Roy contacted me back in early summer that he had a Steens Antelope Tag. He also told me that he had hunted deer the Steens and knew that area well. He was wondering if I would share some extra info on places that he might get into Antelope in the Steens.
Just in case his spots did not work out that there were other avenues to work in the Steens. The spot that Roy hunted is a great area for lopes which his story tells the end result!
Frank, I got a great picture of some real nice rams in the area and sharing it with you and your readers.
Bighorn Sheep that Roy was able to get close to!
I killed a nice buck on Thursday evening, 14 inch buck, nice ivory tips, and good size! I gave up on the long range shooting and sat at a water hole for hours and hours. I hunted in the area northeast of Moon Hill Road.
This buck has some Cutters (Prongs) I know why he took this lope!
I had multiple Does bed down below me at the waterhole when I shot this buck. There were antelope everywhere, and the good thing was, when I got a shot it was a mere 186 yards. The buck didn’t even move, he just crumpled right there.
I was pumped, got him to the locker in less than 2 hours, and the meat tastes great.
Thanks Much, Roy Jackson
I really like this buck and he was definitly a shooter and will look great on the wall! Bwana
Ray contacted me around June 30th after searching the internet for information on the Oregon Malheur Antelope Unit. What I liked about Ray, was that he was prepared for hunting, having the right equiptment. He also had a Garmin GPS with mapping and he did buy the www.huntinggpsmaps.com Maps for the hunt!
Frank, I used my Remington 700 – .270 with the Winchester Ballistic 150gr (I think, could be 130gr). We ended up camping off of Warm Springs Rd just a few miles north of the Res. (we were the only camp I saw all week). We covered a lot of ground in this area from camp towards Riverside and S.W. towards Crane before deciding to hit the hills east of Shumway south out of Juntura. As you had mentioned, most water holes were full so jumping pond to pond wasn’t giving us any results. On the hot afternoons saw a herd bedded in the timber. Jumped a nice herd of 10-12 lopes with a huge Buck in the rear but we were crossing through private land at that point. We ended up trying to stalk that herd once they ducked the fence to BLM but it only took a few minutes for them to cover a few miles. After hiking to where we thought they might have slowed down they were nowhere to be seen (It took us a few hours to get there). They were bedded down in the sage on a hillside maybe 80 yds off of the road. Saw a nice shooter again on private right along the highway one morning also.
Ray's first big game animal!
Hunting Buddy - JACK!
Ultimately I took my buck on our evening hunt last Wednesday. After a late lunch and a few cold drinks (we had been out since 5AM and had covered over 100miles on our quads and several miles on foot) we headed out of camp around 5:30PM on our quads headed North on Warm Springs Rd. Our plan was to try to glass the hills south of Hwy 20 where we had seen that nice buck off the highway that hit the hills toward camp once we pulled over to see him. We turned on to a road about 5-6 miles south of the highway (spotting scopes in hand) thought we would ride in to look for a good vantage point to sit out the sunset and hope to see him.
Green Antelope Country in August!
It wasn’t a few miles in when I creped around a blind corner and saw an antelope moving through the meadow (about 200-225 yds away) I grabbed my rifle and jumped off my quad. I put my sights on him and realized right then that this was my chance. The sun had dropped below the next ridge and things happened so fast that I quickly but softly asked my buddy who had just ran up with binos in hand “that’s my buck, right?” without hesitation he replied “YES! TAKE THE SHOT!” By this time he had us pinned and had adjusted his walk to a gallop and was broadside planning on getting up over that ridge. I squeezed the trigger and heard a whack! The adrenaline at that point I felt had never been stronger!
Ray's other hunting partner Neil! Find them Lopes!
But he didn’t drop, I hit him a bit low and he ducked around a lone tree at about 225yds . I almost began to panic wondering if I only imagined that whack since I had been dreaming about it every night since I drew the tag. Just then he popped out the other side and stopped broadside looking right at me, I squeezed off another round and he dropped in his tracks! After a few minutes of high-fives, hugs, and holy —-‘s I went up to claim my trophy! Not the biggest one out there but a solid buck with ivory tips and a broken kicker tells me he could have been a little bruiser!
Not the biggest one out there but a solid buck with ivory tips and a broken kicker tells me he could have been a little bruiser! I can’t wait until Christmas time when I get him back and have years to tell the story of my lifetime. Incredible hunt, and an incredible animal…
Antelope Country of Malheur Hunt Unit
We saw a large herd of Big Horn Sheep and more coyotes then I have ever seen in one place. Lot of deer too, and one really nice buck (wish I would have gotten a picture of).
Brandon’s 2010 West Beatys Butte Antelope 40 yards!
Early on in 2010 after Brandon drew his Archery Antelope Tag for West Beatys Butte with one preference point, he contacted me via email about possilbe Lope hunting sights in the unit. He and his dad were willing to spend some time to scout the area. I worked up some waypoints from the old days and since he had a Garmin Mapping GPS, it made it easy for him to utilize the waypoints.
I thought I would share the pictures from his hunt and a short story about the hunt. The big thing he was successful on this bow hunt and harvested a very good Antelope.
Bwana,
In the above attachment you will find the 2010’ Archery Antelope that I got which you helped me on with the GPS coordinates. You will also see a picture of a really nice Lope that we saw during our scouting trip we did 1 month prior to opening day.
Scouting Lope at waterhole!
I got the smaller lope at the same hole as we saw the larger lope at. There was an average of 20 to 40 lopes using the water hole we found. I shot my lope at 40 yards out of a Primos double bull blind while he was drinking water from the hole. Last year was extremely dry and any hole that had water had antelope around.
The water hole that I hunted which I found while scouting is coordinates:
Top Secret Spot
Thanks again for all the help you were. Your help with the GPS let me find the above water hole which brought me success. There were a lot of antelope around this water hole.
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.
I have been fortunate to have harvest 2 Booners. Should have 2 more, but things happen. I have guide a few in the past and had them on Booners. One fellow that I was really upset was told me he could shoot out to a 1000 yards, no he did not shoot at 1000 yards, but has rested shot at 200 yards on the famous Rye Grass Buck. He missed him, hunt over and we parted ways…
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.
The best part of having a successful hunt is having experience with you. On my first Antelope hunt I was very fortunate to have my a Navy buddy guiding me in an area that I have never been in. My Navy buddy and I met when I was station at the Naval Security Activity in Imperial Beach, CA. I was a young enlisted guy and he came in as a LTJG from Portland, OR. I took him on his first duck hunt in the area of Imperial Beach and Tijuana. We later got reconnected when I got off active duty and joined the Naval Reserve. Rod retired as a CMDR from the Navy!
Grizzly Unit – Archery Lope
Cutting to the chase, my first Antelope hunt was a great learning experience for me. I became a quick learner and listen to everything Rod had to say and show me. He had a friend that worked for BLM in the area that knew the habits of the local Lopes. My First Lope Hunt
After that I became quite hooked on Antelope and spent the next 20 years plus scouting, chasing and free guiding on Antelope in Oregon and a little in Wyoming.
I have found that Antelope are very habit forming in their movement. I have seen the same buck or bucks working an area even after pressure. I know that most people do not realize that Antelope any other animal that marks their territory. One may not notice other animals doing so, but with Lopes the area that they live is a bit more arid and their marks show up. I always found it particular that they would mark a dirt road. I would catch them squatting in the middle of a road on scouting trips.
Many times I hear that a hunter hasn’t seen an Antelope at all on a scouting trip or hunting trip. I often ask them how much glassing had they done. Glassing you will find the the sage brush moves and the colors aren’t green. One has to have an eye when driving in or just looking for game. If what you think you see is not rock, dirt, junipers, or sage brush, it is usually some sort of game.
Spotted from 1/2 mile away during rifle season!
Over the many years of chasing Lopes, I have found the same buck in an area from year to year, which includes the same feeding areas. Years ago I chased the same buck for more than three (3) years in the same 5 X 5 square miles that I would locate him. I do believe that he lived to be a ripe old age.
Don’t ever overlook the fringe area of timber in an arid location, especially in Oregon. We have many units that the Antelope use the timber as would a Mule Deer buck. We have areas like the Maury, Gerber Res, Paulina and many more that the successful hunters have found big bucks in the timber.
If you want to find the big boys you need to take out the Coy Dogs!
My words are to those that hunt for Pronghorn is to carry a great pair of Bino’s, water, Mapping GPS (Garmin), a rifle cartridge that can carry the distance in wind, and maybe someone that can spot game.
I had gotten an email from Scott asking about Archery Antelope hunting in the Owyhee Unit for 2009, he had been successful in drawing the tag. I asked him what he had done already to prep for the hunt.
Scott is a great success story; he had already talked with the local biologist for the area and had mapped out the area. He also did a scouting trip for two (2) days just after the rifle season.
Scott also would dedicated if he had too the whole season which is 9 days to get his buck. He gave the spot he was going to work and I told him a previous trip that that area looked really good and to trust the biologist.
Here is the short version that I have on the hunt from Scott. Hopefully I will get a little more detail about the hunt.
“Frank, I killed a nice goat 14 1/4 and 14 3/4 just short of 70 inches. I sat at a water pond for 10 hours and made a 30 yard shot.”
I do have to share these pictures with you that were from my season ending weekend in Oregon for 2008 Archery Deer.
My son and I hunted near Clarno, Sutton Mtns., Spring Basin & Dufer for the weekend. I believe it is called making the circle! I am always looking for Antelope – Pronghorns while out and about. As usual we were able to find some Antelope in the West Biggs Unit and the Grizzly Unit. The following pictures are of a pretty good buck that survived the 2008 Archery and Rifle season in Oregon for the Grizzly Unit. I took the pictures at about 75 yards. This buck has very good slimmetry, but deceiving on looking head on to this buck.
Next year he is going to be a real dandy buck and may even be able to make book!
