I'm curious to hear of experiences archery antelope hunting in Nebraska. I'm going to give it a try this year while building a few preference points. I don't have high expectations and I'm going to treat my first trip as a learning experience while getting to know some new country. My trip will be in late August due to my schedule. Since it'll be early in season I'm prepared to sit and ambush near water or pinch points along fence openings if necessary. As far as regions throughout the state, the NW corner seems like the obvious choice for public land access. Do any of the other pieces of public land that allow antelope hunting offer good opportunities for seeing animals? Also, is it challenging to gain private land access during the archery season? Thanks for sharing your experiences or advice.
Nebraska Archery Antelope
- Thread starter bklotthor
- Start date
pointingdogsrule
Well-known member
Most private land is leased out.
goodlcuk to all
the dog
goodlcuk to all
the dog
My only experience Antelope hunting is archery in Northwest Nebraska and I did it two years in a row. My second year I was lucky enough to harvest. I have no experience out of state so its hard for me to compare but overall my experience was great. You will find that there are very expansive chunks of public to hunt. This is nice as it gives you plenty of room to move around. We always went in early September. You will see antelope. As with most pronghorn bow hunting it will be very difficult to find an area where you can stalk within 100 yards. My best advice is to find an area where you can stalk within bow range and look for antelope there. To be in the game you will need to practice shooting very long range. Practice way farther than you would ever expect to shoot and you will shoot better at those mid range shots you will want to take. We had no luck sitting watering holes but that is not my style of hunting. We didn't knock on a single door but found no reason to.
Sandhillshunter
New member
Have hunted and camped the NW corner of the state many times. While a lot of places are leased, it is still somewhat frowned on by some landowners out there. But that mindset is no longer the majority any more, as property taxes in this state are crazy and every little bit of income helps. It really is going to depend on you as much as anything and your ability to relate to the people you are asking to hunt. I have never had a problem finding a place to hunt antelope, rifle or bow here.
The grasslands are public and do hold hunt-able numbers of antelope. Not Wyoming type numbers, but its doable. If hunting access is an uncertainty, then this is where I would go. That way if you do not find private access, you can always fall back to the grasslands. I have seen big bucks out on the grasslands and we have got a few nice bucks off there over the years. But, far as Nebraska antelope goes though, the best hunting is on private land. The nice thing about Nebraska is most all of the leases are deer hunters and antelope are an afterthought. Still, leased is leased and you won't get in. What you don't have though, are a lot of outfitters trying to get every inch of land for antelope. The best place I have to hunt antelope is nothing special for deer and most deer hunters would never look twice at it. BUT is has a working windmill, which is golden far as I'm concerned. There are these kind of places, but you are going to have to knock on a lot of doors. It took me 4 trips out west that summer to find this place. Some in Crawford got to know me pretty good and eventually it paid off.
Far as other areas to hunt, I have or know people that have hunted in Banner North, Banner South, Box Butte West Box Butte East and Cherry. The all have antelope and some nice bucks, but numbers are less in these areas. A few are better than others with regards to numbers and trophy potential. One of these areas is my favorite for trophy antelope! Access is also more difficult, as some of these are great deer hunting areas and as PDR pointed out, there are lots of leases. The national forest at Halsey (Cherry) use to allow archery antelope and I was with a guy that arrowed a nice buck there years ago, but I do not know if they still allow antelope hunting there or not these days. The numbers are low, but the are a few there. You will see people, as you will have campers, people scouting for rifle deer season and a few archery deer hunters. Personally I would pass on that place.
The picture in my avatar is of a Nebraska antelope my son took a couple years ago. It was on private property that butts up to the grasslands. What happens on the grasslands, is a lot of the antelope hang out on these private lands next to the grasslands. Some of it is pressure, but some is also due to consistent water that is needed for cattle, as well as some alfalfa crops that are around.
Hope this helps,
The grasslands are public and do hold hunt-able numbers of antelope. Not Wyoming type numbers, but its doable. If hunting access is an uncertainty, then this is where I would go. That way if you do not find private access, you can always fall back to the grasslands. I have seen big bucks out on the grasslands and we have got a few nice bucks off there over the years. But, far as Nebraska antelope goes though, the best hunting is on private land. The nice thing about Nebraska is most all of the leases are deer hunters and antelope are an afterthought. Still, leased is leased and you won't get in. What you don't have though, are a lot of outfitters trying to get every inch of land for antelope. The best place I have to hunt antelope is nothing special for deer and most deer hunters would never look twice at it. BUT is has a working windmill, which is golden far as I'm concerned. There are these kind of places, but you are going to have to knock on a lot of doors. It took me 4 trips out west that summer to find this place. Some in Crawford got to know me pretty good and eventually it paid off.
Far as other areas to hunt, I have or know people that have hunted in Banner North, Banner South, Box Butte West Box Butte East and Cherry. The all have antelope and some nice bucks, but numbers are less in these areas. A few are better than others with regards to numbers and trophy potential. One of these areas is my favorite for trophy antelope! Access is also more difficult, as some of these are great deer hunting areas and as PDR pointed out, there are lots of leases. The national forest at Halsey (Cherry) use to allow archery antelope and I was with a guy that arrowed a nice buck there years ago, but I do not know if they still allow antelope hunting there or not these days. The numbers are low, but the are a few there. You will see people, as you will have campers, people scouting for rifle deer season and a few archery deer hunters. Personally I would pass on that place.
The picture in my avatar is of a Nebraska antelope my son took a couple years ago. It was on private property that butts up to the grasslands. What happens on the grasslands, is a lot of the antelope hang out on these private lands next to the grasslands. Some of it is pressure, but some is also due to consistent water that is needed for cattle, as well as some alfalfa crops that are around.
Hope this helps,
jbowlin
Member
I live in Western NE and will be archery antelope hunting again this fall. I also do not enjoy sitting water, and have had the most success using a decoy in September for spot and stalk. I haven't taken any huge antelope, just average bucks. in my experience, private land is accessible for archery antelope if you make clear that is all you are hunting, as archery deer opens about two weeks after archery antelope, and deer hunting private comes at a cost.
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