Spot And Stalk Archery Antelope

On this episode of The Western Rookie Podcast, Brian talks with Cody Brockhouse about archery antelope and best first hunts for a new western hunter!

Cody is an avid western hunter and archer who chases all kinds of game each season with his family. Cody hunts both big game and waterfowl, but in this episode dives deep into spot and stalk archery antelope. Brian and Cody discuss how antelope is the perfect opportunity for a Western Rookie, and how you can spice it up with a bow instead of a fire stick. The guys talk about archery setups, arrow speeds, and broadhead picks for antelope. Check out the links below to see more from Cody and follow his story!

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You're listening to the Western Rookie, a hunting podcast full of tips, tricks, and strategies from seasoned Western hunters. There are plenty of opportunities out there. We just need to learn how to take on the challenges. Hunting is completely different up there. I've heard of some 26 big game animals.

You can fool their eyes, but you can't fool their nose. 300 yards back to the road turned into 3 miles back the other way. It's always cool seeing new hunters go and harvest an animal. I don't know what to expect. If there's anybody I want in the woods with me, it'll be you.

Welcome back to another Western Rookie Podcast episode. This is your host, Brian Krebs. And today I have Cody Brockhouse on the call and Cody and I have been chatting just a little bit here in the green room, but he is a. Outdoorsman looks like you both, you and your wife love the [00:01:00] outdoors, whether it's with a bow chasing big game or a shotgun chasing waterfall and upland.

You, it looks like you have a full fall every year. Does that sound right? Yeah. Yeah. Usually about this time of year is when we kick off our season. And then it is go, go, go pretty much until summer comes around. Yeah. It looks, I mean, Looks like a full life. I mean you got, looks like you're bouncing around.

I see like archery, mule deer, antelope, turkeys in the spring. You obviously, you said you, you guide waterfall in Salt Dakota. I assume a big part of your season is the spring conservation hunts where the snows and the, and the, um, you know, all the migrating geese. And so, yeah, like you said, it's probably a pretty full season.

By the time summer comes around, you're already gearing up for the next fall. Absolutely. Absolutely. We try to stay diverse. That way, you know, we can fill out our season. It's kind of nice being able to hop back and forth between, you know, waterfall upland and big game. It definitely fills out the season.

Yeah, for [00:02:00] sure. And one of the things that big game wise has been on my mind a lot lately this week is, is, um, archery, antelope, archery, mule deer. So I've never done an archery antelope or mule deer hunt. I've shot both with a rifle, but my wife just got her new bow. What would be a little over a week ago, last Sunday, she got a Hoyt.

Ventum or VTM 31. And so she's already drawn 60 pounds. It looks like we're going to go up to 65 soon, um, for her bow. And she's excited to like, she's starting to think about like, what can we do with a bow? And she likes mountains. She likes the West. And so she was asking about archery antelope. And I see that was one of the things that looks like you do.

Looks like from what I gather, it looks like you try to carve out a little time every fall for archery antelope. Is that. Is that true? Is you guys big part of how you kick off the season? Absolutely. So, um, yesterday I got one and then my brother got one on Saturday. And so that's usually our kickoff [00:03:00] every year is we kind of, we call it goat cam and we get kind of a little crew together and start chasing them.

And antelope, I always look forward to it, but they humble me every single year, because in my opinion. As far as spotting stalking, they are one of the trickiest critters to get with a bow. Rifle wise, they're, they're super doable. You know, you can get within kind of, we call it wolf range, right? You can get within, you know, a couple hundred yards without too much trouble.

Um, but closing in the archery range is one of the most difficult. I mean, they, they're very challenging. They'll make you scratch your head sometimes. Um, but when you do capitalize, it is such an awesome feeling. So it sounds like, are you primarily spot and stock antelope hunting or do you do ground blinds as well?

So last year I killed mine out of a ground blind. Uh, this year was spot and stock. I like spot and stock more just because you're always moving and you're always seeing goats. Um, as far as being [00:04:00] effective. probably better. Your shots are generally going to be a lot closer. And, uh, when they do come in, you know, you get a great shot opportunity.

Um, but the spot and stalking is a little bit more fast paced. It's exciting. And it really tests your abilities as a hunter, because generally you don't have a lot of, you know, cover to work with. Um, it tests your, your shooting abilities immensely. Cause a lot of times you're shooting in wind. At extended ranges.

And so it really tests you as a bow hunter. Um, as far as, you know, comparing it to mule deer, it is, it's a great, like it gets you ready for mule deer because a mule deer is going to be generally a little bit easier to sneak on. You have to worry about your wind more with mule deer, but generally they're going to be bedded in an area that's a little bit more conducive to stalking.

Um, and you can get a little bit of a closer shot off and you can get away with a little bit more because animals eyes are just like, man, they're so good. They don't [00:05:00] miss a thing. Like, you'll be stalking at them, you know, from behind, like, you'll be completely facing away and they'll just like, I don't know if it's an instinct or if it's just the way they see, but they'll just like, turn around and, and, you know, peg.

Yeah, it's like. It's, it's incredible, you know, what they catch, you know, and they'll bet out in the middle of, you know, open fields and in areas that are just really tricky to stock them. So if people are wanting to do like a Western mule deer hunt, if you kick it off with antelope, you're going to think muleys are a lot easier to stock and a lot more doable.

So that's what I was going to lead into. So, you know, I've archery hunted things before and I archery elk hunt every year. So I. I have a little bit more experience, especially with failure on not punching tags. Um, but when I, you know, when you talk about bringing someone new into a Western hunting world, um, you know, especially my wife, it's like, I want to, I want to set up a hunt that's going to not necessarily be a slam dunk, but a good experience.

[00:06:00] And, And so what I'm torn on is like, I don't know if putting her in a ground blind in 100 degree heat for a week is going to be that good experience, even though that's probably higher success rates on an antelope compared to, like, equally, I don't know if spot and stock antelope archery is the best, like, first taste to a western hunt.

I always recommend rifle antelope as a great... Western hunting. It's a good hunt. You mean they're, they're out all day. You don't have to wake up at midnight. You don't, it's not as grueling as like an elk hunt would be. Um, rifle antelope is just a great first experience to the West. And so I say that for everyone.

I just don't know if archery antelope is the same thing. How would you maybe describe like a good entry point to Western archery hunting? Honestly, um, animal punting as far as cost effective, And just a good experience. Archery antelope is going to be a great one, but you can also get like burnt out on it.

You know, a lot of these guys, like I see a lot of pressure around my [00:07:00] area, you know, guys, you know, pounding out on the public and it's, it's super rewarding when they do capitalize. But they get very demoralized when they're just running around like crazy and they're not, you know, they're not getting the shot opportunities.

They're not getting close enough. You know, they're not having the experience that they're looking for. Um, if you find a good waterhole that goats are hitting, I would say, you know, definitely set a blind on it because that's going to be your best opportunity as far as actually like getting a shot off at reasonable range.

Um, it's, it's one of those things that's tricky because you hear some people say that it's the easiest thing they ever killed, but it's also, you know, if you set up over a waterfall, it's a lot more doable. You don't have to stubble the blind or anything. It's almost like hunting a turkey out of a blind where they're like, maybe a little bit hesitant, but they'll come up to it, you know, within 50 yards.

No problem. And they, they don't get super, super skittish around it. Um, but spot and stalking, it, it can [00:08:00] be one of the most, I mean, mentally demanding hunts that you'll ever be on because sometimes you'll be sneaking in on them and they'll just get up and decide to move, you know, they might feed for a half hour and then bed back down.

And so you always have to be like thinking very quick, moving, uh, making split second decisions. It's really good for, for, you know, making you make split second decisions because a lot of times, you know, you'll be like, Oh yeah, it's a slam dunk. You know, stock, and then they'll end up moving on you or, you know, getting downwind or whatever.

And so you have to, you have to be really good at making quick decisions, but it makes you a better hunter. Antelope, in my opinion, make you a much better hunter. If you really like focus on it, some people, they don't want to focus. They just want to go. And once you focus on it and like figure out, you know, what they're doing and figure out kind of what an antelope does.

You'll be a more successful archery antelope hunter and just a more, you know, you'll be a better big [00:09:00] game hunter overall. You do, it just forces you to make those decisions quicker and make good decisions, you know, cause you're going to mess up. I mean, that's just one of the things with antelope. You're, you will mess up.

It's with anything, right? We all mess up on stocks and shots and everything like that. Um, but it forces you to use your instincts more so than like, you know, like a major thought process, you know, and once you can hone in those instincts, you just, you just become a better hunter. Oh, oh yeah. I mean, I just hunting makes you a better hunter too.

And so like, I don't, I don't, I don't want to catch too much flack. Um, but I don't know if sitting in a ground blind. Is like the fullest expression of hunting. It isn't. So I would do it. Like, I'm not saying I won't do it. I would definitely do it. I just think you're going to learn a lot more spot stock.

Like you said. [00:10:00] Well, and the thing is too, like what I found too, you almost respect a blind a little bit more once you go out and spot and stalk them. Because if, if somebody goes out and shoots their antelope over a water hole, you know, within a day of, you know, of hunting them, you don't have the, the full respect of the animal.

And then once you go out and spot and stalk them, you're like, wow, like this is, this is tricky, like every year, all of us, all my two younger brothers, my dad and myself. We always get humbled every single year at just like, wow, like they don't miss anything. Their eyesight's incredible. They don't rely on their noses as much, but when they get down wind, they get squirrely and they try and figure out where that smell is coming from.

And they'll get up, you know, they'll be looking around and like, you can be laying flat. You think you're covered and they will still get you picked out. And it's just, it's one of those things to, to respect them. You almost have to go out and just spot and stalk them a little bit. To just see like how capable they are at, you know, surviving, [00:11:00] you know, archery hunting it's, and that's the way I look at it.

We we've had guys that have come out and hunted with us before and sat in the blind. Had smaller goats come in and they, you know, decided not to shoot and, you know, we were being very successful spot in stalking. And so they wanted, wanted to try it and we sent 'em out on a few stalks and they're like, wow.

Like this is, this is no joke. This is, you know, this is tricky. You know? So then once they hopped back in that blind, when they have one come in, they're like, oh my gosh. They respect it so much more because just getting an antelope within range is, uh, I mean a project in and of itself Yeah. Is. Is there any, like, tools or tricks?

I don't want to say tricks, like, you're short circuiting the process, but, like, obviously, spot and stalk antelope. I'd say, like, spot and stalk archery antelope's one of the hardest things to do, maybe on par with, like, trophy, trophy mule deer, archery mule deer, because those are just so hard to find. And then you can't mess up once you do it [00:12:00] because you'll blow them out and then you're off the, you know, then you can't find another trophy.

Like if you're just going for a nice mule deer, probably a little bit easier because there's more chances. Yep. But probably right on par with difficulty. And so I'm wondering, like, if you were going to bring someone out for a first time, like, knowing, and even myself, like, I don't have all those skills dialed in to spot and stalk archery animal because I don't spot and stalk a lot of animals.

And we elk hunt, we do more calling setups. Is there something you could do with like a decoy or like a ghost blind or I know like some people have been using like those cattle 2D blinds that can help you get into the right spot, like maybe get into 100, 150 yards, set up a decoy and then back up 20 yards with a ghost blind and the kind of kneel on the ground is there like, is there anything there that you could kind of start pulling out a couple of different stops and a couple of different tricks from the sleeve?

Yeah. So think of it almost as like your turkey hunting, [00:13:00] where if a decoy works really good when you have a dominant buck with a lot of does, if you get inside their comfort range, it'll get them ticked off and they will come in. But another thing with the decoys, you have to be very careful with pressure management because if you, if you blow a stock with a decoy once.

They will always be hesitant of it later. Like they will never act the same to that decoy. So if you do decide to use a decoy on a specific goat, always make sure that you set yourself up for the most success when using that decoy, play the wind, because if you use a decoy and say the wind is quartering a little bit, they will, they will go down when to smell that and that they will bust you if they get within, you know.

You know, 100 yards and they, they, they get down when you're, it's done, it's over and they won't want to come back into that decoy again. It is super effective, um, but you have to know when to use it and when not to use it. You [00:14:00] know, generally a buck with multiple does that is very dominant that doesn't have really any little bucks in the immediate area, that's going to be your best contender because if there's not any little bucks.

Right around there, you know within a couple hundred yards of him That means he's pushing them all off and he's very dominant. You'll see him raking sagebrush, you know Spreading his scent around and you know that he's gonna be a good contender for decoying But you also have to be you know, very aware of you know, how you're gonna decoy him the wind Making sure you have plenty of cover for your shooter because generally it works best if you have two people One person running, uh, the decoy and one person shooting.

Um, and you know, if you're running a run and gun style, or if you're, you know, just trying to decoy him into a field, make sure you have plenty of cover, because if he sees you, he's going to instantly lock onto you as soon as he sees you and he's going to lose interest in that decoy. This episode is brought to you by Steelhead Outdoors.

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You know, so stuff like that. Um, don't be afraid to. I mean, this is kind of controversial. I know people can catch flack for this, but like frontal shots, I'm a very big believer on frontal shots on the analog because they are very quick. They move very quick. They almost always jump the string. And when I say jump the string, they'll bolt from it.

So when you shoot at them broadside, I find a lot of times they will literally either duck out of the way or they'll try and. Just bolt. And so what I find if you shoot them frontal, if they don't move, you crush them, and if they do move, they spin instead of bolting because they don't want to run at you, obviously.

And a lot of times you can make an [00:17:00] awesome shot just when they do their spin. And you'd be surprised how fast they can move. Even at very close ranges, they're just, they're very quick. They don't miss anything. And just choosing your shot opportunity is something that's very important. I think a lot of people want to wait until they get broadside and they end up running out underneath their arrow before it ever even gets there.

What so, okay. So good points all around. And so if we're thinking like, is there some considerations to be had with your arrow and broadhead set up for antelope? So for example, right now I'm shooting a heavy. 575 grain arrow with a two blade fixed single bevel. I mean, it is an Ed Ashby style arrow, 100 percent set up to get pass throughs on elk.

Like that is, I built that arrow that way. When I go white tail hunting, I, I suck it up and I use that cause I don't want two different setups. Now for antelope, one thing I'm thinking of is like if I hit them, On that frontal with that arrow. [00:18:00] I'm probably getting a pass through as crazy as that sounds, but it's also a narrow broadhead, so maybe that's a consideration of like, maybe it's like better to shoot a bigger mechanical, so that way, no matter kind of where you hit, there's a good chance you're hitting something good.

Or is that going to suffer on the penetration? Even as small as an antelope is. So antelopes are very dainty to begin with. Um, we all like to run bigger expandables because they're, for us, it makes more sense because don't get me wrong, a small fixed blade is awesome. You know, penetration wise, they're awesome.

There's no doubt about that. They're going to get better penetration. Um, but for me, I want to cause the most trauma that I can, you know, right. Because they, they're always moving. Unless you're shooting them at 20 yards, they are always going to be squirrely and try and get away from that arrow. And it just, it always [00:19:00] is crazy to me how quick they are.

And so, if you can get a big expandable in the center mass of an animal, they're 100 percent dead. You can always, even if you hit them far back or if you hit them not exactly where you want to, if you're shooting a large expandable, they will run. Anywhere from a couple hundred yards, they will bed down.

And if you can get another arrow in them, great. Otherwise, if you just, if you give them time, they will expire, but it's just, it's so tough to calculate like a perfect shot with an antelope. You're for me, there's, there's more margin for error. Like it works. It makes more sense for me to run a bigger expandable because there's more.

area on an animal that's soft and that you can cause a lot of damage to, um, then like with a smaller fixed blade, you know, for elk, it makes more sense. Cause you have a, a bigger kill zone, right. To where an animal you're. Say you do make a, um, a so so shot [00:20:00] or the wind takes your arrow. Like we, we deal with a lot of wind.

You have to hold off for wind a lot of times. And so like being an inch off here, there's going to matter more on an animal because obviously they're just a smaller animal, the kill zone smaller. So if I can make up for that. You know, with a bigger broad head, um, it, it works better. And from what I've seen when we run, you know, like a, like I like to run a three blade mechanical, um, I've had no issues.

I, I think it saved me a couple of times just because you're cutting a huge hole in them and they just can't take it. You know, they're just, they're not a huge animal. And when you, when you get. you know, decent penetration, you know, in that center mass, it just crushes them. They cannot take it. Yeah, I do think that like as much as I love my big fixed blade for elk and I kind of like the security on the white tails to like when I'm shooting that arrow, I hugged the shoulder a lot more than when I was shooting.

I used to shoot a big four blade expandable, so it had to over the [00:21:00] top and then to rear deploy. And, uh, when I shoot this new fixed blade, it's like, I don't care if I hit that front shoulder, I'm going to blow through it. I'm shooting 70 pounds, 72 pounds, 30 inches. It's a huge arrow. I'm shooting short range at white tails, like 20, 30 yards.

And I haven't hit a front shoulder yet, but I pretty confident if I did hit it, it would be. I mean, it'd probably almost be worse for the deer. Cause now I'm going to make that bone pop, break a leg. He's not going to run as hard. We'll see. I don't know. I'm not going to intentionally hit a shoulder ever, but, um, but I do see on an antelope, it's like, okay, that's not the right setup now.

It's probably better to get something with a wider cut. Um, especially with that bow. Like, I feel like there's a pretty good chance I'm going to get a pass or even with a big mechanical on an antelope. Right. Well, and the thing is you're like, they're, they're just always moving. You can be the best shot in the world.

And I pride myself on. On shooting a lot and making good shots, you know, um, but like we, when we're filming, we always watch the footage back through and it's just incredible. You'll, [00:22:00] you'll watch where that arrow's flying and they'll always just like move or be squirrely. And so you, you kind of have to factor that in, you know, cause.

You can have the, you know, hardest hitting setup in the world, uh, but if it doesn't get there in time for number one or it's hitting them, you know, somewhere that isn't going to cause, you know, massive damage, you know, you're, you're kind of, you end up hurting yourself. And so we kind of adopted this theory.

I mean, if we can get our arrow there as quick as possible, you know, and then say they do move out of the way, um, we want it to cause as much damage as possible, you know? So like, I mean, Even last year, I hit mine, he spun out of the way, where the arrow was flying, it was actually gonna probably hit him in the liver, and by the time he spun, it hit him in the shoulder and totally destroyed his shoulder, which that's another thing, their, their, you know, their bone structure isn't as built as like a deer or an elk, obviously, and so, I was, I hit him in the shoulder, But he ran, you know, 150 [00:23:00] yards bedded down and we were able to get another stock on him and shoot him again, you know, but that's one of those things you just can't really plan for, you know what I mean?

Um, and, and it's one of those, like, it was an error on my part because when I, when that arrow left the ball, I'm like, Ooh, that was a little bit right. And I, I noticed, you know, An inch or two, you know, when I shoot and if I would have. Actually, hell, if it would have been perfect, you know, if it would have gone for a hard shot, it would have totally missed that goat.

They just, they, and they just get out of the way super, super fast. And it's something to consider. And anybody that's archery antelope hunted can vouch for that. They're like, they do move out of the way, but sometimes they just stand there. You just, you, you don't really know with them. They're just.

They're unpredictable for when you when you go to shoot at them with a bow. Oh, so two So now I have two like real questions when it comes to this whole thing. So the first question would be Would you know like I have a 575 grain arrow, which is like I know there's a lot of people shooting heavier [00:24:00] now especially with the new heavy arrow craze But a vast majority of people are way lighter like my brother's elk arrow is closer to 400 grains or 425 grains A little shorter draw, but I know it's a heavy arrow.

Would you kind of say, nah, if you're animal punning, like it might be worth having a different arrow, get it lighter, faster. Like you want a speed demon, not necessarily a Mack truck. Time to target is very important with animal punning just because of how quick they get out of the way. Um, another thing that's a big factor for me is just like arrow drop.

So like. Say, because they're always moving around and they'll take a step or two here, a step or two there, you know, and so say you, you're running a slider site and you set your site to, you know, 60 yards, you know, but then he walks a couple yards closer to you. Um, you want your pin gap to not be a whole lot just because if they are moving around, you know, it's not going to [00:25:00] be affected as much, especially at the longer ranges where heavier arrows, you know, have a greater drop, you know, and there's each yard matters more than a lighter arrow.

Um, you know, having that, you know, three yards on heavy arrow can be, you know, a major, major flaw. You know, with, I mean, that's with any arrow, but, you know, say at 60 yards, that heavy arrow, a three yard difference is going to, you know, be a lot more than a lighter arrow. Well, you know, the thing to think about is, is like 60 yards with an elk.

Like I want that weight, I want that momentum and I want that heavy broad head and an elk's kill zones, like 18 inches. So if I like that three yards, like. It's not as big of a detriment versus what the value I'm getting from that heavy arrow, but on an antelope, like my gosh, we're talking like what a six, eight inch kill zone.

So now all of a sudden that's a huge difference. Right. Right. And that's why you want to cut up as much as you can. It's just think of it as like, I I'm [00:26:00] relating this a lot to turkeys, which I'm not meaning to, but I find myself doing it more and more like a turkey. I'm running a huge expandable, right?

Cause their kill zone is super small and you want to like, say you're off an inch or two here and there, like you want to be as effective as possible. You want to kill it. Um, like you're not going to be running an iron will on a turkey. You're not worried about, you know, penetration. You want to hit that kill zone.

Right. And so that like we've kind of adopted that theory of running, like we like running a three blade expandable. I know I've run two blades in the past, but a three blade.

Um, it just, it helps so much when you, when you do, you know, when you're shooting at something small like that, you know, it matters so much to have that cutting area, um, because it, it just, it wears them out. I mean, you know, no matter where you, if you hit that, that, [00:27:00] you know, there's that pocket right behind the shoulder there.

Yeah. You hit anywhere in there. It is just devastating. I mean, and you want it to bleed out quick too. Um, because it generally is a little warmer out and you want to get that meat off the bones really quick You know, get that blood out of them because antelope is some of the best meat. It's it's my favorite wild game by far Uh, but you want it, you know If the quicker you can get them to die and not get that adrenaline running through them the better Yeah, I mean get them bleed out and you're gonna have like some of the best meat you've ever had Yeah, and you we always antelope hunt with ice in the cooler like we yeah We we have a cooler in the pickup with ice in it And we're getting that thing on ice as soon as possible.

Um, it's usually one trip pack out, right? Or if you know, we've always done public land where you're not really supposed to drive across, but if you have private access, obviously you drive your pickup right up to the antelope, you know, do all your care right there, but get it in that cooler as fast as possible.

So that's, that's huge. Um, but then the [00:28:00] second question I wanted to ask is, have you noticed a difference in how, how much drop or movement an antelope has? Based on whether it's head is up or down, probably more so in a blind setting. Like if it's heads down drinking, do you notice those animals drop far?

So yes, no. So the one nice thing with antelope, it seems like when they have their head down and they're drinking there, it almost seems like, uh, like they'll try and get out of the way, but they'll do that same spin thing like they do when you shoot them frontal. Where if they have their head up, they'll sometimes just like bolt, right?

They're, they are extremely fast. Like when they put the afterburners on, they get going. So like when their head's down, they, they definitely talk a little bit, right? They use that momentum when they're picking their head up, but if you can. If you can kind of plan accordingly, almost treat it like you're shooting a whitetail, you know, aim for the [00:29:00] heart and plan for a little bit of drop, um, they'll try and wheel out more so than take off because they're trying to back out of it instead of bolt forward.

I've even seen muleys do that too, where, where, when their heads up or their heads down, they just bolt, they just do like a quick jump forward and you, you sometimes, you don't have to worry about that as much when they're drinking. Um, you know, kind of facing towards you more or less because they're trying to wheel out of there instead of, you know, obviously bolt forward and you can kind of use that to your advantage.

Um, but like when they don't, they just don't miss anything, like they'll hear that arrow coming if their heads down and they'll just, you know, take off, you know, as fast as they can. We, we see it a lot, you know, they just, they're, they just react to this, you know, noise or whistle or whatever that's coming at them.

It's, it's honestly impressive how, how quick they are.

Yeah, it is pretty cool. Um, yeah, I just wondered because of like a white tails I've, I think I'm going to stop shooting them with their head down. Like I always think, Oh, their head's down. They're not paying [00:30:00] attention. They won't drop at all, but it's actually the opposite. They dropped farther because they use that momentum of lifting their head to push their shoulders down.

And so I'm going to start lifting their head up. Like when she's at 20 yards, that doe I'm going to and lift her head up and then shoot and see if she only drops a couple inches. I'm still going to aim for a heart shot. Um, and we'll see what happens with that. But it's all just very interesting because I'm still trying to piece together.

Like. Should archery antelope be like the first Western experience for my wife or should we do like rifle antelope to get kind of just out in the West with a little bit more success rate, a little bit less pressure, a little bit less stress, and then work our way into like maybe a rifle mule deer hunt and then an archery mule deer, and then maybe an archery antelope, you know, like what I guess, and a lot of it depends on what she wants to do.

You know, I can tell, I just want to gather all the information to be like this. If we do archery antelope, On public land, this is probably what it's going to look like. And we're not really guided [00:31:00] folks. Like we don't do a lot of guided stuff. And I know like, that's a big part of doing waterhole ground blind hunts is private land and a guide.

And there's, I don't think there's a lot of opportunity for that on public land. Honestly, um, an archery antelope can be an awesome experience. Like my, my wife archery antelope hunts with me and like, she's been kind of getting down on herself, you know, because there are certain situations where you need to be like.

super quick. Like everything you do has to be like just flawless motions of, and just speed is very, very crucial at times. You know, like if they do peg, yeah. At within range like getting everything dialed in hooked up drawn back and like everything has to be You know flawless and quick because they just you know, they're they're quick They don't give you a lot of time, you know to putz around and take your time um and she can kind of get down on herself because she you know, She'll [00:32:00] be like, oh I could have done this different or that different, you know I could have done this and that stock would have worked out a little better You know, for her, you know, sometimes I think a blind would be better, but she, her patience level isn't quite, you know, she, she's not quite as patient.

She would rather be out and about, you know, running and gunning like me, you know, and constantly seeing goats and, and making moves on them for, for most girls and from what I've experienced, a blind is definitely the best bet. But a lot of times you only get like one crack at them. Yeah. Like they'll come in once you're, if there's a lot of goats in the area, you can have, you know, back to back goats coming in and it's awesome.

Um, but I would say a blind is definitely the best bet because there's, you know, it's going to be a closer shot and you know, you're going to have a lot better shot opportunity in general. Um, but a rifle antelope hunt.

Um, and number two, it's not extremely difficult to get [00:33:00] inside, say 300 yards of goats. Like, even when I'm chasing around a really old goat with my bow and he just won't miss a beat and he pegs me right away, you know, he might go out to three or 400 yards where with a rifle, like he's dead to right. You know, like you can, you can get them right there, you know, and he'll stand there and look at you because they, they feel like they're comfortable at that range.

So, like, right, wanting antelope can be very fun because you're not necessarily, you know, looking for like that, that one prize goat. I mean, for me around here, it takes a while to draw a tag. And so, you know, I'm, I'm looking for like a respectable goat, but like, say for, you know, you're bringing your wife out or your girlfriend or, you know, whoever out on their first, you know, animal hunt, it's very fun to be seeing goats and then see like a, like a decent buck and then be able to go after it and capitalize on it, you know, that, that part of it is, is, is very fun.

It can be a very fun first Western hunt. Yeah, that's why I'm thinking like might [00:34:00] start with a rifle unless she really wants to do the bow and and she really loves bow Hunting. I mean she doesn't really even want a gun hunt whitetails back home She just wants to shoot one with her bow and hopefully she's like I want to, you know, wrap this up before gun season even comes around and then I don't even have to worry about picking up a gun.

Right. And so we'll see what she wants to do. I, I, well, I haven't shot a buck either yet. I mean, I've shot those with my rifle 'cause you could draw those tags in North Dakota, but it took like 10 years to get a buck tag. And Yeah, like you said, it's easy. I just snuck into a hundred and I think I shot mine at 150 yards with a 300 wind meg.

And it, it did the job for sure. So, yeah, we'll see. We'll see which way we want to go with that. Um, And then just depends on, you know, maybe she wants to do a mule deer first. I don't know. I, I love mule deer. I would hunt a mule deer every year if I had the time. It's not even the money at this point. It's the time.

Like when you do a 10 day elk hunt and then you do a mule deer and that's a five day and all of a sudden you're out of vacation really. Really fast. [00:35:00] Yeah, for sure. For sure. That's, we always look forward to our mealies. I mean, don't get me wrong. We love chasing antelope, but everybody, you know, is just kind of thinking about mealies as soon as, you know, we start, as soon as we go on a few stocks for antelope, we're like, my gosh, these things are just, they're skittish, you know, they're tough to stock because they're Man, I don't know really any animal that'll just go bad out in the middle of the field with nothing around it, you know, and you're like, what in the world are they doing out there?

They're just getting, you know, beat up by the sun, you know, and just bedded out in the middle of the field. Like, how do you, how do you get at them? But that's why they survive. You know, that's how, you know, it's, it takes a special person to be very successful at archery animal hunting consistently, you know, but we always look forward to our mealies.

I mean, we, we do and. That first week in September is, is very important if you're targeting a specific deer because there's so much more patternable, you know, so we, we get out of our, our antelope season and we are jumping right into figuring out the [00:36:00] patterns of our target muley. You know, and so then it's, it's a very quick transition and then it's just, I mean, it's crazy.

It's go, go, go from here on out, but it's fun. It's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. No, I, I, I wish I could just do, I wish I could do the whole hat trick every year. I would love to shoot a whitetail buck on my own farms. I'd love to shoot a western whitetail. I really enjoy western whitetail hunting, especially with a rifle.

Um, just being able to move and chase deer, uh, mule deer, an elk and an antelope. If I could do one of those every year, I would be in heaven. I mean, it would be amazing. And as we're talking, my wife just texted me, she's off work today. And she goes, uh, going outside to shoot my bow. Don't walk around the corner and get shot.

That's awesome. Yeah, that's great. Yeah. She's loving her new bow. Man is, I'm jealous. Like, I think I'm going to be switching to Hoyt. I know you guys shoot prime. Um, yep. I'm shooting a Matthews right now, but I really want to get to a 31 inch draw. I'm at, like, my measurement comes in at about [00:37:00] 30.5. Okay. And so I'm gonna, I want to try to get to 31.

I might have to switch to a thumb release, which I would, I think I would do to get that extra inch in those 10 feet per second. And then I wanna shoot 80 pounds 'cause I'm a, I'm a big guy's gonna be zipping unit, especially if I speed arrow. You can get away with a heavier arrow too. That's the thing like, For me, I run 70 pounds, 29 and a half inch draw.

And that's, I mean, don't get me wrong. That that's very respectable. But once you get up into that, like if you're shooting a 30 inch draw, you know, at 80 pounds, you can get away with running a heavy arrow, you know, more so than then guys running a lighter arrow. And it's, it's devastating. I ran a bow with.

You know, 75 pound mods last year, and it was just like, it was destructive. That extra weight is crazy. It crushes through everything. Yeah. I mean, I killed an elk last year and this was, I mean, this is controversial. Most people don't like shooting elk with an expandable and I shot mine with an expandable 60 yards and it [00:38:00] blew through it and absolutely buried on the ground and the other side, you know, granted, this is through soft tissue, you know, I'm not going through anything.

Did you say six yards? Oh, 60. I thought you said six yards. I'm like, well, I'd shoot any broadhead at six yards. And it was just. It was crazy to me how how much energy, you know, my arrows have shooting that extra weight, you know And I was running I wasn't running a heavy arrow. I was just I would call it like a mid weight hunting arrow But everything I shot with it.

I was just like my goodness like this is this is kind of cool, you know Just like punching through everything. Well, that's I mean My arrows right now, I mean, they hit like a Mack truck cause they're 175 grain front upfront tips, 575 grain total weight. And I'm shooting 30 72. Like my bow is maxed out at it's a 70 pound bow, really maxed out.

It might be a little looser now cause my strings a little bit older, but I'm shooting, I just did the chrono it's two [00:39:00] 55. 255 feet per second. Well, yeah, that's cooking right along. That's carrying a lot of energy with it too. With all that weight. Yeah. I think I'm shooting like 80 some foot pounds of kinetic energy.

Um, you have a ton of energy. And so if I can get to that 31 inch draw 80 pound bow, and then imagine if I build a speed arrow at like five grains per inch, like a 400 grain arrow for antelope or target, and see, that's like. I'm surprised more people don't like look into that because running a lighter arrow, like just getting your arrow there faster is matters so much.

I mean, it does. And like people that run heavy, heavier arrows and try and shoot analog, they will see it. The one benefit from a heavy arrow is you won't have as much wind drift. Um, but I, I like to shoot and win just to figure out my hold over. You know, and where to hold in a windy situation because a lot of people I see a lot of guys from out east come out here to do an archery [00:40:00] antelope hunt and they've been shooting in their backyard with no wind and they have a ton of confidence they're ready to go.

They come out here and we got a, you know, 15, 20 mile an hour crosswind. You know, and they're having to shoot, you know, extended ranges and it, it'll humble a guy very quick. I mean, knowing your holdover with wind is one of the most important parts of coming out archery antelope hunting like spot and stalk, you know, knowing where to hold over is very important.

And as soon as you strap a broadhead on. You know, you're going to get even more wind drift. You know, that's another reason we run expandables is just if we can minimize our wind drift, you know, or like, you know, it gives us a little bit more efficiency and when, you know, we, we try and capitalize on that.

Yeah. I mean, I just did the math. I mean, there's a couple of different ways you can manage wind too. So we just had on the two bucks podcast, we had Kyle Davidson from DCA custom arrows, and he has a patent on a new fletching that has far less wind drift, but the same amount of stability. And he run, he's an engineer.

So he runs like. All kinds of radar, and he did the CFD, um, [00:41:00] Computational Fluid Dynamic Analysis on these veins, and so you get less, it's, it's less total area, so it's less wind drift, but the design of it still has the same stability. And they're quieter. So there's less loss. So the quietness probably helps the antelope not duck as much.

Cause a lot of people think very much. So part of it's the bow, but part of it's, they can hear that arrow spinning that arrow coming at them, but I just ran the math. So if I shot the new Hoyt, which was, I think 342 IBO. But I've set it to 31 inches and 82 pounds with a 400 grained arrow. I'd be at 345 feet per second.

So I'd almost be almost a hundred feet per second faster. And a hundred and five pounds of kinetic energy. So then if I shot my same arrow, it'd still be going 290, but then I'd have a hundred and seven foot pounds of kinetic energy. But the momentum, the momentum, uh, went up by [00:42:00] over... Newton second, which I don't know why it's Newton seconds.

I'm not, it goes, the momentum goes from 2. 7 to 3. 3. So I guess that's not quite a full Newton, but yeah, that would be a sweet setup if I can get that. Yeah. You're going to be cooking like that's going to be like ridiculous speeds, but it also, it was funny is it'll make you. Feel like a better shot too, because, you know, like a five yard, say you're off on your range by a couple of yards.

Like you won't, you won't see that, you know, whereas like when you're running a heavier arrow, like, like each yard does matter when you're running a heavier or when you have more jobs, that's with anything, you know, if you're shooting You know, a low pound, like a women's bow, like, like your wife's bow, for example, you probably see like, you know, past say 40, 50 yards, like, like each yard does matter, you know, kind of significantly her only downfall.

She's short, she has a 25 inch drop, but she's got the full men's Hoyt. Ventum 31. She was awesome. [00:43:00] She, um, we went to the range and she. So we shot at home first time for the year and she's been in residency. So she really hasn't shot religiously for years. And so we shot for the first time. She shoots her old bow.

Then we went to the range to shoot some new bows and they're like, well, what should we set it up? And I'm like, I'm pretty sure. Well, let's get her measured anyway, because she's maybe grown since her last bow, um, because it was in like her, like middle school where she got it. And then I say, he's like, well, what about the weight?

And I'm like, I don't know, 50 pounds. Like she's strong. She used to compete in powerlifting. And so she pulls back that Hoyt Bentham. With 50, just straight back like a target bow. Like, just, boom, at 50 pounds. And so she shoots both that and the phase 4. Like the Hoyt better it was a lot smoother on her and just the draw cycle looked way It looked way better even for me watching her shoot that she could draw that smooth bowl really easy Well, then we get to the point of like, okay Well, do we order a 60 pound BTM or a 65 pound or a 70 and he's like, well the [00:44:00] 70 you don't have to order because we have them in stock in the left handed model, but If you're going to shoot 50 pounds, like technically you can do it on a 70 pound bow, but then everything starts to change your, your, your brace height changes, your knock point changes, your peep site changes.

He's like, it's not good to shoot them 20 pounds under, but if you can get to like 60, 65, then you would want a 70. Cause that's rated like they're ready to go down 10. And she's like, well, can we just dial it to 60 and see what happens? And so he's like, sure. Dials it to 60. Straight back. Like she didn't even have to like sky pull and drop down.

She's just, she literally pulls her 60 pound bow straight back. And she, it was her first day of shooting in two years. So like, she's probably going to be 65 pounds before we start bow hunting this fall. That's awesome. Yeah. That's, that's super awesome. So, yeah. So when it comes to like noticing her arrows drop, they basically are the same as mine.

Hers are going like 245 and mine are going 255, but that's because hers is probably [00:45:00] 375 grains and mine's 575 grains. Yeah. So sure. Yeah. That's one thing I noticed with like my wife. She, it's, it's fun. I, I enjoy hunting with her so much cause she's, you know, we get to get laughing, giggling. I'm surprised you don't blow more stocks.

But it's so funny. She, she'll get like a lot of confidence. She's actually a really good child. Like when it comes into the moment of actually, you know, like when you, when you're on an animal, she's had really, really good shot. Um, but like when we're practicing, it's funny, like how big of a difference, like her arrows and her setup shoots compared to mine, like I would, I would consider like.

When she shoots at 50 yards, it's like the same like time to target and like drop as if I was shooting at a hundred, you know, so that's something to factor into is just like when you're shooting with someone with, you know, lower poundage, you know, your, your, your, your time to target isn't quite as quick, you know, like you also have to think about like the shots you want to be taking, you know, where you want to set them up and [00:46:00] stuff like that, because it's, it's, it's pretty significant once you start dropping that drawing.

Thank you. Dropping that poundage, you know, and your aero weight, you know, isn't necessarily going down all that much. Uh, it's, it's kind of. Crazy. The difference, you know, I mean, it's, it's, I honestly, I think it's like, you know, comparable to me shooting like extended range for her, like shooting at say 50 or 60.

Yeah. So it's something to consider. She hasn't got out that far yet because she just got her bow on her site and she's still dialing stuff in, but I'm excited to see what happens when she starts pushing the distance out. We need to get a, we can shoot over a hundred yards here at the farm now, but we don't, I still have just the Reinhardt 18 and one.

And so it's not that big of a target. Even for me to be shooting like 70, I shot 60 last night and I didn't miss, but, um, I want to get a four foot bail and just put it under a roof. So like we leave it out all summer long and then you just stand at whatever distance you want to shoot rather than moving the target.

And so then I can [00:47:00] confidently shoot. Like I would confidently right now I'd shoot a hundred yards cold on a four foot bail. That's awesome. I might not shoot good, but I know I'm not going to miss the bail. You're going to have some confidence. That's like what I do too, is I practice that long range because I do feel like it makes me a better shot because once you get in close, you're like, This is chip shot, right?

Um, but I have one of those like really big block targets. And then I just put like a deer target or, you know, whatever I want to shoot in front of that. And then you have the confidence to like, say you are shooting at a hundred yards. Um, you have that confidence where you're like, if I do make a marginal shot, like I'm not going to totally wreck that arrow and it gives you a little bit of peace of mind, you know?

Um, and then at my folks house, we have an entire 3d course set up. And so that's super nice because we get to practice on different targets too. And I'm starting to get to be a huge believer in whatever species you're targeting. Try and shoot a 3d target. of the same species. Because your pins will look different in different colors of foam.

And you'll notice it, I don't know if [00:48:00] you ever shoot tac, but like, your pins will blend in the different colors differently, you know? And so like, I find that like, a white target kind of washes out a green pin. And so, you know, like if I'm shooting at a billy goat target or the white on an antelope target, my green pin will kind of get a little bit washed out.

And so I try and practice, you know, accordingly. So we have a couple of different antelope targets. We have a billy goat target and shooting at those different colors of targets. It, it kind of helps you, you know, get ready for whatever you are going to be hunting. Yeah. Plus I think it's just always helpful.

To, to be practicing picking a spot on an animal and not a dot on a target. Like, you're not shooting green dots. And unless you're shooting like axis deer or fawns, there's no dots to aim at. So you, you gotta be comfortable picking a spot on a target. And especially if you're shooting like bear, like their anatomy is different.

So you have to plan accordingly and you have to aim in a different spot. For sure. And what's great, like I even shoot a little [00:49:00] bit differently on a black target. Like we have, you know, a couple of bear targets and it's crazy. I'll be like, man, I feel like I'm having a little bit of a different point of impact, you know?

And like another thing too, is like your range, different people's range finders can have a harder time picking up a black target or will range a little bit differently. And so just, you know, doing your homework ahead of time, it does matter. Like even, I mean, granted I shot that goat yesterday, but like.

It's just one of those deals, all the practice and all the shooting, you know, you know, it comes down to one moment and it's very satisfying when it all comes together and all your hard work, you know, actually works out like you can see like, oh man, you know, there's a little bit of a return of investment kind of a deal.

Yeah, no kidding. So you already got the goat under the belt for the year. What does the rest of the fall look like for you? So we actually, we fly out to Africa on Thursday. Oh geez. And so we're pretty pumped for that because we have no idea what to expect, but we're really excited to try [00:50:00] something different.

We always try and do like. One bigger hunt every year, you know, like something different, like, like where the whole family, it's my dad and us three boys, we go on, um, just one kind of, you know, like a cool, bigger hunt. And so Africa is going to be, you know, the big one. And then this year is the first year that I will not be chasing muleys in September or elk.

Um, I'm actually going to be guiding in Canada for waterfowl, and then I will guide in South Dakota all of October. I'll get a little bit of a break at the beginning of the month, um, but then November is going to be pretty busy. And I won't really have a ton of free time, um, until December. So I'm going to have to really focus on my muleys.

Um, like that first week in October, I should have a little bit of time. Um, I should have a little bit of time in the middle of November and then, you know, December should open up and I should be able to chase my big game a little bit more heavily then. Well, I don't know if you're going to get any sympathy from the listeners on how busy your schedule is when you just [00:51:00] start off with, uh, an African hunt.

So, um, I wish you the best. Do you have any, uh, species that you're like, Out of all the things in Africa, I really hope it works out to get this animal. You know, I always wanted to shoot a Gemsbok, um, I don't know if that's going to work out. To be honest with you, I just kind of want to see, like, what they have there, you know?

Um, I actually, what's it looks to be pretty affordable and I, I don't know, you know, how many there are, but like a blast box there, I think they look kind of cool and they're pretty affordable. So, you know, if I can snag one of those, I would, another thing, I don't know if it's frowned upon or not, but they, this place we're going has a ton of giraffes.

And if I can get a draft bought semi reasonable, I think I'm going to try and get it. Cause I'm like, you know what? It's not like I'm like. I need to go and like, man, I just have always wanted to shoot a giraffe. I'm just like, that would be the craziest stinking critter that I would ever shoot. You [00:52:00] know, if, if I, if it, if it does work out, so, and I'll have to see, you know, I don't, uh, I don't know, um, you know, what that's going to look like.

I'm just, I'm just kind of coming in open minded, you know, and if, if I see it and I, and I like it, I think I'm just gonna, you know, try and get it. We'll see. Sound crazy. I don't really have a strong desire to hunt Africa, but the last two podcast guests we've had for the Western rookie, the, we just had Derek Abrahamson on and he just went to Africa and now you are going to Africa.

So I've kind of been thinking about it and man, I think work hog would be strangely high on my list. I think it'd be sweet. Yeah. And for me, I, I really like chasing pigs. Like I don't get to do that up here. And so like anytime I'm down South, I get just. Super excited about excited about chasing pigs. And so I think it'd be super fun for her to get, I think it'd be a super cool European mount to keep on your desk too.

With those huge diggers. I'm just excited [00:53:00] to like all the different species, you know, like we're used to seeing the same stuff around here. I'm just excited to like see animals that I've never seen before and probably we'll never see again, kind of a deal. And so I'm just super pumped about that.

Different country, different animals, different habits, you know, it's going to be fun. I'm really excited just the whole Um, I mean, we're going to be on a different continent, you know, I mean, that just thought of that. Super cool. Yeah. Well, I'm definitely going to keep, uh, keep in touch with you and ask you how it went.

Cause I'm interested in maybe doing it someday. And also I've got to bend your ear a little bit off, offline about hunting hogs down south. Cause that's on my bucket list too, but yeah. But other than that, I do appreciate you, uh, coming on the podcast today. I want to give you, before we wrap up, I do want to give you a chance to, uh, to share with all the listeners where they can go and check out some of your stories, maybe stay in touch and follow you through your African adventures.

Yeah, yeah. So we are, um, the three boys and I, we have our, our kind of, our [00:54:00] little filming endeavor, we call it chasing the wild. So YouTube, um, Instagram, uh, check out chasing the wild and then I am Cody Brockhouse, uh, I'm the goose patty on Instagram, but then the boys, um, it's Connor Brockhouse You can kind of find all of our endeavors.

We're always, that's the one nice thing with all of us, you know, enjoying the same thing. We're always getting hot in this or hot in that. And it seems like you're always, you know, seeing something going on between the three of us. So yeah, check it out where the Brockhouse is basically. Perfect. Well, thanks for being here, Cody.

And thank you for listening folks.

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