Cimarron County Antelope

[Kalvinc]

I was fortunate enough to finally get drawn for a Cimarron county doe antelope tag after all these years. I should have done more research before making the 9 hour drive I guess. I was shocked to see very few antelope, and the ones I did see were over a mile from the nearest Rita Blanca section. I also didn't see a single hunter on any of the public ground out there. I had to come back home to run my business this week but will be headed back on Thursday night. Does anyone have any contacts/leads of landowners who would allow me the opportunity to shoot a doe off their land? I would be happy to pay a reasonable trespass fee or bring out a rick or two of firewood with me.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

 

[OKRuss]

Look in the same forum that you posted under Controlled Hunts and go to the end. See if that guy has any intel. 2023 Controlled Hunts

 

[AER244]

kalvin- i pm'ed you my number. gimme a call or text

 

[Kalvinc]

Thank you to the members who sent me landowner contacts. I don't think this hunt would have been a success without that info. I headed out west after getting off work Thursday afternoon. I drove all night and got there just before sun up Friday morning. After meeting with the landowner, I was quickly able to locate a nice herd on one of his properties. After crawling for 2 hours, I was within 300 yards of the herd. Unfortunately, the grass was too tall to be able to lay prone and shoot. There is basically 0 elevation change out there, it's wild. The landowner's son rolled up (and he didn't know whos truck was parked on his property), so that stalk was busted. After talking with him, he showed me some more sections he farms that I could hunt. I drove the couple of miles over to this new section and started glassing from a mile away. I couldn't believe it, but there was another herd in the middle of a 640 acre bare dirt field. I drove past them about a mile and tried to get my truck out of sight. The stalk was on. I was able to close the distance to about 1000 yards just by using the small terrain features this property had. From there, I belly crawled to the edge of the dirt field, trying to keep a single row of green grass between me and the herd. When I got to the edge of the field, they weren't having any more. Luckily I had a clear view of them this time. I dropped the bipod down and put my bag under the butt of the gun. I quickly used gps on OnX to estimate them at 600 yards. My range finder wouldn't work out to that range. I have my .270 zeroed at 200 yards, and had printed off the Nikon Spot-On chart and taped it to my gun. According to the chart, 600 yards would put it between my 3rd and 4th reticle. I took aim and fired. The herd took off, but there was 1 doe straggling way behind. She ran 50 yards and fell over. After measuring with GPS, the shot was 525 yards. I immediately got her skinned, quartered, and on ice. After that I took a 14 hour nap in a Walgreens parking lot and made it back home Saturday afternoon.

If you draw a tag, you may want to keep these things in mind:

Zero your gun at 200 yards (at least), and practice long range shooting!
Bring kneepads and maybe elbow pads? That ground is hard, and my body was sore for a week after coming back.
If you get drawn for a hunt, get out there in the summer and start making contacts.
You can't rely on filling your tag on public land out there. I never saw a single antelope on public.

 

[AER244]

Congratulations!

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Great story and hunt!

 

[wolfkpr]

Glad it worked out, glad i could help. ( glad the intel gathered on my unsuccessful hunt paid off for somebody)

 

[DRC458]

Congrats! Helluva shot!

 

[OkieJoe72]

Pretty dang impressive shooting. Congratulations!

 

[hunter966]

Outstanding, congrats! It’s fun hunting those suckers isn’t it?