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Walden antelope

My son drew a Walden, Colo antelope tag (16) and I was wondering if anyone knows how quality and number of pronghorn are doing in North Park? I haven't spent much time there in the last couple years but a few years ago numbers seem to be super low. Thanks for any advice!

I was over by Delaney Buttes yesterday and saw 3 really nice bucks. I don't know about the numbers, we didn't see many antelope.

I know that the pronghorn were struggling up there early winter when the big snows hit. They were on the roadway getting hit a lot. But Im sure many are fine

Good luck to your son

I got a great tree stand I have shot lopes out of up there. Haven't been to it in years

I burned a lot of points last year and hunted rifle. Theres a LOT of antelope in the area but I never found one I really wanted to shoot after several days of looking, I finally just shot a decent buck and called it good.

Iv seen some toads but not many but iv mostly hunted east of your son's tag area 171&6 only time iv spent in 16 was high country.

I haven't been there in several years but I use to spend most of elk season there. We killed a lot of bulls and saw a few goats. They were scattered at best but the terrain and brush provided good cover. Lots of storms and the rivers made water holes not to productive. The best goats seemed to be in the long narrow valleys. One such area produced monster Mulies and good goats. Gun hunters shot three nice bucks. Talk with the locals.

There are plenty over there and some nice ones. They are just scattered.

Ok, I spent all day today over there checking all my pronghorn spots in 16-17-171 and talking to my rancher friends. North Park has been my stomping and hunting ground for the past 47 years. There was a massive winterkill. Many were hit on the highway where they concentrated. 17 killed in one bunch. Many others were eaten by coyotes because they couldn't get away in the deep and wind-packed snow.. The three ranches where I have permission - awesome pronghorn spots- have almost none now. Where we generally can spot 40-50 from every high point I was seeing maybe a doe or two. Ranchers are seeing very few and they're out there every day. One ranch that normally has tons has "seven". I wasn't able to spot them.

In a full day of driving and glassing I saw two 13" bucks on ranches where I don't have permission, one yearling buck on one of the other ranches where I can hunt, none in another one (that's usually loaded - where I killed an 80" last time I hunted there) and a few scattered does here and there on BLM and state trust.

I'm turning my tag back in. Have never seen it like this in decades. Very sad deal.

Correction - last time I killed the 80 incher on the BLM adjacent to that ranch. Didn't see any on that big chunk of BLM today.

My comment above go for what I saw last year so what Jaquomo is saying is more updated. Last year there were plenty but there definitely was a lot of snow up that way this winter.

Thanks for the update Jaquomo. It sounds like pretty thin pickings in North Park this season. That's a real bummer for hunters and antelope as well. If things don't look good I will likely advise my son to turn his tag as well. He has a bighorn sheep tag so that ought to keep us pretty busy.

Was in North Park Friday morning seen 5 does just outside walden in 171 3 does and 2 bucks 1 nice one in 16 a few miles outside walden and 1 small buck and 1 doe in 6 on Johnny Moore. Not like it has been in the past for sure!

I noticed around 4-6 years ago antelope numbers seemed to have plummeted. I really don't think they ever rebounded since that time. It sounds like another rough winter so it may be starting from scratch. I would guess there may be a few really nice bucks still available but it may take a lot of looking. It makes it even tougher since hunters will be likely hitting the chunks of public land pretty hard and possibly spooking the few antelope that are there onto private.

Jim, I spoke with the game warden yesterday. He said it snowed 3', then rained on top of that, then got below zero. A "perfect storm" for killing wildlife. The crust was too much for them and they couldn't feed or even walk through it. Those that couldn't get out of N. Park died. A string of 1200 lined-out on a single trail into WY and haven't come back. The ones that escaped on the south end are staying in Middle Park.

He believes it will be 4-5 years before they rebound. I glassed all the visible public and private land from Delaney Buttes-Muddy Pass-Rand and only saw the two small bucks. He said that's about right. He said the older age class bucks were hit especially hard, as were the older elk bulls.

Sad deal.

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