Rain, water holes and antelope

[goforbroke]

So I am planning to hunt antelope with my bow on the opener weekend August 15th. All this rain is making me wonder if it will be worth it to sit water. Might just turn in to a scouting and set up some trail camera pics. What your experience, do they still come in to established water when it is this wet?

 

[nfh]

The antelope I watch at work still use the same watering holes and they come pretty much with minutes everyday hitting the watering hole. But I am no antelope expert so I cant speak for other areas. Seems like my area they move spot to spot to water and spot to spot and its like clock work how they move everyday. There is still some that really don't have a pattern they use.

I notice the ones with no patterns hit the watering holes and maybe later in the day they come up to out water discharges from out battery locations in then oil feild

 

[Zeke]

The rain doesn't help.
I've bow hunted them many times and rain will slow your hunt at established water holes substantially.
The dang things prefer to water in a water puddle than in a water hole if they have a chance. I've seen so much evidence of this that it's a fact to me.
Good luck,
Zeke

 

[jm77]

>The rain doesn't help.
>I've bow hunted them many times
>and rain will slow your
>hunt at established water holes
>substantially.
>The dang things prefer to water
>in a water puddle than
>in a water hole if
>they have a chance. I've
>seen so much evidence of
>this that it's a fact
>to me.
>Good luck,
>Zeke

I think you are right Kyle, but we haven't had enough rain around Casper to mess things up yet.

 

[nontypical]

No need to travel a mile to the waterhole when they can get a drink out of the puddle 200 yards away...

Rain absolutely will affect your hunting at waterholes.

 

[Blank]

Last year all the rain killed the archery hunting in Unit 93. There were standing lakes everywhere, and a lot of the established waterholes were too wide to shoot across. So far, this year is looking better. I have a 98 tag now and will be trying again in a couple weeks.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

If it rains enough to create puddles everywhere and enlarge existing stock ponds and such, it will put a serious damper on sitting a waterhole. A scattered thundershower or two won't hurt it too bad.

 

[bucklover]

Zeke, you are absolutely right! Just drive the clay roads, after a good rain. As long as there is a puddle in the road, antelope prefer them. (Tracks everywhere, in and around the puddles!) The only thing I can figure, is occasional vehicles splashing through them stirs up the mud, and antelope sense the minerals, in the muddy water. They almost always prefer muddy water over a clear spring. I always get a kick out of all the range wars occurring to claim a water hole, when it almost seems like clock work that the monsoons roll in 3 day before the opening.