First Antelope
J_Dub1
9/18/07 11:04am
I just returned from my first antelope hunt and I am hooked. It was a very fun hunt, and we returned with a lot of great memories and an antelope we dropped off at the taxidermist. He is not a monster but trophy for me and my daughter. We spotted a few larger bucks on Saturday, but could never get a good shot. After talking to the BLM Ranger and the CO and being told by both that the antelope were very skittish because the ranchers poach them all the time because they (the ranchers) think they eat too much of the cattle feed. Yeah right, the antelope may eat in a week what one cow eats in a day. Anyway, the BLM Ranger told me that the antelope see a pick up truck and head for cover, because all the ranchers drive pick up trucks. Every antelope I saw while I was driving the opening morning did just that. The CO also said because of the poaching that the buck to doe ratio was all messed up. He said they had a ratio of 4 bucks to every six does and they wanted to get it down to 1 buck to every 15-20 does, so there were a lot of bucks in the area. Over the two days I hunted I spotted 12 bucks and only 4 does. Well after see some nice bucks on Saturday, but not bagging one I headed out early Sunday with my six year old to see what we could find. Right off the bat we spotted a group of three bucks on ridge about 500 yards away, unfortunately as we slowed down the three vanished over the rise and were never to be seen again. So after hiking around a little and finding nothing in that area we decide to go to one of the area we saw a nice, not big but nice in our minds, buck the day before. As we approached the draw where we had spotted the buck the day before my daughter said, "There is one right their daddy." And sure enough there he was again, good thing I took my daughter, as I was looking the other way at the time. He wasn't spooked yet, so I slowly got out of the truck and got into position. About this time he starts to get jittery and starts to run. I took one shoot and missed, a little high I believe. After shooting he headed down one side of the wash, across the bottom and up the other side, all the time running through the cedar trees with no chance for a shot. About two thirds of the way up the other side I notice a clearing in the cedar trees about 150 yards away where he is headed towards, so I set up and wait for him to enter the clearing. As soon as he appears in my scope on a dead run I fire, dropping him in his tracks, filling my first antelope tag with my hunting buddy by my side. A great hunt and a great experience. I would have to say I am hooked on antelope hunting.
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11,407
Thanks for taking us along for the ride.
Man 12 bucks and 4 does, that sounds like GOOD odds. :thumb
Not for the goats!! HAHA.
Good job and nice looking goat Jdub.
Congrats on the buck and I'm glad to see kids hunting!
It is a Utah tag, the unit was the Kaiparowits just west of Lake Powell. Thanks for asking.
J_Dub
Enjoy them while they are young, they grow up to be teenagers! And suddenly you are not their hero any more.
=D>
My daughter and I were each drawn for an antelope hunt in the Kaiparowits this fall. Any pointers on where to head towards in the area?
Great pictures! Your buck looks a lot like my first buck some years ago. There is nothing more fun than sneaking up on the speed-goats and outwitting them. Talk about eyesight!
Jack
Congratulations on drawing a fun hunt; we had a blast last year. There were a lot of antelope to look at, but they were very weary on account of all the poaching that goes on down in that area. Both the Fish and Game Officer and the BLM Officer I spoke with told me that there is a lot of poaching in the area. Having said that there are still a lot of antelope in the area to look at and hunt. We hunted most of the time between Church Wells and Big Water south of the highway. Most of the hunters we saw were also in this area, and both the F&G and BLM Officers told me that is where most of the antelope are located. I did see some north of the highway around Church Wells, but there is some private land and the land owners don’t like the hunters and are not shy about telling you as much. I stopped to look at the antelope around Church Wells knowing full well they were on private property. Within Five minutes there was an F&G Officer and a BLM Officer responding to a call about someone, me, hunting on private property. It was great to see both the F&G and BLM Officer tell the local guy he was wrong and that I was totally within my rights as a hunter to hunt right next to his house as long as I stayed on BLM land, boy was he mad. Apparently there is some conflict between the BLM and the local ranchers in the area. But like I said most of the hunters including myself stayed well away from Church Wells and Big Water to the south, and ironically that is also where most of the antelope are located. Should be a fun hunt for you and your daughter. With the price of gas where it is I would use Google Earth to look around the area. I will PM you my phone number if you want to call and discuss more exact locations. Have fun and let us know how your hunt goes.
Jeff