Hunting Wife
Well-known member
Antelope is always my most anticipated opener. I love getting out and chasing animals in the sage. This was our second year in a "new" area, so we are still figuring out the lay of the land but hopes were high after our success last year. We arrived Friday afternoon, and started looking for antelope. The wind was howling and animals were hunkered down. Scouting produced many more hunters than animals spotted, but we located two small groups to give us a starting point for the morning.
The wind died after dark and we got a really good night's sleep. The forecast for Saturday was for 25 to 35 mph winds, so we were relieved that the morning was surprisingly calm. We headed out at shooting light to look for some stalkable pronghorn. We thought we would try a group that had been hunkered down on the leeward side of some bluffs and hills. We hiked out to our vantage point, and started glassing. Unfortunately, another group of hunters had set up camp overnight just below where the antelope had been and the herd was nowhere to be found. We proceeded through the hills towards the area we had seen another group the previous day. On the way we tried a stalk on two lone bucks we came across, but found we were trapped between two other groups of hunters and just couldn't work the situation into a decent shot. One of the other hunting parties got into the other herd of antelope before we could get back there. Lots of shooting, but they came out empty handed and we watched those antelope until they disappeared a couple of miles to the east. As usual, two hours into opening day and all plans from scouting the previous day are out the window - combat hunting at it's finest. With so many other people around, we decided to find a perch to glass from and just see what might come our way.
Most other people retreated to road hunting by this point, and before long there were animals popping up from little gullies and low spots as they moved away from the roads and towards where we were waiting. As we were watching a medium sized buck and some does to our east, we heard a relatively close shot behind us. Hunting Husband had seen one hunter shoot, then start slowly walking towards the coulee behind us. I peeked over the saddle to see if I could see what might be down there. After a few minutes, a small buck came limping around the corner. He'd been hit in the foreleg, which was clearly broken. He came around the hill and then just stopped and stood there. The other hunters were approaching a hill top right above him, so I watched figuring they would quickly spot him and finish the job. When they got to the top however, the guy proceeded to glass the flat he had just walked across. The antelope moved into a little cut and just crouched there. He couldn't have been 100 yards below the guy. I tried waving my hat and pointing down in the direction the buck was hiding, but either the guy didn't see me or ignored me. After looking for 5 minutes, they went back down the hill. As soon as they left the top of the knob, the buck bolted up into the hills. He was stumbling and going on three legs, but he was still really fast, and 300 yards from me in a wind that by now was picking up. The other hunters got back in their truck and left. A few choice words went through my head. I slid back down to where Hunting Husband was sitting, gave him a quick synopsis, and headed out after the buck.
I stayed in the next little valley downwind of the one the little buck had run up. I figured he would go until he ran out of cover, then probably stop there somewhere. As I got close to the end of the broken ground, I started peeking into every little nook and cranny to see if I could relocate him. As my head cleared the last little ridge, I saw an antelope standing on the slope opposite. I snuck to a rock outcropping that provided perfect cover and got the binos on the antelope. Sure enough, it was him. He was just standing there, head kind of stretched out and ears droopy, clearly not feeling great. Rangefinder said 212 yards. Stuffed my backpack in the rocks to make a rest, and he fell straight down at the shot.
Next thing I know, antelope come pouring over the hill behind him and running towards me, heading the direction the buck and I had just come from. I walked around my pile of rocks and caught some orange to my right. Hunting Husband had been heading my direction, and was now unexpectedly in the middle of the best shot opportunity we'd had all day. There was a buck in the group who crested the hill first and Hunting Husband was able to hang his tag on that one. He was also able to do it with his Dad's rifle, which made it extra nice.
Overall, it was a fun trip. Not exactly what I expected, but I was glad it worked out the way it did and I was happy the wounded one didn't get away.
The wind died after dark and we got a really good night's sleep. The forecast for Saturday was for 25 to 35 mph winds, so we were relieved that the morning was surprisingly calm. We headed out at shooting light to look for some stalkable pronghorn. We thought we would try a group that had been hunkered down on the leeward side of some bluffs and hills. We hiked out to our vantage point, and started glassing. Unfortunately, another group of hunters had set up camp overnight just below where the antelope had been and the herd was nowhere to be found. We proceeded through the hills towards the area we had seen another group the previous day. On the way we tried a stalk on two lone bucks we came across, but found we were trapped between two other groups of hunters and just couldn't work the situation into a decent shot. One of the other hunting parties got into the other herd of antelope before we could get back there. Lots of shooting, but they came out empty handed and we watched those antelope until they disappeared a couple of miles to the east. As usual, two hours into opening day and all plans from scouting the previous day are out the window - combat hunting at it's finest. With so many other people around, we decided to find a perch to glass from and just see what might come our way.
Most other people retreated to road hunting by this point, and before long there were animals popping up from little gullies and low spots as they moved away from the roads and towards where we were waiting. As we were watching a medium sized buck and some does to our east, we heard a relatively close shot behind us. Hunting Husband had seen one hunter shoot, then start slowly walking towards the coulee behind us. I peeked over the saddle to see if I could see what might be down there. After a few minutes, a small buck came limping around the corner. He'd been hit in the foreleg, which was clearly broken. He came around the hill and then just stopped and stood there. The other hunters were approaching a hill top right above him, so I watched figuring they would quickly spot him and finish the job. When they got to the top however, the guy proceeded to glass the flat he had just walked across. The antelope moved into a little cut and just crouched there. He couldn't have been 100 yards below the guy. I tried waving my hat and pointing down in the direction the buck was hiding, but either the guy didn't see me or ignored me. After looking for 5 minutes, they went back down the hill. As soon as they left the top of the knob, the buck bolted up into the hills. He was stumbling and going on three legs, but he was still really fast, and 300 yards from me in a wind that by now was picking up. The other hunters got back in their truck and left. A few choice words went through my head. I slid back down to where Hunting Husband was sitting, gave him a quick synopsis, and headed out after the buck.
I stayed in the next little valley downwind of the one the little buck had run up. I figured he would go until he ran out of cover, then probably stop there somewhere. As I got close to the end of the broken ground, I started peeking into every little nook and cranny to see if I could relocate him. As my head cleared the last little ridge, I saw an antelope standing on the slope opposite. I snuck to a rock outcropping that provided perfect cover and got the binos on the antelope. Sure enough, it was him. He was just standing there, head kind of stretched out and ears droopy, clearly not feeling great. Rangefinder said 212 yards. Stuffed my backpack in the rocks to make a rest, and he fell straight down at the shot.
Next thing I know, antelope come pouring over the hill behind him and running towards me, heading the direction the buck and I had just come from. I walked around my pile of rocks and caught some orange to my right. Hunting Husband had been heading my direction, and was now unexpectedly in the middle of the best shot opportunity we'd had all day. There was a buck in the group who crested the hill first and Hunting Husband was able to hang his tag on that one. He was also able to do it with his Dad's rifle, which made it extra nice.
Overall, it was a fun trip. Not exactly what I expected, but I was glad it worked out the way it did and I was happy the wounded one didn't get away.
