Guys...I've been on a roll, Ehh ??!!
Well, I would like to say this outing was a dream come true, but it wasn't......if it wasn't for the slob hunters, it could have been.....I don't remember being involved in such a horrible opener, so I made the best of it....
Our opener began at noon, but 10:00am I had located my buck with his does....so I parked up on a distant hill and watched and waited till the 2 hours passed. With about 5 minutes till "the gun would go off", the herd I was watching had bedded on a hillside.......I got geared up and waited for the final minutes till noon.........
I made a quick sneak around to the north side of them (wind was from W...I was good to go)...I had a final 100 yard dash to make through a ditch......the final 50 yards I hand/knee'd it.....belly crawled up to the edge....poked my head up, and there he was standing broadside at between 175-200 yards....perfect!
I unfolded my bipod and just as I was gonna easy my rifle up, here comes an ol' suburban rumbling down a section line...heading right in my direction.....I hurried to get into postion, cause I knew what was gonna take place, but I never got a shot off........they spotted the herd which was closer to them now, and two guys busted out of the doors (no orange on either)......and the Antelope were making like Top Fuelers...they were gone.....the idiots in the "Burban" couldn't even do road hunting right.....of course they wheeled back and made an effort to cut the goats off as they were burning the prairie south......
I was fuming.....I headed back to my truck, with full intentions of running into these morons and educate them a little......I never got a chance.
So my weeks of planning and scouting went right out the window......and unlike in many previous years, there were vehicles dotting the skyline everywhere.....goats running in every direction...it was total mayhem....I had all but given up...no idea what the heck to do.....so i parked up on my same hill and grabbed my Nikon and just started spotting...........
By 1:30 all of the slobs must have gotten hungry from all that hard driven they were putting themselves through, and headed into town.....the place settled down and was peaceful again............finally in the distance...in a half-section stubble field, I spotted a small herd.....it was a good buck and 9 head of does......they were feeding in the stubble, the middle of no where with nothing but open prairie.....no road hunters were gonna get this guy, and they were all "out to lunch"......it was now or possibly never
I scouted the field for any low spots or terrain advantages.....it was nearly flat in all directions, but there was a small roll in the terrain on the north end, that I thought may offer me enough of a blind spot to stalk hunched over into position.......as I watched a little longer I noticed they were actually feeding a little closer to that rolling hill....I headed over to that northern side of the field, and things looked good.....
I started the 800 yards hunched over for about half of the distance until I start heading up the gradually increasing rolling hill....I hand over kneed it for the next 200 or so yards....I hated this next, but if I wanted a goat it was gonna have to be this way......I belly crawled the next 150 yards...having no clue if they were still even there
I finally managed to start edging up to the top of that knoll....it had been well over an hour on my belly, but I slowly poked my head up and they were still there, but the buck was facing me, feeding.....I grabbed my rangefinder.....they ranged anywhere from 297-309 yards !!! Perfect for my 25-06 which was sighted in for 250...
As I creaped into better position, I looked back up and he had bedded down, argggh !!! I was in position.....it was now just a waiting game..............look and wait....look and wait.....45 minutes passed as I lay in the stubble.......37 degrees and wind howling at 25-30 MPH....I was comfortable though in my surplus jacket...
And a couple granola bars I packed with, were nummy during my wait.....
Just when I was entertaining thought of a possible nap, I looked and he was up !!......I quickly ranged him.....303 yards.....slipped my Harris bipod open and propped my rifle to the ready................he was walking slowly broadside........I got up to a seated position and centered him my scope........the does spotted me, and he stopped broadside to see what they were looking at..........I put the crosshairs on the upper point of his shoulder and squeezed...............
KAFWOOOOOOM.......the buck takes off running, and I think "....how the heck did I miss ??!!..." But it is quickly evident as he slows that I DIDN'T miss, but hit my mark perfectly.....he made it about 60 yards and he was down...............closer inspection revealed that I took out both shoulders perfectly, I actually don't know how he managed to run.....tough sucker!
So I tip my hats to the road hunters....good luck filling that tag you morons.....thanks to your lunch break, mine is !!
15" horns and set out wide......and one of the biggest pronghorns I've ever seen, body wise....he was built like a barrel, and a neck like a tree trunk, definitely headed for the wall.....
Well, I would like to say this outing was a dream come true, but it wasn't......if it wasn't for the slob hunters, it could have been.....I don't remember being involved in such a horrible opener, so I made the best of it....
Our opener began at noon, but 10:00am I had located my buck with his does....so I parked up on a distant hill and watched and waited till the 2 hours passed. With about 5 minutes till "the gun would go off", the herd I was watching had bedded on a hillside.......I got geared up and waited for the final minutes till noon.........
I made a quick sneak around to the north side of them (wind was from W...I was good to go)...I had a final 100 yard dash to make through a ditch......the final 50 yards I hand/knee'd it.....belly crawled up to the edge....poked my head up, and there he was standing broadside at between 175-200 yards....perfect!
I unfolded my bipod and just as I was gonna easy my rifle up, here comes an ol' suburban rumbling down a section line...heading right in my direction.....I hurried to get into postion, cause I knew what was gonna take place, but I never got a shot off........they spotted the herd which was closer to them now, and two guys busted out of the doors (no orange on either)......and the Antelope were making like Top Fuelers...they were gone.....the idiots in the "Burban" couldn't even do road hunting right.....of course they wheeled back and made an effort to cut the goats off as they were burning the prairie south......
I was fuming.....I headed back to my truck, with full intentions of running into these morons and educate them a little......I never got a chance.
So my weeks of planning and scouting went right out the window......and unlike in many previous years, there were vehicles dotting the skyline everywhere.....goats running in every direction...it was total mayhem....I had all but given up...no idea what the heck to do.....so i parked up on my same hill and grabbed my Nikon and just started spotting...........
By 1:30 all of the slobs must have gotten hungry from all that hard driven they were putting themselves through, and headed into town.....the place settled down and was peaceful again............finally in the distance...in a half-section stubble field, I spotted a small herd.....it was a good buck and 9 head of does......they were feeding in the stubble, the middle of no where with nothing but open prairie.....no road hunters were gonna get this guy, and they were all "out to lunch"......it was now or possibly never
I scouted the field for any low spots or terrain advantages.....it was nearly flat in all directions, but there was a small roll in the terrain on the north end, that I thought may offer me enough of a blind spot to stalk hunched over into position.......as I watched a little longer I noticed they were actually feeding a little closer to that rolling hill....I headed over to that northern side of the field, and things looked good.....
I started the 800 yards hunched over for about half of the distance until I start heading up the gradually increasing rolling hill....I hand over kneed it for the next 200 or so yards....I hated this next, but if I wanted a goat it was gonna have to be this way......I belly crawled the next 150 yards...having no clue if they were still even there
I finally managed to start edging up to the top of that knoll....it had been well over an hour on my belly, but I slowly poked my head up and they were still there, but the buck was facing me, feeding.....I grabbed my rangefinder.....they ranged anywhere from 297-309 yards !!! Perfect for my 25-06 which was sighted in for 250...
As I creaped into better position, I looked back up and he had bedded down, argggh !!! I was in position.....it was now just a waiting game..............look and wait....look and wait.....45 minutes passed as I lay in the stubble.......37 degrees and wind howling at 25-30 MPH....I was comfortable though in my surplus jacket...
Just when I was entertaining thought of a possible nap, I looked and he was up !!......I quickly ranged him.....303 yards.....slipped my Harris bipod open and propped my rifle to the ready................he was walking slowly broadside........I got up to a seated position and centered him my scope........the does spotted me, and he stopped broadside to see what they were looking at..........I put the crosshairs on the upper point of his shoulder and squeezed...............
KAFWOOOOOOM.......the buck takes off running, and I think "....how the heck did I miss ??!!..." But it is quickly evident as he slows that I DIDN'T miss, but hit my mark perfectly.....he made it about 60 yards and he was down...............closer inspection revealed that I took out both shoulders perfectly, I actually don't know how he managed to run.....tough sucker!
So I tip my hats to the road hunters....good luck filling that tag you morons.....thanks to your lunch break, mine is !!
15" horns and set out wide......and one of the biggest pronghorns I've ever seen, body wise....he was built like a barrel, and a neck like a tree trunk, definitely headed for the wall.....
