Elkwhisper
Well-known member
The antelope rut is in full swing boys...... If you still have a tag in your pocket, get out there right now.
I found a herd in a full on rut frenzy and was able to capitalize. This herd had about 15 does with 3 big bucks and a couple of dinks all completely preoccupied with the rigors of their mating rituals. I was able to crawl from 300 yards out, to within about 100 yards of the herd. Not much for cover.... just some 18" grass and some slight slopes to the terrain. If any of them had been paying attention, I am pretty sure I stuck out like a sore thumb....
The herd buck was trying desperately to defend his harem from the other two "sattleite" bucks that were pestering him. As quick as he would run one off, the other would be in the middle of his does stirring the pot. I crawled in as close as I dared and then just sat on my butt in the grass and watched the show for about 45 minutes.... Several different times the boss buck would chase his rivlas passed me.. a couple of times well within 40 yards, but they were always going mach 4 and never once even noticed me. The interesting part about this dynamic, was that the herd buck wasa the smallest of the three, by a good margin. One of the would be suiters was a true hog. I am pretty confident he would hit the at or at least real close to that magic 80" mark. That didn't stop the smaller herd buck from eating his luch over and over again. There was no question that he was the boss, and he was doing a darn good job of protecting his ladies.
At one point the big sattelite buck noticed me sitting in the grass, and came screaming in to investigate. I am guessing he thought I was a stary doe bedded there. I tried to range him as he came bolting in... 65... now 40...now 30. Close enough... I dropped the rangefinder and drew my bow. I put my 30 yard pin in the middle of his chest as he screached to a stop and let it rip. STRIKE ONE! I think I made a good shot, but that buck wasn't standing there when the arrow arrived. He trotted off a ways and stopped to look back. Before long he just went back to pestering the herd buck. Eventually the herd buck chased him out away, through some trees on the other side of the does. The does were all watching the show looking straight away, so I scurried 50 yards closer to the does and hunkered back down. I had the does at about 50 yards and when the herd buck came back after chasing off the other buck, I let him have it just as he came out from behind a big Juniper. I heard a solid hit, and he immediatley bailed down the hill he was on out of sight into the timbered draw. I sat tight and watched as the whole herd ran down into the draw and then back out the other side... minus the buck. It didn't take that big sattelite 5 seconds to come racing in and take over the herd. They milled arround about 300 yards out for a few minutes before wandering off. When they left I noticed one of the does had laid down. I walked over to investigate. She was bedded facing away and I was able to get to about 30 yards before she finally noticed me and stood up. Not wanting to double my work load, I let her walk off, but not before checking her out with the binos to make sure she was ok. I returned to where the buck was standing when I shot, found good blood and tracked him about 50 yards where I found him piled up in the shade of a big Ponderosa.
At that point I turned back to go back to the truck, as I didn't even have my knife or camera with me and it wasn't to far away. On my way back I noticed that doe was still laying out there, just 40 yards from a deep timbered draw. I decided to slip back up on her and check her out again, as it just seemed weird that she was laying there by herself and hadn't took off with the rest of the herd. I got to the last tree at 40 yards and looked her over the best I could and she looked to be fine. That said, I decided i would draw my bow and slip a little closer unitl she stood up. When she stood up at 25 yards I could see blood on her back leg, so I let her have it. The only thing that I can think of that must have happened, is that when the arrow passed through the buck, that she was down the hill below him, out of sight and the arrow caught her. There were no antelope even close to the buck when I shot, and nothing visible behind him. I tried to find blood and piece together some sort of scenerio how it happened, and from where I found the second blood trail, I am guessing that the doe had to have been 40-50 yards down the hill from the buck when my arrow came sailing through him.
At any rate, I was able to cleanly harvest her and she and her boyfriend are both at the butcher right now, being turned into delicious steaks and sausage.
One cool side note.... for those of you that remember the antelope buck I killed last year and posted on here, this buck was shot not 50 feet from where my buck last year died.
Elkwhisper
I found a herd in a full on rut frenzy and was able to capitalize. This herd had about 15 does with 3 big bucks and a couple of dinks all completely preoccupied with the rigors of their mating rituals. I was able to crawl from 300 yards out, to within about 100 yards of the herd. Not much for cover.... just some 18" grass and some slight slopes to the terrain. If any of them had been paying attention, I am pretty sure I stuck out like a sore thumb....
The herd buck was trying desperately to defend his harem from the other two "sattleite" bucks that were pestering him. As quick as he would run one off, the other would be in the middle of his does stirring the pot. I crawled in as close as I dared and then just sat on my butt in the grass and watched the show for about 45 minutes.... Several different times the boss buck would chase his rivlas passed me.. a couple of times well within 40 yards, but they were always going mach 4 and never once even noticed me. The interesting part about this dynamic, was that the herd buck wasa the smallest of the three, by a good margin. One of the would be suiters was a true hog. I am pretty confident he would hit the at or at least real close to that magic 80" mark. That didn't stop the smaller herd buck from eating his luch over and over again. There was no question that he was the boss, and he was doing a darn good job of protecting his ladies.
At one point the big sattelite buck noticed me sitting in the grass, and came screaming in to investigate. I am guessing he thought I was a stary doe bedded there. I tried to range him as he came bolting in... 65... now 40...now 30. Close enough... I dropped the rangefinder and drew my bow. I put my 30 yard pin in the middle of his chest as he screached to a stop and let it rip. STRIKE ONE! I think I made a good shot, but that buck wasn't standing there when the arrow arrived. He trotted off a ways and stopped to look back. Before long he just went back to pestering the herd buck. Eventually the herd buck chased him out away, through some trees on the other side of the does. The does were all watching the show looking straight away, so I scurried 50 yards closer to the does and hunkered back down. I had the does at about 50 yards and when the herd buck came back after chasing off the other buck, I let him have it just as he came out from behind a big Juniper. I heard a solid hit, and he immediatley bailed down the hill he was on out of sight into the timbered draw. I sat tight and watched as the whole herd ran down into the draw and then back out the other side... minus the buck. It didn't take that big sattelite 5 seconds to come racing in and take over the herd. They milled arround about 300 yards out for a few minutes before wandering off. When they left I noticed one of the does had laid down. I walked over to investigate. She was bedded facing away and I was able to get to about 30 yards before she finally noticed me and stood up. Not wanting to double my work load, I let her walk off, but not before checking her out with the binos to make sure she was ok. I returned to where the buck was standing when I shot, found good blood and tracked him about 50 yards where I found him piled up in the shade of a big Ponderosa.
At that point I turned back to go back to the truck, as I didn't even have my knife or camera with me and it wasn't to far away. On my way back I noticed that doe was still laying out there, just 40 yards from a deep timbered draw. I decided to slip back up on her and check her out again, as it just seemed weird that she was laying there by herself and hadn't took off with the rest of the herd. I got to the last tree at 40 yards and looked her over the best I could and she looked to be fine. That said, I decided i would draw my bow and slip a little closer unitl she stood up. When she stood up at 25 yards I could see blood on her back leg, so I let her have it. The only thing that I can think of that must have happened, is that when the arrow passed through the buck, that she was down the hill below him, out of sight and the arrow caught her. There were no antelope even close to the buck when I shot, and nothing visible behind him. I tried to find blood and piece together some sort of scenerio how it happened, and from where I found the second blood trail, I am guessing that the doe had to have been 40-50 yards down the hill from the buck when my arrow came sailing through him.
At any rate, I was able to cleanly harvest her and she and her boyfriend are both at the butcher right now, being turned into delicious steaks and sausage.
One cool side note.... for those of you that remember the antelope buck I killed last year and posted on here, this buck was shot not 50 feet from where my buck last year died.
Elkwhisper
