Questions for the unit 10 antelope gurus

[creed_az_88]

I finally drew my archery antelope tag. Just got back from my first scouting trip to 10. I have the archery hunt next month. I did not see near the number of antelope that I thought I would. Saw way more elk than I thought I would including one jaw dropper bull. I did find one really good antelope buck and a few borderline shooter bucks. I was definitely not expecting it to be 100° each day I was there. I'm sure I missed some animals because of that heat. My question to all the antelope gurus out there is, how far would you expect a buck to travel between now and late August? I am extremely interested in relocating this buck during the hunt and prior if possible. He was that good. The monsoons have yet to hit up there it seems. There weren't tons of does in close proximity to him but there were some. Will these does move much once the rains come? Every tank in the area was full so the only thing that will change will be green growth. I intend to focus on relocating this buck and if that is not possible move on to some undetermined plan b spots. Any info from previous tag holders would not be turned down 😉. I intend to pay to hunt the bo if necessary. Can I wait until halfway through the hunt to buy a permit to hunt the bo or do I need to get one soon? Any of you seasoned archery antelope hunters have any other advice for me? I plan on grinding it out and spot n stalking them just like I do deer and probably get my butt kicked for most of the hunt with the hopes for one or two opportunities at some great bucks. 

Thanks, 

Creed

[GreyGhost85]

I've hunted antelope quite a bit and they do not seem to travel much at all. It could just be that the country they are in is really easy to relocate them i guess but i bet he'll be right there when the hunt starts. I do know that the unit 10 antelope hunts are a real rat race. if you have a big buck found, you need to just expect to have competition. In the rifle hunts there, most of the real big bucks in the unit are dead before the sun even comes up on opening day. 

[Flatlander]

I have had the total opposite experience in another unit that borders 10. Bucks just showed up out of nowhere after the rut kicked in. But this country was broken, with lots of private ground that we couldn’t access mixed in.

There were some bucks that hadn’t moved and inch, but there were others, especially the really big ones, that appeared out of nowhere.

[AZkiller]

I have had exactly 1 antelope tag and it was 18a. The 5 bucks that I watched over the summer, 26 days, were in the same place until the rifle hunt started. 

[forepaw]

Well I am anything but an antelope guru, but I had that hunt last year.  Since your question is specific to antelope behavior and locations, I will limit my comments.  This was my first archery pronghorn hunt, though I have taken a few on various rifle hunts over the years.  The best way to describe the antics of the relatively few antelope we saw would be unexplainable.  They were the craziest-acting bunch of goats I have ever been around.  Squirrelly and flighty doesn't being to describe their behavior.  They were hyper wary and crazy.  One minute, they would be grazing peacefully, the next they would explode into activity, running helter-skelter for no apparent reason, sometimes for a mile or more, other times stopping to graze again still within sight.  This was big time schizo behavior in my opinion (compared to rifle hunting), which I attributed to the rutting urge, and for the few days I hunted, I was unable to put myself in position for a shot.  Compounding the difficulty was the overall topographic relief of the area we hunted on the Big Bo.  It was flatter than flat.  There was almost no vegetation and no gullies, hills, swales or any other feature to offer concealment during a stalk.  Nor was there any concentration of animals near water, or apparent use of waterholes (not allowed on the Bo anyway). 

We found not a single goat using water, which was plentiful, though some appeared to be en route to or from, though taking their time about it.

Best advice I can think of, based on a possible single shot opportunity which did not happen, would be to make sure you stay between the does and the herd buck if you can.  If the buck moves away from the does for any reason, try  to find a way to intercept him on his return route.  This may not be fruitful as a buck separating from some does, may be doing so because he has found another more desirable group  of does to spend time with.   However,  there is no way to know this, and they may return to their original group (or may not).  As far as spot and stalk (which is about all you can do on the Bo unless you can plan an ambush), be sure  and bring a number of decoys if you can.  We used two different decoys with no success, but you never know, the right one might allow you to get within shooting range.  Probably, a life-size full body type might pay off, but we did not have one, and can't offer any insight.  Real gurus will know techniques and strategies, but it is not common knowledge, and not really needed for a rifle hunt.  Archery is something else.

Be ready for long hikes and long days of hot, dry, windy conditions, blistering sun/mirage, and no shade - unless you bring your own.

forepaw  

[PRDATR]

20 minutes ago, forepaw said:

Well I am anything but an antelope guru, but I had that hunt last year.  Since your question is specific to antelope behavior and locations, I will limit my comments.  This was my first archery pronghorn hunt, though I have taken a few on various rifle hunts over the years.  The best way to describe the antics of the relatively few antelope we saw would be unexplainable.  They were the craziest-acting bunch of goats I have ever been around.  Squirrelly and flighty doesn't being to describe their behavior.  They were hyper wary and crazy.  One minute, they would be grazing peacefully, the next they would explode into activity, running helter-skelter for no apparent reason, sometimes for a mile or more, other times stopping to graze again still within sight.  This was big time schizo behavior in my opinion (compared to rifle hunting), which I attributed to the rutting urge, and for the few days I hunted, I was unable to put myself in position for a shot.  Compounding the difficulty was the overall topographic relief of the area we hunted on the Big Bo.  It was flatter than flat.  There was almost no vegetation and no gullies, hills, swales or any other feature to offer concealment during a stalk.  Nor was there any concentration of animals near water, or apparent use of waterholes (not allowed on the Bo anyway). 

We found not a single goat using water, which was plentiful, though some appeared to be en route to or from, though taking their time about it.

Best advice I can think of, based on a possible single shot opportunity which did not happen, would be to make sure you stay between the does and the herd buck if you can.  If the buck moves away from the does for any reason, try  to find a way to intercept him on his return route.  This may not be fruitful as a buck separating from some does, may be doing so because he has found another more desirable group  of does to spend time with.   However,  there is no way to know this, and they may return to their original group (or may not).  As far as spot and stalk (which is about all you can do on the Bo unless you can plan an ambush), be sure  and bring a number of decoys if you can.  We used two different decoys with no success, but you never know, the right one might allow you to get within shooting range.  Probably, a life-size full body type might pay off, but we did not have one, and can't offer any insight.  Real gurus will know techniques and strategies, but it is not common knowledge, and not really needed for a rifle hunt.  Archery is something else.

Be ready for long hikes and long days of hot, dry, windy conditions, blistering sun/mirage, and no shade - unless you bring your own.

forepaw  

Sounds like you were "Home on the range where the deer and the antelope play". In the early 90's a buddy and I went to Raton to shoot in the Nationals for High Power Silhouette. After practice we drove into NM to some volcano park and watch some similar behaviour.  We watched as a group a 1000 yards away milled around then one trotted off to a barbed wire fence line and ran back and forth. Then  kneeled down and went under it. Once on the other side he ran around in circles and went back to the fence. One by one they each came to the fence and went under it. Once they were all on the other side they briefly ran around together going back and forth then herded up as pretty as can be and ran off together at high speed until they were almost out of site.

[idgaf]

I cannot speak of unit 10 specifically, but I have had 5 or 6 archery antelope tags and have been on another 1/2 dozen hunts.  When I had my last tag (close to home) I spent the summer pushing my target bucks to see how they would react.  They have designated escape paths that they use.  if you are an area with alot of hunters set up in the escape path.  The big herds of does towards the end of season get broken up into breeding sets.  If it is dry, check the pines, even the game and fish was surprised on their flyovers how many antelope are in the big trees.  Antelope essentially have hubs that you can nearly count on them at depending on feed and water.  Hope that helps good luck. 

[Big or Bust]

Hunt the Big Bo first off. You'll see goats everywhere...

Secondly, that buck will be somewhere relatively close by during rut...