How skittish do they get after opening day ?

[Short Track]

I got my Speed Goat opening morning. Just over 200 yards. We were much further out, but literally drove across the field to get closer.

How skittish do Antelope get after being shot at? Can you still get within 200-300 yards after opening day ? or are we talking 500+ yard shots later in the season ??

 

[NDGuy]

For us after opening day in MT, they would start running the second the truck stopped lol

 

[WCB]

If pressured a bunch they get very skittish. If you get weather or real late in the year they then get in really big herds and get extra skittish. Most the time see a vehicle or person and just start running. Doesn't mean every goat will be like that...there are a bunch of goats that maybe never saw a person opening week and have no clue what is going on.

I will say from guiding them though they get progressively harder to close in on or get a shot on after two or three failed attempts.

 

[browning2480]

My observation this year in Wyoming is that even on the second day they would just keep running around but never run off. I was surprised at how easy it was to get in on them under 200 yards. We killed does on the 3rd day that would run a little ways from the vehicle and then stop. Sometimes, they would run at an angle that actually brought them closer to us. Even after being shot at, they wouldn't run off that far.

I am convinced that people who are shooting Antelope out past 250 yards, are just doing it because they want to or think they have too. We were able to easily get within 250 on every single one we killed, which was 9, in our group. 4 of those were older bucks and 2 older does that I guarantee have lived through multiple hunting seasons.

 

[Short Track]

It was definitely a different experience. I'm used to hunting deer in the big woods. Not driving around open fields... I was very tempted to take a 400 yard shot. I know I could.. .but for my 1st goat, I wanted him in the freezer. Didn't want to chance the wind, when getting closer was easy.

 

[2ski]

I shot one this evening that wasn't running too hard. At about 40 yards. The rest stood around about 75 yards away after running when I shot. And finally moved away.

 

[Mt Al]

I'd say very skittish after opening day, doesn't take long for them to get the drift that their on the menu. Range is still a matter of cover available and how much you want to sneak/crawl/slither among the cacti. Heading out Wednesday, can't wait!

 

[Laramie]

It really depends on the area and the number of hunters. In most areas they get very skittish for 10-14 days after opening day but then settle down some. Early mornings they are the most calm regardless of the day of season.

 

[RemiR7]

Many of factors. Bow season, I’ve literally been able to hop out of a truck and walk to some. This year being my first rifle season we couldn’t even drive by at 30 mph Just to get a look at some before they would bolt and still being a couple
Hundred years from the road. Private vs public, Hunting Pressure, road traffic. Closest we got was 225 and that was because a ditch kept us hiding for almost a mile until that point. Ended up taking one around the 350 mark and that was belly crawling for a hundred yards or so. That was on a private ranch as well.