Thanks guys, for saving so many nice bucks. Looked over at least 100 bucks today. Crazy.
Found this buck where he wasn't huntable, early this morning. Was the third buck we found. Game warden sat on the hill above us and watched to make sure we didn't do anything foolish. Really didn't know how big he was.
After hours of looking and a two more that seemed to have potential, we decided to drive over and see if this boy had moved from his prior location and might now be in a huntable spot. Jackpot. Gotta love does making the boys fight for their affections. Seems his does had led him to the east to a place where we could shoot him.
Still Kickin' (Mark) saw the drool coming from my mouth all day as I dreamed of this buck, so he told me if the buck came over to where we could shoot it, he would defer to me. I told him he was the guest and that he would have first shot. He stated he would just let if move off, as he did not want to shoot a buck that was so appealing to me. Either he is not right, or he is just a great friend.
After seeing the buck was in a place we could hunt him, we made a short stalk that took us out of view from the herd. We popped up and I was looking over the herd of about 25 antelope. I scanned all the bucks and did not see him. They were on high alert as I feverishly tried to get a sighting of this buck.
I heard Mark whisper, then talk, then shout, that the buck was off to my left. Holy crap, 40 yards away, looking at me from the left. How did I miss that? Guess it didn't matter, 'cause he had me pinned.
I already had the bipod down and was loaded. I slowly swung his direction and he realized things were not good. He bolted out in front of us and joined the herd. Feeling he was now safe, he decided to posture with a few smaller bucks to make sure he was still around. When the does cleared from behind him, he was 220 yards away, almost broadside.
This was a bad decision on his part. Within a second, he was missing most of his breathing apparatus. The herd ran off as he struggled to keep his balance, eventually falling down.
Wow, that happened fast. I was not sure if he was as good as I thought, but when I walked up, was very, very happy.
I love the long ivories and the top mass.
Never judge a buck from behind, unless he looks like this.
This buck has the biggest head on any buck I have ever shot.
We spent hours and hours driving and glassing, driving and glassing, and found one we thought was bigger than this. He was bedded out in some big sage flats. We should have had him, but trying to sort him from the herd of other bucks and does was difficult. They busted us and took off as though they had been hunted a few times this year, which given the later part of season we are hunting, probably is the case. That buck was very cool. Not at all the classic antelope configuration, but tall, wide and with great mass. I think others have seen him, but given where he was bedded, don't think they will find him. Hope we can get back on him tomorrow.
One thing about these units in Wyoming, and I think many guys hunting here have noticed it this year. Horn growth has been tremendous. Even with that, you have to sort through hundreds of bucks to find a really good one. Every 20th - 25th buck will be worth looking at, and many of those are not in that great category. I feel very lucky to find a buck like this, late in the season, on the first day of looking. I chalk that up to dead ass luck for the third buck of the day to be a keeper, and then have him move to where we could hunt him later in the day.
I guess it makes up for the many times I have sorted through 300 bucks in a week and found nothing over 75".
Tomorrow is Mark's day. We are going to try find that other big buck right at daylight. If he has moved, I am sure some of the other hunters will see him and then all bets are off. If we can't find him, then we will go and look at a hundred more, hoping one good one will be found.
Put a tape on the buck when we got to town this evening.
Right side
Base - 6 4/8
C2 - 7 2/8
C3 - 5 1/8
C4 - 2 1/8
Prong - 4 6/8 (broke off at least a half inch)
Length - 15 2/8
Total - 41 0/8
Left side
Base - 6 1/8
C2 - 7 0/8
C3 - 5 0/8
C4 - 2 0/8
Prong - 5 3/8
Length - 15 2/8
Total - 40 6/8
Even with this gross score, it seems like symmetry will keep this buck out of the book. That is fine. He is a great buck and it was a great hunt. I may have done some wrong measurements, so it will be interesting to see what the final numbers are when a professional gives his numbers.
Thanks for deferring to me, Mark. Hope tomorrow we can find something even better for you.
