Opening Week vs. Following Week for Public Land Hunters

[antelopedundee]

I don’t know the situation but my experience when that happens is a new lease by an outfitter has some play in that.

When you walk around are you seeing rubs or fresh markings? Antelope trample vegetation where they run. They also defecate and urinate to mark there territory.

Anyways landowners usually have other reasons when they revoke permissions like that. I grew up on a farm and my dad stopped letting anyone hunt after gates were left open and cattle got hit by careless hunters.

I got a note from his wife that they weren't taking any hunters. I called him and he said that he didn't have many antelope and that they did that one time in the past. I should probly have said suspended rather than revoked. He told me more than once that outfitters wanted to lease his land for hunting, and it was getting harder and harder to say no. He doesn't let many people hunt so had everyone filled out it probably wouldn't have mattered. Fortunately I had a plan B, but don't know about the others. I did see a couple nice bucks on his place.

 

[tomengineer]

I've probably shot 90% of my antelope over our opening weekend and on BMA land open to the public, but I've hunted the same district for 25+ years so I know their regular travel routes and favorite fence crossings. Although physically capable of jumping any fence in a single bound, pronghorn refuse to do so and have certain weak spots where they wiggle through fencelines which they use over and over and over. Some of these get so beat in you can see them on Google Earth. We always sneak into one of these in the dark, set up, and just sit and wait quietly for shooting light. All those other opening weekend hunters will push antelope to you sooner or later. I enjoy the hunting more later in the season when fewer hunters are out but in my area the majority of the speed goats do indeed seem to yard up on private land not open to hunting within a week of the season opener.
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Typical speed goat fence crossing, a braided mass of trails all narrow down to a single point on the fenceline.

Wow that's pretty interesting. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Brian in Montana]

Last year I watched a buck do that in Wyoming he was a little hesitant but after a second he jumped right over with no running start. Only time I've ever seen one jump a fence.

Ever hunt them along fencelines because of this. Seems like that could work in the right area.

 

[Brian in Montana]

They do not change a whole lot like elk do. Get on yer feet and check the valleys and drainages hidden from the roads. It takes a lot more pressure to force them completely out of the area. My thoughts when I am told they left is tell that person to hold my beer and don my backpack and rifle and find them. They rarely go more than 1-2 miles even pressured unless chased with motors which is illegal and unethical

That's where I found my buck last year. I was way up glassing on the tallest hill around. I was able to see over a little rise that shielded a small handful of goats from the road. I watched several trucks go by oblivious to their presence. It was a long stalk from where I was but I got in on them and shot a nice buck.

 

[antelopedundee]

They do not change a whole lot like elk do. Get on yer feet and check the valleys and drainages hidden from the roads. It takes a lot more pressure to force them completely out of the area. My thoughts when I am told they left is tell that person to hold my beer and don my backpack and rifle and find them. They rarely go more than 1-2 miles even pressured unless chased with motors which is illegal and unethical

A couple years ago a decent buck jumped the fence to get in with some does.
Maybe a dozen years ago I was driving the road to natural bridge north of Douglas. A small herd of lopes ran across the road and they all jumped the fence except for a fawn which got tangled up in it. I got out to help it but it finally got free and hauled ass out to the herd which had stopped and was waiting for it.

 

[Cav1]

Now that I think about it I do remember seeing one effortlessly clear a fence like a whitetail once or twice, but that's compared to the dozens of times I've seen a whole herd pile up on a fenceline so that they could all wiggle through their favorite crossing spot. They certainly have the strength and agility to jump; one old book I have says there are recorded instances of up to 27 foot horizontal leaps between tracks when they are running flat out. The same source noted that evolving on the open prairies forever they never really had the need to conquer vertical obstacles before the arrival of man and his fences.

I've never seriously thought of taking them pronghorn hunting with me but I'm often quite amused by the antelope when I take my four pack goats (2 Alpine, 2 Saanen) on conditioning hikes across the sagebrush hills near our home. The pronghorn seem utterly fascinated by these strange new creatures and come out of the woodwork to gawk at them and often even come in closer to check them out.

 

[WyoDoug]

That's where I found my buck last year. I was way up glassing on the tallest hill around. I was able to see over a little rise that shielded a small handful of goats from the road. I watched several trucks go by oblivious to their presence. It was a long stalk from where I was but I got in on them and shot a nice buck.

There ya go. That is one of my tactics. I find a high point and use my spotting scope to check out surrounding areas. I usually use high points away from the road and find spots where I can glass without silhouetting myself against the sky. My experience is they never venture too far once the herd buck has claimed his territory. I have seen them chased out by road hunters, but when I went back the next day, I found them in the same area they were chased from. Nimmo Ranch by where I live is an example. I found about 5 different spots they tend to run to and hunters don't seem to know they are allowed to hunt there yet because it shows on the maps as private property but are part of an HMA you can ask for permission to hunt online. None of these spots are more than a mile from where they tend to hang out on that ranch.

 

[antelopedundee]

Now that I think about it I do remember seeing one effortlessly clear a fence like a whitetail once or twice, but that's compared to the dozens of times I've seen a whole herd pile up on a fenceline so that they could all wiggle through their favorite crossing spot. They certainly have the strength and agility to jump; one old book I have says there are recorded instances of up to 27 foot horizontal leaps between tracks when they are running flat out. The same source noted that evolving on the open prairies forever they never really had the need to conquer vertical obstacles before the arrival of man and his fences.

I've never seriously thought of taking them pronghorn hunting with me but I'm often quite amused by the antelope when I take my four pack goats (2 Alpine, 2 Saanen) on conditioning hikes across the sagebrush hills near our home. The pronghorn seem utterly fascinated by these strange new creatures and come out of the woodwork to gawk at them and often even come in closer to check them out.

Actually antelope don't run but instead they bound. Also they are very curious and can sometimes be lured in by hankies or if they see something like your hat move along a skyline. Then again a couple years ago we were peeking up over a ditch edge and they spotted the movement and took off. I don't think they were even hunted at that time, but there may have been coyotes in the area as we did see one the day before.

 

[antelopedundee]

Now that I think about it I do remember seeing one effortlessly clear a fence like a whitetail once or twice, but that's compared to the dozens of times I've seen a whole herd pile up on a fenceline so that they could all wiggle through their favorite crossing spot. They certainly have the strength and agility to jump; one old book I have says there are recorded instances of up to 27 foot horizontal leaps between tracks when they are running flat out. The same source noted that evolving on the open prairies forever they never really had the need to conquer vertical obstacles before the arrival of man and his fences.

I've never seriously thought of taking them pronghorn hunting with me but I'm often quite amused by the antelope when I take my four pack goats (2 Alpine, 2 Saanen) on conditioning hikes across the sagebrush hills near our home. The pronghorn seem utterly fascinated by these strange new creatures and come out of the woodwork to gawk at them and often even come in closer to check them out.

 

[Buffs35]

View attachment 105214

Ha. Love dad jokes.

 

[Buffs35]

I enjoy opening day for pronghorns. I hunt eastern Colorado. Got to get in early and deep, but you can use the pressure to your advantage. Like being a poster during a pheasant hunt.