NE Antelope

Ian Ketterman

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jul 1, 2019
Messages
252
Location
MO
I've seen a couple posts and had a few more pm's on chasing goats in Nebraska. So I spent a little bit thinking of a way to do a miniature write up for them based on my limited experience. Residents and more experienced people may chime in and correct me on some things, but this was my impression.

-It is not a high odds hunt, if you go out to chase goats under the impression you will get one and that determines the success of your hunt, you won't have as much fun. These are highly pressured animals that seem to be jumpy like eastern whitetails with turkey vision. I didn't take it too serious and had a blast.
-It is crowded on the grasslands, so if you see someone stalking an animal or a truck parked within view of animals, DO NOT stop to watch, the goats will take off and you'll spoil a stalk. We had it happen/saw it happen a few times. Extremely frustrating.
-They're a lower population that WY or CO or MT. Probably more than KS but it isn't a booming population on limited lands.
-Bring bug spray
-Archery is OTC for NR. You can apply for leftover doe rifle tags, but typically they're gone instantly.
-A couple guide services are up there. They can help acclimate you if you aren't comfortable tackling it yourself as a DIY hunt.
-If you have a spot or someone shares a spot with you, keep it to yourself. Obviously. Don't go down to Dairy B yackin about the bachelor group of bucks a buddy showed you or everyone and their dog will be there in the morning.
-We went in early September and it was pretty crowded. If you can afford to, contact a landowner prior to season and see if you can pay a trespass fee to hunt their fields/water if it is drier. You could almost tell when land was private from the amount of goats herded up in the field. From what I've gathered, ranchers/farmers do not care for goats since they damage fences going under them so being polite and door knocking may be successful. The time we tried they were gone, I talked to some Cabelleros working on a barn who gave us a go ahead but I don't like hunting looking over my shoulder.
-Learn what is a stalkable/unstalkable animal. You'll waste more time trying to kill an animal that you have 0% chance of even drawing back on
-Read on the meat care before hand. It is going to be hot, you will lose meat if you don't have it quartered/cooled ASAP. If you intend to keep any of the hide, the hair is hollow and absorbs blood, so it's tricky. I've been told to have it skinned and rolled up in salty ice water ASAP. We didn't keep the hide from the one we had.
-Bring bug spray
-The black patches on the cheeks/neck are scent glands. Do your grip and grin with gloves or wash the shit out of your hands before touching a single other piece of meat or anything you don't want to smell. If you cape the animal cut them things out and salt it. They're rank. If you touch any of the meat with that oil on your hands you're not going to eat it and spread the 'antelopes are gross lol' myth around.
-If you go after Labor day, there are a few mule deer/white tails up there if you're into that.
-Obviously close gates and don't litter. You're on a national grassland and/or someones private ranch they've authorized to be walk in areas. Don't ruin that.
-Practice shooting further. The longer you're comfortable with archery equipment the more likely you are to be successful. If you won't shoot past 30 yards you'll be sitting on a water hole in 90' weather. No thanks.
-Keep an idea where you are at. We went into WY and SD a couple times. One tempting goat and a misplaced warden can be a hefty ticket.
-We didn't sit water or use decoys. I pretended to be a buck scratching the ground with a solo buck and it lasted about 5 seconds and he was gone. I did not wear a silly hat during this escapade.
-if they wind you they'll take off. I had someone tell me they don't pay attention to scent. BS
-Stay hydrated
-Bring bug spray
-If you don't see a group after an hour of glassing pack up and move. This is one of the few times road hunting is advocated.
-Dairy B in Crawford has good burgers and ice cream. We ate a few double bacon burgers, which, if you're a shy pooper may be a problem. Not much cover out there for a deuce.


Those were most of the ideas I could come up with. It is a blast to be out and you'll see a lot of animals but they'll see you 2 miles away (literally) and take off. Buddy shot a dinky mulie and a nice pronghorn, but I didn't shoot it so I'm not posting the picture of it.
 

Attachments

  • NE.jpg
    NE.jpg
    190.2 KB · Views: 37
  • NE2.jpg
    NE2.jpg
    131 KB · Views: 37
  • NE3.jpg
    NE3.jpg
    154.4 KB · Views: 36
  • NE4.jpg
    NE4.jpg
    130.8 KB · Views: 36

Blue22

FNG
Joined
Feb 13, 2020
Messages
10
Good info. I’ve never done a pronghorn or western hunt but this sounds like it might be a good first one for a Midwesterner. Thanks for sharing.
 
Joined
Sep 19, 2018
Messages
353
Location
Zeeland, MI
Thanks for the great right up @Ian Ketterman. This was actually a hunt we were kicking the tires on for this fall. More than anything it just seems like a great opportunity to see some new country out there.
 

lemmerjj

FNG
Joined
Mar 4, 2020
Messages
27
Location
Nebraska
It is a lot of fun and absolutely beautiful (I am biased because I'm from there). I can't wait until this season. I'm going to try either a be the decoy hat or an ultimate predator decoy to see if they make it easier to get closer.
 
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
Messages
18
Location
SW SD
"-It is crowded on the grasslands, so if you see someone stalking an animal or a truck parked within view of animals, DO NOT stop to watch, the goats will take off and you'll spoil a stalk. We had it happen/saw it happen a few times. Extremely frustrating.".

This one is so true, even in SD. Doesn't matter if your 1/2 mile away and someone wants to stop and watch...those speed goats be gone!
 

Mosster47

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 7, 2020
Messages
132
I've hunted them in Oregon with a bow four times. This will be my first year in Wyoming with a rifle.

There is a lot of great info out there on doing this and I appreciate everyone sharing the basics.
 
Top