# Antelope hunt



## cwa1104sab

Sorry if this has been covered on here before but I'm new here. I was wondering if you guys have any info, (not honey holes) but ranches, areas, guides/outfitters, etc. that you could recomend for an easterner to look into for an out west antelope hunt. I really do not care about a "trophy" antelope but rather a good hunt, with animals, people, the whole thing. I want the western experience. Any help would be appreciated. This would be for 2007 so I have time to plan.

Thanks

Sab


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## wyogoose

Table Mt. Outfitters run a fantastic operation here out of Cheyenne. Scott and Angie Deny are the owners. You could contact them for a good hunt. There is some pretty good hunting here for speed goats, some really nice bucks. However, be prepared for some long shots cause this is grass country!! If you want any more info send me a PM. I have lived in Wy my entire life and have hunted most areas of the state so feel free to ask all the ?'s you want.


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## ndfarmboy

Hi,
How far west were you thinking? I have a farm out here in Western ND and was out with the 4 wheeler today for a couple hours and saw some pretty nice bucks and numerous does. Whatdha lookin for?


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## cwa1104sab

I'm really not looking for much, just to go goat huntin. I've read that Wy is the best place for a shot at one. I would say anything over 12 1/2 inches would be a trophy to me. I don't mind the long shots. As far as how far west would I go, as long as there is an airport nearby, it doesnt have to be Wy. Thanks for the help

Sab


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## KEN W

ndfarmboy said:


> Hi,
> How far west were you thinking? I have a farm out here in Western ND and was out with the 4 wheeler today for a couple hours and saw some pretty nice bucks and numerous does. Whatdha lookin for?


Non-residents cannot hunt antelope in ND with a rifle.


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## sotaman

ndfarmboy

I will take you up on your offer if you are in fact offering a goat hunt..


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## djleye

Me too, Any water holes to set up a bow hunt NDFB???? :lol:


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## NDTracer

farmboy it looks like you have alot of people wanting some of your opportunity. For the record my PM about it was before either of these two. :beer:

Maybe do a bow hunt with all 3 huh? We could all ride togather picking sota up in Bismarck.


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## cwa1104sab

I didn't know that about non-res. Thanks

Farmboy, that sounds cool, I would be looking for self guided or trespass fee hunting, I wouldn't want to impose on anyone. Any info would be great though. Thanks

Sab


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## joebobhunter4

farmboy i was thinkin the same thing for the rest of them... gime a pm or a call if you are offering to let people bow hunt on your land for antelope!


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## Scott Schuchard

Contace eaither Antelope creek ranch or billingsley ranch. Located outside Glasgow,MT Both places with treat you Very very well I have seen some huge animales taken by both outfitters. I posted both of there websites but i highly recomend you call them and have a chat with them.

http://www.recworld.com/state/mt/hunt/antelope-creek/
http://www.montanahuntingfishing.com/hunting.htm


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## Scott Schuchard

if you need more send me a pm and i might be able to get you hooked up with some more people for little to nothing


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## alsatian

You should consider a "do-it-yourself" antelope hunt in Wyoming, given you are not after a trophy by your own admission. Where ever you hunt you will need to obtain an antelope permit, and in many areas limited permits will make your chances of drawing less than 100%.

For example, you could put in for unit 23 in NE Wyoming which perinially has left over antelope permits after the drawing (thus, 100% chances of drawing in this unit for several years running). Before you submit your application, locate a rancher who will let you hunt his land in exchange for an agreeable "trespass fee." You can get a list of ranchers who accept trespass fees from the Buffalo field office of the Wyoming department of fish and game. You could call the Cheyenne office to get the phone number of the Buffalo office. You can find the Cheyenne office phone number on their web site. Call several of those listed in unit 23 and discuss terms with them. There will be a wide range of prices and arrangements.

Typically the pronghorn in unit 23 are as numerous as locusts -- no damn kidding. They aren't big -- they aren't trophy sized horns -- but it is a good western hunting experience. You can stay in a motel in Gillette, drive 10 minutes to your hunting spot, and have a good hunt for very few $$$. I don't see why you would pay an outfitter $1,000 or $1,500 unless you were willing to pay to get into some big horns, for example over 15 inches. The success rate for antelope in Wyoming is 90% and probably higher in unit 23 given how common the antelope are there. Why pay an outfitter?

By the way, for antelope you don't need to be hunting at dawn. All you will do is scare away the pronghorn by stumbling on them in the dark. Go out there at 9 AM after a good breakfast. You are going to get on top of a hill, glass for an antelope, stalk the chosen antelope, and shoot it. The antelope are going to be standing out there all day in the open, they don't go hide out during daylight hours as deer do. Any reasonably flat shooting rifle will do -- .243, .25-06, .270, 7 mm rem mag, .30-06, .308, etc.

Have a plan for taking care of your meat. Given a success ratio of 90%, you can bet you are going to take an animal. It can be warm in these plains areas of Wyoming in October, and antelope meat can lose quality quickly if it is not cooled. Many people recommend immediately cutting the animal up and getting it on ice. Others have said to gut the animal and stuff a couple of bags of ice purchased at the convenience store on your way out to the hunt and placed in an ice chest -- place these two bags of ice into the inside of the body cavity to assist in the immediate cool-down of the meat. Just have a plan for taking care of the meat.

I did my first antelope hunt as a do-it-yourself hunt in 2004 and both my son and I bagged pronghorn. My son took a buck with 13 1/2" horns (they shrunk to 12 1/2" by the time we got it back from the taxidermist -- a not uncommon amount of shrinkage for pronghorn horns I am told) and I took a doe. I could have waited longer to try to get on a buck, but I didn't see the point as I was not going to pay to have a second head mount done -- my son took his first and we decided to mount it (even though it is not a "trophy" pronghorn, just about any pronghorn head looks pretty cool as far as I'm concerned and it was also my son's first big game animal of any kind).

Enjoy your hunt. You will love it and you will do it again. Actually, this is a rationale for planning a do-it-yourself hunt. Unless you have a superabundance of disposable income, you may not hunt as often if you have to pay to use an outfitter. By doing it yourself you should be able to hunt more often, maybe every year, out west. Wouldn't that be cool? I'm tackling a do-it-yourself elk hunt this fall, a considerably greater undertaking with considerably less success probability than the corresponding do-it-yourself antelope hunt. But if I succeed I could hunt elk every year; I could not afford to pay for an outfitted elk hunt every year (by the way, not every hunter on an outfitted hunt succeeds in bagging their elk, so worst case I may be among the 75% of unsuccessful elk hunters out there).


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## NativeCraft

I'd like to "re-activate" this thread.

Alsatian, thanks for the info. you posted.
Is there anyone else that can share info. on a do-it-yourself antelope hunt?

Tom


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## NativeCraft

Ken,
Thanks for the response, I will call you the day after Christmas to talk about the opportunity.

Tom


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