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?
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?
