I had a great opportunity this year to go to Wyoming to hunt antelope with four friends, one of whom has a cousin who has approximately 6,000 acres of land near Lost Springs (population 4) in eastern Wyoming. We also had access to many thousands of additional acres of public and private lands. From all reports, we were going to have a GOOD time! Each of us had two doe tags plus Robert, our fearless leader, had a buck tag.
We left on October 28th, spent the night in Utah, and arrived in Douglas, WY the next day. The 30th was spent with Chuck, the owner of the property. We drove around the ranch, getting familiar with the "SHOOT" and "DON'T SHOOT" areas of the ranch and adjacent properties. We went to bed that night, filled with anticipation.
At 0530, we got up, dressed and headed out, splitting up into two groups of three and two hunters in the two pickups. We did a combination of sitting at watering spots and driving the roads for a spot & stalk type of hunt. By the end of the day, we had five animals down, one buck and four does. Two of the does were shot at the same place and time. Clay, Chuck's cousin, had set up on the property of a Wyoming State Trooper, who had graciously granted us permission to hunt his property. Clay saw two does out in the hay fields and dropped one. The second doe just stood there, so he dropped her too! Sheldon, the trooper, came out of his house, fired up his ATV and went out to bring both does back to the house for field dressing and processing. Talk about service! All animals were then taken to the barn and quickly skinned, quartered and put on ice.
The second day only produced two animals, one of which was mine. We blamed the weather, which was windy, rainy and just plain snotty. Butchering was done at the sheltered side of the barn, which afforded some protection from the elements.
We had no idea what would happen the next day. The weather report talked about a nasty cold front that was moving into the area. We were hoping it would hold off at least until the afternoon and give us an opportunity to fill our tags. We only had four left to fill at that point. I went with Clay in his pickup and Robert went with his dad and son in the other. Clay and I opted for the east end of the ranch and Robert went west.
Clay and I had to wait about a half hour in the truck before we could see well enough to hunt. We started down the road and almost immediately came upon a buck and doe off to our left at 80 yards. Unfortunately, they were in a "NO SHOOT" area so we kept on driving slowly down the road. We then got a text that Robert's team had two animals down. Things were looking good! As soon as we crossed onto Chuck's property and crested a small rise, we came upon another buck and doe standing at 60 yards watching us. I slid out of the truck, walked behind it and was able to move off the road just enough for a shot before they spooked. She went two feet after the shot...straight down! That filled my second tag. I was done.
With one tag left to fill, Robert moved onto an adjacent property that we had permission to hunt. There were plenty of animals out in a field we dubbed "The Hay Bale Field". Using the bales to make a stalk, Robert's dad got close enough for a shot. Unfortunately, the shot only wounded the antelope and did not drop it. Before he could get off a killing shot, a buck ran over and mounted her. Robert's dad, Jack, held his fire until the buck finished his business. As he waited for the doe to turn broadside for the killing shot, the buck mounted her again, and again, and again and FINALLY for a fifth time. She then turned broadside and Jack dropped her. The buck just stood there for a minute with a "WTF just happened?" look before running off. We had all just tagged out in two and one-half days! We all returned to the barn to gut out the latest honorees and de-bone all the meat into roasts and grind bags. It filled several coolers.
The remainder of the day was spent cleaning up, checking out of our motel to leave in the morning, packing our gear and enjoying a final congratulatory dinner. Two days later, we were home!
We left on October 28th, spent the night in Utah, and arrived in Douglas, WY the next day. The 30th was spent with Chuck, the owner of the property. We drove around the ranch, getting familiar with the "SHOOT" and "DON'T SHOOT" areas of the ranch and adjacent properties. We went to bed that night, filled with anticipation.
At 0530, we got up, dressed and headed out, splitting up into two groups of three and two hunters in the two pickups. We did a combination of sitting at watering spots and driving the roads for a spot & stalk type of hunt. By the end of the day, we had five animals down, one buck and four does. Two of the does were shot at the same place and time. Clay, Chuck's cousin, had set up on the property of a Wyoming State Trooper, who had graciously granted us permission to hunt his property. Clay saw two does out in the hay fields and dropped one. The second doe just stood there, so he dropped her too! Sheldon, the trooper, came out of his house, fired up his ATV and went out to bring both does back to the house for field dressing and processing. Talk about service! All animals were then taken to the barn and quickly skinned, quartered and put on ice.
The second day only produced two animals, one of which was mine. We blamed the weather, which was windy, rainy and just plain snotty. Butchering was done at the sheltered side of the barn, which afforded some protection from the elements.
We had no idea what would happen the next day. The weather report talked about a nasty cold front that was moving into the area. We were hoping it would hold off at least until the afternoon and give us an opportunity to fill our tags. We only had four left to fill at that point. I went with Clay in his pickup and Robert went with his dad and son in the other. Clay and I opted for the east end of the ranch and Robert went west.
Clay and I had to wait about a half hour in the truck before we could see well enough to hunt. We started down the road and almost immediately came upon a buck and doe off to our left at 80 yards. Unfortunately, they were in a "NO SHOOT" area so we kept on driving slowly down the road. We then got a text that Robert's team had two animals down. Things were looking good! As soon as we crossed onto Chuck's property and crested a small rise, we came upon another buck and doe standing at 60 yards watching us. I slid out of the truck, walked behind it and was able to move off the road just enough for a shot before they spooked. She went two feet after the shot...straight down! That filled my second tag. I was done.
With one tag left to fill, Robert moved onto an adjacent property that we had permission to hunt. There were plenty of animals out in a field we dubbed "The Hay Bale Field". Using the bales to make a stalk, Robert's dad got close enough for a shot. Unfortunately, the shot only wounded the antelope and did not drop it. Before he could get off a killing shot, a buck ran over and mounted her. Robert's dad, Jack, held his fire until the buck finished his business. As he waited for the doe to turn broadside for the killing shot, the buck mounted her again, and again, and again and FINALLY for a fifth time. She then turned broadside and Jack dropped her. The buck just stood there for a minute with a "WTF just happened?" look before running off. We had all just tagged out in two and one-half days! We all returned to the barn to gut out the latest honorees and de-bone all the meat into roasts and grind bags. It filled several coolers.
The remainder of the day was spent cleaning up, checking out of our motel to leave in the morning, packing our gear and enjoying a final congratulatory dinner. Two days later, we were home!
