Soulrack223, you wrote:
Antelope hunting is a lot of fun.
Indeed. This will be my sixth time. The previous five, taken from 2003 through 2007, are hanging on my wall at Adobe Systems:
As you know, it's a lot of glassing and stalking and very little shooting. The strategy of the pursuit is really the best part. I've been twice, and was successful once. I tracked the same speed goat 3 days in a row before I got a decent shot. He had a harem of 12 and 2 wouldn't leave his side even after I started the field dressing.
I agree about the
very little shooting comment, because for four of the five I have taken, I fired a single shot. But, about stalking, it depends on your technique.
Considering that the antelope is North America's fastest land mammal, hunting on foot doesn't seem to be the correct strategy. Heck, once you excite the does and they take off, with the bucks in pursuit, it may be a mile or so before they decide to slow down or stop. We use a pickup truck, and shoot from the top of the cab.
My dad and I scout the hunting area, which is generally a huge field filled with sagebrush, the evening before. Wherever the antelopes are at nightfall is about where they will be in the morning. If we're lucky, we get them right when they wake up. Our quickest hunt, three years ago, took about one minute from legal hunting time until both of us had our bucks.
Not to worry. These hunting trips are a lot of fun, and I look forward to them every year. This year, in addition to my dad and I hunting antelope as usual, he also got an elk tag for South Dakota (his state of residence). As soon as we get our antelopes, I'll be helping my dad with his elk hunt. It won't be far from his home, which is nice.
