Item by item gear list and some tips for your next antelope hunt
Antelope burger with egg and avocado.
Yeti cooler that is mainly full of block ice and some crushed ice.
Antelope hunts are pretty special. For the most part, an antelope hunt is laid back and the best part, you don't need a ton of gear to be successful. A good spotting scope and the desire to get away from people will set you up for success. This past year I drew a coveted rifle antelope tag in Nevada. The hunt started on August 22. With most rifle antelope hunts opening up in October, I thought it would be great to release this gear list after my hunt.
Up until this point, I've only bowhunted antelope. Chasing around these amazing animals with a bow is the ultimate rush! Drawing a coveted rifle antelope tag allowed me to utilize a lot of strategies I developed hunting these animals with a bow.
The great part about antelope hunting is not much gear is needed to be successful.
Quality optics are your best friend. On this hunt, I ran a Zeiss Victory Harpia 23-70x95mm spotting scope that I've been wanting to upgrade to for awhile. The optic is fairly heavy if you were on a backpack hunt, but I still go by the saying that you can't kill what you can't find. In mind opinion, a spotting scope is essential when antelope hunting. Besides for the spotter itself, my second favorite piece of gear is a window mount for your optics. This allows me to stay mobile and look over a lot of terrain. I had my Vortex Razor HD 12x50 binoculars on my chest harness and kept my Zeiss Conquest 15x56 binoculars in my truck.
I like to dial-in a big unit by familiarizing myself with the area I'm hunting by driving all the gravel roads and two tracks. You’d be surprised at how many bucks you can spot this way. Over time you’ll develop a pattern on what habitat type antelope prefer in your unit. Some places hold antelope, and other areas with the same type of habitat and access to water might have zero antelope. Also, getting away from your truck and going on long hikes to locate bucks in little hidden pockets is a great strategy to beat the crowds that only stay on road systems.
Shade is hard to come by when antelope hunting. Here I'm using the shade from my truck to pick apart a ton of terrain with my spotting scope and binoculars.
Last but not least... it's very important to carry extra gas with you at all times when antelope hunting. A lot of times the nearest gas station is a long ways away, so don't get left stranded! On this hunt, I carried 20 extra gallons of gas in my truck.
Antelope burger with egg and avocado.
On top of antelope being a blast to hunt, they are also one of my favorite types of wild game meat.
Yeti cooler that is mainly full of block ice and some crushed ice.
Having quality antelope meat all comes down to getting it cooled as quickly as possible. There's a lot of misconceptions about antelope meat and it all comes down to field care. To make this easier, I always carry a cooler FULL of ice on every antelope hunt. That cooler is strictly for antelope meat and is never opened during the hunt. I will have a separate cooler for drinks and food.
With all that said, best of luck on your upcoming antelope hunt! If you have any questions about the gear I used on this hunt, I'd be happy to answer them.
