antelope hunt

[Bill S.]

Looking to hire a guide for a antelope hunt this fall. Does not need to be a pampered or candle light dinner type hunt. Just a reasonable price, decent hunt. Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, prefered. Anyone have a suggestion as to to contact.

Thanks in advance.

[Explorer]

Check out Stuever Outfitters in Broadus Montana. I have not been there but I have a friend who has been there twice and brought home a Pope & Young Antelope both times. Nothing fancy just a place to lay your head and hunt Antelope.

[guidedfishing]

Bill,

Any specific reason your looking for in a guide. I only ask because we have a great time hunting goats, great success and have not used a guide.

There is a good amount of public land and if your willing to get past that first 1/2 mile of the road success is good.

I don't have a guide I can recommend but I can surely provide some insight and tips from a Wisconsin whitetail hunters perspective that may help.

Last year the 3 individuals in our group took 8 goats on public land. Its great fun.

good luck
GF

[MrStarnes1]

i second the use of public grounds!
western south dakota has a lot of public grounds and a lot of willing ranchers as far as that goes.
most ranchers will let you sit out on their land for nothing out here. i have never personally hunted goats but have talked with many guys that have and said they usually just go out a few days before the season and line up their spots and scout their groups and points of attack.
try and maybe get out a weeks in advance, where ever you hunt, and make contact with any landowners you can and line up as much ground as you can that would border eachother. makes it easier to chase a herd if you have 5 miles to work
just an idea, but i would never pay a guide to get me an antelope

[Bill S.]

Time and a possibility of hunting alone are a couple of reasons why I mentioned the guide thing. Work keeps getting in the way.

[T Mac]

The main reason you might need an antelope "guide" is to get on a good ranch.
Outfitters have managed to lease up a helluva lot of private land with antelope on it.

However, if you spend a little time checking with Fish and Game...you will find places to hunt.
Most ranchers are VERY happy to have antelope hunters come and harvest some speed goats.

PS: The ranchers who allow "walk-in only" are the best hunting.
You'll have them to yourself. ;)

[walleye710]

Depends, are you hunting for a truly trophy class animal or just looking for a good hunt and a nice representative buck. Unless you are looking for a large trophy class animal, or have no clue what you are doing and need some hunt help, don't waste your money on a guide or outfitter. I have hunted antelope for over 30 years, mostly in NW South Dakota. You simply do not need a guide to hunt there. Gaining access to land for goats is not at all difficult, especially after opening weekend. Some landowners will charge a nominal trespass fee but most don't. And, there are huge blocks of public land to hunt that have nice herds of goats. Though a 16" buck is not terribly common, 13"-14" bucks are. Goats are in every county west of the Missouri River in SD but the best hunting is in the far western and northwestern corner of the State. Having said that however, the past 3 winters have been very hard on the herds and numbers are down in many areas and in some local areas, way down. I applied for just a preference point last year because the hunting in 2009 wasn't very exciting - we saw just 12 goats in 2 days. We usually see that many in one herd many times over. My personal best was only a 15 1/2" but I have never come home empty handed. Do your homework, the hunt is very enjoyable. See if you can obtain a copy of last years SD Public Hunting Atlas, this booklet has maps of all public lands in the state. The new maps for 2011 wont' be out until around August. Right now, the best County is probably Butte County. When you go, don't underestimate their ability to see, their eyesight is very good!