Dwreckers’s first semi live antelope hunt

[Dwreckers]

Here I sit at 5:16 A.M sitting at work for another 11 hours before I leave for MT for my first antelope hunt ever. Lot left to do today and pack. Wife has my truck so she can take it in to get tires rotated and balanced. Have 10 days set aside to take the wife and baby with me chasing antelope. 4 days of travel as travel may be a bit slower with a baby and 6 full days of hunting. Should be an awesome time and I will do my best to keep up to date (cell depending).

 

[timberman56]

thanks for taking us along

 

[Hunting Wife]

Here I sit at 5:16 A.M sitting at work for another 11 hours before I leave for MT for my first antelope hunt ever. Lot left to do today and pack. Wife has my truck so she can take it in to get tires rotated and balanced. Have 10 days set aside to take the wife and baby with me chasing antelope. 4 days of travel as travel may be a bit slower with a baby and 6 full days of hunting. Should be an awesome time and I will do my best to keep up to date (cell depending).

Raining this week just about everywhere. Bring the gear, and good luck!

 

[Dwreckers]

Raining this week just about everywhere. Bring the gear, and good luck!

Good to know. I’m going to give it my best and enjoy every minute of it!

 

[Dwreckers]

Day 1 traveling from Western WA to Missoula MT. Drive took a couple hours longer with having to stop for the baby here and there. He did a great job for his leg of a road trip and slept a bunch and was self entertained for the most part. Made it to Missoula at 5pm to go to Scheels and meet up with a buddy and have dinner with a buddy and his wife at Tamarack Brewery. Staying at a local hotel next to the free way. Tomorrows plan is to hit Paul’s Pancake Parlor for an early breakfast then get to camp tomorrow afternoon. May stop at the Scheels in Billings on the way or hit it on the way back.

Sometimes he gets to sit in the drivers seat when we stop

 

[Dwreckers]

Day 2: Travel day. Started the morning a little later than wanted trying to catch up on sleep but we stopped and had a nice breakfast at Paul’s Pancake Parlor and still were able to be in the road by 8. Stopped by 3 Bears in Butte to show the wife. We also made a quick pit stop at the Scheels in Billings but we decided we’ll hit that more on the way back. When we arrived to camp we talked to the camp host who said mostly doe antelope have been harvested and people are struggling with the wind. She said it should die in the next day or two so fingers crossed. I have all my clothes and camo ready to be put on for the morning. I think my game plan will be to start off looking at some of the BMAs and maybe do some short hikes. Didn’t see a lot of antelope driving into town from the Highway but that doesn’t mean anything and now I’m ready to start my 6 days of hunting in the morning!

 

[Dwreckers]

Day 3: First day of hunting!
Last night I decided I would basically road hunt the first day to get eyes on all different parts of the unit. I talked to the campground host and she told me they had a few antelope come into camp but not a lot. Said the wind has been making it hard (do they not like wind?). Started the morning out getting up a nice leisurely 5:50 am. Left camp at about 6:15 and headed to the first big chunks of public land. Once it got light out the wife quickly picked out 3 antelope on the hillside. Binos confirmed 1 buck and 2 does. The buck Im guessing was about 12” tall and had decent mass and cutters but alas they weren’t on public land. We had a good feeling about the day seeing some quick off. We drove down the road for a bit and in the river bottoms we came across a small field that had pheasant, turkeys and 2 sandhill cranes. We sat and watched them for a bit as there are no turkeys, cranes or wild pheasant (planted at home).

We had high hopes with all the different wildlife we were starting to see as well as taking in a whole new different type of scenery. A little while down the road by a BMA we came across a lone doe but no boyfriends near by. Then for the next few hours we saw LITERALLY nothing! We drove and drove and glassed all over and the only signs of life we saw were cows and prairie dogs. I started joking with the wife how maybe we’re bad at road hunting and probably missed 3 or more herds. We started to come down the hill and BOOM antelope. On private land of course but it was nice to see something and put eyes on them with the binos to start better field judging. There was 1 decent buck who was probably near 15” tall with very weak cutters (tallest one we saw for the day by a fair margin). We continued on up the road to find a herd of probably 60 right on the edge of a TYPE 2 BMA that I did not have permission for but might need to look into it though I might be too late.

After a while we hit a dead end onto a private driveway and turned around. When we turned around we had new grounds that we could not see coming down the road. There off in the distance was about 10-12 antelope bedded on the edge of the field. I looked up on OnX and it showed they were on a TYPE 2 BMA but right on the other side of the fence was a TYPE 1 BMA. I drove up to the TYPE 1 BMA sign in box filled out my information and took off walking. As I was making my way through the rolling hills close to the top where I figured I could put eyes on the antelope a noise quickly caught my attention. “Rattlerattlerattle” off to my left side and I quickly moved right. There about 2 feet away from where I was poised a rattlesnake ready to strike. I took a couple small videos and didn’t provoke him anymore. He was just warning me to stay away so I did and I left him be. I made it to the top of the knoll and found the bedded antelope. I put eyes on them with the binos and spotting scope but the two bucks were average. I’m not looking for a massive antelope but not wanting to shoot one the first day unless it was a dandy.

I snapped some photos and videos at 500-600 yards but it was fairly windy 10+ mph and the spotting scope did not want to stay still. One buck would not turn his head and had decent 13” ish tall horns but no side profile. I decided to move and didn’t take care to hide myself very well. I only made it 20 yards partially skylined and all the antelope quickly stood up and took off. I wasn’t bummed but glad I could confirm how good of eye sight they have for when I make a real stalk. I headed back to the truck and went on my way. Later on the day towards evening we really started to come into antelope and a bunch of deer. All on private but it was fun to compare bucks. One that got my attention his horns came out at 45 degree angles from his head. He was about 22” or so wide (a really neat buck). There was also a decent 13” buck that had decent mass and cutters and had a real thick mane on the nape of his neck. We also ended up seeing a nice 24” wide 4x3 muley right next to the road not far from public land.

All in all day 1 we didn’t see a single antelope on public land. But we did see probably 100+ antelope, 50+ turkeys, 8 pheasant, 7 sandhill cranes, near 75+ deer, about a dozen grouse and 3 rattlesnakes. I definitely came up with an area that held more antelope than the first part of the day but I’m not sure I can scratch that area off as most antelope were seen in the afternoon and the morning was very slow. I’ll also be putting boots on the ground in the morning after I do some more scouring of my maps tonight.

 

[Caseknife]

Antelope have superb eyesight. They will give you warning before they take off, usually, their white rump patch will flare. That is the start of the launce sequence. Have fun learning a new species and how they use the land. They are usually very predictable.

 

[Dwreckers]

Antelope have superb eyesight. They will give you warning before they take off, usually, their white rump patch will flare. That is the start of the launce sequence. Have fun learning a new species and how they use the land. They are usually very predictable.

Very fascinating animals. Hopefully I can get into some tomorrow and put on some stalks. So different than anything I’ve hunted so far!

 

[Dwreckers]

Day 4: 2nd day of hunting. Woke up to the drizzle of rain on the tent at about 4:30. It was off and on for a little bit but it was followed by a stiff wind. The tent started flapping against the metal poles as I tried to go back to sleep until my 6:00 alarm. When I re awoke at 6 the wind had picked up a little more. I got out of bed and put my camo on. I wasn’t in any rush this morning and neither were the other hunters in camp. I started the truck and let it warm up before I made my way to the first spot. Upon arriving I saw a truck had already parked where I had wanted but it wasn’t a big deal as it was a sizeable chunk of land. I went down the road another mile I started my hike in with the wind sharply blowing from my right side. I did a 2.5 mile walk with 0 sign of life. On the walk back I checked the wind on my Kestrel and it read 7-9 mph gusting up to 15. I put my wash cloth (I carry it as a sweat rag or when it’s cold I can breathe into it to keep my mouth from drying out as I’m a mouth breather thanks to a deviated septum) over my face to use as a make shift face mask walking back to the truck. When I got near the truck the rain started again. The rain would stay around most the day until like 3pm.

 

[Dwreckers]

I decided to check this area off as a no and headed back to where I did see antelope on private yesterday with public nearby. As I was making my way down the HWY (I had a plan to work the smaller parcels of public) I got near my marked piece of public and right before it was 4 antelope. Not fully sure as what they were as they were close to the road and I was going 65, I neared the access to find a truck was already there. I drove on by and headed towards another place. When I got to my road I wanted I knew there was a bunch of deer and a couple buck, I was prepared with the spotting scope and window mount attachment for pictures. And the road did not disappoint as I saw about 10 different bucks and 3 antelope bucks all on private. I don’t have mule deer on my side of the state so I will always take pictures when I can.

I snapped a bunch of pictures and videos and made my way up the road. I came across the 45 degree antlered buck in the same place he was yesterday and got some pics of him. I was trying to decide my plan of attack getting behind the private when I had the wife keep texting me that she was having a very hard time with the baby back at camp. I really didn’t want to stop hunting but keeping the wife happy guarantees I’ll get to hunt more. She didn’t ask me to come back but I did and ended my day early at about 3pm. I did do a bit of driving and walking and just cannot turn up a single antelope on public. May need to shoot the first buck I see when I do find one! It was a shorter day than I expected but I did enjoy taking lots of pictures.

 

[SCmountainwanderer]

Loving the write-up! Good luck on the hunt.

 

[Dwreckers]

Well I found success today! I’m in bed and the write up will take a bit but here’s a teaser until I write it up. Taxidermist said it’s an above average size antelope for the area

 

[SCmountainwanderer]

Alright! Can’t wait to read the rest of the story!!! Congrats

 

[Dwreckers]

LONG READ!!!!

Day 5: 3rd day of hunting. I woke up with no alarm around 5am. I hadn’t been sleeping good the last few nights and had routinely started to wake up before my alarm clock even went. The wife was also awake and she asked me to “watch” the sleeping baby while she went to the restroom. After she got back she told me the temp had plummeted to below freezing and she started my truck for me since she was already up (HOW LUCKY AM I?). I was in no rush to get up and go with the temperature being that cold. I finally decided to get up as I heard the first truck leave the campground. I took my time and bundled up for the crisp morning. I finally got out to my truck that had been running for 10-15 minutes and there was still ice on windows. I climbed inside and waited another few minutes for them to fully defrost.

I had two options picked out for the day and option 1 was a 45 minute drive to a spot that I had seen some small herds of antelope on private that had public behind them but access was very limited and would require quite the hike. Option 2 was explore a new area to the south and continue to hunt smaller parcels of public land. Well I chose option 2 and after filling up at the gas station I headed south. It didn’t take long to start seeing a few antelope here and there randomly up and about feeding in the fields. I drove about 15 miles south and came across a group of 6 antelope on private land that was right next to a “U” shaped piece of public that only had a corner of access from the county road. I figured “well there’s antelope here let’s give this spot a go”.

I got out of my truck and loaded up my pack and rifle and started up the draw. There was already 4 mule deer doe that ran onto the public after I got out of my truck and they skirted the top of the ridge and disappeared. I made my way up the ridge about 1/2 mile from the truck peering here and there onto both public and private with hopes of finding a goat. I came up to the top of the hill that you could see from the road and I look to my left and there’s 2 white objects coming at me quick. I throw up my binos and it’s a buck antelope chasing a doe! I also quickly noticed what looked like a 3rd point coming out of the back of one of his antlers. I grabbed my phone to confirm that they were on public and they were. The problem is they saw me but didn’t bolt. The other problem was the grass was too tall. I wasn’t going to do a freehand shot at around 200 yards with only a neck shot so I got down in prone position extended the bipod to max and took aim. Well the grass was too tall. I couldn’t see him in my scope so I crawled forward and he stood there watching. When I finally got to a spot to shoot I had to adjust the scope to try and focus on him and when I got it focused he was gone. I peeked up and he was off to the races with the doe. I ran up to the knob on the hill and found them a couple hundred yards away with a couple more does. With the sun just coming over the hill and the ice on the grass it created a terrible glare for me. It took a few tries to get a range and I finally did at 336 yards. I dialed my scope and set up for a shot. My problem is I left my jacket roll in my pack that I had dropped so I didn’t have a solid gun rest. I decided to take off my bino harness to use it as a rest and the antelope had had enough and skirted off. I was a little bummed cuz it was such a cool buck but I was also relieved I finally found antelope on public land.

I reached for my phone in my pocket and it wasn’t there. Well I must’ve dropped it at my pack when I checked if it was public so I walked back to my pack. It’s not there. I started scouring around looking for it. I zigged and zagged every which way from my pack to where I army crawled to up on top of the knob with no sign of it. I started getting worried like the wife is going to kill me if I lost it. I searched for 20+ minutes marking where I had army crawled and went prone with different items. I started to wonder if it flew out of my sweatshirt pocket when I ran up the hill and if that happened it could’ve been in a much broader area. I finally went back to my backpack and decided to go farther passed it and there it was. Lying face down in the wide open behind one clump of grass. I was relieved and picked it up to continue my hunt. I went up over the next hill and saw a group of antelope about 1000 yards away. They were about 200-300 yards on private with a fence between me and them. I decided I wasn’t going to wait for them and with the public land getting skinny near the back I had to walk on the hillside that put me where they could see. Well I’ll be darned if I moved along the hillside not skylined and I glassed them again and half the herd is looking at me!

Color me impressed as they sat and watched me from 800-900 yards away. I continued along until a hill blocked our views from each other. I climbed the little hill to get one more look at them and they were headed to the next county. Oh well they were on private. At the top of the next hill was a little cluster of trees and I decided I would get up to there to glass the next little basin and I would have cover. As I was walking up I found a small 2 point muley shed. I picked it up and carried it thinking to myself “I’ve always shot a buck within the next day I found a shed but would this count with antelope?” I get to the top of the hill into the cluster of trees looking to see if there was another shed with no luck. I started glassing the basin and with my bare eyes caught a single white spot. I pull up my binos and there it was. A single lone antelope buck. I sat looking at him with my binos and decided to pull out the spotting scope. I could see he didn’t have a lot of mass but I could his tips hooked back decently and his prongs were at the top of his ears and I knew that was a sign of a decent buck. I pulled my phone out and took pictures and videos of him for a bit. He decided to bed on the hillside so I had all the time in the world. We’ll I looked at my phone and OnX and determined where he was and he was on private! But with it being a “U” shaped piece of public land he was surrounded 3 out of 4 sides by public and knew I had a chance. I sat with this buck for well over an hour as he stayed bedded. I decided to move towards him as I was about 700 yards away from him. I cut the distance down to about 300 yards and I was on the edge of public with a little room to spare. He ended up getting up to feed at he gave me a beautiful broad side shot at 286 yards. I didn’t shoot because he was on private and though I probably could’ve gotten away I always respect the law and property boundaries. He finally fed the ONE WAY I didn’t want him to go and moved down over the hill towards private. I grabbed my gun slightly defeated that the invisible property line saved his life. As I walked up to grab my bag I had dropped he came back over the hill and saw me.

He stood there for a few seconds before bolting off up the hill towards the public land. I always heard antelope were curious so I lifted up my camo shirt to reveal a white shirt underneath and I knelt down. Well he ran for a few hundred yards then stopped and turned. “No way did the white shirt work”. He stopped and stood on top of a small ravine about 700 yards away looking back. I put my camo shirt back down and laid down on my hill to make as small of a profile as possible. He stood there for a solid 15 minutes hardly moving except to turn his head here and there and look at different directions. After 15 minutes he started walking up hill slightly towards me. He dipped behind a small ravine and I ranged the shot to be 320 yards if he came out onto this spot that would be on public grounds. I dialed my scope and got my jacket to use as a back rest when in MT desert fashion I kneeled on a cactus. It hurt but I had to time to think about it. I sat there for a moment and decided I would cut the distance in half by running up to the next ravine and making sure he was on public. I got to the top of the ravine and started to crawl forward. I knew if he was almost inline with me or had moved up to the right I was 100% in the clear.

 

[Dwreckers]

Part 2:

I crawled forward hoping/knowing he should be right in front of me as I created the hill. I slowly kept peeking up and there was no sign of him. I was wondering where he had gone when a white glimpse caught my eye up the hill to my right. There he was just feeding! I quickly went prone but yet again the grass was too tall. I crawled forward into a more open spot and got ready for a shot. When I went to shoot the scope couldn’t focus on him so I moved yet again crawling on my belly. I finally got to a spot I could see him and so could my scope. He was uphill angled slightly away when I put the crosshair behind his shoulder and the Browning 7mm barked pushing a Hornady 162 grain bullet. He dropped right on the spot with 2 kicks and went still. “I did it!” I was pumped! I started doing the fist shaking in excitement as I finally connected the dots and found an antelope buck that hadn’t been pushed far away from public. I ranged where he was and it was 154 yards. I went back to retrieve my backpack and called the wife to let her know I had struck MT gold. I told her I needed to get to work as I heard it’s imperative to get the hide off and the meat cooled. I walked up to my antelope and was amazed by this animal. He only had about 4” prongs but his tips curved back like a hook and had ivory tips on each side. He wasn’t huge but he was mine. I quickly set up my tripod and took my field photos. I was on cloud 9. One thing that quickly got my attention was the smell. Definitely a unique smell to them.

I quickly got to work skinning and pulling meat off trying not to get hair on the meat. I did a decent job but their hair just falls out! I got the buck all caped and quartered ready to pack it back to the truck. When I looked at my phone to see how far I was away it read 2.6 miles. With my pack loaded down with meat, cape, and everything I brought in I knew it wasn’t going to be a fun pack out. I started my trek back to the truck. When I was about halfway back I was side hilling some of the hills so I was still on the public land side. I found a cow trail and decided that’s a nice change for the feet. I got down into it and made it about 20 yards when I looked up I thought I saw some deer ears on the other side of the crest. I looked up and took a few more steps when all of a sudden I heard the distinctive “rattlerattlerattle”. That heavy pack all of a sudden weighed absolutely nothing as I jumped back from the sound. There right on the cow trail was a rattlesnake not happy I disturbed him. We’ll I had a few choice words for him and took a video and continued out of his way back to the truck. I made it to the truck however long later and raced back to camp. I already had some ice in my ice chest for the meat but I picked up 2 more bags anyways. I got back to camp and met the wife and baby and took my pictures with the baby and my first antelope. After that I quickly took out all my meat from the game bags and rinsed every single piece of meat off. I knew I needed to get it cleaned ASAP. Once that was all done I took my cape to the taxidermist in town to freeze the cape for transport home.

They were all very nice and I chatted with son of the owner for a bit. I told him I thought my buck was average when he told me it was definitely an above average buck for the area. Albeit not a giant I was happy with it and to hear it was better than the average one tickled my ears with excitement. I was already pleased with it but to hear it from a taxidermist makes that smile just a little bit bigger. After everything was done me and the wife celebrated eating pizza at Seabeck Pizza and Subs which by the way has the best pizza I’ve had in a LONG time.

Hope you enjoyed my first Semi Live write up. I did this hunt all solo and tried to not leave too many details out.

 

[rtraverdavis]

Congratulations! Great family adventure.

 

[Mtnhunter1]

+1 on it being a great family adventure.

You must have a great wife!

 

[SCmountainwanderer]

Very nice! Enjoyed the write-up and a congratulations on a beautiful buck

 

[Kiwi]

Awesome. Congrats on a great buck!