3 first timers day-by-day

[bts09]

Well, I notched my tag today. Definitely not a giant, but after the work we've put in this week I'm happy. Actually thought it was a doe at first because I couldn't see his cheek. Walked almost on a beeline toward where we were just set up glassing. Right through the brisket. He tipped over right there. So thankful to actually connect on an antelope.

We ended up deciding to pack up camp this afternoon and are already on our way back. We had a ton of fun and learned lots of lessons. The next time we come back, we will know what to expect. Looking forward to when that may be.

Tomorrow I will try to post some pics of the whole journey.

Awesome. Congrats! Glad it all came together for you.

 

[Arcola]

Congrats! I've been following along as cell service allows while on my Wyoming lope hunt. Glad you had a positive first experience and learned a lot.

 

[duck wrangler]

Congrats on a successful trip.
My wife and I leave from Va in one week heading that way; looking forward to it!

 

[Tiredofthebickering]

Great thread! The supports from people around here for first timers is amazing, and I think you'll find that we all love following along. Thank you for taking us on the journey with you. I'm likely +/- 2 years from my first antelope hunt, but threads like this continue to build excitement.

 

[Jape]

Congrats! Excited to see pics!

 

[np307]

Here are some pics of the whole deal since the last pic I posted.

Supper in camp:

Finally a glimpse of the sun on Wednesday:

Buddy making his stalk:

Tenderloin in camp:

 

[np307]

The spot from which I shot my buck:

Me with the product of 1800 miles driving and 25 miles hiking:

 

[np307]

And finally, the bullet which finally connected:

 

[thusby]

You're going to enjoy those steaks.

 

[Reata]

Congratulations! Great story!

 

[LCH]

Glad you had a good trip!

 

[cahunter805]

Congrats on a great trip! I’m sure you will be hooked on antelope hunting now!

 

[np307]

The Camry was just shy of 4200 miles when I pulled in my driveway this evening. I had an absolute blast on this trip and am looking forward to whenever I can get West again. Right now, I'm looking forward to the first shower in a week and my nice warm bed. I'll try to write up a recap to the whole series of events tomorrow to cap this thread off. Thanks everyone for all the comments and support thus far.

 

[np307]

Decided not to do a day-by-day recap here since I pretty much covered all the highlights in updates. I did decide, however, to post my after-hunt debrief.

Lessons learned:

• Don’t worry as much about camp kitchen supplies. The tailgate grill wasn’t necessary, a single burner and a bottle stove would be plenty. Two pots and one pan would also be enough.
• Be more selective with clothes. Far too many non-hunting clothes. This would have saved a lot of room. All of my hunting clothing performed well, but I need to get some alternative hunting pants to BDUs, especially for wet weather. Gaiters may not be a bad thing to consider as well. Crocs would have been nice since my tennis shoes got soaked early.
• I desperately need a better sleeping bag. I was able to stay warm, but only with my bag, wool blanket, and several layers plus puffy jacket. It wasn’t cold enough to have needed all that.
• The pop up shelter was wasted space. Never used it and the wind would’ve made it difficult anyway.
• Better rifle cases are needed. Fully waterproof and better padding.
• I need more practice shooting at 3-400 yards. Even though I didn’t shoot that far, it would build more confidence with my equipment. That level of confidence would have helped me realize more quickly that the rifle was off.
• Shooting sticks would probably be a better alternative to my pack as a rest. The pack was very steady, but even with it standing up I wasn’t high enough to clear brush sometimes. Plus, in a hurry it was tedious to take the pack off and get set, only to move and have to either carry the pack or put it back on.
• 4-5 days to hunt would be a much better timeframe than the 3 days we had for this hunt. Especially dealing with unpredictable weather.
• If planning on being near town, budgeting lunch and coffee for a midday break is better than trying to pack lunches. Not sure if this would be possible for elk or deer, but definitely for antelope.
• With only two people, a motel on the drive out and back should be strongly considered. The drive was possible, but it would’ve been nice to have a night of sleep to break it up.
• The Camry handled the terrain well. There were certainly limitations, but I would have no hesitation taking it again. If only two people going, I believe you could forego the trailer as well.
• I was in good enough shape to handle this hunt, but I definitely need to put some work in to drop some weight and increase endurance before chasing elk.
• I need an actual binocular pouch with rangefinder pouch instead of the open harness that I had.
• I can continue to make do with the pack I have, but I will keep my eyes open for a good deal on a real hunting frame pack as opposed to my hodgepodge frame pack.
• Gutless method worked really well, I’ll definitely employ it in the future.
• Probably some other things that I forgot or will realize later.
• Good boots are worth their weight in gold. I wore Irish Setter Elk Hunters for this trip and, though not the best boots around, they performed great. No sore feet or blisters, even after 10 miles per day in the cold and wet.

Other pertinent information:

• We covered 4200 miles overall. Gas cost was $490. We averaged around 21 mpg for the trip.
• We bought about $100 worth of groceries and supplies for the week. This was a little bit high and could be reduced for the future.
• We spent around $100 per person in other meals, coffee, and snacks.
• Total individual cost, apart from tags and gear, was under $400. I didn’t purchase much gear for this trip, apart from a puffy jacket from Gander that was well worth it’s weight and will become a permanent member of my hunting gear.
• Not sure when I’ll chase antelope again, as my heart is really set on elk and this was just a shakedown run to see what kind of logistical challenges we would face and because it was an easier first hunt out there.
• To anyone who has followed this and considered doing it themselves, go for it. Don’t put it off.

 

[unclemoe]

great read! i just came back from my first trip as well and its amazing the amount of crap you bring on your first hunt that you dont need. my brother and i brought my full sized truck with a cap on it and i damn near had the bed filled to the top, i learned i could easily bring 70% less gear and still have too much, i dont think i opened over half the bags and bins we brought.

 

[thusby]

Its amazing the amount of miles you can put on a vehicle after arriving in the west. Easily can put 1200 miles on a truck in a week of hunting antelope. Not including the drive across the U.S.

 

[wvmedic]

Love it, looking into this myself and dreaming. Thank you for sharing.

Jeff