November 2025
New Mexico Antelope | New Mexico Lopes
My normal plans for hunting antelope in New Mexico had fallen through last minute, and I was scrambling. I called my good buddy, Josh Harris, to ask him if he had any ideas for a tag I could pick up last minute, and of course he did. I quickly booked a hunt with Broken Arrow Outfitters to hunt with my muzzleloader. I was a bit bummed that New Mexico changed their muzzleloader restrictions and I couldn’t use a scope, but so did Utah where I live, so I had already worked on my new setup and was sighted in and good to go out to 200 yards.
I will admit that I love hunting antelope. I know they are not on everyone’s radar, but for me, they offer a ton of fun and typically a lot of action. Mule seer are my favorite to hunt, but these days, finding a mule deer that scores 180” to hunt can take several years of hunting, and with that one opportunity you maybe get, don’t screw it up because there will be no second chances. Honestly, I am getting too old for that. I want to go have fun and see a lot of animals, and if I mess it up, I want to go over the next hill and find more animals to hunt. That pretty much sums up antelope hunting. If you haven’t done it, then you need to do as Josh Harris says and get your shiz together and go do it. You will be hooked.
When I arrived in camp, I met Chad Wright, the owner, right away. Super friendly, very engaging, and he laid out the plans for us to hunt. I am newly married to a new huntress, Zanda Warrior Princess, and he let me bring her on this hunt as well. We were both very excited about hunting after speaking with Chad, not to mention he was cooking a big ol’ fat T-Bone steak for dinner. Later that night, I met my guide, Tommy Skipworth, and I could tell he knew antelope and had spent a lot of time guiding for them. He told me about a couple of spots he wanted to check opening morning where he had scouted a couple very quality goats over the summer. I really couldn’t wait to get hunting. Did I mention we were staying in a lodge doubling as a mansion? Well, we were, and the place was really unbelievable.
Opening morning, we were off way before light, headed to our spot. There were three other hunters in camp, and they were all going to different locations. Chad has a bunch of property tied up that is really great antelope habitat. He also has a ton of amazing elk hunting, and that may be the next trip I take with him. Just check out their posts on Facebook. When we got to the area we would be hunting, fairly immediately, we saw a very solid buck. Honestly, if he would have had better prongs, I don’t think I could have passed him. Not that I would have for sure shot him, but I would have for sure shot at him with this open site muzzleloader I was packing around. We watched him and his does for a bit and then decided to move on.
This area of New Mexico is really just desert ground. It is covered with sagebrush, cactus, and a bunch of creosote bushes. Oh, and a ton of sand…everywhere. You would think it makes it easy to see, but honestly, you don’t need trees to hide as this stuff makes it pretty tough to pick up the antelope as you glass your surroundings. We were spotting a few hidden antelope as we moved through the area but nothing we wanted to pursue. And then it happened. We came around a corner and in front of us about 500 yards away was a lone antelope buck standing in the wide open just feeding. We put all the glass on him, and he was a great buck. He definitely had great prongs. It was so open that we didn’t immediately know how we could get close enough to him. As we watched, he slowly fed up and over the small hill he was on, giving me a chance to make a stalk to get into position for a shot.
When Tommy and I crested the hill, crawling and staying as low as we could, there was the buck looking right at us about 150 yards away. We froze, and after a couple of minutes, he went back to feeding and walking. I got set up very solid prone on the ground with my backpack and sticks. At 165 yards, he turned and gave me a shot opportunity. I hit him a little forward and he did not go down but slowly moved forward. As he stopped, I was able to reload my muzzleloader. I got back on him, but he started moving and was about to crest a hill and go out of sight. Because I had one bullet in him and I did not know what exactly was on the other side of the hill, I decided to shoot while he was moving at 145 yards. I hit him again, and he went down. I hit him a little far back on his right side, but on his left, it came out dead center in his chest. Got lucky.
We all got to the goat at the same time and took a bunch of pictures. He didn’t have the mass to score like a giant, but he sure did have the look of a giant. Tommy wouldn’t let me touch him, so he did all the work of caping and taking him apart and then threw the whole thing in his backpack and walked us back to the truck. The hunt was short and sweet, but you need to mix a few of those kind of hunts in over the years. We had an absolute blast. I would recommend anyone wanting to hunt in New Mexico to reach out to Huntin’ Fool and book with Chad and his team. You will love it.