OR Juniper Unit Antelope

[ORcowboy]

Hello all,

I was lucky enough to draw Oregon's new premium tag for antelope in the Juniper Unit. Premium tag means I can hunt the entire unit with any weapon for an extended period of time, in this case Aug 1 - Sept 30. I know this is one of the best units in Oregon so I'm planning on making the best of it. I've lived in Burns for about 3 yrs so while I have a general feel for the country, I don't know the area really well yet. I'm going to scout every chance I get for the next month and a half, but any suggestions or tips about the unit that anyone is willing to share would be greatly appreciated.

Also curious if there are any opinions about when the most desirable time to really get after it would be. The rut is in September I believe and the regular rifle season for the unit is Aug 13-21. My first thought is to hunt the first week I can, then wait for it to calm down after the rifle season and really hunt during September. Although I've been hunting all my life, this is my first antelope hunt, so that is purely a guess.

Thanks for any advice or knowledge, again it's greatly appreciated.
-Floyde

 

[Joe Hulburt]

Hello Floyde, Welcome to hunt talk! Great to see another Oregonian show up on here. What do you usually hunt when your not drawing 1 in a 1,000 premium tags? Got any pictures to share? Pictures are a really good way to start things off.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

ive seen some lopers out at the dry lake beds s w of French glen west of the 205 hwy.a good place to start? id hit it in September mid to tail end of the month when it peaks

 

[bmack]

Congrats. Living in Burns gives you a big advantage of most guys who draw out based on your location being closer than those from Portland as an example.

You'll be able to hunt and find antelope during that entire time frame easily. I would either get in early before the other hunters show up or wait until the dust settles later into Sept.

Your biggest challenge will be field judging the pronghorn in the field. This takes a lot of practice! I would start getting out there now in the early morning or late evenings to avoid the thermals so you can practice looking over animals. Get the best spotting scope you can afford, buy a phone skope for you cell phone so you can take pictures and video of the different bucks you find.

Keep the ones that look big and then share for help and feedback on judging them to learn and get comfortable.

There are some great bucks in that unit. Most guys who draw a tag in Oregon get super excited and shoot one of the first bucks they see opening morning. The antelope I've hunted tend to run a territory that they stay pretty close to so they can be somewhat predictable on where they are from day to day once you find a good one you'd like to chase.

You will have a blast and most likely get addicted to chasing these amazing animals. Have fun and good luck.

Go check out the pronghorn threads on here....lots of pictures, information and stories to get you going. Plenty of guys that are real fanatical about pronghorn on this site!

 

[ORcowboy]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm working on my field judging already. I will keep you posted as the season gets closer. Thanks again for the info, it's a great help.

 

[ORcowboy]

Hi Joe,
I'm usually trying to draw 1 in 100 tags! Attached is a picture of a deer I got on our ranch in Antelope about 10 yrs ago. I was lucky enough to grow up on a ranch with lots of deer and elk hunting opportunities. It wasn't until I went to college that I realized how lucky I really was. We bought a small place in Burns a couple yrs ago so I live here and take care of it. Thanks for asking!

 

[Topgun 30-06]

That's a beautiful buck and it's hard to believe that there are good ones like that between Denio and Burns when the country looks like it wouldn't hold a rabbit!

 

[Joe Hulburt]

Dandy buck! I can't wait to see the results of your pronghorn hunt. Wish I could help but have never hunted Juniper.

 

[ORcowboy]

That buck was shot in Central Oregon, near Antelope. There are some pretty good bucks out here in the desert though, and lots of rabbits for that matter!!

No worries Joe, got some excellent info from the ODFW office here today, feeling pretty good about it now! Lots of country to cover but I have the time and the patience, I think.