Wondering if anyone has experience with this? Grandfather has some land down there and has seen antelope on the property, but I haven't been able to scout it out. I have a tag for next weekend, but not sure what to expect.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
85 is a tough unit due to the majority of it being private property, but then again antelope country is usually private property anyway. Also, most of 85 is more rolling hills or flat out mountain country. There is some flat country along the southside of hwy 69 between Walsenburg and Gardner which always holds antelope if one has access to it. Also, the are between Walsenburg and and Trinidad off of I-25 between the hwy and foothills holds alot of goats. How much land does your Grandpa own? If it's big enough and antelope have been seen there it should be good. If a smaller area and no one else is hunting it the goats might seek it out after the shooting starts. Antelope season here can be a warzone with shooting all over and those goats will seek out safety havens so it might be good again after the lead starts flying.
Good luck!
His land is northwest of walsenburg about 20 miles on the south side of 69. I believe it is about 400-500 acres. No one else will be hunting his property, but have no idea if anyone else will be on the surrounding land. Hearing you say that gives me a bit more hope than I had before. The bad part is that his land has no water, so I don't have a for sure spot to sit. Guess I'll just have to sit patiently and hope they come in. Not sure what else I can do, unless anyone has some suggestions.
My best advice would be to be there opening morning dark and early so you can hit sunrise. Get to a spot you can glass all those 500 acres and you might get lucky and bust a herd or straggler or two in your area and make a move on em. If you don't see any then wait and don't get discouraged. The goats are rutting right now and chasing does like mad. I watched a buck not far from your area chasing a poor exhausted doe for at least two miles last Saturday. That combined with being shot at from every direction makes for a crazy day and most importantly a lot of movement. There are indeed antelope in your area and they will be getting shot at all around you so sit tight and wait and you should have a fair chance. I've seen antelope totally exhausted almost giving up from running from hunters in every direction. Last year the bucks were so rut crazed they'd be getting shot at and still chasing does, it was nuts.
Good luck!
No advice on the unit, but best of luck to you!
Well I am glad to hear that you had success. Having access to some private ground can make it a little easier to fill a tag without doing a whole lot of scouting. I wish I had that kind of opportunity:yes: Congratulations on getting your first antelope. From your surprise about where the bullet hit I take it you were holding behind her shoulder. The wind can really make a mess of things when shooting at long range. In the future maybe think about trying to hold your shots to a closer distance if the wind is really kicking. I saw a lot of antelope get wounded up in Wyoming from people taking shots that they just shouldn't have been taking. Once again, congratulations.
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