Hunting public land antelope, how to overcome them, and how to be more successful in the future
Glassing for antelope on top of a tank.
Antelope running across the prairie.
When driving across the western states of America, one animal is the most prevalent, especially in states that occupy the eastern portion of the Rockies. That animal is the American pronghorn, otherwise known as antelope. With as many antelopes as you see from the road, a hunter may inaccurately conclude that harvesting an antelope is easy; however, this is a misconception. Antelope are cunning, wary, and fast animals that have eluded hunters for hundreds of years and will continue to evade hunters and their freezers for years to come, especially on public land. Below are three challenges I encountered over the year chasing public land antelope, how to overcome them, and how to be more successful in the future.
Typical western hunting terrain can be challenging due to the steepness and rockiness of the mountains that most western big game calls home. This is not the case for antelope that often live in some of the flattest and unforested portions of our country. It is common to spot an antelope from the road or a high point — only to find out that its location is multiple miles from your current position. The terrain will sometimes have undulation; however, many places I hunt have 2” to 3” of grass and cacti and very little elevation change. This makes it hard to judge an animal's distance, but also hard to stalk within a gun, let alone bow, range. To combat the lack of terrain differences, it is important to utilize what is in the area to the fullest on your stalk. Using a small ditch or coolie to move in closer is a great way to stay undetected. When you have no other options, I always have good luck keeping myself and my hunting partners in a straight line, crouched, but moving directly at the antelope. They tend to struggle to tell distance or have confidence in their ability to escape at more than 55 mph. I have also used pop-up dairy cows or antelope decoys to move in on a herd of antelope, especially in situations where I have no other options. Though the terrain may not be steep, it poses its own challenges for a western hunter due to the lack of places to hide for you and your prey.
Like other seasons, hunting any animal, including antelope, on public land will not be without its fair share of pressure. Combining numerous hunters with open flat terrain, I have often seen more hunters than antelopes on an opening day hunt. Most hunters who chase antelope rarely leave their rig until they find a group of antelope to pursue, so positioning yourself deep in a parcel of public land surrounded by roads will often allow “road hunters” to chase the game in your direction. Without drawing a limited entry tag or hunting a unit with low success, you should expect to see and feel hunting pressure. Understanding different ways to utilize this pressure will increase your success rates.
Hunting in the western states on public land typically means that you are hunting some of the same animals that others are chasing. This usually translates to more wary and spooky game animals. Combine that with an animal that relies on its binocular vision for defense and you may struggle to get within shooting distance of antelope after a few days of the season. To overcome this obstacle, it is important to remember to stay patient and hunt the animals near a place that gives you an advantage. Sometimes this is a water hole that the antelope frequents or an opening in a fence line that they may use to cross and sometimes this means sitting near a ditch or terrain break that you can use to navigate closer to the antelope. Thinking about different ways to harvest these animals as they get more easily spooked will help you find success despite the challenge of hunting antelope on public land.
Though hunting antelope on public land can provide challenges to the most seasoned hunters, it is still a high success hunt compared to most western hunts. Understanding the challenges you will face on an antelope hunt will allow you to be mentally prepared and have the correct gear that you will need to increase your success rates. Though antelope are prevalent in the West's open country, they are still challenging to harvest. They should not be considered so, especially if you want to be a consistent antelope killer instead of a sporadic one. Good luck this fall, and remember to overcome the obstacles that will keep you from harvesting.
