rmyoung1
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2010
- Messages
- 2,330
Got back from my antelope hunt in central Wyoming about a week ago, and I thought I'd provide a few details since many people here on HT provided a lot of encouragement and valuable information. I burned 5 points in the special draw on unit 106. I'd never hunted the unit before but since it's positioned between many well-known WY antelope units with tons of BLM, I figured it would make for a great hunt. I had never before hunted antelope with the intent of finding a good buck. My previous outings had been fill-the-freezer trips, and I wanted to enjoy this experience and find a good buck.
I flew into Casper where my dad picked me up, and we drove the 100 miles to Jeffrey City and checked into the motel 2-1/2 days before the opener. Over the next 60 hours we spent a ton of time looking over the country and sizing up antelope bucks. After a lot of looking, I found one buck who we both agreed was the largest we had seen during our scouting time. He was hanging out in a lonely sage-filled basin by himself. We gazed for a while through the spotter and watched him bed down about 18 hours before legal shooting light. With a thunder storm rolling in, we slipped out undetected and headed back to the motel. I paced back and forth in the room that night hoping that the antelope-don't-move-much-at-night maxim I'd heard repeated here on HT held true.
The next morning, well before shooting light, Dad and I sat in the vehicle just inside the gate of a walk-in area we could use to access the sage basin. As soon as the sun peeked over the horizon, we crawled to the lip of a small rise and scanned the buck's bedding area. Nothing. We continued searching with the same results. Nothing. Dejected, we headed back to the vehicle with the intention of driving to check out another walk-in area. A mile or so down the road we stopped to look over a few more antelope. Nothing really got me excited, so I turned my gaze back in the direction of the vacant basin in the distance. I lifted my binos and found a herd of 9 antelope on the leeward side of a small butte just west of the buck's last known bedding place. One looked like a buck, but 10x binos weren't much assistance. The 60x spotting scope, however, confirmed that it was my buck. He had picked up 8 does and moved about 1/2 mile out of the wind.
We raced back down the road and parked at the familiar walk-in area. A quick march up the backside of the butte and we crossed back over onto BLM ground. Once on top of the butte, the relentless Wyo wind nearly blew us away, but masked any noise I made as I slithered to the edge and peered down on the now-bedded herd of antelope. According to my range-finder, my buck rested 260 yards away with his does huddled together off to the side. I had time to squeeze off a few practice shots before flipping off the safety. I've air-balled my fair share of shots when alert animals are wise to my presence. Thankfully, this wasn't one of those anxiety-provoking situations.
I'm no expert pronghorn hunter. This buck is only the second antelope buck I've ever harvested. He was the best one I found in my unit, and should end up in that mid-70s range once the drying period ends. I'm thankful to God for the opportunity to live and hunt in this country with ample public ground and rich wildlife resources. And I'm thankful for a dad who longs to share these experiences with me. And thanks to the folks here at HT for providing encouragement and valuable insights. Good luck in 2017, everyone!
I flew into Casper where my dad picked me up, and we drove the 100 miles to Jeffrey City and checked into the motel 2-1/2 days before the opener. Over the next 60 hours we spent a ton of time looking over the country and sizing up antelope bucks. After a lot of looking, I found one buck who we both agreed was the largest we had seen during our scouting time. He was hanging out in a lonely sage-filled basin by himself. We gazed for a while through the spotter and watched him bed down about 18 hours before legal shooting light. With a thunder storm rolling in, we slipped out undetected and headed back to the motel. I paced back and forth in the room that night hoping that the antelope-don't-move-much-at-night maxim I'd heard repeated here on HT held true.
The next morning, well before shooting light, Dad and I sat in the vehicle just inside the gate of a walk-in area we could use to access the sage basin. As soon as the sun peeked over the horizon, we crawled to the lip of a small rise and scanned the buck's bedding area. Nothing. We continued searching with the same results. Nothing. Dejected, we headed back to the vehicle with the intention of driving to check out another walk-in area. A mile or so down the road we stopped to look over a few more antelope. Nothing really got me excited, so I turned my gaze back in the direction of the vacant basin in the distance. I lifted my binos and found a herd of 9 antelope on the leeward side of a small butte just west of the buck's last known bedding place. One looked like a buck, but 10x binos weren't much assistance. The 60x spotting scope, however, confirmed that it was my buck. He had picked up 8 does and moved about 1/2 mile out of the wind.
We raced back down the road and parked at the familiar walk-in area. A quick march up the backside of the butte and we crossed back over onto BLM ground. Once on top of the butte, the relentless Wyo wind nearly blew us away, but masked any noise I made as I slithered to the edge and peered down on the now-bedded herd of antelope. According to my range-finder, my buck rested 260 yards away with his does huddled together off to the side. I had time to squeeze off a few practice shots before flipping off the safety. I've air-balled my fair share of shots when alert animals are wise to my presence. Thankfully, this wasn't one of those anxiety-provoking situations.
I'm no expert pronghorn hunter. This buck is only the second antelope buck I've ever harvested. He was the best one I found in my unit, and should end up in that mid-70s range once the drying period ends. I'm thankful to God for the opportunity to live and hunt in this country with ample public ground and rich wildlife resources. And I'm thankful for a dad who longs to share these experiences with me. And thanks to the folks here at HT for providing encouragement and valuable insights. Good luck in 2017, everyone!
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