by – Chad Baart
The heat waves were evident across the sage brush as I looked through my binoculars. The morning coolness had left the desert as we headed into the heat of the day. I was able to make out a band of antelope making their way toward my water hole. As they drew near I noticed a buck in tow, and they were headed right for me! The buck was barely pushing Pope and Young minimum, but had such an interesting set of heart shaped horns that I knew I wanted to take him if I was offered the opportunity.
My scouting season began earlier that year. Hunting over waterholes is probably the most effective method to hunt antelope. I began to investigate methods at which I could locate water without having to visit the location prematurely, or hire a pilot to fly the desert in search of water. This became a daunting task but one that was well worth it not only on this hunt, but with many others.
My searches for new antelope hunting states always begin with harvest reports in the Northwestern United States. Each Department of Natural Resources website provides this information. If you are interested in putting together your own antelope hunt, most searches will lead you to Wyoming where population studies and harvest reports are among the best. As with all of my hunts however, I like to concentrate on sleeper states which offer better odds of drawing a tag. Montana is one of those states which offers ample opportunities and better drawing odds. Montana “speed goats” are no slouches either. Several years ago, 3 of us were all fortunate enough to tag out on 70 inch class animals, putting them well into the Pope and Young category.
I have not hunted North Dakota specifically for antelope, but did run into large numbers of animals in the western part of the state, many of which I could have harvested. That state is also worth a look.
What it all boils down to when selecting your state is a combination of biological data, density reports, harvest reports, and opportunity to get a tag. Don’t be afraid to contact each states DNR and ask specifically to speak with a biologist. The information that you will gain is priceless. By doing your homework you will be able to not only select the state that fits your needs, but it will also provide you with locations within that state to hunt.
Now that you have selected the section of a state to hunt, a new question arises. How does one gain access to hunting ground? You will find that large portions of the mentioned states have sections of federal land open to the public. Unfortunately with easy access comes heavy hunting pressure. Both Montana and Wyoming offer Block Management Programs in which the DNR’s pay private land owners for public use of their land. Depending on which land owner you contact from the provided lists, you will find that many will only accept a limited amount of hunters per year to hunt their land. With these programs your access fees are covered by the state government. Once setting up access, most land owners will be quite open with where the antelope like to frequent and may also tell you where the big bucks like to hide. The beauty of choosing this method is that hunting pressure will be kept to a minimum and the chances at harvesting a trophy animal are much greater. These lists are provided once a year.
Getting back to our trip to Montana, we already had located an area in which produced promising prospects. The first day of the hunt yielded the first trophy of our well planned trip. Later that evening we decided to go into the small town in which we were staying to get a nice steak dinner and do a little celebrating. What was not evident was the fact that we were information gathering too. On that trip we found some new friends which provided even more information to add to our adventure. To our surprise we were invited to hunt their land and were provided information about the waterholes that were getting hit hard by antelope. This is where we took the remaining 2 animals of our trip.
It is always good to start with a well thought plan, but one must learn to improvise. I have gained life long friends from hunting trips such as these. Many of these contacts I still maintain, and when I get the urge I return again. Just remember, in situations like this, periodic phone calls and Christmas cards go a long way when retaining a relationship with a charitable land owner.
If you chose to not use the Block Management programs, there are ways to find high success areas on public ground. Most of my hunting is done on federal lands while setting up on desolate waterholes in areas known for high concentrations of antelope provided by biological studies.
I have been lucky enough in the past to benefit from a pre-season fly over, but use Google Earth as my main tool for locating my hunting spots. Once you know where you would like to hunt. it is possible to do your aerial scouting through your computer. Zoom in on the area that you have in mind and mark the GPS coordinates of the waterholes that you find. Enter these coordinates into your GPS and give each a location number.
Along with the entered coordinates I like to make sure that I have a map with each labeled waterhole which gives me the grand picture of my hunt. The trick of using Google Earth as a scouting tool is to remember that the imagery may have been taken during the off season. Desert states like Idaho will experience extreme summer heat that may cause the water holes to dry up. In those states you will want to concentrate on the waterholes that appear darker on the image. These are the holes that are deeper and will most likely have water if you plan your hunt during a dry year.
When scouting states such as Montana you will find a high usage of windmills. These windmills pump water from a well that feeds a water tank. You can pretty much bet that these aerial views are accurate and those coordinates will provide a location for antelope to water.
Hunting in my home state of Idaho I have the fortunate experience of setting up a blind 10 days prior to the season and also can benefit from the use of a trail camera. Contrary to belief it is possible to set up your blind the day that you hunt. I have killed many antelope in both of the mentioned scenarios, so don’t worry about setting up on a fresh waterhole with a new blind. Things can still happen.
Make sure that your blind is set up in a west facing position if possible. The morning sun will pose huge problems for you. By this time, you have put alot of effort into you’re hunt; don’t miss out on opportunities due to minor errors in judgment.
The band of antelope continued to make there way to my waterhole. One by one each doe cautiously entered the waterhole with their front feet. The buck that I was hoping to harvest took his time watching the area for other rutting bucks. He was finally overcome by thirst and stepped in front of my shooting lane at 18 yards. The rest is history. As with any hunt, you will get out of it exactly what you put into it. If you are planning an antelope hunt of your own, just remember, your antelope hunt starts now!
