ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

I am new to this forum and i drew a tag to area 23 near gillette,Wy for my 1st ever antelope hunt.I am going the 2nd week of october what i guess to be late in the season for speedgoat huntin. I need some advice on what kind of hunting clothing i need to buy.
What brand and camo pattern?
Ineed something i can shed if i start getting too hot but something that can handle colder temps.I also need something comfortable that i can move around in very easily as well.I just bought a set of Danner sierra hunting boots with 200gr thinsulate due to i was needing a new set for birdhunting.
Any advise would be appreciated!

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

It's hard to say what the weather will be like that time of year. It could be 90 or it could be 40.

The goats will be plenty pressured by then so expect them to be pretty easily spooked. Is there any chance you could make it out there a little earlier?

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

Your pick-up should do fine;)
BBJ

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

That was a joke by the way,are you bow hunting or Rifle? are you required to wear orange? are you flying or driving?

What I wear here in Montan is a Scent-lok Savana shirt in praire break-up,blue jeans and good shoes.We have to wear 400 sq inches of Orange during gun season.Pack a mid-weight coat a good vest and a heavy hooded sweat-shirt and plenty of warm socks.The weather will probaly be chilliy in the morrning and warmer in the after noons 50-70's.If Gillett is anything like it was when I was there the WIND will blow!!! so a nice layer of clothes to peel off shoud be fine.
I carry a coat and gloves,and warm hat in the pick-up in case it dips and gets chilly.
Good Luck
BBJ
PS where you from?

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

May consider a game cart, and/or a pack frame...

spotting scope, binos,

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

:D:D:D

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

I used to hunt next door to 23, never seemed to run out of goats.

"Layered" is the key to clothing, as you're apparently already aware. You will be required to wear orange (you can check the WY G&F website for specifics). Mornings mid-October can be "brisk", but what makes you comfortable then will roast you by 10:00. I'm not sure what weight of Thinsulate are in my Danners, but they're a good compromise to carrying a pair of cold-weather boots for the morning and lightweight hikers for mid-day. I would assume that yours would be fine provided you break them in properly if you haven't already.

Wind is definitely something a lot of people don't consider. Might seem simple, but having Chap-stik and sunscreen can help offset its tendency to dry exposed skin out. But, I've rarely found the ambient temperature low enough the second week of October to really concern me about wind chill. You'll still find temps in the 60s, possibly even 70s during the day. And, it can be very bright - so sunglasses might be useful.

Goats see very well. They're very used to vehicles in most cases, so the "pickup" comment above - while humorous - isn't far off. They'll pick up bipedal movement in an instant, regardless of your wearing blue jeans or camo. I've done well spotting them with good binos, predicting where they might go (whether they're browsing or whether they might take flight from other hunters), and setting myself up somewhere along their likelyroute.

Not the hardest critters to find, but the distances involved, their sight, and their speed make them a fun hunt. Good luck!

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

Walking shoes and binocs.

Camo isnt as important because you SHOULD be able to use the terrain to your favor. I suspect it shouldn't be too awfully difficult to get within rifle range a few times on a good day. Wind can actually help tremendously in these situations.

They may be pretty pressured that late in the season though.

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

Thanks to all who replied to my post! I am from east central indiana and me and a bud are going out to a ranch owned by a private individual who owns a little over 5,000 acres. He has been guiding hunters since 1969 and he said we will have to work for a goat if the weather is cold and windy.I am using a Remington 700 26" fluted barrel 270WSM w/Leupold VX-L 4.5-14 B&C. I have it zero'd at 200 yards using hand loaded 130gr Nosler Accubonds. I am currently working up a load for Berger VLD's 130gr:)What kind of shooting sticks should i buy? They say the prairie grass is really tall this year!

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

I would chime in but to save typing everything said above couldn't be said better. Goats are easy to find but hard to close the distance.

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

would get a rangefinder also, out on the plains 250 yrd can look a lot like 350 yrds if youre not careful. Other advice pretty much covers it, I also like the natural gear line of clothing, theirfleece zip up is a great layer. thats really all I needed in early Oct, w good layer underneath. Also prairie ghost camo has some assessories for getting close if you don't have really good cover when you close the final distance. be careful not to drag the goat after its down,like you might a whitetail-- take the cape before you move anything. good luck, goats are great fun.

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

Shooting sticks I don't use them,practice from sitting and kneeling.If I were to get a pair they would probaly be thefold upkind.If you have the time a nice tall bi-pod can work,but I have found them not worth the hassle and the added weight.
Good coment not dragging them,you can make them bald pretty fast pulling them accross the prarie.
BBJ

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

I really like the stoney point pivot sticks. A pivot stays on your rifle even with a sling attached and you carry the sticks with you and just click them on when you are getting ready to shoot. Kind of like a bi-pod shooting stick combo.

Of course last year I had my prone sticks with me and the grass and sagebrush was too tall so I had to make the shot without them. A good shooting posistion for me on the open plains is cross legged with elbows on the knees. Your feet folded up under your knees keeps it pretty steady.

A range finder is a really good idea for antelope hunting. Of course sometimes it can be so flat that when you are belly crawling along and the antelope is bedded down you can't get a return on the rangefinder so they aren't infailable. That's exactly what happened to me last year, I had my fancy shooting sticks and my fancy rangefinder and I just ended up getting as close as I could and guessing at the yardage and shooting from the cross legged posistion. I thought it was around 100 yards but it ended up being 220 yards based on stepping it off so it was a good thing that my rifle was zero'd at 200 yards.

I had a good spotting scope and used it a little. Not as much as I thought I would. You can see the antelope from a mile away but deciding whether there is a shooter buck in the herd is still impossible. I ended up just stalking on a decent sized herd and picking the biggest buck out of the group.

Here's the result from my DIY hunt last year in Eastern Montana.



You should be able to find something similar or even bigger around Gillette. South toward Douglas there are a zillion antelope out there. 5,000 acres of private land sounds like a lot, but out there in that open country it really isn't that much, but by that part of the season the antelope know where the private land is (because of the heavy pressure on public land) so that should improve your odds.

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

I will be in cambell county and was wondering what the terrain is like there? From what i have seen from outfitters web sites in and near gillette... there are some nice mule deer out there! Is this true:)

THANKS FOR THE PIC "NPADEN"....AWESOME...I AM GETTING PUMPED UP FOR MY HUNT!!!

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

Going north of Gillette into powder river country thereis some nice mule deer country. South of Gillette it is more antelope country though. You won't see a tree for miles in any direction.

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

Where is there a good place to stay at in gillette?

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

It's right on I-90. There are lots of hotels there. I've never spent the night in Gillette, just traveled through. I have spent the night in a snowbank about 10 miles northof Bill though, I wouldn't recommend that! :D (Bill is about 70 miles south of Gillette, at the time I think the population was about 5 people)

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

The camo pattern I recommend is Levi's blue and Cabela's Guide Shirt red checked flannel. Unless you are bow hunting, I don't figure you need to worry too much about camoflage. The success ratio on pronghorn is 90%. It isn't rocket science . . . or difficult to bag a pronghorn. Pay attention to not getting skylined, moving slow, and all should be well. If you blow your stalk, what the heck, there are more o' them funny looking creatures standing around over the next hill, just go after them. Don't get all wound up about getting out there at first light, either. They will wait on you to read the newspaper and eat your breakfast. They will still be standing out there and/or laying down out there if you mosy out at noon.

The weather could do anything, so take a range of clothes. Layering is always a good plan. Have wicking fabric available as an underlayer. Have insulated tops and head gear in case it gets cold. As far as footwear, just about anything will work. Tennis shoes will work, unless it gets really cold, in which case your feet would get cold.

You will see lots and lots and lots of pronghorn in unit 23 near Gillette. I don't think this is known to have big antlers, so set realistic expectations for yourself. I took a doe and was happy to do that. My son took a 12 1/2 buck -- his first big game kill of any kind -- and we mounted the head. Not in any sense an above average set of antlers, but they look cool no matter how big the antlers are AND it was his first big game kill.

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

Did that snowbank have a bar and a fireplace[:-]

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

ALSATIAN...Pardon my ignorance but what is wicking fabric? and thanks for the response.

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

I got drawn for a tag in Trinidad CO with Fred Eichler, taking my 243wssm Browing A-bolt Stainless Stalker with a Burris 3-9X40 and 95gr BST, my first got hunt and I cant wait!!

RE: ANTELOPE HUNTING GEAR?????
 

I apologize for being obscure. Wicking fabrics are synthetic fabrics such as polypropylene or others that wick moisture off of the surface of the body. When you are cold, it makes you feel warm. When you are sweating, it lifts the sweat off your skin and allows it to evaporate off the surface of the fabric. I wear this stuff in the mountains backpacking and hunting elk. The conditions go from sweating where sweat drops off my face and runs down my glasses to sitting still in the shade, all in the same day and without changing my clothes. If I had been wearing cotton I would have been in trouble, then the moisture would stay near my skin and chill me down. Do some research on the Internet to get a more articulate and understandable explanation. The UnderArmor product is a specific kind of such wicking fabric. The polypropylene is a very old, but functional, wicking fabric.