bmack
Member
Had an amazing trip to NE New Mexico chasing some pronghorn. Overall we went 7/7 and captured some great memories.
2 of us had tags for one ranch while the other 5 had tags on a bigger ranch. Myself and a buddy who was a first time big game hunter had the honor of the first 3 day hunt. He had to get back to Seattle for a wedding so my objective was to get him his first animal quick.
He's a hell of a steelhead fisherman and has taught me a lot over the last few years. My time to reciprocate was now.
We stayed at a really cool old ranch house and could basically spot and hunt from the house which was great. The first morning we attempted stalk number 1 down a fence line on a bedded buck using a cow decoy. We closed to 356 yards and I got Tony set up. Being his first time putting the crosshairs on something he was all jacked up and decided he wasn't comfortable with the shot.
I got the call from the bullpen and connected. Not a huge goat, but it was great to have Tony there to witness everything from the stalk to the pictures to the skinning and caping.
After we got everything taken care of we attempted stalk number 2. Another bedded buck but this time above us as we snuck through a cut and belly crawled 75 yards to our desired position. We had a doe walk by us at 30 yards and then Tony made a beautiful shot at 300 yards. To say he was excited was an understatement. We have a new hunter folks! He was pissed about leaving for the wedding though.
With a day to rest up and focus on the next ranch we enjoyed the small town of Clayton and their DQ. They still serve the Blizzards upside down! Have not seen that since when they first came out.
This ranch was one I've hunted in the past and we knew there was some good potential here. My dad, buddies Eric and Brandon would be hunting one side while my other good buddy Cody (nmelktrout) and Steve Rinella (The Meat Eater) would be hunting the other.
side.
Cody and I met Steve at the Sportsman's Choice Awards (after I won the grand prize) in Vegas last year while we took advantage of the open bar with Team OYOA, Team Elk and out of that night materialized this hunt for Cody. Crazy!
Anyways the first morning we looked over a ton of animals and let's just say threw a few practice rounds out to knock the dust off. Fun morning but no luck. Cody texted me a picture and he connected on a really heavy buck (even made a good shot on film). I was teasing him that he'd probably a$$-hole shoot it or something under pressure. Lol.
Back out in the afternoon we had several more attempts that didn't pan out. As I was hiking up to a high point to glass the NE side of the ranch I herd a shot from the direction of my dad. He was able to connect after a few practice shots earlier. It was a nice tall 14" buck that scores just over 70" most likely. He was thrilled.
Shortly there after my buddy Eric connected on a buck that escaped several earlier shots. He was a dandy. 14" and carried his mass well. Mid 70's. This was Eric's first pronghorn. He's still smiling. (pictures are not great on this one).
Brandon held out until the next day and after hiking all over that ranch we finally got one he was happy with. He made a great shot at 278 yards and dropped him in his tracks. This was also his first pronghorn.
Here is where Hangover 3 comes into play. Let's just say that when you ask for a F-150 rental car that rental car company should listen. A large SUV is not ideal for hauling dead critters when it is 97 degrees out. Especially when you have a hole in the tarp!!!
This was discovered a day later and there was at lest an inch of blood soaked into the upholstery and it smelled like a musty old goat. Mix in a flat tire, a 2 hour debacle trying to fix it (and bending the chit out of the suspension arm) and the day was getting interesting.
Once we arrived to the ranch house we cracked a cold one and then proceeded to lock the keys in the SUV! You have got to be kidding me. We are 48 miles from Clayton and literally in the middle of nowhere. AT&T actually was a life saver for a change.
Evidently On-Star isn't effective in antelope country. However, the tow truck driver and $300 was...at least he brought his hot girlfriend for us to enjoy
The last day I joined Cody and Rinella as he was yet to fill his tag. We hunted hard and I was the pack mule hauling the long lens camera and the giant tri-pod. This set-up weighed about 70 pounds and was a pain to lug around.
After an unsuccessful morning hunt I suggested heading over to where we had filled the other tags. Sure enough we spotted a nice buck and everything worked out.
Steve and his crew of 2 camera guys are top notch. Those camera guys worked their asses off and I have a new found respect for them. The episode should air next season. Steve is a very knowledgeable hunter and was a pleasure to be around. If you have not checked out his show, I'd encourage you to do so.
Right up there with OYOA in my opinion...at the top.
No photos posted of that day out of respect for Steve and his brand.
Fun times... A few more of the area.
PS - all photos, evidence and smell was covered up or destroyed prior to turning in that SUV.
2 of us had tags for one ranch while the other 5 had tags on a bigger ranch. Myself and a buddy who was a first time big game hunter had the honor of the first 3 day hunt. He had to get back to Seattle for a wedding so my objective was to get him his first animal quick.
He's a hell of a steelhead fisherman and has taught me a lot over the last few years. My time to reciprocate was now.
We stayed at a really cool old ranch house and could basically spot and hunt from the house which was great. The first morning we attempted stalk number 1 down a fence line on a bedded buck using a cow decoy. We closed to 356 yards and I got Tony set up. Being his first time putting the crosshairs on something he was all jacked up and decided he wasn't comfortable with the shot.
I got the call from the bullpen and connected. Not a huge goat, but it was great to have Tony there to witness everything from the stalk to the pictures to the skinning and caping.
After we got everything taken care of we attempted stalk number 2. Another bedded buck but this time above us as we snuck through a cut and belly crawled 75 yards to our desired position. We had a doe walk by us at 30 yards and then Tony made a beautiful shot at 300 yards. To say he was excited was an understatement. We have a new hunter folks! He was pissed about leaving for the wedding though.
With a day to rest up and focus on the next ranch we enjoyed the small town of Clayton and their DQ. They still serve the Blizzards upside down! Have not seen that since when they first came out.
This ranch was one I've hunted in the past and we knew there was some good potential here. My dad, buddies Eric and Brandon would be hunting one side while my other good buddy Cody (nmelktrout) and Steve Rinella (The Meat Eater) would be hunting the other.
side.
Cody and I met Steve at the Sportsman's Choice Awards (after I won the grand prize) in Vegas last year while we took advantage of the open bar with Team OYOA, Team Elk and out of that night materialized this hunt for Cody. Crazy!
Anyways the first morning we looked over a ton of animals and let's just say threw a few practice rounds out to knock the dust off. Fun morning but no luck. Cody texted me a picture and he connected on a really heavy buck (even made a good shot on film). I was teasing him that he'd probably a$$-hole shoot it or something under pressure. Lol.
Back out in the afternoon we had several more attempts that didn't pan out. As I was hiking up to a high point to glass the NE side of the ranch I herd a shot from the direction of my dad. He was able to connect after a few practice shots earlier. It was a nice tall 14" buck that scores just over 70" most likely. He was thrilled.
Shortly there after my buddy Eric connected on a buck that escaped several earlier shots. He was a dandy. 14" and carried his mass well. Mid 70's. This was Eric's first pronghorn. He's still smiling. (pictures are not great on this one).
Brandon held out until the next day and after hiking all over that ranch we finally got one he was happy with. He made a great shot at 278 yards and dropped him in his tracks. This was also his first pronghorn.
Here is where Hangover 3 comes into play. Let's just say that when you ask for a F-150 rental car that rental car company should listen. A large SUV is not ideal for hauling dead critters when it is 97 degrees out. Especially when you have a hole in the tarp!!!
This was discovered a day later and there was at lest an inch of blood soaked into the upholstery and it smelled like a musty old goat. Mix in a flat tire, a 2 hour debacle trying to fix it (and bending the chit out of the suspension arm) and the day was getting interesting.
Once we arrived to the ranch house we cracked a cold one and then proceeded to lock the keys in the SUV! You have got to be kidding me. We are 48 miles from Clayton and literally in the middle of nowhere. AT&T actually was a life saver for a change.
Evidently On-Star isn't effective in antelope country. However, the tow truck driver and $300 was...at least he brought his hot girlfriend for us to enjoy
The last day I joined Cody and Rinella as he was yet to fill his tag. We hunted hard and I was the pack mule hauling the long lens camera and the giant tri-pod. This set-up weighed about 70 pounds and was a pain to lug around.
After an unsuccessful morning hunt I suggested heading over to where we had filled the other tags. Sure enough we spotted a nice buck and everything worked out.
Steve and his crew of 2 camera guys are top notch. Those camera guys worked their asses off and I have a new found respect for them. The episode should air next season. Steve is a very knowledgeable hunter and was a pleasure to be around. If you have not checked out his show, I'd encourage you to do so.
Right up there with OYOA in my opinion...at the top.
No photos posted of that day out of respect for Steve and his brand.
Fun times... A few more of the area.
PS - all photos, evidence and smell was covered up or destroyed prior to turning in that SUV.
