Was my experience normal...or did I somehow F&#K up?

[geewhiz]

They’re good starters. That’s what I had starting out. Hoping you have 8x or 10x power (assuming you don’t have a tripod).

I’ve never hunted Nevada but I can make a lot of safe assumptions. It’s probably hot. The issue with Diamondbacks is they get really nasty to see with heat waves. I tested this this weekend with my Razor UHDs. The heat waves were so bad on my Diamondbacks that the waves had the green tint. If you have cloud coverage, hunt every waking second of that day.

Not saying you need to replace them, but glassing before the heatwaves come is paramount until you get better glass. Pronghorn don’t see well in the dark so if you get on a high spot before first light and glass off of a steady base (backpack, tripod, especially if you have 12x power) and really take your time, you will see more game. They won’t even know you came in unless you step on one.

The diopter on those don’t lock so you may need to make frequent adjustments often as well. Vipers do have a lock.

I like to shotgun glass (look around like a mad man) until I’m convinced I didn’t see anything. Then I will grid very slowly. If I don’t see anything in an hour, move on unless there’s water nearby. Really take your time though. Glassing is my favorite thing about hunting and honestly should be everyone’s. You don’t realize what you pass up when you slooooow doooown.

And like what everyone else is saying; get out there and stay out there. 9 days goes by fast. Dedicate some time to be out there to give yourself a chance.

Solid advice

 

[TOGIE]

i'd get back out there if i were you.

spend less time on the road. more glassing.

 

[Bluffgruff]

I admittedly have not spent much time trying to glass for animals in the past, this was my first DIY big game hunt, and my first ever antelope hunt.

I guess I spent way more time driving and looking through the windshield with my unaided eyes, than stopped and looking thru the binoculars.

Go back, 100%. Get the sun behind you just after sunrise and glass, start in the recommended areas. If you fail that, check water holes. Also try evening with the sun behind you. Antelope are active all day, but they get harder to spot with the heat shimmer midday. It is really hard to see antelope beyond a half mile without glass, and harder looking into the sun. A tripod will surely help you glass better, regardless of optics, and regardless of time of day.

Check out the recommended areas on the hunt info sheet .



Please go have a good time and report back.

 

[2rocky]

Please use every available moment but understand that that tag is no pushover. A lot of people think there is a lope behind every sagebrush but you do need to cover lots of ground. Antelope aren't "hiders" per se and you usually will see a whole antelope unless he is bedded in the wide open. Often you will spy the movement first.

When you get on a high spot do a once over and a second sweep of the area before you which can be a 2 mile or 3 mile range.

Find springs on the map and the highest spot from which you can see them. Glass all the country visible. Be sure to glass in the midday as well. I'd check out the border along Little Sheldon for sure....

 

[fowladdict]

Do you have a friend that is an experienced big game hunter? If so, ask him/her to come along. It is a good way to learn. Best of luck...go again!

 

[RyGuy]

I hate to say it…. But you may have screwed up

 

[LopeHunter]

More glassing...glass an area thoroughly and then pick it apart again. I wasn't there but I feel like you didn't take your time behind the glass.

Also, time of day when glass is key. Sure, a coyote might flush a buck or two out in mid-day but I have seen dozens of pronghorn from a hill in a flat area as glassed then about 90 minutes after first light watch pod after pod walk into sage and, poof, a dozen pronghorn are gone from sight in about 10 seconds once they lay down in the sage.

Last 60 minutes can be good. If water is scarce then can sit where can see if pronghorn trickle in to get a drink mid-day.

Find a way to get elevation even if is standing on a tall step ladder in the back of your truck. Personally, I prefer to hike a few miles to get to land that is not visible from a road as that seems where bucks go when pressured and hang out until they get bumped again which might be hours or days. If there are a couple of high points as get away from the road then even better. If water is scarce and you find some standing water you can set up at rifle range then double better if can't be glassed from the road. The comfort of a truck seat is best left for the drive to and from the hunt..

 

[Carnage2011]

Hold on a second…you signed up here under the name “antelope eater” and then proceed to tell us you didn’t see a single one? I mean, that’s a quick way to cause some trust issues!

 

[Addicting]

18 hour round trip, cry me a f’n river. It’s way more for most of us one way to chase antelope in a marginal unit.

 

[p_ham]

You need to be glassing morning and evening, watching water mid day. You should be driving your binos more than your truck. You can almost set your watch by pronghorn's patterns once you've got them figured out.

 

[HighDesertSage]

Travel those two main roads at a high rate of speed. You'll get one.

 

[DoveEater]

Its early, its likely very hot. Water, find water, find antelope...

Found lots of water, I think the remnants of Hurricane Hilary dumped a lot of rain in the area so I think there are a lot of puddles that are normally dry that had water in them.

 

[DoveEater]

Hold on a second…you signed up here under the name “antelope eater” and then proceed to tell us you didn’t see a single one? I mean, that’s a quick way to cause some trust issues!

haha, the name is aspirational, I haven't actually gotten to eat antelope yet, but I've heard and read its delicious

 

[Workforit]

I am posting because I am a relatively inexperienced adult-onset hunter, and am wondering if I somehow screwed up my antelope hunt.

After not getting an antelope tag in the regular draw in Nevada, my home state, I began obsessively checking the FCFS website as soon as it opened hoping to get a last minute returned tag.

Last week I got lucky and got exactly what I had been hoping for, an Antelope any legal weapon tag, horns longer than ears.

It was in Unit 33, an unusually remote area in Northwestern Nevada bordering Oregon that I'd never been to despite living in Nevada most of my life, but as soon as I started "e-scouting" the area I got super-excited and optimistic.

Unit 33 mainly encompasses the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, a huge chunk of over half a million acres of federal land that is supposed to be full of antelope, and its website claims "hunter success is high".

The season opened this past Tuesday, and I was fortunately able to juggle things around with my work and home life such that I was able to leave Monday morning, and just came back late last night.

To make a long story much shorter, a friend and I camped inside the vast Sheldon Wildlife area Monday and Tuesday night. We traveled EVERY INCH of the two main roads that transverse through the large area, the paved 140, and the gravel route 8a.

We stopped at lots of high points and glassed.

I got out of the truck and hiked up over numerous ridges and hill tops to check out flattish areas with more greenery than average that looked promising and that couldn't be fully seen from the road.

I did a multi-mile trek on foot to carefully approach a mostly but not entirely dry lake bed full of sage away from any road that was kindly recommended to me by Randy Newberg from this site. I did at least see some fresh looking antelope hoof prints in the mud by some water in that mostly dry lake bed.

In total, I saw zero antelope in the areas where hunting was allowed.

Yes, that is correct, ZERO antelope in the hunt-able area during the hunting season.

I saw numerous antelope outside my designated hunting unit alongside the highway while driving to Unit 33 the day before opening day. A nine hour one way drive.

I saw one lonely doe antelope inside a small area within the Sheldon where hunting is prohibited.

But during two full days from before sunrise to close to sunset of looking hard I saw exactly zero antelope in the hundreds of thousands of acres of hunt-able public land.

At least I saw a beaver, the first wild beaver I've ever seen, near the Virgin Valley campground inside the refuge. I also saw other game species like quail, dove, cottontail, I had a bit of an adrenaline charge when 3 doe mule deer suddenly ran right by me when I was trekking on foot, and while driving I even had to hit the brakes once when a big buck mule deer chased a doe across the road right in front of the truck, but no antelope in the hunt-able area.

Now, here is something I keep thinking about: During opening morning my friend and I stopped and chatted briefly with a couple who were glassing for antelope on the side of the road.

I mentioned we hadn't seen any antelope that morning, and they both acted SHOCKED!

The guy was like, "Huh? There's tons of antelope here". The lady was like "I've passed on ten bucks so far this morning, because I'm holding out for a trophy one".

Now, that was during opening morning when my friend and I were still full of optimism, and we were inspired by those comments to hurry up and go find any one of those ten bucks the lady claimed she had just passed on.

For the nine hour drive back with our empty cooler, my friend and I kept wondering aloud if that couple was just messing with us, or if they were somehow seeing tons of antelope while we were somehow antelope blind.

So, did I somehow do something wrong?

I thought antelope were supposed to be a relatively easy DIY hunt, basically just drive around and look for them, then try to sneak up within shooting range of one once you see one.

But I somehow couldn't spot one to even have a chance to stalk one. Is there some special way to look for antelope I just don't know about?

I am posting because I am a relatively inexperienced adult-onset hunter, and am wondering if I somehow screwed up my antelope hunt.

After not getting an antelope tag in the regular draw in Nevada, my home state, I began obsessively checking the FCFS website as soon as it opened hoping to get a last minute returned tag.

Last week I got lucky and got exactly what I had been hoping for, an Antelope any legal weapon tag, horns longer than ears.

It was in Unit 33, an unusually remote area in Northwestern Nevada bordering Oregon that I'd never been to despite living in Nevada most of my life, but as soon as I started "e-scouting" the area I got super-excited and optimistic.

Unit 33 mainly encompasses the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, a huge chunk of over half a million acres of federal land that is supposed to be full of antelope, and its website claims "hunter success is high".

The season opened this past Tuesday, and I was fortunately able to juggle things around with my work and home life such that I was able to leave Monday morning, and just came back late last night.

To make a long story much shorter, a friend and I camped inside the vast Sheldon Wildlife area Monday and Tuesday night. We traveled EVERY INCH of the two main roads that transverse through the large area, the paved 140, and the gravel route 8a.

We stopped at lots of high points and glassed.

I got out of the truck and hiked up over numerous ridges and hill tops to check out flattish areas with more greenery than average that looked promising and that couldn't be fully seen from the road.

I did a multi-mile trek on foot to carefully approach a mostly but not entirely dry lake bed full of sage away from any road that was kindly recommended to me by Randy Newberg from this site. I did at least see some fresh looking antelope hoof prints in the mud by some water in that mostly dry lake bed.

In total, I saw zero antelope in the areas where hunting was allowed.

Yes, that is correct, ZERO antelope in the hunt-able area during the hunting season.

I saw numerous antelope outside my designated hunting unit alongside the highway while driving to Unit 33 the day before opening day. A nine hour one way drive.

I saw one lonely doe antelope inside a small area within the Sheldon where hunting is prohibited.

But during two full days from before sunrise to close to sunset of looking hard I saw exactly zero antelope in the hundreds of thousands of acres of hunt-able public land.

At least I saw a beaver, the first wild beaver I've ever seen, near the Virgin Valley campground inside the refuge. I also saw other game species like quail, dove, cottontail, I had a bit of an adrenaline charge when 3 doe mule deer suddenly ran right by me when I was trekking on foot, and while driving I even had to hit the brakes once when a big buck mule deer chased a doe across the road right in front of the truck, but no antelope in the hunt-able area.

Now, here is something I keep thinking about: During opening morning my friend and I stopped and chatted briefly with a couple who were glassing for antelope on the side of the road.

I mentioned we hadn't seen any antelope that morning, and they both acted SHOCKED!

The guy was like, "Huh? There's tons of antelope here". The lady was like "I've passed on ten bucks so far this morning, because I'm holding out for a trophy one".

Now, that was during opening morning when my friend and I were still full of optimism, and we were inspired by those comments to hurry up and go find any one of those ten bucks the lady claimed she had just passed on.

For the nine hour drive back with our empty cooler, my friend and I kept wondering aloud if that couple was just messing with us, or if they were somehow seeing tons of antelope while we were somehow antelope blind.

So, did I somehow do something wrong?

I thought antelope were supposed to be a relatively easy DIY hunt, basically just drive around and look for them, then try to sneak up within shooting range of one once you see one.

But I somehow couldn't spot one to even have a chance to stalk one. Is there some special way to look for antelope I just don't know about?

Find the good water not the mud hole. They travel to water. Glass early and long move a bit and reglass the same country from a different vantage point. You would think they stand out with the bright white but it is amazing how well the blend in. Remember their eye sight is second to none. You can catch them feeding in the mornings and evenings if it’s hot they lay down and shade up in the afternoons. They will get up and travel to water at some point in the afternoon so they can be back to feeding in the evening. I take quite a few people hunting just across the border from you and that has been the habits I see in Oregon. Don’t eat you tag go hunt it’s not all about killing one there is so much more to enjoy. Good luck.

 

[Stocker]

Antelope are very good at laying over a hill from a road. When I first started hunting them I thought they were dumb. Like a Turkey. They aren’t, they’re good at playing dumb like a Turkey.

I took some friends from out of state now hunting with me a couple years ago. I was stalking antelope all day with my bow, that night they were super discouraged because they hadn’t seen hardly any. They spent all day driving the roads looking. The antelope were literally laying in the other side of the hill. At times they were 1/2 mile from me, I was 100 yards from a herd and they had no idea.


Find water, then get on every high point close and glass.


Don’t look at this as a failure, use it to learn. I’ve eaten a lot of elk tags abs chalked it up to my “elk college” education.

 

[SAJ-99]

haha, the name is aspirational, I haven't actually gotten to eat antelope yet, but I've heard and read its delicious

When glassing antelope, make sure the sun is at your back. This time of year, from 10-5 they can disappear in plain sight.

 

[Letthemgrow]

At least I saw a beaver, the first wild beaver I've ever seen, near the Virgin Valley campground

I think you guys are missing the troll aspect of this post.

 

[ccc23454]

Don’t look at this as a failure, use it to learn.

@Stocker is way to kind its a clear failure! Get your arse back in your truck and redeam yourself, my god man your name is antelopeater! You may not tag out but put the effort in do some hikes, glass some random spots and most importantly learn a few things. Failure comes only when you dont learn from a experience, so far you havent learned anything or you wouldn't be asking the internet about going back. You got a weak to become a hunter, go tackle it or take up golf and leave tags for people willing to put the work in.

 

[Scott85]

One of the biggest things that nobody has said is you are in time out for the next 3 years in Nevada whether you kill one or not.

 

[SAJ-99]

I think you guys are missing the troll aspect of this post.

True.but I figured it was valuable for someone running a search 5 yrs from now. I’m with you though…trolls are taking over the place.