52 antelope

AZhunter · Oct 9, 2009

These are 4 of 5 bucks we took on muzzleloader hunt this year. I'm not real fast at anything with these computers! Wifes buck is 16 2/8 long and right at 83".Its my nephews first antelope.

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NMPaul · Oct 9, 2009

Wow!!!! You guys cleaned up. Wife has a stud of a buck.

crazyelk · Oct 9, 2009

Those are great bucks!!!!! Your wifes buck is a monster. That is one blast of a hunt. Can't wait until next year. Maybe we will see you next year....

twdjr · Oct 9, 2009

You all did very well. Congrats on the nice looking Antelope!

ElkSniper · Oct 10, 2009

Those are some nice bucks. I also have hunted that same area and got som shots off, but it just did not work out. If you ask me there is way too much people hunting that hunt.Congrats.

AZhunter · Oct 11, 2009

This is one of my favorite hunts. Been lucky enough to hunt it 5 of last 6 years. Had 3 tags myself and several friends and family. G&F is considering making it into 2 hunts of 75 tags each. Would run back to back weekends. I use all the people to our advantage and hunt escape routes. Most shots under 100 yards. This is my buck from 2008.

crazyelk · Oct 11, 2009

Your '08 buck is another great one. Thanks for sharing. We too usually use the heavy hunting pressure to our advantage. In recent years, it is my opinion that we have been hunting Unit 52 a little on the hard side. Every year we see less and less "super" bucks out there. This year was OK. Back to back wet and rainy hunts in 2007 and 2008 attributed to below average success due to hunters not getting out of their truck much. This made a big difference. That heavy 2007-2008 winter also did not help out the herd. Most folks that have hunted this hunt for several years agree that the antelope numbers are on the downside. Do not get me wrong there are still a good number of antelope in the unit. Another possibility is that antelope have dispersed into parts of unit 52 that normally/traditionally do not get hunting pressure. This may cause us to believe that numbers are down in the traditional hunting areas down in the lower elevation prairie? Maybe if the hunters should disperse a little too, the hunt would be better overall for total hunting experience for all. Every year it seems like all 175 hunters & Co. are hunting in the same area on top of each other. This is getting old.

I personally would like the same hunt structure...one 3 or 4 day hunt with no more than 100 tags out there. This would help us get back to the good old days. The good old days equaled more big bucks and better/safer hunting experience with less hunters running over each other. The ethics out there would also improve.

Two separate hunts with 75 tags each on back to back weekends would be interesting. The second hunt would be a tough one. After that first weekend, the goats would be ultra spooked and very hard to get within muzzleloader range. To begin with and by far, I think these are wildest antelope in the world. After that first weekend of education, I predict that harvest would be way low. With this in mind, I would definitely prefer to hunt the first weekend. We shall see what happens.

I myself along with my son Elksniper and my family can't wait until next year to chase goats again in unit 52