer range shots with my rifle. If we get something within decent range, the plan is to put him on my rifle and see if he can pop the cherry. Season starts tomorrow morning. Service is a little skittish out where we hunt, but I will try to update things when we come back into town.
 
Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday, we were busy! Two down! Heading out this morning to try to fill my dad\'s tag. Will have the full story when I get a chance.
 
Finally back home with a few minutes for an update... So, Saturday was the opener and first light found us in a nice spot to glass a large area. After a good 30 minutes of glassing, a group of six antelope popped out of their beds and were finally visable. We made a plan and after a quick drive, we were able to stalk through a small ravine to within approximately 650 yards of them.

This was the first problem: I have been using a range finder that is made more for the golf course. Although I have gotten readings over 1,000 yards while using it, it is very picky and is difficult to get a yardage from unless there is a big object. So, I knew the group was between a big bush that was 450 yards away and another big shrub that was 760 yards away. Obviously, that is way too much leeway for a shot, so we decided to back out and try to approach them from a different direction...back to the truck for a quick ride.

As we get to our new destination, we find that the antelope have moved and are now headed towards where we just came from (go figure). So, we quickly head back to our location, jump out of the truck, and head a 1/4 mile or so back into the ravine. I was able to pop out of the ravine to make sure the antelope were still moving along, which was confirmed. All three of us set up, expecting the antelope to drop into the ravine approximately 250 yards out. Unfortunately, the antelope decided to turn and come right at us, with a buck leading the way. All three of us had doe tags, so all we could do was watch as the buck led the group right toward us, then spotted us about 60 yards away, and bolted. We tried to get off a couple of quick shots before they took off, but no luck.

After that experience and watching the herd run into the next county, we decided to head north and try a new area. After moving through there and glassing miles and miles of land with nothing showing up, we headed back to town for lunch and a quick nap.

The afternoon found us in our initial location from the morning. Confirming that the group was still miles away with no opportunity to get close, we again headed north to our second option. This time, there was some promise...a group was spotted in the middle of a very flat field. After covering some ground with the truck, we were able to get to a higher location where we could actually get a reading on the yardage finder: 550 yards. I quickly grabbed my rifle and began setting up, but the antelope got nervous and took off long before I could get ready. So, now what?

We decided to drop my dad there and he was going to go on foot towards the group. My buddy and I would head to the other side of this section with the truck and hope the group would be pushed to us. With both my dad pushing from the west side of the antelop and us approaching from the east, the antelope spotted my dad and took off, running straight south. MAN, THIS IS TOUGH! My buddy, who has been part of our elk hunting group for a couple years, but had never been antelope hunting, commented on how opposite it was from elk hunting: it isn\'t difficult to find the antelope. Getting a shot though? Very difficult!

We jumped in the truck and headed in the direction of the antelope. This is when something happened that I have never seen before...as we drove along, the antelope slowed down and came to a stop, very close to our truck and the road. We were able to hop out of the truck, go get set up, and my buddy was able to pop his \'big game\' cherry on a shot of about 100 yards. As the rest of the group ran off, THEY STOPPED AGAIN! Shocked, I was able to throw the crosshairs on another doe and drop her at about 300 yards. Two doe\'s down in a matter of 30 seconds! Unfortunately, my dad was still in the middle of the field, so he missed out on all the fun. Had he been there, he would have had an easy shot as well.

After grabbing my dad, we went and gutted the two antelope just before dark. We were able to hang them in a couple of trees to cool for the night and we headed back to our hotel room to celebrate and get some rest.

Today (Sunday) was also somewhat eventful, but unfortunately didn\'t produce an antelope for my dad. We started in the same spot as the day before, and spotted some antelope shortly thereafter. However, they were a few miles away and there was no way to get close. The antelope seemed content where they were at, so we decided to head to the northern area to do some glassing. After not seeing anything, we returned back to our original location. We struggled to find the antelope for the first few minutes, only to realize they were drinking from a creek approximately 300 yards from us. They saw us first, and were a long ways off in a very short amount of time, with no ethical shot being presented. We kept an eye on them for a long time as we skinned and quartered our two antelope, but they never came back, so we left with one unfilled tag.

Overall, it was a great time! Being able to have one of my best buddies fill his tag on his first big game animal was awesome. The celebration with him after we doubled up was something I won\'t ever forget. After a year off from antelope hunting, it was also a great reminder at how difficult it really is to take one of them down, at least in the area we hunt.

We are going to process both antelope completely on our own, so I am looking forward to that. I have never done that with any big game animal, so I am anxious to see how it works out.

The one downfall is that I now will be adding a new yardage finder to my \'wish\' list :D It is definitely something that is needed though, although the price tag is pretty high. After the practice and time put in to perfect shooting at longer ranges, having a piece of equipment cost me multiple opportunities was difficult to deal with. The funny part is that after two years of all that work, I was able to take one at less than 300 yards! It sure made that shot seem pretty easy though, hahaha!
 
Very cool!
Glad your friend was able to pop his cherry.

You guys have all killed some antelope. I need to get one under my belt.




Pictures!!??
 
Here is a pic. Sorry for the rubber glove in the photo...wasn\'t a whole lot of daylight left, so we were already prepping to gut it before we remembered the trophy pic.
 

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