Gunnison Basin Antelope?

[ColoradoRam]

Wondering how the antelope are doing lately in the Basin. What would be considered a good buck? Thanks.

 

[lostinOregon]

Saw several groups in 67, 2nd deer season. They were just below where the trees meet the sage. Saw several bucks, the best about 14 inches.

Rich

 

[tx_packmule]

You can see some decent goats but we were seeing lots of numbers in small pockets.

 

[Tomichi]

The winter of 07-08 hit them pretty hard. The most horrific circumstances of that winter.

DOW tried their guts out to feed antelope but had little success. They yarded up away from feed grounds and when feed was dropped by chopper they would run off into deep snow and die. One large bunch made it onto HWY 114 but the traffic ran them North. The ones that got off the road died right there bogged down, the rest ran 8 miles to HWY 50 where they did get off the Highway on a trail made to a deer feed ground but they all died in a couple days on one semi bare rock pile north of the road.
Some of the 66 speed goats again got on the high way and traffic and no options ran them across the Dam on highway 92 some of them made to the Crawford side of Black Mesa running from cars but I do not think any of them made it.
One bunch that was yarded up near Tomichi Dome stayed in their little hole in the snow and the coyotes killed 2 or 3 a night until they were gone. It was A UGLY winter to be an antelope.

The good news is the DOW got several Trailer loads of goats off a military property out East I don't know which one. Any way there are some mature bucks that got hauled here. Most of them that were turned out in 551 crossed HWY 114 to 67.
I am expecting a couple tags in 551 again for 2013 the 67 hunt is worth the points it takes for either rifle or archery. 66 is a long ways from having a tag ever again. Very low fawn survival is the norm in Gunnison no matter what the winters are like. What is unexplainable to me is that for all the factors against them we have pretty decent antelope hunting around here better then we deserve. You can hunt them here about every 15 years with a rifle. As a life time applicant I have had 2 tags in 551. 1990 16 inch scored 77. 2004 15 ? came in at 74.

 

[ColoradoRam]

Thanks for the info and replies so far.

 

[tx_packmule]

>Saw several groups in 67, 2nd
>deer season. They were
>just below where the trees
>meet the sage. Saw
>several bucks, the best about
>14 inches.
>
>Rich

Did you happen to be in a black ford?

 

[lostinOregon]

Yes I do, until I sold it last month.

Rich

 

[tx_packmule]

If it's the same vehicle toting around a quad, we stopped and talked first day (jeep).

 

[lostinOregon]

Yep, that was me, sending you a PM,

Rich