I need advice from experienced pronghorn hunters

[longbow fanatic 1]

If you had the choice of hunting pronghorn before the rut or during the rut, which would you choose? Would you change your opinion if you could only hunt small agricultural parcels, parcels that range between 300 acres to 1,000 acres? Expanding on your opinion, either way, would be appreciated.

[Whip]

In general, if you want the best chance of success and if water is a major factor in survival for the pronghorns in that area, I would choose early when temperatures are still high.  If you want exciting action with decoys the rut can be unbelievable.

With either option, the small parcel size is going to be a limiting factor.  Knowing more about the property and how the animals use it would be a big factor in the decision.

[longbow fanatic 1]

Thanks Whip. I've been told that early season alfalfa fields can be very productive areas, so I was considering smaller parcels during pre rut.

[Tim Finley]

Ive had poor luck hunting water holes during the rut the bucks aren't interested in drinking much . They are too busy chasing from one bunch of does to the other. I have sat at water holes and watched buck running all over and none came to water and some passed right by the waterhole.. They don't normally drink because of thirst they drink to digest their food . Notice the time of the day that they drink which is usually from 9 am till 2 pm after a feeding period. Then resting and feeding and maybe drinking again before dark. My favorite time to hunt water holes would be Labor day weekend and I wont hunt antelope without hunting in a blind or better a tripod on water. I have made hundreds of stalks and only killed a few goats that way and I have tried decoying and it is way overrated and takes a perfect situation to work. Water gives you the best chance by far.

[Iowabowhunter]

I really enjoy chasing pronghorn in late September during the rut.

I use a decoy and sneak in using land contours, or my favorite-dry creek beds.

It is quite exhilarating to see them come in to my decoy, hopefully they aren't running in however.

Looking forward to getting after them in less than a month!

[NYRON]

I've had good luck by taking a hybrid approach with a doe decoy at a waterhole during the rut.

Aggressive decoying while on the move will burn out small parcels in a hurry. I did that once in ND and had to wait days for animals to move back on to the land I had permission to hunt.

[longbow fanatic 1]

Great info, guys. Thanks!

[JimB]

I have a spot with two,very large,irrigated fields,butting up to each other.There is an open gate,connecting the.They get water from the pivots in the fields so in the early season,they don't need to move much.They eat,lay down,water,lay down etc.

When the rut gets close,they are more restless and even those,not exhibiting rutting behavior,get up and switch fields occasionally,through that gate.With a blind at the gate,this can be a deadly setup at the right time-if there are antelope residing in both fields.

The ground is too featureless for a stalk or even  staying out of sight to set up a decoy.A blind on the gate is the only way.

[longbow fanatic 1]

Interesting, Jim. Great idea on the gate entrance and water pivot point.

[Bowwild]

I hunted irrigated alfalfa in early September a few years back. Watched the field first day and saw where they come and go. Also saw very concentrated signs at favorite fence craw unders. Killed a doe (buck was just 12 yards behind me but no tag for buck).

I'm hunting two irrigated circles east of Cheyenne this year August 15th - 5-8 days or so.  I'll have opportunity to scout 3 days prior to hunting season opening (I'll be "working" in Cheyenne from 12-14). I'll be using high-quality (not flappers) pop-up blinds.

Just bought some UA Headgear tops and shorts for inside the blind within the past 90 minutes.

[mnbwhtr]

I've hunted the rut the past 5 years with decoys, much more fun than sitting waterholes early. Sept 20 seems to be the "magic" day.

[longbow fanatic 1]

Originally posted by mnbwhtr:
I've hunted the rut the past 5 years with decoys, much more fun than sitting waterholes early. Sept 20 seems to be the "magic" day.

I would probably prefer to hunt the rut too, but the areas I have permission to hunt are smaller so I was afraid of running the pronghorn off the land. I do have permission on another agricultural ranch of about 3,000 acres. Do you think that's big enough to spot & stalk/decoy without running the pronghorn off the land?

[monterey]

I have never bowhunted antelope, but I have killed eighteen of them with rifles and muzzle loaders.

Just about every post above has touched on antelope behavior.  Like Jim said, he used a natural travel route.  In addition to Gates, as mentioned, they have favorite fence crossings and use them habitually.  They also tend to follow fence line's to get to the crossings.  They will follow fence line's even when fleeing full bore!

Antelope can jump a fence but rarely do so.  I've only seen it a couple times and it was always single animals, never a group.

If it is a dry year, waterhole hunting is good.  But, on public land competition for waterhole setups can be tough.  Having a waterhole on private in a drought is practically a guarantee of an opportunity.

In Colorado, the big game animal with the highest success rate for bowhunters is antelope.  The reason is waterhole hunting.

So, there are a couple things that guy's have told me they did or have seen done.  This is all hearsay.    

Supposedly you can set up a small container of water such as a kiddie pool and keep it filled.  Supposedly they can smell the water.  In one version of the story there is a bubbler in the water to accentuate the smell.

Then there is the full size cow or horse silhouette that you hold in front of you and slowly walk up to the antelope.  I've been told by guys who claim to have done it and we all know that hunters speak only the truth.  

[elkken]

I have hunted a man made water hole like Monterey describes, we used a 100 gallon container that drained into a plastic basin with a float to add water when needed, worked very well.

I have also hunted the rut and it can be very exciting .... 3000 acres is a pretty good chunk of land if it is not as flat as a pancake and total visible all the time.

If it rains waterholes are only good for fishing or frogg'n

[longbow fanatic 1]

Good stuff, Monterey & Elken.

[yeager]

I've hunted antelope three times.  All were during the rut in Montana utilizing their Block Management System. There, we had thousands of acres to hunt, ranches ranging anywhere from 12 to 60 sections. Like iowabowhunter said, decoying  during the rut is a blast. Stalking your way utilizing the terrain and wind to under 100 yards worked the best to get the herd buck come to the decoy. Any farther out, they just didn't want to leave their does unattended. I've never hunted over water holes, so I guess you could say my preferred method is decoying during the rut.  
 Either way, decoying or hunting over water holes, antelope hunting is pure fun!  One extra thing, if you do decide to try decoying, make sure you wear knee and elbow pads along with leather gloves. Cactus can be a pain in the neck. Also, it's much easier with two people, one to work the decoy, the other as the shooter.  Good luck.

[centaur]

Antelope aversion to jumping fences can be to your advantage. Here is what we call a 'duck under', where goats go under the fence rather than jumping it. In hot weather, it is hard to do better than sitting waterholes, but bring water for yourself and be prepared to sweat.
I have killed two antelope with a bow, one off water and one by spot and stalk, but have probably killed 25 or so with rifle. I hunted last year by spot and stalk after several years of not hunting them, and got reeducated by how good their eyesight is and how fast they can dodge an arrow.  
Maybe this will whet your appetite...  

[longbow fanatic 1]

Thanks, Pat! That's some kind of duck under and a beautiful buck! I will need to spend some time scouting for the right fence crossing, water... I'll be heading to western NE in late July or early August to meet with ranchers and scout their property. Can't wait!

[Phillip Fields]

I've only hunted Pronghorns once. We hunted over waterholes during the rut. There were four of us and we all filled out our tags.

[JimB]

Originally posted by longbow fanatic 1:
Thanks, Pat! That's some kind of duck under and a beautiful buck! I will need to spend some time scouting for the right fence crossing, water... I'll be heading to western NE in late July or early August to meet with ranchers and scout their property. Can't wait!

Exactly,scouting is key.Don't be afraid to think outside the box.Find those crawl unders and open gates.I have blocked a crawl under when there were two,and sat at the open one.We also used do some one and two man pushes toward the crawl unders.I've killed several that way and more than once,on opening morning.It makes for a very fast hunt,regardless how it ends.