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Outfitter Jack Tull shown
with Dotterer's antelope
with Dotterer's antelope
As I looked up the slope from my blind, I spotted movement in the sage. A look through my
binoculars confirmed my hopes. A buck antelope was about 500 yards from me and was slowly
feeding down a draw to me. There was a reservoir behind me about 100 yards and the antelope
would come down several times a day to water here. A blown over dead juniper served as my
blind. As I watched the antelope, to my surprise, he was totally by himself. This very unusual for
antelope, as they tend to be herd animals. The buck was big in body and carried an even set of
horns I judged to be in the 12 to 13" range.
"He is a taker." I said to myself. The antelope fed several hundred yards down the draw, then
angling to his right, he worked his way directly downwind of me. Much to my amazement, the
buck started walking straight toward me despite the stiff breeze that was blowing from me to the
antelope. This was my first experience with the use of Disappear Cover Scent, while hunting
antelope, to cover my own body odor, and boy, was it working. As the antelope moved closer, I
eased up on my knees, and began to draw my bow. At what looked like forty yards, the antelope
turned broadside, and as the forty-yard pin found its mark behind the shoulder, I released.
Outfitter Jack Tull of Redmond, Oregon had picked me up at the Klamath Falls airport two
binoculars confirmed my hopes. A buck antelope was about 500 yards from me and was slowly
feeding down a draw to me. There was a reservoir behind me about 100 yards and the antelope
would come down several times a day to water here. A blown over dead juniper served as my
blind. As I watched the antelope, to my surprise, he was totally by himself. This very unusual for
antelope, as they tend to be herd animals. The buck was big in body and carried an even set of
horns I judged to be in the 12 to 13" range.
"He is a taker." I said to myself. The antelope fed several hundred yards down the draw, then
angling to his right, he worked his way directly downwind of me. Much to my amazement, the
buck started walking straight toward me despite the stiff breeze that was blowing from me to the
antelope. This was my first experience with the use of Disappear Cover Scent, while hunting
antelope, to cover my own body odor, and boy, was it working. As the antelope moved closer, I
eased up on my knees, and began to draw my bow. At what looked like forty yards, the antelope
turned broadside, and as the forty-yard pin found its mark behind the shoulder, I released.
Outfitter Jack Tull of Redmond, Oregon had picked me up at the Klamath Falls airport two
days ago and after picking up some grub, we drove about two hours to his camp at Gerber Reservoir. Jack's wife, Linda, met us with
a hot meal, and the three of us, spent the evening getting acquainted with each other
Now, Oregon is not noted for its antelope populations, and one might wonder why I, a resident a Ohio, chose to hunt here for these
prairie goats, especially with a bow. Gerber Reservoir is an area that has only been hunted by archers for the last nine years.
Consequently, the bucks have an opportunity to grow up. Also, this country is rich in minerals, which help build massive horns.
This is beautiful country; low, rolling ridges, covered by junipers, with sagebrush flats between. There are also many old cinder
cones, which rise up several hundred to several thousand feet in this area. In addition to the antelope, which tend to stay on the
fringes of the junipers and on the flats, are mule deer and range cattle. Gerber Reservoir, which provides much of the water to life in
this area, is surrounded by a green belt of grass, several hundred feet wide. This lush grass draws the range cattle and antelope to it
like a magnet.
After an early breakfast in the dark, Jack and I drove several miles, parked the truck, and started hiking the two miles to the
reservoir. Light was just making the shadows into trees and rocks, as Jack and I made our way along the side of a low ridge. After a
half hour of travel, a band of five antelope jumped up about seventy yards in front of us and trotted across to our right. There were
three does and two young bucks. As we watched, an absolutely huge buck appeared out of a juniper thicket and ran to meet the small
band, that we had jumped. Jack whistled and then muttered, while looking through the binoculars, "Those horns will go 17" for
sure." The antelope turned and ran back across the path they had just traveled, stopping approximately seventy yards away. In the
meantime, I had eased closer behind a small juniper bush and had my bow at half draw. But that buck stayed in the middle and I
wouldn't chance a shot with the others so close.
I was using a Fedora custom built 65# recurve at my 28" draw, with Easton XX75 orange 2117 shafts, topped with Razorback 5
broadheads. I had been practicing up to a hundred yards, for the last four months, so I knew my outfit would do the job up to fifty
yards, if I did my part.
The antelope slowly drifted off in the junipers and out of sight. Jack and I worked our way along a ridge till we came out about a half
of a mile, from the reservoir, to an open slope, but we didn't locate that band any more. Jack had a dead juniper in mind, for a blind,
and that is where we were headed. We were about half way across the open ground, when I saw some antelope walking parallel to us
headed for the reservoir. We ducked into a draw, and as I scooted down the draw, Jack circled around, hoping to ease the antelope
by me, as there were two nice bucks in the bunch of eight that had materialized. But it wasn't to be. The pronghorns spotted me when
they were a hundred yards out and in that beautiful floating run they have, they disappeared over the horizon.
With that, I turned and headed to the blind. I told Jack, I would like to spend the day there, as I prefer to hunt from a fixed position,
rather than moving, if possible. Jack wished me luck and told me he would pick me up at dark. I snuggled down in the forks of the old
juniper and made myself comfortable.
I waited 6 or 7 hours and saw only cattle around my blind. As I watched, the cattle were slowly feeding on the grass along the shore
around a point to where I could not see. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me. I had visions of antelope feeding all over, around
that point, out of my sight. I slowly ghosted through the junipers to spot, above the neck of the lake, that had been out of sight. All
that greeted my eyes, were more cattle and a lone coyote running across a flat. I still hunted my way back toward the blind, and as I
came over the ridge, there were five antelope eighty yards from my spot of concealment, that I had been in an hour before. As I
watched, they slowly fed along the lake and then bedded down. A huge log lay within fifty yards of the pronghorns, so I circled a half
of a mile to get behind the log. I had to crawl the last three hundred yards through knee high sagebrush. I had crawled about about
two hundred yards and was getting really weary of crawling, when the alert face of an antelope appeared above the log. Their
sentinels never rest and needless to say, I didn't get a shot. Once more, I headed for the blind to spend the last couple hours of the
day watching.
A white flash caught my eye and as I focused the glasses, I saw three pronghorns on the other side of the lake. There was a fringe of
timber about forty yards above them, so I began a stalk to see if there was a decent buck in the group. Halfway through the stalk, I
ran into another hunter, who was watching the same bunch. He waved to me, and as I approached, he informed me his partner was
across the lake stalking the same bunch. So, I sat down and watched the antelope slowly feed along the lake. His partner never took
a shot, as it turned out, to be a doe and two small bucks.
With darkness approaching, I made my way back toward the truck. I had lingered too long and it was pitch dark when I got to the
truck. Jack was getting nervous, thinking I had possibly gotten myself turned around. As Jack and I sat around the campfire that
evening and recounted the day's adventure, I began to realize how difficult it is to take an antelope with a bow.
Jack revealed, that in nine years of archery hunting for antelope, that Oregon has had a total kill of seventeen antelope. This is with
an average of two to three hundred hunters per year, taking one to three per year. Oregon offers two, eight day seasons in August,
usually separated by a week, and hunters must specify which hunt period they wish to hunt. As I stated before, the odds of scoring
are tough in Oregon, but over half the antelope taken, have made the Pope & Young record book. I am convinced, that in the next
few years, an antelope will be taken there, which will rank in the top ten.
Four o'clock in the morning comes quickly, and it seemed like I had just closed my eyes, when I heard Jack begin to gather wood for
a fire. As I ate my breakfast, I kidded Jack. "I am tired of fooling around. I am going to kill that pronghorn today." Jack just
laughed. Once again, I elected to hunt from the same blind by myself, so Jack dropped me off, with instructions, that if I scored to
somehow, send word to camp.
I had been in the blind several hours, when the buck, I described at the beginning of the article appeared. As the arrow leaped from
my bow, the pronghorn jumped string on me. Instead of taking him in the rib cage, where I was aiming, I hit the rear leg. The
antelope made a mad dash of eighty to ninety yards and tumbled to the ground. As I watched, he slowly regained his feet and went
limping off. I waited and then slowly began trailing. My heart was sinking, as I could not understand why that buck would not go
down, as it appeared, to have hit the femoral artery. The antelope circled into some junipers and bedded down. I took off, back to the
blind, to gather up my pack and camera, that I had left behind. Also, I wanted the antelope to stiffen up, before I tried to get close for
a finishing shot.
I headed out to try and send word to Jack. As I topped a ridge, I noticed a hunter intently gazing ahead. He had jumped my antelope
and was trailing it. He saw me and I quickly explained to him what had happened. The buck was limping badly now. Although, it
appeared the leg was broken, I could not closer that than a hundred yards, before it would move.
I began a watching vigil as the pronghorn bedded in an open area of about four hundred yards across. I settled down at the base of a
tree to wait, as the other hunter agreed to pass the word to Jack for me. By the time Jack arrived, the buck had moved close to a
clump of trees. I dropped back, circled downwind, and slowly stalked the buck. An arrow from twenty five yards away, disappeared in
the rib cage and it was all over.
Jack was yelling and shaking hands, all I could do, was grin. After green scoring, we could see, that the eleven and a half inch horns
would qualify for the Pope & Young record book with out difficulty. Then Jack informed me, that I was the first non-resident ever to
take an antelope with a bow in Oregon. This was later confirmed by the Oregon Department of Fish & wildlife. As I looked back, I
had to think, what a lucky hunt, to be able to take a quality buck so quickly. I also have to thank Jack for the excellent help, he
provided, with his knowledge of the animals and terrain. All in all, a very satisfying experience.
Author's notes: In 1980, an Oregon non-resident license cost $75.00 plus an antelope tag running $125.00, as well as a bow tag for
$2.00. The antelope tags are usually issued in April or May on a draw basis. It is usually no problem to get one. Contact the Oregon
Dept of Fish & Wildlife, PO Box 3503, Portland, OR 97208. Jack Tull operates Black Canyon Outfitters, strictly for bow hunters and
may be contacted br writing to him at this address: 117 W Highland, Redmond, OR 97756
a hot meal, and the three of us, spent the evening getting acquainted with each other
Now, Oregon is not noted for its antelope populations, and one might wonder why I, a resident a Ohio, chose to hunt here for these
prairie goats, especially with a bow. Gerber Reservoir is an area that has only been hunted by archers for the last nine years.
Consequently, the bucks have an opportunity to grow up. Also, this country is rich in minerals, which help build massive horns.
This is beautiful country; low, rolling ridges, covered by junipers, with sagebrush flats between. There are also many old cinder
cones, which rise up several hundred to several thousand feet in this area. In addition to the antelope, which tend to stay on the
fringes of the junipers and on the flats, are mule deer and range cattle. Gerber Reservoir, which provides much of the water to life in
this area, is surrounded by a green belt of grass, several hundred feet wide. This lush grass draws the range cattle and antelope to it
like a magnet.
After an early breakfast in the dark, Jack and I drove several miles, parked the truck, and started hiking the two miles to the
reservoir. Light was just making the shadows into trees and rocks, as Jack and I made our way along the side of a low ridge. After a
half hour of travel, a band of five antelope jumped up about seventy yards in front of us and trotted across to our right. There were
three does and two young bucks. As we watched, an absolutely huge buck appeared out of a juniper thicket and ran to meet the small
band, that we had jumped. Jack whistled and then muttered, while looking through the binoculars, "Those horns will go 17" for
sure." The antelope turned and ran back across the path they had just traveled, stopping approximately seventy yards away. In the
meantime, I had eased closer behind a small juniper bush and had my bow at half draw. But that buck stayed in the middle and I
wouldn't chance a shot with the others so close.
I was using a Fedora custom built 65# recurve at my 28" draw, with Easton XX75 orange 2117 shafts, topped with Razorback 5
broadheads. I had been practicing up to a hundred yards, for the last four months, so I knew my outfit would do the job up to fifty
yards, if I did my part.
The antelope slowly drifted off in the junipers and out of sight. Jack and I worked our way along a ridge till we came out about a half
of a mile, from the reservoir, to an open slope, but we didn't locate that band any more. Jack had a dead juniper in mind, for a blind,
and that is where we were headed. We were about half way across the open ground, when I saw some antelope walking parallel to us
headed for the reservoir. We ducked into a draw, and as I scooted down the draw, Jack circled around, hoping to ease the antelope
by me, as there were two nice bucks in the bunch of eight that had materialized. But it wasn't to be. The pronghorns spotted me when
they were a hundred yards out and in that beautiful floating run they have, they disappeared over the horizon.
With that, I turned and headed to the blind. I told Jack, I would like to spend the day there, as I prefer to hunt from a fixed position,
rather than moving, if possible. Jack wished me luck and told me he would pick me up at dark. I snuggled down in the forks of the old
juniper and made myself comfortable.
I waited 6 or 7 hours and saw only cattle around my blind. As I watched, the cattle were slowly feeding on the grass along the shore
around a point to where I could not see. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me. I had visions of antelope feeding all over, around
that point, out of my sight. I slowly ghosted through the junipers to spot, above the neck of the lake, that had been out of sight. All
that greeted my eyes, were more cattle and a lone coyote running across a flat. I still hunted my way back toward the blind, and as I
came over the ridge, there were five antelope eighty yards from my spot of concealment, that I had been in an hour before. As I
watched, they slowly fed along the lake and then bedded down. A huge log lay within fifty yards of the pronghorns, so I circled a half
of a mile to get behind the log. I had to crawl the last three hundred yards through knee high sagebrush. I had crawled about about
two hundred yards and was getting really weary of crawling, when the alert face of an antelope appeared above the log. Their
sentinels never rest and needless to say, I didn't get a shot. Once more, I headed for the blind to spend the last couple hours of the
day watching.
A white flash caught my eye and as I focused the glasses, I saw three pronghorns on the other side of the lake. There was a fringe of
timber about forty yards above them, so I began a stalk to see if there was a decent buck in the group. Halfway through the stalk, I
ran into another hunter, who was watching the same bunch. He waved to me, and as I approached, he informed me his partner was
across the lake stalking the same bunch. So, I sat down and watched the antelope slowly feed along the lake. His partner never took
a shot, as it turned out, to be a doe and two small bucks.
With darkness approaching, I made my way back toward the truck. I had lingered too long and it was pitch dark when I got to the
truck. Jack was getting nervous, thinking I had possibly gotten myself turned around. As Jack and I sat around the campfire that
evening and recounted the day's adventure, I began to realize how difficult it is to take an antelope with a bow.
Jack revealed, that in nine years of archery hunting for antelope, that Oregon has had a total kill of seventeen antelope. This is with
an average of two to three hundred hunters per year, taking one to three per year. Oregon offers two, eight day seasons in August,
usually separated by a week, and hunters must specify which hunt period they wish to hunt. As I stated before, the odds of scoring
are tough in Oregon, but over half the antelope taken, have made the Pope & Young record book. I am convinced, that in the next
few years, an antelope will be taken there, which will rank in the top ten.
Four o'clock in the morning comes quickly, and it seemed like I had just closed my eyes, when I heard Jack begin to gather wood for
a fire. As I ate my breakfast, I kidded Jack. "I am tired of fooling around. I am going to kill that pronghorn today." Jack just
laughed. Once again, I elected to hunt from the same blind by myself, so Jack dropped me off, with instructions, that if I scored to
somehow, send word to camp.
I had been in the blind several hours, when the buck, I described at the beginning of the article appeared. As the arrow leaped from
my bow, the pronghorn jumped string on me. Instead of taking him in the rib cage, where I was aiming, I hit the rear leg. The
antelope made a mad dash of eighty to ninety yards and tumbled to the ground. As I watched, he slowly regained his feet and went
limping off. I waited and then slowly began trailing. My heart was sinking, as I could not understand why that buck would not go
down, as it appeared, to have hit the femoral artery. The antelope circled into some junipers and bedded down. I took off, back to the
blind, to gather up my pack and camera, that I had left behind. Also, I wanted the antelope to stiffen up, before I tried to get close for
a finishing shot.
I headed out to try and send word to Jack. As I topped a ridge, I noticed a hunter intently gazing ahead. He had jumped my antelope
and was trailing it. He saw me and I quickly explained to him what had happened. The buck was limping badly now. Although, it
appeared the leg was broken, I could not closer that than a hundred yards, before it would move.
I began a watching vigil as the pronghorn bedded in an open area of about four hundred yards across. I settled down at the base of a
tree to wait, as the other hunter agreed to pass the word to Jack for me. By the time Jack arrived, the buck had moved close to a
clump of trees. I dropped back, circled downwind, and slowly stalked the buck. An arrow from twenty five yards away, disappeared in
the rib cage and it was all over.
Jack was yelling and shaking hands, all I could do, was grin. After green scoring, we could see, that the eleven and a half inch horns
would qualify for the Pope & Young record book with out difficulty. Then Jack informed me, that I was the first non-resident ever to
take an antelope with a bow in Oregon. This was later confirmed by the Oregon Department of Fish & wildlife. As I looked back, I
had to think, what a lucky hunt, to be able to take a quality buck so quickly. I also have to thank Jack for the excellent help, he
provided, with his knowledge of the animals and terrain. All in all, a very satisfying experience.
Author's notes: In 1980, an Oregon non-resident license cost $75.00 plus an antelope tag running $125.00, as well as a bow tag for
$2.00. The antelope tags are usually issued in April or May on a draw basis. It is usually no problem to get one. Contact the Oregon
Dept of Fish & Wildlife, PO Box 3503, Portland, OR 97208. Jack Tull operates Black Canyon Outfitters, strictly for bow hunters and
may be contacted br writing to him at this address: 117 W Highland, Redmond, OR 97756
| GERBER RESERVOIR, Antelope Hunt, August, 1980 by Keith Dotterer |