As the big game draw results become available online after many months of waiting, seeing "successful" next to your name is quite a relief This year was especially exciting because I knew I had a 90% chance of drawing a good antelope tag in Wyoming. Having never hunted or harvested an antelope before I was really looking forward to doing some research about these speed goats. Of course, as a big game hunter I naturally start studying what exactly is a "big" antelope. 6" bases, 6" prongs and a tine length of 16"-18" seemed to be the magic numbers in order to justify what a big antelope would represent.
As our September hunt got closer, I was busy preparing the trailer and making sure everyone was dialed in gear wise for the upcoming trip. Besides myself, my Dad and both my kids Kaleb and Taylor were also going to be along for the adventure. I started prepping them as well on what would constitute a worthy antelope. 6" bases, 6" prongs/cutters and a tine length of 16"+. The kids of course nodded their heads in acknowledgement over the glare of their respective electronic devices.
After an uneventful 19 hour drive, we arrived at our home base for the next couple of days. Four years prior I had been in this exact same unit deer hunting and during that trip we took the time to mark up our maps with promising antelope areas should we ever draw a tag for this unit. The map we marked up previously turned out to be a great resource as we were able to not waste anytime scouting. The first day brought a mix of light rain and wind but we were able to locate and look over at least 50-60 bucks. Being my first antelope hunt, this proved to be extremely helpful in getting an idea of not only what was in the area, but also what caliber of animals we would be dealing with. I still had my hopes set on a "big" antelope that fit the measurements of numerous articles written about these plains’ speedsters. We spent the entire day mostly in the truck scoping out our previously marked locations and figuring out exactly where we needed to concentrate for the following day.
As we watched the weather reports at the conclusion of day 1, there was a change in the weather patterns that we had been following. Day 2 would have mostly favorable conditions, but days 3 and 4 were looking like we would experience sustained 30-40 mph winds with gusts reaching 50-60 mph. I was still trying to be selective in choosing an antelope to pursue, however the smart play would be to try and knock one down on day 2 while the weather conditions were decent.
Day 2 found us heading towards what we felt was our number one spot and we were lucky enough to start seeing animals right away. We decided to leave the truck and start slowly walking the rim of a large basin and peeking into the many small draws that led down into the flats. The bucks were in full rut mode, so every time we spotted an animal, they were 200 yards away and then seemingly in seconds over a half mile away. They were moving around constantly so if an opportunity to shoot presented itself, there would not be much time to waste. Around 10 o’clock we crested a small knoll and a solid buck came running out below us headed away from our position towards the sage flats. I immediately thought it was a good buck and if given the opportunity I would take a shot. Well, by the time I was done with that thought process the buck was already 500 yards away from us and seemed to be headed out of town. As we sat down to glass him to see where he was going to end up, he ran up on another buck who had a doe with him. He immediately ran that buck off and stole his girlfriend! She continued to lead him away from us until a coyote materialized in the small depression that they were heading away in. The pair were not too fond of the coyote, so they reversed course and were now headed straight back in our direction.
As I laid down and prepared for a shot, it’s at this point in time that I begin to realize how incredible this entire scenario was becoming. My 2 kids are sitting right behind me watching through their binoculars and my Dad had come up beside me with his range finder in hand. He starts ranging the buck for me counting down the distance as he begins to get into shooting range. 700 yards, 550 yards, 415 yards. My Dad finally says, " The white dirt patch in the drainage that they are heading towards is 330 yards". By this time, I have made up my mind that I am shooting this buck, however the reasoning behind harvesting this animal has nothing to do with my original objective of getting a "big" antelope. What this moment has become is something entirely different. I realized that the whole point of this hunt has nothing to do with horn size or gross inches that can be entered into a record book. What this hunt has been about all along is exactly what is transpiring at this very moment.
The buck is about 30 yards shy of the 330 yard mark when he stops to scrape the ground and mark his territory where another buck had previously been. I squeeze the trigger at that moment and he never takes another step. My kids erupt behind me and my dad pats me on the shoulder as I remain lying there in the prone position behind my rifle. Hunts should never be measured in inches, but rather in experiences and this one makes the record book in that category for sure. We gather up our gear and head down to where the buck is laying. We take some pictures and begin to break the animal down to make the pack out easier. About a ¼ of the way back to the truck we stop to rest for a minute, and I drop my weighted backpack to the ground. As I get up to continue the hike out, my 12 year old son Kaleb asks me “How heavy is that pack Dad?”. As I slip the 60lb pack onto his shoulders, I can feel and see the symbolism of this moment. Transferring the weight from one generation to the next; now that’s truly what a hunter’s journey is all about. He follows close behind me the rest of the way out with the weight on his shoulders, never once seeing the ear to ear grin across my face.
.
As our September hunt got closer, I was busy preparing the trailer and making sure everyone was dialed in gear wise for the upcoming trip. Besides myself, my Dad and both my kids Kaleb and Taylor were also going to be along for the adventure. I started prepping them as well on what would constitute a worthy antelope. 6" bases, 6" prongs/cutters and a tine length of 16"+. The kids of course nodded their heads in acknowledgement over the glare of their respective electronic devices.
After an uneventful 19 hour drive, we arrived at our home base for the next couple of days. Four years prior I had been in this exact same unit deer hunting and during that trip we took the time to mark up our maps with promising antelope areas should we ever draw a tag for this unit. The map we marked up previously turned out to be a great resource as we were able to not waste anytime scouting. The first day brought a mix of light rain and wind but we were able to locate and look over at least 50-60 bucks. Being my first antelope hunt, this proved to be extremely helpful in getting an idea of not only what was in the area, but also what caliber of animals we would be dealing with. I still had my hopes set on a "big" antelope that fit the measurements of numerous articles written about these plains’ speedsters. We spent the entire day mostly in the truck scoping out our previously marked locations and figuring out exactly where we needed to concentrate for the following day.
As we watched the weather reports at the conclusion of day 1, there was a change in the weather patterns that we had been following. Day 2 would have mostly favorable conditions, but days 3 and 4 were looking like we would experience sustained 30-40 mph winds with gusts reaching 50-60 mph. I was still trying to be selective in choosing an antelope to pursue, however the smart play would be to try and knock one down on day 2 while the weather conditions were decent.
Day 2 found us heading towards what we felt was our number one spot and we were lucky enough to start seeing animals right away. We decided to leave the truck and start slowly walking the rim of a large basin and peeking into the many small draws that led down into the flats. The bucks were in full rut mode, so every time we spotted an animal, they were 200 yards away and then seemingly in seconds over a half mile away. They were moving around constantly so if an opportunity to shoot presented itself, there would not be much time to waste. Around 10 o’clock we crested a small knoll and a solid buck came running out below us headed away from our position towards the sage flats. I immediately thought it was a good buck and if given the opportunity I would take a shot. Well, by the time I was done with that thought process the buck was already 500 yards away from us and seemed to be headed out of town. As we sat down to glass him to see where he was going to end up, he ran up on another buck who had a doe with him. He immediately ran that buck off and stole his girlfriend! She continued to lead him away from us until a coyote materialized in the small depression that they were heading away in. The pair were not too fond of the coyote, so they reversed course and were now headed straight back in our direction.
As I laid down and prepared for a shot, it’s at this point in time that I begin to realize how incredible this entire scenario was becoming. My 2 kids are sitting right behind me watching through their binoculars and my Dad had come up beside me with his range finder in hand. He starts ranging the buck for me counting down the distance as he begins to get into shooting range. 700 yards, 550 yards, 415 yards. My Dad finally says, " The white dirt patch in the drainage that they are heading towards is 330 yards". By this time, I have made up my mind that I am shooting this buck, however the reasoning behind harvesting this animal has nothing to do with my original objective of getting a "big" antelope. What this moment has become is something entirely different. I realized that the whole point of this hunt has nothing to do with horn size or gross inches that can be entered into a record book. What this hunt has been about all along is exactly what is transpiring at this very moment.
The buck is about 30 yards shy of the 330 yard mark when he stops to scrape the ground and mark his territory where another buck had previously been. I squeeze the trigger at that moment and he never takes another step. My kids erupt behind me and my dad pats me on the shoulder as I remain lying there in the prone position behind my rifle. Hunts should never be measured in inches, but rather in experiences and this one makes the record book in that category for sure. We gather up our gear and head down to where the buck is laying. We take some pictures and begin to break the animal down to make the pack out easier. About a ¼ of the way back to the truck we stop to rest for a minute, and I drop my weighted backpack to the ground. As I get up to continue the hike out, my 12 year old son Kaleb asks me “How heavy is that pack Dad?”. As I slip the 60lb pack onto his shoulders, I can feel and see the symbolism of this moment. Transferring the weight from one generation to the next; now that’s truly what a hunter’s journey is all about. He follows close behind me the rest of the way out with the weight on his shoulders, never once seeing the ear to ear grin across my face.
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