Nebraska OTC Archery Antelope

[AKbruin]

Hey All

First post. So, I bought a pickup in MI this winter because I had family there to look at it prior, however I live in AK. Pre-COVID plan was to drive through Canada to Fairbanks to pick up the GF and take her to the north slope for a caribou hunt, this would have been her first real hunting trip. But, with all the complications with crossing the border I'm looking at flying to MI and driving to Belligham,WA to put the truck on the AK ferry system. Trying to make the most out of the trip and still work a hunt in that is doable for someone that is new I landed on Nebraska OTC archery pronghorn. I've settled on the Olgalala Grasslands and McKelvie National Forest for the general hunting areas but I have some questions.

1) We will be there the last few days of August and the first week of Sept. What kind of weather should I be prepared for?
2) Are snake boots a must? I know there are rattlesnakes there but I'm not sure if they are common enough to warrant the purchase.
3) Are there any restrictions in Nebraska related to COVID-19 that I should be aware of? We will be camping in an outfitter tent and driving or hiking from camp every day looking for animals to stalk, so we will be as distanced as anyone can be.
4) What kind of hunting pressure should I expect?
5) Getting hopeful here but a recommendation on a local Nebraskan taxidermist is welcome, just in case. haha


Other than that, any information that someone feels inclined to share is totally welcome. Thanks in advance to all.

 

[Dave N]

Welcome aboard! No help to you but good luck!

 

[smw110136]

Welcome

Sent you a private message

 

[shb]

You'll see more hunters than antelope.


Bring business cards do some networking.

 

[Stocker]

Done it every year for a while. There is hunting pressure on the highway north of Crawford. If it rains the backroads are impassable. It could be 40 and wanting to snow or 105 around the 1st of September. Snakes are there, just pay attention. If you are around prairie dogs look for snakes. Bring knee, and elbow pads for stalking in the prickly pears.

There is more antelope than you can stalk, the key is only stalking the ones you have a chance at stalking. We do 10-12 stalks a day for 5 days and probably get 2-3 80 yard shots and 1-2 shots inside of 50 and a kill.

If you get discouraged easily archery antelope is not for you.

 

[AKbruin]

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it! It sounds similar to the barren ground caribou archery hunting I have done, where you see way more animals than you can go after. I don't usually get discouraged by the blown stalk or ones that just come up short. I just like having the interactions and opportunities. Really all I want for my GF is to see the animals and get involved in some stalks, and that sounds like what she wants so I figured this could be a good route since caribou is going to be off the table.

 

[Joelb16505]

Some buddies and I went the first three days of the season in 2019.

1. It was very warm, in the 90s. There was a massive storm brewing but only caught the edge of it.
2. We did not run into any rattlesnakes, but I'm sure they are there.
4. It was our first time hunting so we showed up a day and a half early to scout. Saw lots of antelope and not a single person. Opening morning and there was plenty of people driving around. Be prepared to do a lot of driving because there is plenty of land to cover.

I cannot emphasize this next part enough. We were planning to stay two more days. It wasn't the heat, lack of shade, or blown stalks that drove us home. It was the mosquitos. I have never witnessed anything like it in my life. They got worse each night. And they were out all day. The last evening we had a 3/4 mile walk back to the truck and it was the breaking point. You had to be careful to not breathe them in. I was constantly swatting the air in front of my face and just slapping them by the handfuls. Bug spray did not phase them. I felt violated and disgusting. I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy.

 

[AKbruin]

Hey All. Been a while since the hunt in NE. Been chasing moose and blacktail in AK since I got back and flat out forgot to post about our antelope trip. To make it short, we didn't harvest a speed goat. However, we did get within 100 yards of a nice buck and I'm calling that a success for the first time attempting to harvest one of these critters. It was really dry the whole time we were there for the last week of August and a fire actually caught in the prairie up in the NW corner of the grasslands. The anteloper were very wary and would bolt if you stopped the truck to glass up a group of them. WE camped at Toadstool Geological Park which I would do again, it was a good compromise between being near where we wanted to hunt and being able to run to town for more gas and ice. Being that this was my gf's first extended hunt I bought one of the 8-man cabelas dome tents and a blow up mattress to make things pretty comfortable, even bought a battery powered fan to keep us somewhat cool in the evenings. We had a wind storm blow through that topped out at about 50mph according to the weather forcaster on the local radio and that tent didn't even flinch.
My gf enjoyed the spot and stalk hunting and is dead set on trying again, we are buying preference points for WY as I recently had a friend give us permission to hunt his family's property in the SE corner of the state. We headed to Montana after the hunt and chased some trout, I caught my first westslope cuttie on the first day but it was tough fishing and the wildfires kept us from getting where we wanted to go. Some difficulties to be sure but overall it was a good trip and didn't scare the lady off of going on more hunts with me in the future.

 

[stonegraham]

Hey All

First post. So, I bought a pickup in MI this winter because I had family there to look at it prior, however I live in AK. Pre-COVID plan was to drive through Canada to Fairbanks to pick up the GF and take her to the north slope for a caribou hunt, this would have been her first real hunting trip. But, with all the complications with crossing the border I'm looking at flying to MI and driving to Belligham,WA to put the truck on the AK ferry system. Trying to make the most out of the trip and still work a hunt in that is doable for someone that is new I landed on Nebraska OTC archery pronghorn. I've settled on the Olgalala Grasslands and McKelvie National Forest for the general hunting areas but I have some questions.

1) We will be there the last few days of August and the first week of Sept. What kind of weather should I be prepared for?
2) Are snake boots a must? I know there are rattlesnakes there but I'm not sure if they are common enough to warrant the purchase.
3) Are there any restrictions in Nebraska related to COVID-19 that I should be aware of? We will be camping in an outfitter tent and driving or hiking from camp every day looking for animals to stalk, so we will be as distanced as anyone can be.
4) What kind of hunting pressure should I expect?
5) Getting hopeful here but a recommendation on a local Nebraskan taxidermist is welcome, just in case. haha


Other than that, any information that someone feels inclined to share is totally welcome. Thanks in advance to all.

welcome aboard

 

[25denver]

Done it every year for a while. There is hunting pressure on the highway north of Crawford. If it rains the backroads are impassable. It could be 40 and wanting to snow or 105 around the 1st of September. Snakes are there, just pay attention. If you are around prairie dogs look for snakes. Bring knee, and elbow pads for stalking in the prickly pears.

There is more antelope than you can stalk, the key is only stalking the ones you have a chance at stalking. We do 10-12 stalks a day for 5 days and probably get 2-3 80 yard shots and 1-2 shots inside of 50 and a kill.

If you get discouraged easily archery antelope is not for you.

Are non resident otc archery antelope tags still available this year or has that since changed to a drawing?