Phantom
Member
After a few years of playing the point game, my brother and I drew WY lope tags. We arrived in the cowboy state a week after the opener and set up camp.
It wasn't long until we starting seeing several lope rutting hard. This hunt is sure a contrast from chasing around Iowa deer. Anyway, Dink should be proud that we didn't pop the first ones we saw.
Sunday morning dawned clear and quickly warmed up. We put some stalks on several groups but didn't find the 'right' one to shoot. I closed the distance to 140 yards on a decent buck but was busted by an angus calf before i could set up the decoy. Friggen cows in one of the few spots i had a good chance to close the distance with the bow.
On the way out, we ran across a nice buck and doe feeding in the wide open about 350 yards off the 2 track. We 'snuck' about 50 yards to a dirt mound and sized him up. He was the 3rd largest buck we'd seen since hunting and my bro decided he was good enough for his first lope. A well placed shot put him down and the celebration began.
We headed back to camp to break him down for the cooler. We decided to eat a quick bite before getting started and noticed a few does aways from camp. Set up the spotter to enjoy the view when a buck comes out from over the hill towards the does. After 15 minutes of looking him over, i decided to grab the boom stick to see if i could close the distance. A wide circle around the group got us within 150 yards and fortunatly I saw them first. We got in position and waited them out for all of 5 minutes. The does busted and the buck followed, stopping at just under 200 yards, which was a mistake for him.
The next day we ran in to fred but fortunately from the truck.
The special thing about this hunt was that our dad was able to tag along. We couldn't talk him into getting points a few years ago but i think he's hooked for next time. The gun i used was passed down from my great uncle which also made the shot that much sweeter. Along the way, i learned some valuable photography lessons: get a better camera, keep it close at hand vs stuffed in a pack and take tons more pics!
I've learned a lot from this site so thanks for everyone's advice and sharing their stories. We left a few good ones for Dink's dad so hopefully they're having some luck this weekend.
It wasn't long until we starting seeing several lope rutting hard. This hunt is sure a contrast from chasing around Iowa deer. Anyway, Dink should be proud that we didn't pop the first ones we saw.
Sunday morning dawned clear and quickly warmed up. We put some stalks on several groups but didn't find the 'right' one to shoot. I closed the distance to 140 yards on a decent buck but was busted by an angus calf before i could set up the decoy. Friggen cows in one of the few spots i had a good chance to close the distance with the bow.
On the way out, we ran across a nice buck and doe feeding in the wide open about 350 yards off the 2 track. We 'snuck' about 50 yards to a dirt mound and sized him up. He was the 3rd largest buck we'd seen since hunting and my bro decided he was good enough for his first lope. A well placed shot put him down and the celebration began.
We headed back to camp to break him down for the cooler. We decided to eat a quick bite before getting started and noticed a few does aways from camp. Set up the spotter to enjoy the view when a buck comes out from over the hill towards the does. After 15 minutes of looking him over, i decided to grab the boom stick to see if i could close the distance. A wide circle around the group got us within 150 yards and fortunatly I saw them first. We got in position and waited them out for all of 5 minutes. The does busted and the buck followed, stopping at just under 200 yards, which was a mistake for him.
The next day we ran in to fred but fortunately from the truck.
The special thing about this hunt was that our dad was able to tag along. We couldn't talk him into getting points a few years ago but i think he's hooked for next time. The gun i used was passed down from my great uncle which also made the shot that much sweeter. Along the way, i learned some valuable photography lessons: get a better camera, keep it close at hand vs stuffed in a pack and take tons more pics!
I've learned a lot from this site so thanks for everyone's advice and sharing their stories. We left a few good ones for Dink's dad so hopefully they're having some luck this weekend.
