I'm going to bow hunt antelope for the first time this year. I need some help and you guys seem to know everything that I have ever wanted to know. So any input would help a lot.



Thanks hnt24.7

Find a water hole and sit in a ground blind and wait all day. Spot and stalk if the terrain allows. It is very hard to get close to them if you can not hide behind a hill or something. It is a great challenge but very fun.

I don't know CRAP about it.....but I'm going with a group of guys in '09.....and that's how they do it. 100% success rate on their last trip.

I lived out in Montana for an all too brief period of time, and while I never bowhunted antelope (the season coincided with the elk bow season), if I were going to, I'd definitely attempt decoying. The bucks are extremely territorial that time of year and will come running (literally) at the sight of another buck in there territory. A decoy provides you with some cover from which to draw your bow too. Range estimation is something I hear is tough with the open country...they appear closer than they are.

I was lucky enough to take a decent buck with my rifle. They make a great looking mount too. Good luck!

I have been antelope hunting with a bow two times. The first time was in Wyoming where the hills allowed me to stalk up on them. The shot I took was 67 yards and the antelope went about 80 yards and fell over.

Last year I hunted them in Nebraska and tried spot an stalk as well as the water hole. We were able to get within about 40 yards to multiple groups but they would always bust us while drawing. A decoy would be nice to draw behind.

We also sat at the water hole in a ground blind and we seen some comming in but they never made it to the water hole before dark. Going again this year on private land and will be sitting at a water hole/tank.
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I've only hunted antelope once, and that was with a rifle. However, during my hunt, I saw what Moose is talking about. I watched a nice buck with a pretty good group of does for about 30 minutes trying to figure out how to stalk close enough for a shot. While I watched him herding the does in a fence corner, I noticed him spot something, so far off I could't tell what it was with a pair of binoculars. A few seconds later, he literally ran along ways toward what he saw.....it was a smaller buck who was approaching his ladies. He ran up to him and chased him off...and blew my chance at a stalk. Water hole is good, but I'd say a waterhole with a decoy might be AWESOME!

Good luck!

Hunting them over water and/or with a decoy is the way to go. Depending on when you go, shorts and a t-shirt (ideally something that breathes really well like Under Armor) for the blind – holy crap does it get hot in there if it’s 90+ out!

If you haven’t done much spot and stalk hunting it’s going to be tough. In my opinion, generally, stalking mule deer is a heck of a lot easier than antelope. Even when they are in a favorable position with the wind right, they can still be tough to get close to.