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Average Joe Hunting Stories, Successful Hunters 2012

Average Joe Goes To Wyoming!

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Oregon Hunters – Hunt Wyoming

for Antelope 2012!

Introduction on this story written by David K, aka DAK is the second on Antelope – Pronghorn, one being in 2010 on hunting in Oregon!   David is CFO for a major Oregon company!   CFO’s are like engineers and they are of course very analytical about everything, such as equipment and how they go about life.  My years of observation with buyers of RV’s or Sporting Goods has lead me to Dogma !   They have to do the Research!   So enjoy a real story from the “AVERAGE JOE”    Cobra

Back in 2010 my brother and I (with lots of advice from Frank) hunted antelope in Oregon’s South Wagontire unit.  It was a fantastic hunt and a great experience and we decided we just had to hunt antelope again soon.  The only problem was the 10+ years it takes to draw a tag in Oregon.  We started planning a trip to Wyoming.

My family has always hunted close to home.  As a kid, my father rarely hunted more than a few miles from the farm he grew up on.  Out-Of-State hunts were things that Eastman and Capstick and O’Connor wrote about in magazines.  My family’s hunting trips, if told honestly, sounded more like they were written by Patrick McManus, or Jeff Foxworthy.  But, that never discouraged us before and it was not about to this time.  We had a great time and learned a lot that will help us plan future trips.  In the hope that some of our experience might be helpful to other ambitious antelope hunters (and because Frank again gave me some advice that turned out to be golden) I’m passing this story on to him to pass on to all of you…

Note:  I got a fantastic buck in 2010 and had decided any mature buck would be what I was after.  My brother Brian had never hunted lopes but had studied them as a biologist.  Brian is a bit of an artist at heart and for him the experience of the hunt is a kind of art.  For him a B & C buck shot from the roadside would not be as meaningful as a small buck skillfully stalked in beautiful country.

Step #1 – Getting the tags.  This is surprisingly confusing!  Wyoming antelope tags are either “Any Antelope” or “Doe” tags.  Both of these have early and late season tags (4 possibilities).  These have “Special” draws (the tag costs more) and a “Regular” draw (8 options).  Each of these 8 options will have varying draw difficulties depending on the unit.  Once we figured all this out (not easy) we were able to put in for a “Special, Late, Buck” tag in a unit with good public land access and high draw odds.

Additional administrivia – In Wyoming if you were born before 1964, you have to have a hunter safety certificate.  You also have to have a “Resource License” in addition to your tag.  According to the local game warden these are things out-of-state hunters often miss.

Step #2 – Get good maps.  Frank advised me to get the Wyoming Plat Map for my Garmin GPS.  This shows the ownership blocks in addition to all the usual Topo Data and will jack into the computer so it can be viewed on a big screen.

Step #3 – Use the maps to figure out where in the unit to hunt.  Most Lope country in Wyoming is checkerboard private and BLM land.  You can only access the BLM land where public roads touch it and much of it is “landlocked”  The Topo maps showed some good big blocks of contiguous BLM land in parts of this unit.  The local game warden told me to sign up for the HMA’s.  These are Hunter Management Areas where the private landowners grant hunter access for those who sign up and agree to follow the ranch rules.  These HMA’s can be a few small blocks or 80 square miles, but you have to sign up for them online ahead of time.

So, we had tags, maps, a game plan, and 9 days to get it done (5 hunting days with 2 days travel each way).

Step #4 – Life gets in the way, deal with it…   A few days before the hunt Brian (my brother) finds out that his girlfriend’s mom’s boyfriend has passed away and the funeral is Saturday.  His girlfriend also has an appointment in Portland the Monday after the hunt and he will need to driver her there on Sunday.  Two days gone and the window is narrowing but we still have time for a good hunt.

Saturday evening after the service we get the camper shell mounted on Brian’s truck and find out the lights don’t work (mechanical difficulties have always figured prominently in our mis-adventures so this is no surprise).  After a few trips to the hardware store we have it fixed and are on the road.  Brian tells me his girlfriend’s Uncle Joe who came to the service had a nasty cold and he’s hoping he doesn’t come down with it.  We head east and, of course, he is coughing and sneezing before we hit Spokane.

We got as far as the Montana border before we had to pull over and sleep Saturday night.  We drove all day the next day (Brian coughed, sneezed, dripped and went through two boxes of Kleenex and a multitude of cold meds but he is tough and takes his hunting seriously) and by 10:00 Sunday night had reached the northern edge of our hunt unit.

Lesson #1 – Allow a full two days for the drive or you will miss some beautiful country and start your hunt already tired.

Got up Monday morning and headed into one of the big blocks of BLM land.  Once you get off the highway the two-tracks that go through this BLM land are pretty rutted out and can turn to soup when it rains.  Everything was dry, but we didn’t want to push the truck too hard with a camper shell on top.

Home away from home while in Wyoming!

The BLM blocks had lots of Lopes.  We must have counted 50 in just 5 hours of hiking.  Three looked like decent bucks but all these animals were hyper alert and very skittish.  We saw a couple hunter’s camps in the distance and all the two-tracks had seen ATV traffic.

Lesson #2 – For the best hunting, find places the ATV’s can’t go or are not allowed too go.  The biologist had told me the same thing – get away from the ATV’s.

The wind in Wyoming is fierce.  During our whole trip it blew almost all the time at anywhere from 20 to 40MPH.  I had expected wind, but this was unreal.  Blowing dust, OK.  Blowing sand, still OK.  But blowing gravel was something I had never experienced.  This wind has all kinds of implications for how you hunt and the kind of gear you bring.

Lesson #3 – Plan for high winds, they affect EVERYTHING.

We headed to the southern end of the unit to hunt one of the HMA’s where no ATV’s are allowed.

On the way we probably saw another 100 or so antelope from the county road.  I turned on the Garmin GPS with the Plat Map.  Most of these animals were on private blocks, but some were on public land that had enough cover for a stalk but they were mostly younger bucks and we had just started to hunt.  A GPS with the Plat Map that tells you EXACTLY what is and is not public land opens up huge areas that can’t otherwise be hunted without the risk of a trespass issue.  These checkerboard lands often hold less pressured animals because ATV’s don’t go there (a one square mile block is not enough space to make deploying the 4 wheelers worthwhile).  Thanks for the advice on the maps Frank.

On the way to the HMA boundary we noticed a lone doe on the other side of the fence that paralleled the road.  She was running in circles about 200 yards ahead of us and acting nuts.  Then we saw her fawn, also about 200 yards ahead, and on our side (the wrong side) of the fence.  We had just driven past the gap in the fence and the two of them were separated.  We backed up 500 yards, but neither of them would come back to the fence gap.  We figured the only option was to get up some speed and blow past them and the fawn could work his way back then.  As we approached the fawn, he crossed the road in front of us and started to run parallel about 50 yards off the road and ahead of us.  Brian pushed the gas till the meter read 45 MPH and the potholes just about shook the truck apart and that fawn kept pace with us for the next mile till we hit another fence line and he circled back to join mom.  This fawn was all of 5 months old.

Once in the HMA we saw two big groups of 20+ animals which looked to hold a couple mature bucks.  They were a mile or so off when we spotted them and if we had not had just a couple hours of daylight left we would have tried a stalk.  We decided to come back the following morning and see if we could locate one of these bands again.

Following a county road back to town, just at dusk, we spotted another small band that had a buck in it.  They were following a fence line toward a waterhole to the south and would cross the road ahead of us if they continued.  The Garmin GPS showed them to be on public land.  In the low light I couldn’t get a good idea of the buck’s horns, but he had a dark cheek patch, heavy bases I was sure about, and was a big bodied animal.  Brian stopped the truck and I decided to have a go at him.

I bailed out and worked into a position where they would pass by at about 250 yards which was a distance I had practiced at.  I got seated, put the rifle on the bog-pod and let them get a little closer.  Based on the estimated wind speed and direction I figured about a foot of hold off.  Just as the shot broke, a sudden gust pushed me off by a good 2 feet (fortunately forward of him and a clean miss).  Even sitting from a bi-pod the gusts were nasty enough to affect aim severely, see Lesson #3.

I figured they would blow out of there like scaled cats.  Their reaction was exactly nothing.  They stared in my direction and in the dim light I don’t think they knew exactly what I was.  My dad taught us when you fire a shot you have to assume a hit and you are committed to finish what you started.  At the next shot the buck hunched up and staggered showing he was hit hard and then he lay down with his head still up.  The does were still staring but did not run even now.  My third shot rolled him over.  I had no clue why they had not run at the first shot, but my tag was filled.

Antelope are beautiful animals and I’ve always thought their horns were elegant and graceful.  As Brian and I approach this animal I discovered he was possibly the ugliest antelope I’d ever seen.  This was an old buck with stained and worn teeth who was more than a few years past his prime.  He was big in the body, with a broad, scarred nose from fighting over does.  His horns were heavy and gnarly at the bases, but the tips were chipped and splintered and the prongs were broken and abraded back almost to the main beams.  This old boy was too old to win his fights and not smart enough to know it.  I think this was a cool trophy in a different way and I was pretty happy about it.

We got him dressed out and in game bags.  We stowed these on top of the camper for the night to let the wind cool them.  Field dressing an animal in a 30 mile wind is a huge hassle, see Lesson #3.  By the time we finished it was late and we decided to camp right there and make a plan in the morning.  Brian coughed and sneezed all night in spite of the cold meds.

In the morning we decided to hunt back through the HMA and head back to town and see if we could get some dry ice to keep the meat cool.  We spotted two bucks, one of them nice, on a block of public land off the county road.  Brian bailed out and I drove on about a half mile to where the truck was out of sight, grabbed my spotting scope, and got to the top of a small rise to watch the action.

The Lopes were about 700 yards from where Brian bailed out and there were some deep gullies leading in their direction.  Brian used the gullies to get within 300 yards and crawled through the sage to work closer.  He got within 200 yards, took a bead on the larger of the two, and decided he wanted to get closer.  At 190 yards they busted him and blew out.  200 yards is a make-able shot for Brian.  I suspected this stalk just wasn’t the sort of hunt, the sort of memorable experience, that he had in mind and later he admitted as much.

For my father, hunting was about putting meat in the freezer and I often find myself thinking that way.  Over the years I’ve come a good ways towards seeing it the way Brian does.

Moving into the HMA, we spotted one the bands from the day before.  They were bedded on a bench on the other side of GW creek from the road about a mile away.  Just seeing the truck stop to glass made them nervous and they started to work away from us toward some knobs on the low ridge above them to the north.  There was at least one mature buck in the group.  I thought our odds of catching up with them were pretty slim, but this was the hunt Brian was looking for and he thought we could do it.

This could lead to some long distance shooting or out of sight Lopes!

We drove 2 miles further up the road and parked.  Brian’s plan was to head north, cross GW creek and climb the ridge on the other side, then work our way west toward the knobs they had been headed for.  He thought that if they hadn’t totally blown out, they might be feeding and bedding behind the knobs out of the worst of the wind.

In the creek bottom we discovered an old mining claim.  I don’t know what they were mining for but the tailing’s had lots of red, orange, and pink Jasper.  We pocketed some of the prettiest pieces for our nieces.  We also discovered this country has lots of prickly pear cactus in spots.  This stuff grows low to the ground, is well camouflaged, and has needles 1-1/2 inches long.  It can make a stalk very painful in country where there is no good cover and you have to crawl to get closer.

In Oregon we are pretty lucky and there are only a few places with Cactus!

The wind really started to howl as we crested the ridge and worked our way west.  Brian’s nose would drip and the wind would pick it up and blow it back onto his glasses so he had to wipe them off regularly.  The guys who write articles for hunting magazines never mention this kind of stuff.

Coming up around the shoulder at the base of the first knob I saw the backs and ears of lopes feeding just over the crest of a shallow rise on the other side of a very shallow wash.  I grabbed Brian (who saw them just about then) and we hit the dirt.

Brian stripped off his day pack and crawled on hands and knees down into the wash and up the rise on the other side while I fished out my camera (with good zoom) and took pictures.  As he neared the top of the rise he went down on his belly and scooted forward on toes and elbows, 4 inches at a time, till he could see the lopes.  He stripped off his binos so they wouldn’t scrape on the ground as he crawled forward.  His hat kept trying to blow off his head and go sailing across the prairie toward Sheridan (which would probably have spooked the antelope).  He belly crawled the last 50 yards.

Shooter on the Ground! Could have used him in Combat!

There were a dozen does and 2 young bucks, one of which looked respectable, but no sign of the larger buck yet.  But, every little wrinkle of terrain in county like this can hide animals.  Brian took a bead on the bigger of the young bucks but just then noticed the back of an animal with his head down feeding down the next wash off to his left.  Might this be the larger buck?  Just then the young buck put his head up and stared hard at Brian.  On his belly, he would not have looked like a person or a predator, but he did look like a strange lump on the ridgeline that was not there before and might possibly have moved.  The smaller buck and a doe stared at him also and he figured he’d better take the shot now.  Just then the larger buck fed out into the clear.  Brian took him with one perfect shot at about 100 yards.  From where I was laying about 150 yard away the sound of the shot from Brian’s 30-06 was little more than a muffled pop.  The wind just whipped the sound away.  Another mystery solved.  The buck I took didn’t react at the sound of the first shot because he barely heard it over the 35 MPH wind.  Brian’s buck was a beautiful animal with long hooks and graceful curving prongs and the stalk and the country were classic.

Brian with his Wyoming Lope! Hoorah! He did it his way!

We got his buck dressed and caped and packed it three miles back to the truck.  In addition to the GPS Plat Map, another piece of gear that was really golden was the “Just One” pack.  It is one of those wing style packs that folds down to a low riding day pack but when the main compartment is expanded will let you add 4 quarters, backstraps’, and a cape and head very comfortably.

Brian sneezed and coughed and went through 2 boxes of Kleenex on the way home and somewhere near Billings the grill over the camper’s refrigerator service port was torn off by the wind and went sailing away.  These things happen to Average Joes so we don’t start thinking we are Eastman or Capstick or O’Connor.  But, even those guys would have approved of how Brian got his antelope.  DAK aka David

The way to end a hunt! Wyoming does have beautiful Sunsets!

 

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Oregon Archery Pronghorn Successful Hunt

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Russ & Doug’s 2011 Pronghorn Hunt

I would love to tell you where this buck was taken, but I promised that I would not give out the exact location.  For two (2) years a couple of the fellows in the circle have taken dandy Antelopes from this area in S.E. Oregon.   It is a Pronghorn Archery Hunt Unit that takes about 5-7 preference points to get draw.   As my biologist that I have known for more years than I can remember told me recently that Oregon has monster Lopes in every unit, “it is just a matter of having the time and patience to find them”.
I myself have hunted a number of units with the arrow and have been fortunate to harvest some big Antelope Bucks!  So I know from scouting in almost all of the units that there dandy bucks everywhere.
Pictures from the 2011 Oregon Archery Antelope – Pronghorn Hunt:
A little different profile! Great buck taken by Russ!

This is a dandy archery Antelope Buck taken by Russ in 2011

This buck was one that got away, but not before Doug took his picture. Definitely a candidate of a buck for Boone & Crockett in 2012!

Enjoy the shots by Russ & Doug!

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Archery Pronghorn – Antelope Hunting Techniques

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I thought I would do some updating on this post since I did write it in 2011.  I am a firm believer in having the correct equipment and knowledge to keep legal while hunting.  The other benefit of having the following tool, is that you might be able to find a landowner that let you hunt. Most farmers have great feeling about Lopes when they grow grasses…

Everyone should have @onxhunt in Mobile and or Garmin Colored GPS with the #onxhunt chip.

The tool know where you are at all times, boundaries are important to know…

In my time I have done a great deal of scouting and researching of Pronghorn or Antelope as most call this great animal from the past in Oregon and the rest of the Western States, where they roam in hunt-able numbers.

2019 Thoughts: If you have time to scout even 1 day prior, get a game plan of glassing and glassing. Everyone should have at least an A, B and C plan. Glass from afar  and if possible from a rise. Lopes are habit creatures and will work the same water holes and areas.

For archery hunters in many of the Western States you have a chance to hunt every year for Antelope.  Where as with a rifle you might have to wait some 12-25 years to draw a tag, at least in the Oregon.  I have hunters in Oregon that are now hunting almost every year with the bow.   A  great challenge to hunt with the bow, but what a rush and accomplishment to harvest up close and personal.  You’ll find hunting with the bow for Antelope a great sport that you won’t be able to stop doing.   I have been told by my hunters that they have had the best experience hunting Antelope over anything else they have hunted in North America.  It could be that they see a lot of Antelope while hunting them.

Picture taken at 30 yards from a 500 yard stalk!

I one thing I do know after all these years and not even being in some of my old haunts for many years, is that Pronghorn are animals of habit from generation to generation.   They cover the same ground and do the same things from one generation to another.  Most of the land in which they live never changes.   There was one buck that my friends & hunters chased for about three years and never got.  I really wanted him for myself is what all thought.  He would be located in the same spot within a 1/4 mile and escape basically the same way.  His escape route was not one you could cover and he knew it.  Now if we ambushed him in his normal spot he could have been taken.  He was one of the biggest Antelope I ever hunted.  I did get one hunter on him at very close range with a standing broadside at 40 yards.  He missed the buck and the hunt was over for him!   He had told me that he was the greatest shot with bow and arrow!  A few years back I went back to a spot which I hunted and guided about 20 years ago.  The only thing that had changed is the B.L.M. put a solar power water pump on a water hole in one of my favorite spots.   Even the old ranchers sign was still there and he had been gone for a long time.  The sign had stated in so many words that you were crossing into his lands.  This happen to be B.L.M. that he leased, but did not own.  I have that sign now in my loft.

I once heard on a hunting program on cable that Pronghorn don’t jump through barbwire fences!  Well I have to tell you that they do got through the middle at times and not always under the bottom wire.   I have a blurred picture in of a buck Antelope jumping over a five strand fence!  YES I DO!

Ah! They do jump fences with ease!

I have seen mature bucks standing in the middle of a back country road in B.L.M., marking the road.  No, not by scratching but by urinating in the middle of road.   Once someone knows some of the peculiar habits of Antelope, you can use it to your advantage.   Such is the case a couple of years ago when I spot a group of Antelope in a 5 tag unit.  I wanted the picture of the buck and just knew he would go around the mountain and want to get back into the hole.  He did just that and my son asked how did you know?

I ambushed this buck as he came around the mountain!

I have taken a great deal of Antelope with the bow and all but a rifle kill has been from stalking.   A great deal of the bow hunters I know do wait on water, but you have to have patience.  One of my GPS Hunters sat for two (2) for more than 12 hours.  He as been successful two (2) years in a row.   I do love to stalk them and arrow them before they know I am there.  

This was stalked while at a waterhole and taken at 50 yards.

Antelope do lay in the sagebrush flats and with a lot of glassing from a vantage point you can find them and stalk within bow range easily.

I followed these bucks for some time and close the distance, wind to my face!

Many of friends think I am off the wall with some of my mannerisms when it comes to all types of hunting.  First off I would never relieve myself in an area that I hunt and I am going to have a wide stance so none of my scent is getting on my boots or pants. Then there is the issue with sunglasses, I will always wear sunglasses (favorite are Ray-Ban Wayfarer-easy to lift with bino’s with no bind) during the day and “Photo Grays” for the evening hunts.  I felt if the game, especially Antelope can’t see my eyes or movement then I could close the gap on them even easier once spotted.  I always wore a hat and a backpack with the spotting scope & tripod sticking out of the top.  It is what it is with habits and wearing the same pants on every hunt!  Terrible that it may be I wore blue jeans as my basic pants! Once in a while I will go full Camo, but that is on my son’s request.  It has never been about hiding from animals!

Good thing I had Top Secret Clearance on this shot! This picture was taken on a military missle site. This white buck was later taken out by a car as he crossed a highway.

Most experience hunters have there ways to hunt game, whether it is from stalking, waiting, ambush or just being lucky and walking into a shoot-able animal.  It is whatever works for you that makes the hunt!

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Cobra’s Grizzly Unit Archery Pronghorn Hunt

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Grizzly Mountain Antelope Buck

Most of my friends that have hunted with me over the years, know that I have little patience to sit and wait, though in more recent years I have found that I have grown to be more patient. Thus they know that I love to glass, find and stalk the Mulies and Lopes.

This story is about chasing Antelope in the Grizzly Hunt Unit in Oregon during Archery Antelope Season some years back. In the past one would put in for the premier rifle areas for Antelope and make the second choice for archery, knowing you would get an archery tag. I drew the Gerber Reservoir tag for many years and had a blast chasing and harvesting Lopes in the Sycan area.

Then the Grizzly Hunt Unit became a choice for Archery Antelope and the first couple of years it was easy to get the tag as a second choice. Having hunted for elk and deer in the Grizzly Unit since the early eights and seeing pretty good numbers of Antelope – Pronghorns, it was a great choice to hunt.

There were a great number of areas to hunt Lopes in the Grizzly Unit for public lands in the Grizzly Unit carried Lopes with some numbers. The National Grasslands was a great place, along with the BLM both in the Northern Sector and near Ashwood, Oregon.

Many of friends think I am off the wall with some of my mannerisms when it comes to hunting. First off I would never relieve myself in an area that I hunt and I am going to have a wide stance so none of my sense is getting on my boots or pants.

4x Globe Sight Target Style

Then there is the issue with sunglasses, I would always wear sunglasses during the day and “Photo Grays” for the evening hunts. I felt if the game, especially Antelope can’t see my eyes or movement then I could close the gap on them. I always wore a hat and a backpack with the spotting scope & tripod sticking out of the top. It is what it is with habits and wearing the same pants on every hunt! Terrible that it may be I wore blue jeans as my basic pants! It has never been about hiding from animals, only other humans.

Let’s get onto the Antelope hunt in the Grizzly Unit this time frame in my life! Realizing that story is based on a hunt in the 80’s, things have not changed other than I might hunt more waterholes now as I grow older.

My equipment in those years was P.S.E. Mach Flite 4 Bow 70# 29″ Draw, Easton Arrows, P.S.E. Brute 3 125gr. Broadhead, Stanislawski Sight (Globe), Stanislawski Overdraw Rest (Mel Built for me) and Stanislawski Superb Rest (attached to the overdraw). The length of the arrows are 25 ½’ with a speed of 340 fps!

Couple more years he would have been a dandy buck!

The weather was great and was able to find Antelope in the numbers in the area around Haystack Reservoir and Grays Butte. This was going to be a usual weekend hunt only as I could be make it their in about 1 ½ hours from my home in east Portland. On Saturday I made a number of stalks after spotting lone bucks to within 100 yards. Funny how that distance is workable with Antelope. There were not many does around to mess up my stalks. What I needed was to find Bucks that would be in areas with more cover. The area that I hunted had little water and the Lopes would range into the private for water. Saturday ended with no success, but I would make the most of the following day.

The following day I would work the area on just south of Grizzly Mountain, which was always a great area to find Antelope and Mule deer. It was a time that the road in was not gated off and one could work a lot of area. Now it is gated off, yet it is only because about 100 yards of the road touches private. If one wants to hunt it present day they will have to come around from the west and do a great deal of walking.

I found a lone buck at about 1000 yards while glassing an area that I could find Antelope at any given time. The stalk was on and I was able to move quickly, even run as there were bulldozer cuts in the land for fire lines. Settling down I was within 80 yards of the buck, which I figured to be about 14″ with decent mass making him a shooter on this weekend hunt. The wind was blowing off the mountain as it was getting late into the day. His attention was to the direction of the mountain and with the wind (heavy) I was able to move in on him to 45 yards. It was still a time that I used fingers and as I came up from the crotch position I was a full draw. I aim at this chest and released the shaft, he made no movement as the wind was making a lot of noise and his head was turned away from me. I missed the mark and hit him in the shoulder and the arrow did not pass through him, but yet looked deep enough that he would not go far.

Pretty good mass and cutters
After waiting for about 30 minutes I went to the place of impact and followed a small blood trail, he had gone about 500 yards and laid down in the trees. The area of made up of Junipers, Sagebrush and rocks.
Great way to end a weekend of hunting for Antelope and take a buck that would score around 69″!
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Antelope – Pronghorn Hunting Biggs Hunt Unit – Oregon

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It is funny that I don’t get many people inquiring about the West Biggs Antelope Hunt in Oregon!

I have spent much time over in the unit, which has a great deal of private land, yet there are a lot of Antelope in the Public Areas that are open, mostly to foot traffic with vantage point drive to points.  The Antelope or Pronghorn love to move from some of the neigbhor units.

I have attached a link to a buck that would work both sides, plus a few pictures of a buck that I took pictures of while bow hunting for deer in the unit in August.

I knew where this guy was heading and could have waited!
There was a bigger buck working the area!

LINK:     Back and Forth Lope  

This video is a buck that I took this footage of a few days past the season!

Great spot to camp not to far away! B.L.M. Hunting
Successful Hunters 2011

Philip’s 2011 Warner Unit Antelope

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Philip got a hold of me prior to the season on anything I could come up with on the Warner Unit for Lopes.   Philip had a buddy that knew area, plus he spent a great deal of time talking with the Area Biologist.   Funny the biologist told him he would not have a problem in the Warner Unit harvesting an Antelope.   Recently I talked with Garrett at Artistic Taxidermy and he told the average buck coming was about 14 1/2″.   Philip’s buck is a really dandy and I am sure when he has it on the wall in the trophy room he will be glad he decided to have the trophy mounted.

Philip E. & his 2011 Warner Unit Pronghorn

HI Frank,  Here’s my story from the Warner unit. We ended up hunting an area that my buddy had previously hunted which also happened to be near one of the waypoints you gave me.  Thanks for all of your help.

I began preparing for my first ever antelope hunt shortly my hunting buddy and I were drawn.  My buddy loaded several rounds of 130 grain Nosler ballistic tips for my .270 until we finally settled on a load that produced a muzzle velocity of roughly 3,050 fps.  We shot several times at the practice range until I felt relatively comfortable out to 300 yards.  I had my gun zeroed at 200 yards with a 6 inch drop at 300 yards.  I purchased some Stoney Point shooting sticks, open country Camo shirts, knee pads from Salvation Army, and some leather gloves in case I needed to crawl. 

The day for our departure finally arrived, and we got up early the Sunday morning before the Wednesday opener, loaded up my truck with all of our gear including a spare ice chest loaded with block ice and hit the road.  We made it to the first area that we wanted to scout and did some evening scouting.  For the next two days, we scouted some areas that were recommended to us, as well as, an area my buddy had hunted previously. 

Philip must have had a great feeling to walking up on this buck?

On opening day, we ended up settling on the area that my buddy had previously hunted. We got up early on opening day and decided to split up and set up in a couple of areas that we had seen antelope the day before.  I had several does come down off a ridge along with one nice buck.  I was set up on the other side of a Juniper tree because of the sun direction and could not get a decent shot at about 250 yds.  They started to head away on the other side of small depressions.  I tried to put a quick sneak on them by using  Juniper trees as cover but got busted.  No other opportunities on opening day. 

That evening I walked several ridges and plateaus to get to know the area better.  I saw several antelope.  The next day I set up in a different spot.  I tried to put the sneak on a nice buck with 8 does.  I made a big loop to get around where they were loafing.  Unfortunately, by the time I made it to where they were by using Junipers as cover, they had moved and decided to mosey to another area and was now out of range and heading away from me.  I spotted another large group about a ¾ of a mile away and began another sneak.   For some reason, they spooked when I was well over 1,000 yards away.  I thought this was strange as I was being very careful to hide behind Junipers. 

Great photo op! Great horn symmetry! Great Prongs

I decided to continue on anyway to see if there were any others left in the area.  I got set up and was glassing and noticed another hunter hiding under another Juniper about 150 yds.  Away (he probably spooked the antelope that I was trying to put the sneak on).  I waved to him and left to go back to the truck as it was now about 12:30.  My buddy radioed me on the GPS that he was ready to come in and head back to camp for a break.  He said there was a nice buck bedded down between him and the truck.  He said if I could position myself between him and the truck he would try to “push” the antelope towards me.  I thought what the heck, we might get lucky so I positioned myself under a Juniper in the shadows and set up my shooting sticks.   After about 20 minutes I saw my buddy on the top of the ridge about a half mile away.  He headed down and about 10 minutes later I saw a nice buck headed my way about 800 yards out.  I was amazed that he kept on heading for my position.  I glassed him at about 400 yards and he looked pretty nice.  I decided that I would take him if the opportunity presented itself. He kept on walking briskly towards me.  I finally ranged him at 248 yards and knew he was in “the zone”.  There was a very brisk wind so I waited as long as I could for him to come broadside and almost dead down wind.  He stopped for a brief moment.  I swung my rifle from left to right through him just like a duck.  I centered on his front shoulder and moved it back an inch or two.  I sensed he was about to step forward and pulled the trigger.  He folded like a sack of potatoes at 227 yds. 

We played cat and mouse with the antelope for the next three days until we finally got my buddy a nice buck on day 5.  We had a great steak dinner at the Adel store on Saturday night and hit the hot springs on Hart Mt. in the afternoon after my buddy got his antelope. 

The folks at the Adel Store are super friendly (Al and Marcie Prom, Debbie, and Ben).  They let hunters use their walk in cooler to store the antelope.  We purchased ice, gas, and had refreshing cold tap beers for $2 after we brought in my antelope.  They were exceptionally friendly and helpful.  Unfortunately, Al and Marcie have their store and home up for sale so who knows how the set up will be in the future.  For now, I would encourage anyone to patronize them if they are in the area.   Based on my conversation with the taxidermist who was stationed at the Adel store, I decided to have my antelope mounted.  He measured one side at 15 3/8, but did not measure the other side.   The only downside to the trip was that we saw more hunters than we anticipated for the first three days of the season.  After the third day however, all but one of the hunting camps had left and on the fourth day we had the area to ourselves  Unfortunately, several of the hunters on days 1-3 were hunting like the cavalry out of ATV’s, jeeps, etc. and spooking every antelope in sight.  I don’t mind people using ATV’s to retrieve their game, but in my opinion, too many people hunt out of them and screw up the hunting for others in the process.    All in all it was a great trip.  We saw many antelope, sage grouse, mule deer and some wonderful scenery.  I look forward to the next time in another 10 years or so when I will be the ripe old age of 59.

Not much cover! That is Lope Hunting country for sure!
Successful Hunters 2011

Steve’s 2011 Murderers Creek Antelope

5 Comments
Steve passed up this buck the first part of the season!

Sometimes even I get to see something different!  In all of my years of harvesting Lopes and chasing them, I have never seen a buck that looks like this great buck with sweeping forward horns.   Truly a trophy buck that everyone would love to have hanging on their wall!  Steve had contacted me earlier before the hunt and gave him some landmarks.  Steve was able to find a place to hunt that he found this monster buck on.  For the future if anyone has a friend or hunter that draws the Murderers Creek Antelope Tag, we can get you the information on the ranch!

Steve's Monster Lope - Murderers Creek Unit

 Hello Bwana,

Here are the pictures from my antelope hunt as promised.

 I was hunting the Murderers Creek unit and near Seneca, Oregon. I saw this guy on opening morning pushing some does but at about 300 yards and moving.

16" Long Forward Sweeping Lope

It wasn’t a great shot and it was the first day so I passed. It was tough hunting as these antelope see you coming from far off and run away. I walked miles in pursuit only to have them spot me again and run half a mile or more. There isn’t much to hide behind for stalking in closer. I was within 600 yards on many occasions but couldn’t close the deal. I had been in the field every morning by 5:30 but on Tuesday I was out at 4:30 and headed to a lone tree where I had jumped them twice before. It was about 8:00 when I first saw him at 800 yards and coming my way. He was all alone this time and I had been told the big bucks will frequently be seen that way. At about 275 yards I realized he wasn’t going to get any closer so I dropped him.

This is my first antelope so I’m not an expert but I think he’s pretty good. (Great Buck! Bwana) I had trouble judging him due to his odd horn configuration; note the forward slant of his horns.

Look at the width of the horns - Awsome Display!

This was part of the reason I passed that first day. I have not had him scored but the length is about 16″s. I am anxious to have a pro measure him. Let me know what you think.

We had a great time and stayed at a perfect campsite with a nice creek and fire pit close by.

Thanks for your information.    Steve 

Successful Hunters 2011

Roger’s 2011 Steens Antelope Hunt

3 Comments
This picture tells it all about the hunt! Great shot after the kill!

Roger had only got a hold of me this summer about the Steens Antelope Tag he had drawn.  I gave Roger some waypoints and I believe even a jpg paper map.   I had another fellow hunting the unit, but it is a large area to hunt, so I felt they would not cross paths which they didn’t!   So here is Roger’s great story of his hunt, which I have enjoyed to read which all of you will!

Hi Frank,

Thanks so much for the advice provided for my Steens Mountain antelope hunt. Your advice was the difference between success and tag soup for me. As requested here is a short story and photo of my buck. A very small price to pay for the knowledge provided.

 After 14 years I was finally able to draw my Oregon Antelope tag. My wife and I decided Steens Mountain would be a great spot to hunt due to the high success rate and legendary scenery. The trip and hunt, although a calamity from start to finish, did end nicely and we were not disappointed!

 I reached out to you after discovering my work would allow no scouting before the trip. In addition, I would be traveling to Steens Mountain on opening morning instead of hunting. I was fretting to say the least. I obtained the hunting GPS maps you recommended and even got a new Garmin 62s GPS to use with them. This was an awesome GPS/map combo that did contribute to my success in the end. The waypoints you provided were great starting points for the search and put us square in the middle of good antelope territory.

 My wife and I started out from Portland early Saturday morning with a lot of high hopes and anticipation. This bubble was soon burst however by a flat tire while crossing Mount Hood. This little delay cost us our Saturday and we were not able to reach Steens Mountain until Sunday afternoon. On Monday, the 3rd day of the hunt, a time when most hunters were finishing up, we found ourselves just getting started, with the antelope scattered and wary. It was Wednesday before things started to settle down and we were able to spot a few small herds, though some were now missing the buck.

 Thursday morning things were looking up, we had a couple of herds to setup on and again anticipation was high. But again a problem… First thing in the morning, we had an axle issue that forced us to miss the whole days hunt and travel to Burns for repairs!

 Friday morning, we were back on the road but a whole week of hunting was fast disappearing. And I had not yet put my sights on a buck. I was starting to dread becoming a member of the “20 Percent Club”, that unfortunate group of Steens Mountain antelope hunters who fail to fill their tag. We tried some road hunting, to cover more ground and find a herd. We were finding them, but once these already fuzzed up antelope saw a truck, approaching them was all but impossible. We tried all the road tricks, like slowing down just enough to drop the hunter out the passenger door and then driving on, but no good, these antelope had seen it all.

 Latter Friday morning, we spotted a herd of antelope from some distance, before they were able to spot us. This allowed for a spot and stalk. I was able to work my way to within 489 yards of the herd but could go no further as there was nothing but wide open space between the herd and me. So, I settled in between some small juniper scrubs and started eyeing the buck. He was BIG. After a few days of looking at bucks, once you see a good one, you know it. I was excited to say the least. I got a good shooting position with rifle and bipod and started to contemplate the risks/rewards and even sanity of a 489 yard shot. No wind… I had practiced at 400 yards and felt somewhat competent at that range, but 489 was another story. About then I noticed the herd was actually feeding toward me and a bit to my left. This was my best chance of the week. Now all I had to do was wait them out! But again it was not to be. The herd became very nervous and they were all looking in the direction of a road that I could not see, about 500 yards to my left. They then bolted, crossed under a fence on their side of the field and disappeared. I suspected another hunter had been stalking the same herd and spooked them. I picked up my gear and had started the hike back to the truck, when I heard it… Bang Clang Clang Bang Bang Bang Clang. The herd had been spooked by a rancher with a rattling horse trailer traveling up the road. The only other vehicle I saw the whole day! Such are the challenges of public land hunting I guess.

 This is where the GPS/map combo came in handy. While back at the truck, we could see where the antelope had traveled almost full circle and were now visible on a far off rise.  The rancher approached our truck on horseback. I explained what had happened and apologies were given and they explained they were in the area to round up some cattle they had grazing the BLM land. I replied, no worries, as the antelope could have just as well spooked my way, which would have been a very good thing. I discussed some property boundaries with the rancher, as the herd had seemed to go under the fence onto private land. I knew this because of the GPS maps. The rancher confirmed that the fence was the boundary between their land and BLM land. The rancher seemed somewhat relieved that I asked about and understood the property boundaries.

 The rancher decided to help me get within range of the antelope again. With me hidden between the horses, the rancher attempted to approach the antelope on horseback. The antelope obviously knew this trick too and bolted to places unknown for the day. I spent the rest of the day finding a spot to setup that would allow a good shot, if the antelope returned the next day.

 On Saturday morning, last day of my hunt, I walked to the setup spot with just enough light as to not require a headlamp, sat down beside a three foot juniper that was on a small rise overlooking the open field. This gave me a perfect 300 yard shot to where the antelope had crossed under the fence the previous day and also allowed me to cover the opposite side, if they showed up there as well. At 7:30am I saw a buck feeding down the BLM side of the fence line. The buck slowly grazed to about where the antelope had crossed under the fence yesterday. Unfortunately, he was not the same buck from the day before. He was smaller. I watched this buck for about 10 minutes, hoping that the rest of the herd might not be far behind, but no others showed.  This buck seemed to be alone. Now I had a decision. Should I take this buck or wait for one that may never show? It was 7:30am, my last day, and some scattered clouds arrived that were beating back the sun. I knew that with the early morning air and clouds, I would be able to get the meat out in good shape. So, I took the buck with one shot from 280 yards with my 25-06. The buck was only 20 yards on the BLM side of the fence. I now have some good meat and stories for elk camp this year!

 This is where the GPS/map combo really shined for me. In years past, I would not have hunted an area with such close public/private land boundaries. But the maps allowed me to hunt with confidence and I got my antelope, which I may not have gotten otherwise.  I hope to hunt the Beulah unit next year. I know an area where some big mule deer hang out and it too is a patchwork of BLM and private land. I cannot wait…

 Thanks again, Frank!

 Roger