Wyomings Red Desert Antelope

14 July 2008, 06:19

I heard a rumor the other day that the winter on the Red Desert was bad enough last winter that lots of the Antelope migrated south into Northwest Colorado.
Can anyone confirm or deny this rumor?
My brother and I have Colorado unit 11 buck Antelope tags.

14 July 2008, 09:32

drummondlindsey

I know that the winter kill in the red desert was unreal, they lost a ton of antelope and deer. I dont know about the migration but I can ask a friend that owns property in CO and WY

16 July 2008, 05:18

Snellstrom

Thanks Drummond please check for me.
My brother and I drew unit 11 Colorado Antelope tags and in talking with 2 people we've heard them say that they have seen more big bucks this year than ever and both people dropped the migration theory on us independantly.

17 July 2008, 09:41

D99

Antelope migrate, but nothing like elk or mule deer do.

While the Red Desert has great goats a lot of other places do too.

In Wyoming look for mass first, cutter length second, and overall length third.

There are tons of Wyoming antelope that are 12 inches long and score 83-85. In Wyoming it is all about mass, and cutter length. Remember the Boone and Crockett club puts more emphasis on mass than anything.

18 July 2008, 23:23

Mark Dobrenski

Tons of Wyoming antelope that are 12 inches and go 83-85.....ah I think not!

19 July 2008, 02:31

ravenr

the shortest antelope in b&c is 12 7/8 and i think was killed in wyo.i agree with looking for mass and it is one of the first indicators of a BIG goat,but length and prong are as important.
it takes the whole package to be a booner or you better be a whiz at your antelope scoring skills.

19 July 2008, 03:03

Fish30114

quote:
Originally posted by ravenr:
the shortest antelope in b&c is 12 7/8 and i think was killed in wyo.i agree with looking for mass and it is one of the first indicators of a BIG goat,but length and prong are as important.
it takes the whole package to be a booner or you better be a whiz at your antelope scoring skills.

+1

22 July 2008, 05:16

Snellstrom

Thanks for the Antelope judging tips guys but the question was about any rumors of Antelope getting pushed south last winter due to the bad weather on the Red Desert.
Anyone heard about that?
I'll know the right one (Antelope) when I see it. Usually if they look like they have rubber boots upside down on their heads you can be sure its a big one!

27 July 2008, 01:06

D99

quote:
Originally posted by Mark Dobrenski:
Tons of Wyoming antelope that are 12 inches and go 83-85.....ah I think not!

Of the 20,000 antelope killed in Wyoming by hunters every year, I doubt less than 100 will be measured.

We have two hanging on our wall that are 84 gross, and 82 net. Neither one of them is 13 inches long.

I agree that length matters, I would rather have a 82-85 Wyoming goat that's under 14 than a 15, 16, or 17 New Mexico or Arizona buck that is thin and has no prongs and scores in the high 70s.

If your new to antelope, and you have an interest in them you should visit some taxidermy studios in Pronghorn country and take a look at the goats on the wall. Cabelas also has a ton of goats in their wildlife mountain, some of them are excellent.

I have been told they are very difficult to judge, I dissagree. I think that if your used to "rack bracketing" deer you can do a similar deal on pronghorns.

You ideally want the 3rd mass measurement below the prong, as this will give a heavier number than above it. To ensure this you can look for bucks that have the bottom of their prong well above the tips of their ears.

At the end of the day the total number of an antelopes score matters not at all. What really matters is that you have an enjoyable hunt and shoot a buck that you can look at and remember for the rest of your life.

27 July 2008, 05:33

drummondlindsey

quote:
Originally posted by D99:
quote:
Originally posted by Mark Dobrenski:
Tons of Wyoming antelope that are 12 inches and go 83-85.....ah I think not!

Of the 20,000 antelope killed in Wyoming by hunters every year, I doubt less than 100 will be measured.

We have two hanging on our wall that are 84 gross, and 82 net. Neither one of them is 13 inches long.

I agree that length matters, I would rather have a 82-85 Wyoming goat that's under 14 than a 15, 16, or 17 New Mexico or Arizona buck that is thin and has no prongs and scores in the high 70s.

If your new to antelope, and you have an interest in them you should visit some taxidermy studios in Pronghorn country and take a look at the goats on the wall. Cabelas also has a ton of goats in their wildlife mountain, some of them are excellent.

I have been told they are very difficult to judge, I dissagree. I think that if your used to "rack bracketing" deer you can do a similar deal on pronghorns.

You ideally want the 3rd mass measurement below the prong, as this will give a heavier number than above it. To ensure this you can look for bucks that have the bottom of their prong well above the tips of their ears.

At the end of the day the total number of an antelopes score matters not at all. What really matters is that you have an enjoyable hunt and shoot a buck that you can look at and remember for the rest of your life.

Rack bracketing huh? That begs the question, do antelope have "tangs"? Hilarious!

Your last sentence above is all that really matters

Snell, I have left a couple msgs for my friend up in the red desert, hope to hear back from him soon

Drum

27 July 2008, 07:00

D99

The rack bracketing I am refering to is in the Hunting American Game book from the 1960s. I have not read Mike Eastmans book.

In the old book you used the height (or length in elk) of the horns and compared it to the shoulder height of the animal.
So ideally if an antelope is 34 inches tall (a guess) and your buck's horns can be stacked 3 times on top of eachother to make the bucks back height. Then the bucks horns from the base to the top of the curl are around 10 inches. Then you use the prongs above the ear method, and look for mass, prong length, and the extension of horn beyond the top (ie hook length).