First time antelope hunt

[Buttermilk]

Best area to hunt is the Western part of Cimarron county.

I've killed two out there. Both with T/C Encore specialty pistols (280AI @ 165 yds. and 30-280AI @ 287 yds).

My hunts were relatively easy. Antelope are curious animals too. Waving a white t-shirt can draw them it at times.

Best to burn up the phone lines and get landowner permission to hunt some of the larger tracts.

This one was at 287.

 

[wyowinchester]

Need
some of the same advice. Location northern Wyoming Late October. Also, is that too late in the season?

All the advise you've read above still applies, except, the rut. Buck are pretty much done in Oct. Take care of the meat ASAP.
I have a doe tag for late Oct. Buck tag for the beginning. Don't be a "dude" and drive around with it in the back of your truck all day.

 

[Huntz]

Some kind of sled to drag them back to your vehicle with or they will be bald when you get there.A 5 gallon container of fresh water to wash all the blood and junk off the meat and paper towels to pat the meat dry.Packing the gut cavity with ice can actually make the meat spoil if the skin is still on.Get hung in a cooler as fast as possible.All the funky sage smell in the antelope is from the blood if you don't clean the cavity.Antelope meat is very good if taken care of right away.

 

[Rhino Hunter]

Aside from pack items, you'll be on flatland so be ready to have a hoist or other available for skinning. We use 3 tipi poles when we hunt just a bit W of where you'll be. If you see them in a place just before dark, they'll most likely be there at sun up. Good luck, that area should have a lot of nicely fed critters!

Good advice. You need to get the hide off fast to help cool the meat down. Please it'll keep in clean. I bought a big game hanger attachment for a 2" receiver this last fall and it worked great. We skinned five of them. Notice the complete lack of trees to hang an animal from. LOL.

 

[WahooYahoo]

GOOD optics. Knee pads, leather gloves.

^^^^THIS^^^^

 

[WahooYahoo]

Good advice. You need to get the hide off fast to help cool the meat down. Please it'll keep in clean. I bought a big game hanger attachment for a 2" receiver this last fall and it worked great. We skinned five of them. Notice the complete lack of trees to hang an animal from. LOL.

And THIS^^^^. I got one for my truck. Get em out of their skins as fast as possible. I do not wash mine with water. Just keep it clean and out of their hide. Tie a quarter to each end of a 12-16" piece of paracord and drape it over your tripod. Keep the meat dry and in a cool place and it will be delicious. Every minute in its hide degrades the quality by some measure.

 

[Flintlock]

I second the info from Buttermilk. I have hunted Texas County and took a doe, draw hunt, with my XP100 in .260 at 205 yds. Hunted sections, some with good grass, about 24" tall. Did some crawling. Scouted a lot from the roads and found what I wanted. I helped two other hunting friends that drew Cimarron County and I found a place for them about 12 miles north of Boise City, OK along the Cimarron River on private land. It was part of the Strong Ranch. Both my friends had drawn doe tags and the first day of scouting, we say probably 15 bucks a few doe.
The next morning we set up on a water hole and glassed. I spotted a group about 1 mile from where we were setting and told my friend, go to the truck, about 100 yds, get plenty of water in the pack, put the pistol up and get your .270 and I will fold up the blind and we are going after them. About two hours later, using ditches and hills we got to 270 yards and ran out of cover. He took a nice horned doe.
I also hunt Wyoming and I carry a back pack, with some plastic bags, latex gloves and a good knife. I take them apart in the field, cutting down the back peeling the hide off, taking the hind quarters and shoulders off, bagging them, cut the back straps out, cut in between ribs in and reach in and take out the tenderloins, never gutting the antelope. Pack it back to the truck and put it on ice.
Call around, if you want to hunt private land. Sometimes the fire dept. has some contacts. They used to check in some game.
I got some info from the county office on people to ask permission from. I work up there and hunt in the area still and some of the land owners are pretty upset with the Wildlife Dept for not giving them more land owner tags and having a higher quota on Antelope. They are causing problems in those areas with tearing up fence eating hay bales.
Always make sure you are following all regulations and make sure you know where you are at all times as far as land owners and DON'T shot from a road, even if you are 5 miles off in the landscape. The Game Wardens are always watching, maybe from a road, oil tank batteries, wind mills. I know them so just follow the regs.
Good luck.
Mike

 

[bdpayne2000]

And THIS^^^^. I got one for my truck. Get em out of their skins as fast as possible. I do not wash mine with water. Just keep it clean and out of their hide. Tie a quarter to each end of a 12-16" piece of paracord and drape it over your tripod. Keep the meat dry and in a cool place and it will be delicious. Every minute in its hide degrades the quality by some measure.

One piece of advice I got on my first antelope hunt in WY last year from a friend who has lived there all his life and killed many antelope is get the hide off before the animal before it hits the ground. According to him antelope meat is ruined by leaving the hide on. Snap your picture and go to work immediately on quartering out the animal. We dressed them out exactly like Flintlock. I have to say we followed his advice and all of us on our hunt preferred it to version. It was very good.

 

[longgun505]

I have hunted whitetail since I was a boy and also other species including elk but this will be my first year to hunt Antelope. I am curious if there are any items I need to add to my pack or gear to be ready for this hunt? My youngest son drew a September rifle tag for the Oklahoma panhandle so we will be headed up there. Any help would be great!

i was thinking a fold up decoy for sure but unsure of other things we might need.

Good optics for spotting, shooting sticks/tall bipod, etc, knee pads with solid fronts for cactus and rocks, good gloves for same, quality LRF. Our go to gun for speed goat is 280AI with 150ELD-X screaming flat, accurate,, hits like a truck on game up to muley's

 

[cardon1122]

Need
some of the same advice. Location northern Wyoming Late October. Also, is that too late in the season?

Not at all. That's where I mostly hunt for antelope. I frequently hunt late season. Opening day in September usually has a lot of hunting pressure and the animals get pretty spooked. Pressure stays fairly high for a couple of weeks. By late season, mid to late October there's a lot fewer hunters which is nice and the animals have calmed down quite a bit. You may get into some snow. By then the antelope may be starting to congregate into bigger winter herds which gives you more animals to look over in one spot. The only real disadvantage I've noticed is the stock may be tougher as there's more eyes to spot you. Good luck with your hunt

 

[KS2506]

It may sound odd, but an old butcher who had cut up and processed many deer and antelope told me to wipe them down with apple cider vinegar. Claimed it would keep the hair from tainting the meat. Let set for 10 minutes or so and wipe or wash down with water. Been doing it for over 50 years and enjoyed every deer, antelope and elk ever killed.

 

[Chas1]

Pack plenty of LUCK and have a great time!!!!!!!!!!!!!

+1. Enjoy

 

[Moose Whacker]

A good pair of tweezers to pull out the cactus needles in your knees and upper thighs!!! Some peroxide to wipe over the pincushion area. LOL Just ask me how I know!
Lopes are not like whities, when you see a whitetail you freeze, with Lopes you hit the ground and get out of sight. Sometimes this gets their curiosity up and will advance towards you.
Good luck

 

[Airedale56]

If possible you might hunt near/over an irrigated crop circle, alfalfa is best.

What they eat can make a difference in how they taste.
Good luck.

Also, .243 Winchester and .25-06 Remington both work very well. Plenty of power.