for many years I would hunt an antelope hunt but I prefer in late fall or in winter. There are special reasons why throughout the West the hunting takes place only in September / October and not later?
The later you go, the greater the chance that the antelope will have shed their horns. There are quite a few places that offer combos of deer and antelope in November, say, but these dates are mostly a compromise with a great chance of (many/most) buck antelope already having shed.
- mike
********************* The rifle is a noble weapon... It entices its bearer into primeval forests, into mountains and deserts untenanted by man. - Horace Kephart
Posts: 6653 | Location: Switzerland | Registered: 11 March 2002
The big reason for the early hunts is to take advantage of the rut. Pronghorns rut earlier than deer usually.
Late August thru to the second week of October is when the goats are most active. Starting around the end of October the bucks begin shedding the outer horn sheath so all that is left is the core.
and they migrate out of their summer range when the snow starts falling and the harvest of individual populations can't be as precise when they are collected en'mass on the winter range
Posts: 2141 | Location: enjoying my freedom in wyoming | Registered: 13 January 2006
Antelope here begin to lose their horns (outer sheath, as stated earlier) around the first week of November. The 5-week season starts mid-October so by the last 2 weeks of the season (where it overlaps with deer/elk) it is not uncommon to find many bucks missing one or both horns.
very interesting. I was convinced that the antelope he would not lose the antlers
They don't lose them the same way red deer or elk or whitetails or fallow do.
Pronghorn's, as they are not really an antelope have an outer horn sheath. It is made up of hair that is basically glued together on the outside of a bony core.
When they shed the sheaths, the remaining core is only about 1/3 maybe 1/2 the size of the outer sheath.
All of the above, plus the roads can turn to greased snot later in the season.
eh' gads!! spoken like an "experienced" antelope hunter. The september danger is crawling on your belly after a buck and hearing the rattler go off nearby. had to crawl around more than 1 that wasn't willing to give up "their" shade on hot days. All part of the experience and yea the buck i was chasin was worth crawling thru the cactus,sage and buzz tails. You got the antelope bug? Mario.
Posts: 2141 | Location: enjoying my freedom in wyoming | Registered: 13 January 2006
Ravenr, sorry but the slang is quite difficult to understand for me. Yes I want to hunt an antelope I dont konw when and where but is an animal that I like very much.
I once shoot a antelope buck during the last week of MT season and when I grabed his horns to pull him onto my game cart they came off in my hands!
If you have a chance to see a clean antelope buck skull there are two bone "horns" (somewhat dagger like I guess is one way to discribe them). These appear to be part of the skull. The black "sheath" which we see as "horns" is, I believe, a modified "hair". The sheath grows out from the horns. For a long time I heard that antelope did not shed their "horns" since the base section is also black when the animal is alive, at least the ones I've seen are. So on winter range the bucks still appear to have their "horns".
Posts: 763 | Location: Montana | Registered: 28 November 2004
