Antelope tendencies?

[FoCoBlackWidow]

I'm headed out in mid-August for my first antelope hunt in Colorado. I drew a buck tag for the Walden area (GMU 6/16/161/17/171, I believe) to hunt public land and know very little about antelope. I've driven some of the area to start to learn where they hang out (they appear somewhat few and far between), but am curious about their general tendencies.

At first glance, water does not seem to be a determining factor in this area as there is a lot of standing water in places. Will bucks be territorial at this time of year? Is finding a water hole and sitting all day still the best option or is spot and stalk achievable? Do they move much at night or are there 'best' times for going after them?

I appreciate any and all insight. Looking forward to the adventure!

[ChuckC]

Yup... I'd like to hear the responses to this one as well.

[Jack Skinner]

If there is too much water sitting a blind over water can be a waste of time. Mid Aug is a little too early for the rut but I would bet that you could still get response from the local bucks with a decoy and grunting. Not as good as during the rut though. Males fight in the spring for territory that they will defend all females in. But that isn't to say a challenge will go undefended. I have been through the Walden area a couple of times and can see the challenge there is a lot of water. Look for pasture without standing water and that has a well, if you can get away from the lower ground into the higher dryer areas that would be best. Antelope are creatures of habit and half will hit a water hole even with the blind on it its the other half that will snort and raise hell and maybe never come in that will drive you crazy.
Look for fence crossings. They go under not over and there will be hair on the lower strands and if it is a well used crossing it will have a depression that helps them slide under. I have heard you can sit them as well but the one time I tried the antelope showed up stared at my blind for the longest time and just went down the fence line a half mile to another crossing.

[Jack Skinner]

Spot and stalk with antelope in short grass low contour terrain is like, what was the saying "trying to catch a fart in a hurricane". But if you find them in mountain mahogoney or taller sage and or grease wood areas with some contour it is way more possible. Not easy but possible. Also don't forget about irrigation ditches if they are in irrigated fields you can use the ditches to get in close.
If you find a good well it will be important to note if it has a overflow pond (hunt the pond not the tank). Does the water flow out of the overflow pond. All of this causes its own challenges. If you have some questions please ask. I am not an expert but have taken 5 antelope with the bow and 3 with selfbow.

[Bob Gulliksen]

Last I heard there was quite a winter kill and some mass migration to the north and south.

[monterey]

Look around Johnny Moore Mountain.

There is BLM and trust land there.  Get all the SWA and trust land maps for North Park.  Quite a bit of country there.  I've killed some antelope there in rifle seasons but never bow hunted it.

[FoCoBlackWidow]

Thanks, guys. Helpful info. The water tanks seem random but I'll spend more time looking for them. My buddy killed a great buck there doing spot and stalk last year, but it was well beyond recurve range.

Jack, thanks for the insight on overflow ponds. I had no idea that was  a thing so I'll dig into it a bit more. Do they prefer to water early/late/anytime? Bob, I had also heard there may have been some winter kill. Hopefully they'll migrate back as the summer moves along? Monterey, thanks for the heads up on Johnny Moore. I'm getting all of the maps and going to try using onX this year. We'll see how that works.

[Roadkill]

Use google earth to help you locate tanks,seeps and streams.  Then locate them on a regular countour map to help you plot strategy.
I just did that for my cow hunt and it helps- I can see fencelines and power lines

[Sam McMichael]

The only tendency I know about antelope is that they can be difficult to hunt. Good luck with the hunt, and we look forward to the stories and pictures.

[Jack Skinner]

They can water from sun up to sun down, but peak period around 9 in the morning till 11 and again just after noon till 3

[monterey]

Often they will put their head down to the water to drink and then suddenly lift their head up and look around.  You might think you are busted but it's an instinctive thing.  After they look around a bit they will take their drink.

They don't always do it but if they do, stay calm  

[FoCoBlackWidow]

Fortunately I'm used to jumpy animals since I grew up with highly pressured Wisconsin whitetails! Jack, thanks for the watering insight.

[FoCoBlackWidow]

Another question - they seem to be in bachelor groups now. Will that change by mid-August or will they still be pretty friendly with each other at that time? I am going to see if I can determine some territories for these antelope over my remaining scouting time, but wonder if it will change as they start to break away from each other.