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2019 Wyoming Pronghorn Wrap Up

dannyb278

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Not exactly a timely post, but thought I'd share our Wyoming Pronghorn success this year. Headed out to Unit 9 on 1 point split between my dad and I. It was the 2nd week of the season and on the exact day that big snowstorm blew in from the Rockies. Fortunately we were hunting a bit farther south than we usually do and missed most of the snow accumulation, but it was still very cold and windy. Saw a huge mass of pronghorn and mulies bedded together in a standing wheat field. Never seen them co-mingle like that before. I shot my pronghorn buck the 2nd day in the field, taking a easy opportunity when it was provided due to the weather and limited public access. Luckily the wind and snow cleared and the sun came out for the rest of our hunt.

I really wanted to make it a point to get out and stretch our legs this year as our last trip to Wyoming two years ago we were largely bound to the truck. Dad had his 1st heart attack 12 days before that hunt and was on strict doctors orders to take it easy. By this year, he's been walking 1-3 miles every weekend and his health has returned. Finally managed to make my dad go on a hike far from the truck with little guarantee of success. We spotted a herd of 60+ pronghorn on the outskirts of a irrigated field. Went a couple miles out of our way to sneak in behind them, using some old, discarded farm equipment to conceal our approach. Could almost hear my dad cursing me out when i told him he would have to crawl the last 75 yards on his hands and knees to get into position without all those eyeballs spotting him. But he got it done, firing his 30-06 from 300 yards and putting the bullet right through the heart, as he usually does. Its amazing how the Old Boy can still shoot, shaky hands and all. Was happy to pack the buck out for him,

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Congrats to both! Got it done in his Carhartts and all!
 
Great job, I wish I could get my dad out there.

It took a bit to get him used to the idea hunting on public land, but once we got out in the field and he saw how actual little hunting pressure there was compared to Minnesota, he loved it. He's hooked now; a yearly trip to Wyoming is on the books as long as he has the strength in his legs to get out and hike a mile or so. Fortunately the terrain is pretty forgiving.

If anything, it finally gives him a reason to get out and use all the big game rifles he has been buying over the years. Our deer hunting in Minnesota is with shotgun only, so this gives him a chance to work through his collection which pretty much includes every medium - big game cartridge out there, with the exception of mags. Our first year out he shot a pronghorn buck at 450 yards with a 1960's .270 Model 70 "Ted Williams Special" that he always wanted to buy as a kid, and found in a local gun shop. The next year he carried a brand new Tika .243. This years choice was a Marlin 30.06 that he "just couldn't pass up."

I've taken to carrying his early 80's Model 70 in .25-06 for pretty much all my deer and pronghorn, and i know he gets a kick out of me shooting that rifle as well. According to him, it's my inheritance.

One of these days i may actually need to just go out and buy a rifle of my own, but for the time being, the old man pretty much as one of everything in his safe....Now that i think about it, there are a couple .308's in there that could use a workout.
 
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