maritime363

would get a rangefinder also, out on the plains 250 yrd can look a lot like 350 yrds if youre not careful. Other advice pretty much covers it, I also like the natural gear line of clothing, theirfleece zip up is a great layer. thats really all I needed in early Oct, w good layer underneath. Also prairie ghost camo has some assessories for getting close if you don't have really good cover when you close the final distance. be careful not to drag the goat after its down,like you might a whitetail-- take the cape before you move anything. good luck, goats are great fun.

BareBack Jack

Shooting sticks I don't use them,practice from sitting and kneeling.If I were to get a pair they would probaly be thefold upkind.If you have the time a nice tall bi-pod can work,but I have found them not worth the hassle and the added weight.
Good coment not dragging them,you can make them bald pretty fast pulling them accross the prarie.
BBJ

npaden

I really like the stoney point pivot sticks. A pivot stays on your rifle even with a sling attached and you carry the sticks with you and just click them on when you are getting ready to shoot. Kind of like a bi-pod shooting stick combo.

Of course last year I had my prone sticks with me and the grass and sagebrush was too tall so I had to make the shot without them. A good shooting posistion for me on the open plains is cross legged with elbows on the knees. Your feet folded up under your knees keeps it pretty steady.

A range finder is a really good idea for antelope hunting. Of course sometimes it can be so flat that when you are belly crawling along and the antelope is bedded down you can't get a return on the rangefinder so they aren't infailable. That's exactly what happened to me last year, I had my fancy shooting sticks and my fancy rangefinder and I just ended up getting as close as I could and guessing at the yardage and shooting from the cross legged posistion. I thought it was around 100 yards but it ended up being 220 yards based on stepping it off so it was a good thing that my rifle was zero'd at 200 yards.

I had a good spotting scope and used it a little. Not as much as I thought I would. You can see the antelope from a mile away but deciding whether there is a shooter buck in the herd is still impossible. I ended up just stalking on a decent sized herd and picking the biggest buck out of the group.

Here's the result from my DIY hunt last year in Eastern Montana.



You should be able to find something similar or even bigger around Gillette. South toward Douglas there are a zillion antelope out there. 5,000 acres of private land sounds like a lot, but out there in that open country it really isn't that much, but by that part of the season the antelope know where the private land is (because of the heavy pressure on public land) so that should improve your odds.

GermanShorthair2

I will be in cambell county and was wondering what the terrain is like there? From what i have seen from outfitters web sites in and near gillette... there are some nice mule deer out there! Is this true

THANKS FOR THE PIC "NPADEN"....AWESOME...I AM GETTING PUMPED UP FOR MY HUNT!!!

npaden

Going north of Gillette into powder river country thereis some nice mule deer country. South of Gillette it is more antelope country though. You won't see a tree for miles in any direction.

GermanShorthair2

Where is there a good place to stay at in gillette?

npaden

It's right on I-90. There are lots of hotels there. I've never spent the night in Gillette, just traveled through. I have spent the night in a snowbank about 10 miles northof Bill though, I wouldn't recommend that! (Bill is about 70 miles south of Gillette, at the time I think the population was about 5 people)

GermanShorthair2

Did that snowbank have a bar and a fireplace[:-]

Alsatian

The camo pattern I recommend is Levi's blue and Cabela's Guide Shirt red checked flannel. Unless you are bow hunting, I don't figure you need to worry too much about camoflage. The success ratio on pronghorn is 90%. It isn't rocket science . . . or difficult to bag a pronghorn. Pay attention to not getting skylined, moving slow, and all should be well. If you blow your stalk, what the heck, there are more o' them funny looking creatures standing around over the next hill, just go after them. Don't get all wound up about getting out there at first light, either. They will wait on you to read the newspaper and eat your breakfast. They will still be standing out there and/or laying down out there if you mosy out at noon.

The weather could do anything, so take a range of clothes. Layering is always a good plan. Have wicking fabric available as an underlayer. Have insulated tops and head gear in case it gets cold. As far as footwear, just about anything will work. Tennis shoes will work, unless it gets really cold, in which case your feet would get cold.

You will see lots and lots and lots of pronghorn in unit 23 near Gillette. I don't think this is known to have big antlers, so set realistic expectations for yourself. I took a doe and was happy to do that. My son took a 12 1/2 buck -- his first big game kill of any kind -- and we mounted the head. Not in any sense an above average set of antlers, but they look cool no matter how big the antlers are AND it was his first big game kill.

GermanShorthair2

ALSATIAN...Pardon my ignorance but what is wicking fabric? and thanks for the response.