Thought I'd share my 2012 archery antelope hunt with you all. Good to see so many others from MT on here. Look forward to contributing more in the future.
This day started out as a mule deer hunt, but quickly switched directions when someone beat me to the spot I was planning to hunt. The joys of public land hunting... I knew where some antelope had been hanging out so I decided to check it out.
Right off the bat I spot some goats in a huge flat, feeding around. There was really no way to put a stalk on them, so I just watched for a bit to see what they would do. After awhile, I got bored and decided to check out another part of the property. I was doing some glassing and spotted 2 bucks bedded down on top of a small hill about a half mile away. They were in a stalkable spot, and the wind was in my favor. I decided to give it a shot.
I was able to close the gap rather quickly, and got to the top of a rise where I figured they would be roughly 100 yards away. I peeked over, and the bucks were up and moving away, casually feeding. I sat tight and after 10 minutes or so, they both bedded down again. They were facing directly away from me, so I was in a good position. I started working my way towards them, and when I got to about 150 yards, the small buck got up and started casually walking away, taking the larger buck with him. This literally happened 3 times. They would only sit tight for 10-15 minutes, then get up and mosey. They finally bedded in some thick sage at the top of a hill, again both facing directly away from me. I started working my way up the hill, being sure to be as quiet as possible. I happened to look up, and I see the tops of horns, MUCH closer than I was expecting. It was the larger buck, and he was still bedded only 35 yards away. Apparently I misjudged how big this hill was. I knocked an arrow, and waited. Then I waited a bit more... The larger buck started looking around, then his sixth sense kicked in. His neck snapped around and we locked eyes. Before I could even draw my bow, he was hauling a$$ out of his bed. Both bucks disappeared over the edge of the hill, leaving a nice dust cloud for me to choke down.
I was pissed and disappointed with how fast that happened. That's easily the closest I've been to an antelope on a spot and stalk. I gathered myself, and walked to the edge of the hill where I expected to see the 2 bucks easily a mile away by now. Just as I get to the edge, I look down and there they are! Both bucks are standing broadside looking up at me. I quickly draw, settle my 60 pin on his shoulder(no time to range), and barely touch the release. I couldn't see my arrow, but heard that awesome sound of an arrow smacking meat! He took off like a bat out of hell, and blood was showering up in the air. It looked like I hit him up in the spine by how the blood was coming out. He went about 100 yards and bit the dust.
The shot hit him high in the lungs, and came out the armpit of the other side. And of course I forgot a camera that day, so all I had were cell phone shots.
This day started out as a mule deer hunt, but quickly switched directions when someone beat me to the spot I was planning to hunt. The joys of public land hunting... I knew where some antelope had been hanging out so I decided to check it out.
Right off the bat I spot some goats in a huge flat, feeding around. There was really no way to put a stalk on them, so I just watched for a bit to see what they would do. After awhile, I got bored and decided to check out another part of the property. I was doing some glassing and spotted 2 bucks bedded down on top of a small hill about a half mile away. They were in a stalkable spot, and the wind was in my favor. I decided to give it a shot.
I was able to close the gap rather quickly, and got to the top of a rise where I figured they would be roughly 100 yards away. I peeked over, and the bucks were up and moving away, casually feeding. I sat tight and after 10 minutes or so, they both bedded down again. They were facing directly away from me, so I was in a good position. I started working my way towards them, and when I got to about 150 yards, the small buck got up and started casually walking away, taking the larger buck with him. This literally happened 3 times. They would only sit tight for 10-15 minutes, then get up and mosey. They finally bedded in some thick sage at the top of a hill, again both facing directly away from me. I started working my way up the hill, being sure to be as quiet as possible. I happened to look up, and I see the tops of horns, MUCH closer than I was expecting. It was the larger buck, and he was still bedded only 35 yards away. Apparently I misjudged how big this hill was. I knocked an arrow, and waited. Then I waited a bit more... The larger buck started looking around, then his sixth sense kicked in. His neck snapped around and we locked eyes. Before I could even draw my bow, he was hauling a$$ out of his bed. Both bucks disappeared over the edge of the hill, leaving a nice dust cloud for me to choke down.
I was pissed and disappointed with how fast that happened. That's easily the closest I've been to an antelope on a spot and stalk. I gathered myself, and walked to the edge of the hill where I expected to see the 2 bucks easily a mile away by now. Just as I get to the edge, I look down and there they are! Both bucks are standing broadside looking up at me. I quickly draw, settle my 60 pin on his shoulder(no time to range), and barely touch the release. I couldn't see my arrow, but heard that awesome sound of an arrow smacking meat! He took off like a bat out of hell, and blood was showering up in the air. It looked like I hit him up in the spine by how the blood was coming out. He went about 100 yards and bit the dust.
The shot hit him high in the lungs, and came out the armpit of the other side. And of course I forgot a camera that day, so all I had were cell phone shots.
