Bowhunting Antelope: A Gateway to the West!

When I first embarked on western bowhunting adventures, I truly believed that only mule deer and elk would have my heart. Wow! That couldn’t have been further from the truth and I’m so thankful for that. For the last 10 years I’ve hunted antelope off and on with my bow and have loved every second of having these tags in my pocket. Antelope bowhunting is as fun as it gets, and it has taught me more than I could have ever imagined. If you're not bowhunting antelope, you’re truly missing out on a ton of fun!

Ample Opportunities

One of the best parts about bowhunting antelope is the amount of opportunities that can be had. Multiple states — such as Montana, Colorado, Utah and both of the Dakotas — have a ton of easy to draw, accessible tags. This gives a bowhunter a lot of options, especially if they’re not familiar with draw systems and have not been building bonus or preference points. Trophy hunts in places like New Mexico and Nevada, who are known for gigantic bucks, will take years of building points. But, those bowhunts are not the focus here. Our focus will be the easier to draw hunts and for good reason — they give a guy, or gal, the ability to travel out west and bowhunt antelope every single year. In my opinion, there simply is no bowhunt that is more fun than chasing pronghorns. Due to the varying amount of ways you can hunt these animals, that amount of antelope available to hunt, and typically low-hunt costs, this bowhunt can be a hunt for anyone.

I’ve said this before and I’ll state it here again, antelope hunting is the best gateway bowhunt to the west in my opinion. If you’ve never hunted out west and want to dive in, this is exactly the hunt that I would tell everyone to start with. Due to the different types of terrain that antelope live in, multiple ways to hunt them and different approaches you can take to each hunt, bowhunting antelope will quickly teach you a ton about hunting the west without having to mentally — or physically, for that matter — strain yourself like a highcountry elk or mule deer hunt would entail. Not even half of the gear for those hunts are required for pronghorns, so your overall hunt cost will be less expensive as well.

All in all, I think antelope hunting is the best way to get your feet wet and itch that western bowhunting bug.

Multiple Ways to Play The Game

One thing I have always loved about bowhunting antelope is that there are so many ways to do it and be successful. The premise behind it is to cover as much country as you can until you find herds of them to hunt. From there, it’s up to you on how you want to get close. You can go with a truck camp, hike in and day hunt, bounce around from spot to spot each day, or pack into an area and backpack hunt. Any one of these tactics can and will lead to opportunities, and the beauty of hunting antelope with your bow is that you have so many choices. For me, I love to cover as much country as possible, so using the truck — or a bike — allows me to cover ground quickly. I can glass a bunch of territory until I run into some herds of pronghorns to hunt. Antelope can be anywhere that good feed is available. This can be prairies, low-country basins and even in some areas you can find some close to the timber edge lines at the ridge bottoms. In most places I hunt antelope, rolling low country and prairie-type environments are typically where I find the most antelope, where feed and water are close by.

Again, we have so many options for how to bowhunt pronghorns. You can spot-and-stalk, sit over water or a feeding area in a blind, or get creative if you so choose and use a decoy. I’ve shotantelope using every one of these tactics and they are all equally fun and exciting.

Spot and Stalk: This style is of bowhunting is my absolute favorite. The combination of using your optics to locate a buck and then your own skills to slither yourself into position to get a shot is as exciting as it gets. I love the planning and methodical approach to this style of bowhunting, as it takes us back to a very primal way of hunting. My goal is to cover as much country as I can, both with my glass and my legs. Once a good pronghorn is found, it’s now a game of chess. Strategically, I will make a plan to stalk into bow-range of the buck and slip an arrow through his boiler room. This is easier said than done, as they have keen eyesight as well as a great sense of smell and hearing, but it can be accomplished. 

Blind Hunting: When it comes to bowhunting antelope, ground blinds — especially those over water sources — are as productive as it can get. A really good ground blind will be in a location that antelope like to frequent often. More times than not, this will be around water due to the fact that antelope must drink water often. Other good spots would be near pinch points, such as saddles on a ridge or fence crossings. Water spots, like cattle troughs, ponds, small streams, etc. are the most sought after spots, and with a camera these spots can produce very quickly. The biggest concerns when bowhunting over water and in a blind will be getting back to full-draw undetected at close range and not being winded. It’s very important to make sure that your blind is in a position where the majority of the windows can be closed, creating a very dark environment that can conceal your movements. This will help you get drawn without being spotted as the antelope move in to drink. When it comes to the wind, I like to try to assess the area around me and make an educated guess on how the wind and thermals will work based on the topographical features around the area. Remember, your thermals will rise in the day and fall toward the evening, so keep that in mind when setting up your blind.

Decoying: This method to hunt antelope can be very exciting, but certainly one of the most challenging. This style requires a bow-mounted decoy, or a decoy that you stake in the ground beside you. Either way, this method is designed to bring a buck right into your lap. Talk about an adrenaline rush! The basic principles here are to have yourself in a position where antelope can see you from a long distance off and then work toward you. Or, if you so choose, you can work slowly toward them as well. What you don't want to do is to quickly pop over a ridge and be close to a buck. This will typically spook antelope, and once they start running it could be hundreds if not thousands of yards before they stop. The better approach is to get the wind in your favor and slowly move toward your buck, letting him get familiar with the situation in the process. During the rut, a lot of times a bow-mounted decoy — such as one from Ultimate Predator —  will entice a buck to come straight to you to show dominance. This can provide a bowhunter with a close encounter and a great shot opportunity. One thing I do want to mention with this method of bowhunting is that you have to be prepared to make shots at all angles. Broadside, quartering to, quartering away, facing you — you never quite know what you're going to get.  By no means am I saying to take any of these if you’re not confident, but practicing these scenarios and being prepared for these circumstances will yield you more opportunities at shots. This style of bowhunting is best when you have lots of ground to cover that is easily accessible by walking and using your truck. Being mobile and covering a lot of good ground will give you the best chance to find a buck who wants to play the game. 

Humbling Experiences

Bowhunting antelope will produce its fair share of failure and defeats, but that is what makes it so fun and challenging. Being that they have such great eyesight and are lightning fast with their reactions, be prepared to miss shots that left the bow perfectly and also be ready to have stalks and opportunities blown due to their impressive sixth sense. Antelope will certainly teach you a lot about what you need to work on, no matter which method you choose. But, you'll be a better bowhunter because of that, which is half the fun after all. If you’ve not chased a pronghorn with your bow yet, I highly suggest that you make a place to do so soon. It’s truly as fun as it gets!

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