Fav type of blind for spooky antelope?
Pronghorn
I'm finally going on a antelope hunt with longbow to boot in Oregon! I have no pronghorn experience and was wondering what the experts thought of to keep from spooking a cagey old buck antelope from my ground blind? Please post pics and if you don't mind sharing your custom designed blind concept. I hear don't use shiny nylon type of fabric so do you think burlap is better? Does military camo 3D netting work well? What if it's blowing wind and the netting is slightly vibrating in the wind, will that spook them? How do you stay comfortable in a 120 degree blind?
I hunted the most non spooky antelope ever last year on a ranch. I put a trail camera up a month before season and had antelope all day everyday at the water trough. I put a blind out a week before and the antelope vanished. If there were no other water sources I think they would have come back to the water, but since there were other troughs in the area they abandoned that one due to the blind.
Antelope will tolerate some changes and natural built blinds, but the commercial ones make them very wary. If you can go over about a month before and built a homemade plywood blind they'll get use too it. Also put some sage or paint it natural colors. I prefer the homemade blinds over the commercial type.
I used to own an archery antelope outfitting business. We killed almost all of them out of blinds. No trick, we built our own out of hog panels and either camo cloth or just black fabric. Two shooting ports on each wall with flaps. Put them out as early as reasonable with 4 T posts and 2 strands of barbed wire to keep the cattle from knocking them down. Once Double Bulls came around we used a bunch of those as well. Sometimes they were very cautious of blinds, other times they basically ignored them.
Less loose or flapping fabric is better. Just try and take away anything that could be an issue. We killed a fair amount on holes we didn't have blinds on but would set-up a Double Bull right out in the open and just day hunt a spot. Sometimes it works.
How to stay comfortable? Wish I knew. A full day in an antelope blind is more exhausting than a full day of climbing hills chasing elk to me. Just hydrate, stay occupied and have a good attitude. Avoid the temptation to get out and climb the hill to look around when its been 8 hours since you saw a living creature. Seems like thats right when spook a buck that was on his way in :^)
Ghost Blind if weather is tolerable. Chance of being seen = zero
Hale Bail Blinds work great on them and they pay no attention to them.
I've set a popup and had lope walk by on the first day and on the second had them lock up at 50 yds. My best has been to set up in drainage cuts coming into tanks (ponds) and cut a seat on the sides, then cut sage brush to create the rest of the blind. Last time we did this we shot 4 lope out of one blind.
Dark Horse blind works well for Colorado Pronghorns. Placed it out a week before the season.
Dark Horse blind works well for Colorado Pronghorns. Placed it out a week before the season.
As mentioned in several posts above it definitely helps to set up blinds well in advance of the season. If there is a lot of water sources spooky bucks will likely water elsewhere. Portable blinds work ok but may end up torn to pieces if it's windy! Ghostblinds may also work but would definitely be a problem in wind. Obviously the hotter and drier weather the better....be prepared with lots of water! Also, direction from the blind that bucks may come in to water, wind direction, and where they may stand when watering.
Correct answer is the new Primos surround view! It's the new double bull and they are awesome. Almost like science fiction!https://www.primos.com/products/double-bull-blinds/surroundview-360/
I've hunted from pop-ups and permanent box blinds. The permanent wins IMO. If there is ANYTHING that you can back your blind up against it will help. Once I sat up next to cat tails, once I set up in a junkyard by a water trough, and once I set up in a barn next to a trough. Killed from all of those, but I've also killed out of blinds that stuck out like a sore thumb, but the goats were definitely more cautious, and I like a calm target.
The cat tail blind bears telling the whole story. This was my first hunt over water several years ago. Had a place to hunt south of Gillette for a small tresspass fee. It was dry and the pond had been large, but had shrunk considerably. There was a place the goats liked to water and I set the Double Bull up about 25 yd. from that spot. I had numerous goats approach and shy away the first three days. Almost all of them went to the other side about 75 yards away to water. The cat tails were between me and them. The third day, at dark, I pulled my stakes picked up my blind and walked it all the way around the pond and backed it up as close as I could get to the cat tails and still stay on semi-hard ground. It was rough in the blind, because there were numerous 6/8" deep horse tracks full of water in the blind. I had a helluva time getting my chair level and keeping it from sinking. That didn't matter though, because the next morning at about 10:30 I killed the the third buck, (first decent one), that came close enough. Shot him at 47 yards after he drank and spurted off after the doe he was following. He stopped and that was his demise.
As for being comfortable ? There ain't no way to be comfortable in a pop-up from dawn until dusk in 90* heat. It ain't happening, but you didn't go there for comfort, so you just tough it out. I read, drink, eat, read, drink, and hopefully, I shoot. It ain't comfortable, but it IS fun ! Good luck, take pictures, and share your story !
I've sat in double bull and soon as the wind blows.24/7 wyoming they suck. Man made blind work great if u have time. I got a cow decoy made out of blue fifty gallon barrell with fake fur and eye lashes works awesome and can go mobile. The goats dont look at it twice. Fricken fun. Peace Tjw
TJW, That sounds like a hoot.....can you post a photo of your cow decoy?
I agree with everyone, that wooden blinds can't be beat! Solid as a rock. Portable blinds work, just get a sturdy one and mud it up good to keep you cool and to make it look like a rock, plus tie it down REALLY well. Believe it not, the mud helps keep the blind from shaking in the wind. Hub blinds move less than some other types of portable blinds because the walls are under tension, but there are some hybrid panel blinds that are better still, and somewhat portable. Choose your waterholes carefully. Look for small ones with tons of trails coming to them. Make sure they're not all horse trails (google earth first, then go in person). Make sure it's the only water for a good distance. Lemeno what unit in Oregon, maybe I can help. On the new double bull (doublebull makes a great blind) with surround view, do NOT trust or believe that you can do anything different with surround view that can with shoot-through netting. You can still be silhouetted with surround view just like you can with shoot-through netting. Keep your window narrow by blocking-off the windows. It's sad that so many blind makers require us to do this, but just do it and have fun!!
Set your blind up so that the sun will be at your back all day as it is really tough to shot with the sun reflecting off the water into your face which would also allow them to see you moving. Antelope will normally water at the inlet end of waterhole so check the tracks to verify where the best setup spot is. Portable Blinds with sage brush attached to them and covering the entire Blind including the roof really helps you blend in and also keeps the blind much cooler.
Set up blind just before daylight.
Shoot pronghorn an hour later
Here is a pic had to pull from back of garage a little hamered.
I used it as blind by accident. Ended up at pond after a long stalk, sat there for a break and antelope started to come in. They didnt seem to mind movement at all. Did a couple practice draws for the hell of it and they didnt seem to mind. Unfortunately not the antelope i was after. It actually not to bad to carry and stalk with. Heavy enough to take some wind. Peace Tjw
Thanks so much for everyone's input, I feel a lot more confident about my chances now!
Use a dark or camouflage shirt but on the bottom half wear shorts. Be comfortable and ready to stay all day. Take several practice draws to make sure you can get the shot done and make sure your arrow is going to go out the window. Lots of people shoot the blind by accident.
Well I drew my dream goat tag for Oregon, Hart mtn, and am looking forward to applying several of you tips to this once in a life time hunt. Time to go shopping for gear, I love this type of shopping!! Good luck to everyone.
I've hunted out of Double Bull, Ameristep & another $100 one. The $100 was just as good as the others. Main things. 1-Make sure there is clearance when you draw your bow. Many times you may have to kneel to do this. 2-Very important. Make sure NOTHING is flapping on the blind (definitely will keep them alert & away) 3-Wear black upper part of your body 4-Have a good chair "you" are comfortable sitting in 5-Have plenty of water & snacks 6-When one or more come in, PICK & take your time for the right shot. They are darn quick. Once they drink, they usually leave. I have always hunted public walk in areas & have Goats in 1st day, no problems. It's always windy. I have bought longer metal stakes for my blinds & extra tie downs too (I mean it's crazy windy at times). Photo was my 1st blind & definitely not high enough. I missed a Buck the 1st day, another the 2nd morning & killed around noon the 2nd day. I only had 3 days to hunt. Good luck..
Did this one on our own place and started a couple weeks ahead. Stickbow shooter and pond is a little too wide to cover, so I put a single strand fence about knee high around the majority of it and “trained” them to come closer. Ended up about 23 us shot. Underwater now lol.
I’ll bet the internet is tired of seeing my dead goat lol.
I bought some camo burlap that stinks, will it wash out with unscented soap?
Last lope I killed had a pop up high on the bank above the water, it helped so the couldn’t see it when drinking. No flappy fabric in the wind, use the smallest shooting windows, least amount of movement, try to blackout the inside, especially behind you.
On a comfort note- I put something comfortable on the ground! A big moving blanket works well, carpet remnants etc. Wear a black light weight shirt and strip off your pants and wear your undies. With the carpet take off your socks and shoes. This also helps with quiet movement and allows you to take a break and lay down. Bring a cooler full of ice, favorite drinks and good food. A piss bottle, A book, games and screen, invest in a good chair and practice shooting from it. With this set up you can stay in hot weather for days!
sightsee, I don't think the stinky burlap will be an issue. In my experience, goats are not as sensitive to odors as whitetails are.
As wildwilderness says, put an old piece of carpet down inside the blind. It really cuts down on noise and dust. That tip was relayed to me by Bowsite's own Rock, and I thank him for it !
Ghost blinds are perfect for spooky game
sightsee Hart is one of the units I've hunted. Lemeno if you need any help. I'll be across the state line from you at the same time, in the other half of the Hart/Sheldon complex (Sheldon in NV, and the goats go back and forth between the two; summer to winter). I've also hunted sheep and deer on Hart. Fun place! DS
He's a Poper.
He's a Poper.
I thought I would conclude this thread with my successful story and a thank you for all your wonderful help. The hunt was a blast even with all the other hunters and very dry conditions. I had to continually remind myself to be patient because no goats had watered for the past several days and that as the season progressed the goats would make the transition to my side of the desert and start drinking from my hole. Well on day four the hunt at 8 am the antelope started coming in and I was presented with a perfect 20 yard shot. I hit him perfectly and I just had backstrap for dinner with seasalt, garlic powder and black pepper..... ummmm goood! It was a dream hunt .
Chris, Nice Buck Congrads
Congrats on the great buck and thanks for providing the hunt update for us!
Nice buck ! Damn, I'm jealous now :-)
That’s awesome! Congratulations to you! I hope I have a success story to share after my season opens up.....16 days.
Tri-pod or elevated in a windmill
Very nice Chris! I hunt with dirt as a blind..dirtclod Az. P.S. my father was "Pig Pen"... from Charlie Brown cartoons.
A beautiful morning as the sun is coming up.
A beautiful morning as the sun is coming up.
Here you go guys.... I have a new appreciation for speed goat hunting.
