Well my hunting season has ended, and do I have some stories from it. This season was full of ups and downs, successes failures and new experiences. The story I want to tell now is from the opening day of rifle pronghorn here in Montana.
I drew my third choice tag, so by no means is it a glory tag, but I had a chance to hunt. A week prior to the opening I was in the unit shooting my gun on a piece of public that is popular for that. On an adjacent piece of state land I noticed a nice group of antelope relaxing with out a care. My plan for opening morning was to get there well before shooting light sneak out into a good position and wait. It was a good plan, so good it worked perfectly for another hunter. I showed up to the state land about 40 minutes before shooting light and there was already another hunter in the field I wanted to be in. It's public land and props to him for getting out there so early. I went to the other side of the parcel thinking that when he shoots he might scare them in my direction. About 2 minutes after shooting light and there's that old familiar BANG! I watch, I wait, and I hope. To no avail, the group of antelope run off onto private. So plan A is a failure, but that's hunting.
For plan B I drive to the other side of the unit and sign into a block management. I'm able to see most of the BMA from the road so I drive it and don't see much. I park to have lunch on a small side dirt road. Just over a mile away I notice 4 antelope, on private just a few yards from the BMA fence. I pull out my spotter 2 does 1 small buck and 1 decent buck. They are in no rush so neither am I. They are slowly making their way towards me staying on private. About 3/4 of a mile from me they drop into a small drainage. I wait for them to pop back up on the other side, and I wait and I wait. I don't know how much time passes, but I'm sure it's less than what I feel like it was. I look towards the top of the drainage, on private and see nothing. The bottom of the drainage goes onto the BMA, so that's where they must have went. I quickly grab my things and into the field I go. As quickly and as quietly as I can I get to the drainage and I see no signs. I look at the bottom of the drainage on the BMA and I see white butts! I rush back to my truck, drive to the main dirt road and get in a better position, I look and don't see the group of 4. Another vehicle drives up passes me, parks ahead of me, and I start getting anxious. What if they see him first, damn, and I keep looking. After a few minutes the other vehicle backs up next to me, they roll down their window and the dirver says "Well you were here first, so are you going after them". And he points to the other side of me. I look and there is a large group of does less than 200 yards from me. How did I miss that? I look the group over, the buck I'm after is not there. "No, I'm after a buck on this other side, and I don't have a B tag. So go ahead" I reply. What a good gesture I think to myself. He goes back a parks where he originally was and starts sneaking towards the does.
I look back to where I lost the group of 4 and there they are. Baffled and a little frustrated I take off and get into position. I set myself up about 400 yards away from the group of 4, my wind is good. They are still on private, but they are heading towards a corner where they'll have to cross onto the BMA, and they'll be 200 yards from me. I wait, again. I have a good rest, they don't see me so I be patient and just watch. When they are maybe 50 yards from the corner they stop, turn around and start walking back from where they came. WHAT JUST HAPPENED!? I scan in front of them and I find the culprit, and small orange house cat.
I wait till the group is behind a small hill and I move quickly to try and cut them off. I over shoot them, they have bedded so I sit and wait. They are still on private, maybe 5 feet from the fence. I have a good view of one of the does and see the head of the small buck. I don't see the one I'm after but I'm confident he is there. So again I wait and I hope something will urge them over the fence. Not 5 minutes pass and all 4 get up and on a dead sprint away from me. Completely confused I get up look and there he is again that damn house cat.
It was an unsuccessful hunt in the sense I didn't fill my tag, but it was a success because I was out in the field enjoying good weather and wild animals, and learning along the way.
I drew my third choice tag, so by no means is it a glory tag, but I had a chance to hunt. A week prior to the opening I was in the unit shooting my gun on a piece of public that is popular for that. On an adjacent piece of state land I noticed a nice group of antelope relaxing with out a care. My plan for opening morning was to get there well before shooting light sneak out into a good position and wait. It was a good plan, so good it worked perfectly for another hunter. I showed up to the state land about 40 minutes before shooting light and there was already another hunter in the field I wanted to be in. It's public land and props to him for getting out there so early. I went to the other side of the parcel thinking that when he shoots he might scare them in my direction. About 2 minutes after shooting light and there's that old familiar BANG! I watch, I wait, and I hope. To no avail, the group of antelope run off onto private. So plan A is a failure, but that's hunting.
For plan B I drive to the other side of the unit and sign into a block management. I'm able to see most of the BMA from the road so I drive it and don't see much. I park to have lunch on a small side dirt road. Just over a mile away I notice 4 antelope, on private just a few yards from the BMA fence. I pull out my spotter 2 does 1 small buck and 1 decent buck. They are in no rush so neither am I. They are slowly making their way towards me staying on private. About 3/4 of a mile from me they drop into a small drainage. I wait for them to pop back up on the other side, and I wait and I wait. I don't know how much time passes, but I'm sure it's less than what I feel like it was. I look towards the top of the drainage, on private and see nothing. The bottom of the drainage goes onto the BMA, so that's where they must have went. I quickly grab my things and into the field I go. As quickly and as quietly as I can I get to the drainage and I see no signs. I look at the bottom of the drainage on the BMA and I see white butts! I rush back to my truck, drive to the main dirt road and get in a better position, I look and don't see the group of 4. Another vehicle drives up passes me, parks ahead of me, and I start getting anxious. What if they see him first, damn, and I keep looking. After a few minutes the other vehicle backs up next to me, they roll down their window and the dirver says "Well you were here first, so are you going after them". And he points to the other side of me. I look and there is a large group of does less than 200 yards from me. How did I miss that? I look the group over, the buck I'm after is not there. "No, I'm after a buck on this other side, and I don't have a B tag. So go ahead" I reply. What a good gesture I think to myself. He goes back a parks where he originally was and starts sneaking towards the does.
I look back to where I lost the group of 4 and there they are. Baffled and a little frustrated I take off and get into position. I set myself up about 400 yards away from the group of 4, my wind is good. They are still on private, but they are heading towards a corner where they'll have to cross onto the BMA, and they'll be 200 yards from me. I wait, again. I have a good rest, they don't see me so I be patient and just watch. When they are maybe 50 yards from the corner they stop, turn around and start walking back from where they came. WHAT JUST HAPPENED!? I scan in front of them and I find the culprit, and small orange house cat.
I wait till the group is behind a small hill and I move quickly to try and cut them off. I over shoot them, they have bedded so I sit and wait. They are still on private, maybe 5 feet from the fence. I have a good view of one of the does and see the head of the small buck. I don't see the one I'm after but I'm confident he is there. So again I wait and I hope something will urge them over the fence. Not 5 minutes pass and all 4 get up and on a dead sprint away from me. Completely confused I get up look and there he is again that damn house cat.
It was an unsuccessful hunt in the sense I didn't fill my tag, but it was a success because I was out in the field enjoying good weather and wild animals, and learning along the way.
