putm2sleep
New member
Good luck - 'roll tide'! ( sorry had to do it)
2012 WY Pronghorn and Mule Deer
- Thread starter Foxtrot1
- Start date
luckyhunter1979
New member
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2012
- Messages
- 5
Antelope doe down at 10 this morning. Seeing bucks though. They ha been skittish
Summitthunting
Well-known member
Good luck on the buck foxtrot1. I'm headed for unit 63 on Thursday, can't wait!
bjtc_brian
Member
Good luck!!!
Foxtrot1
Well-known member
Sorry for the lack of updates, we have had no cell service. I am still having problems logging into my photobucket account to upload photos. I guess the photos will have to wait until I have access to a computer. Heres a quick rundown of the past few days.
Monday: we set camp in time to do alittle scouting in the afternoon. We looked at some BLM land that was close but didn't see many lopes. We saw 4-5 small bucks and a handful of does, but nothing to get excited about. The terrain was rolling so using a spotting scope to cover alot of ground was difficult. We decided to drive about 20 miles to try another area.
Tuesday: we found a promising tract of public land and took a two track into it. We started seeing alot of lopes instantly. We put our first stalk on a shooter within about 30 minutes of starting. The lopes were hanging out on the tops of the ridges where they had good vantage points. The first group we tried to get on nailed us. So we started watching them until they would go over a ridge and we would scramble up the sides to try to get a shot. The next group we tried dropped over into a bowl. It was my turn so I crawled up to the top to look down into the bowl. We had watched 1 buck and 3-4 does drop into the bowl, but when I got to the top there was about 20 lopes within 200 yds. Of course one spotted me. They scattered like a covey of quail. One big doe made the mistake of stopping to look back. I was able to shoot her at about 350yds. We went to work carting her out and quartering her. After that we tanked another stalk on a nice buck. The next group we tried was a herd buck that kept chasing a smaller buck away from his does. We crept up to the top and got to within 100 yds, but the sage brush was covering them except for their head and neck. They spotted us as we were trying see over the brush and bailed off the ridge. Luckily they stopped at 300 yds to look back. I made a good shot on the bigger buck and he dropped within a few yds. There was alittle ground shrinkage, but I am really proud of him. His tops are short but he has good prongs and mass. Overall I would say a representative animal. We got to see alot of rutting activity. They were chasing does, scraping, rubbing brush, and chasing other bucks. It was really cool to watch.
Wed: we went back into the same area to concentrate on getting Jeff a buck. We saw 4-5 groups but nothing that really excited him. We were moving to a new section on the same block when we saw a nice buck bedded with his does. They got up and moved over the ridge they were on so we bailed out of the truck and followed. I held back and let Jeff crawl to the top of the ridge. When he got there he accidentally crawled into the middle of them. They were only 20-30 yds when he saw them. The buck dropped out of site but Jeff was able to drop a doe out of the group. The crazy things ran a big half circle around Jeff, they came within 50 yds of me running wide open. When they crossed a bottom to they next ridge over they stopped and Jeff drilled the buck at about 350 yds. We spent the rest of the day getting them out and quartering them.
Thurs: trout fishing. We stayed in camp and fished. We needed a break, the past 2 days we hiked 7-10 miles and had carted out our antelopes. We got to watch some other guys whack a doe from camp. We caught some nice trout. Had a mink come out in the river and fish next to us.
Today: we went back to the same block to try to find 2 more does. We ran into the first guys hunting our unit we have seen. They went over the big center ridge and were banging away most of the morning. We stayed on the front section and put a couple of stalks on and got a couple of does. Mine was at about 300 yds. Jeff made a great shot on his at alittle over 400. We slowly got better at picking which groups we could stalk and which were in spots you couldn't get to. So far the trip has been great. Tomorrow we have to break camp and move 100 miles to our deer unit for the season opener. Hopefully we'll have better coverage.
Monday: we set camp in time to do alittle scouting in the afternoon. We looked at some BLM land that was close but didn't see many lopes. We saw 4-5 small bucks and a handful of does, but nothing to get excited about. The terrain was rolling so using a spotting scope to cover alot of ground was difficult. We decided to drive about 20 miles to try another area.
Tuesday: we found a promising tract of public land and took a two track into it. We started seeing alot of lopes instantly. We put our first stalk on a shooter within about 30 minutes of starting. The lopes were hanging out on the tops of the ridges where they had good vantage points. The first group we tried to get on nailed us. So we started watching them until they would go over a ridge and we would scramble up the sides to try to get a shot. The next group we tried dropped over into a bowl. It was my turn so I crawled up to the top to look down into the bowl. We had watched 1 buck and 3-4 does drop into the bowl, but when I got to the top there was about 20 lopes within 200 yds. Of course one spotted me. They scattered like a covey of quail. One big doe made the mistake of stopping to look back. I was able to shoot her at about 350yds. We went to work carting her out and quartering her. After that we tanked another stalk on a nice buck. The next group we tried was a herd buck that kept chasing a smaller buck away from his does. We crept up to the top and got to within 100 yds, but the sage brush was covering them except for their head and neck. They spotted us as we were trying see over the brush and bailed off the ridge. Luckily they stopped at 300 yds to look back. I made a good shot on the bigger buck and he dropped within a few yds. There was alittle ground shrinkage, but I am really proud of him. His tops are short but he has good prongs and mass. Overall I would say a representative animal. We got to see alot of rutting activity. They were chasing does, scraping, rubbing brush, and chasing other bucks. It was really cool to watch.
Wed: we went back into the same area to concentrate on getting Jeff a buck. We saw 4-5 groups but nothing that really excited him. We were moving to a new section on the same block when we saw a nice buck bedded with his does. They got up and moved over the ridge they were on so we bailed out of the truck and followed. I held back and let Jeff crawl to the top of the ridge. When he got there he accidentally crawled into the middle of them. They were only 20-30 yds when he saw them. The buck dropped out of site but Jeff was able to drop a doe out of the group. The crazy things ran a big half circle around Jeff, they came within 50 yds of me running wide open. When they crossed a bottom to they next ridge over they stopped and Jeff drilled the buck at about 350 yds. We spent the rest of the day getting them out and quartering them.
Thurs: trout fishing. We stayed in camp and fished. We needed a break, the past 2 days we hiked 7-10 miles and had carted out our antelopes. We got to watch some other guys whack a doe from camp. We caught some nice trout. Had a mink come out in the river and fish next to us.
Today: we went back to the same block to try to find 2 more does. We ran into the first guys hunting our unit we have seen. They went over the big center ridge and were banging away most of the morning. We stayed on the front section and put a couple of stalks on and got a couple of does. Mine was at about 300 yds. Jeff made a great shot on his at alittle over 400. We slowly got better at picking which groups we could stalk and which were in spots you couldn't get to. So far the trip has been great. Tomorrow we have to break camp and move 100 miles to our deer unit for the season opener. Hopefully we'll have better coverage.
1-Shot-1-kill
New member
Good luck~!!!!
I've got to get my tail dragger in the air so I can fly to these places ya'll are hunting in, between racing and driving truck for too many years,..I hate just driving to the store,..let alone an 1800 mile road trip
I've got to get my tail dragger in the air so I can fly to these places ya'll are hunting in, between racing and driving truck for too many years,..I hate just driving to the store,..let alone an 1800 mile road trip
1-Shot-1-kill
New member
sounds like ya'll are having a great time~!! I like the long shots congrats on the lopes and good luck with the deer~!
Foxtrot1
Well-known member
Camp is moved and we're ready to deer hunt. We actually have cell coverage in camp. Still having issues uploading photos. My iphone won't upload directly to the forum and it wont access my photo bucket account. I guess it's an epic fail for a live hunt.
We are hunting a HMA that issues dailey permits. We were not allowed to enter until tomorrow so we are going in blind. We saw several deer around the edges and the HMA is limited entry, so maybe it will work out. We'll be sharing +/- 20,000 acres with 8 other guys. Hopefully we can get the same unit for several days. I am not holding out for anything special, I need to fill the freezer. When I get home I'll be in dog training and bird mode for awhile. The venison will be greatly appreciated by the family.
We are hunting a HMA that issues dailey permits. We were not allowed to enter until tomorrow so we are going in blind. We saw several deer around the edges and the HMA is limited entry, so maybe it will work out. We'll be sharing +/- 20,000 acres with 8 other guys. Hopefully we can get the same unit for several days. I am not holding out for anything special, I need to fill the freezer. When I get home I'll be in dog training and bird mode for awhile. The venison will be greatly appreciated by the family.
Foxtrot1
Well-known member
Started out to hunt early this morning and hit a snag. We had just made it to the gate off of the hardball when I noticed the volt meter for the truck battery was low. The battery charge light came on. I think it is the altenator. We turned around and made it to the town we are camping by. The only mechanic shop in town is closed. It was 30 miles in either direction to the nearest shop. We made it about 15 before the battery charge tanked out and the truck shut down. We were towed the rest of the way. All of the mechanic shops were covered up. I finally found one that would try to fit my truck in today. We are currently hanging out at the library waiting on the repairs. Hopefully we'll be back on the road soon and get to hunt this afternoon. This set back also affects tomorrow's hunting, we can't get a permit for tomorrow now. I guess we'll hit some back up areas.
I have included a couple of photos I was able to email myself and access from the library's computer. Sorry it's just a couple, but my time limit on the computer is almost up. Here's some of the rainbows we caught, one of Jeff's does and Jeff's buck. Both bucks had broken a tip fighting and had bruises and scabs from fighting.
I have included a couple of photos I was able to email myself and access from the library's computer. Sorry it's just a couple, but my time limit on the computer is almost up. Here's some of the rainbows we caught, one of Jeff's does and Jeff's buck. Both bucks had broken a tip fighting and had bruises and scabs from fighting.
Attachments
Summitthunting
Well-known member
Good luck with the truck, I was amazed last weekend how hard those bucks were chasing. Neat to watch.
Foxtrot1
Well-known member
Today sucked like no other day has sucked in a long time. The mechanic got the truck fixed around 12:00, much earlier than I had feared. Simple alternator replacement. He was a really nice guy, he even recommended a couple of areas to check out for deer. So we headed back to the HMA to get permits for tomorrow. We go the last 2. Double score. So we went strait into the HMA to check some spots out for this afternoon. We got back off the main road 5-6 miles and found some promising cover. We even saw 2 does bedded. I was starting to feel pretty good about this afternoon when I looked down at the console and the DAMNED battery charge warning light came on again. It stayed on for a minute then went off. I called the mechanic to see if he load tested the battery. He said he hadn't but that it accepted a charge while in the shop. Fearing another break down, we tried to get to town before the charge on the battery gave out. We made it to Car Quest where they tested the battery and alternator. Both were normal. By this time there was a small crowd of guys gathered around the truck throwing out ideas as to what could be the cause of the problem. After cleaning the terminals the light came back on. So they sent me to a shop a couple of blocks down to have them run a computer diagnostic on the truck. The shop owner came out put a volt meter on they battery to see what was going on. The alternator was working intermittently. He thought one of the inline connections between the battery and alternator had a short. He started pulling the protective wrap off of the cables when the end that connects to the battery popped loose. The mechanic that replaced the alternator this morning had just stuck it under the post instead of locking it down with the nut and bolt by the post. Simple fix, I hope no other issues on the way back to camp.
So we are going in tomorrow morning to glass an area we found today. Hopefully the bad luck for the trip is over. One more issue with the truck and I am going to burn it in place.
So we are going in tomorrow morning to glass an area we found today. Hopefully the bad luck for the trip is over. One more issue with the truck and I am going to burn it in place.
Foxtrot1
Well-known member
Hunted hard this morning. At daylight we hiked 1/2 mile down a ridge to glass from the point. We were watching for deer to becoming up from the bottoms to bed on the ridges and draws. The wind was pretty tough out in the open. We were covering several miles with the spotting scope but never saw anything. I guess the heat and full moon had them bedding down early. Then we moved a couple of miles to some rough draws that had a patchy mixture of pine and juniper in them. The stream at the bottom was dry except for a few remaining pools. The draws offered shade, cover, water, and was out of the wind. Jeff took one side and we slowly eased up each ridge across from each other. About a mile up the ridge it fanned out to several low swells.
Somewhere in that low area a nice buck got up between us. He climbed the ridge Jeff was on about 100 yds from him. He stuck to a small ditch and Jeff could only see his head and antlers as he ran by. Jeff tried to sprint up the ridge to catch him when he came out of the ditch, but the buck was out of range when he could see him. So close. If he had of stopped to look back like the antelope Jeff probably would have missed him.
Formulating a different strategy this afternoon. We're gonna try to cut some deer off that are going to some irrigated fields. Not sure how much they'll move in this heat though.
Somewhere in that low area a nice buck got up between us. He climbed the ridge Jeff was on about 100 yds from him. He stuck to a small ditch and Jeff could only see his head and antlers as he ran by. Jeff tried to sprint up the ridge to catch him when he came out of the ditch, but the buck was out of range when he could see him. So close. If he had of stopped to look back like the antelope Jeff probably would have missed him.
Formulating a different strategy this afternoon. We're gonna try to cut some deer off that are going to some irrigated fields. Not sure how much they'll move in this heat though.
Foxtrot1
Well-known member
The black cloud continues to hang over our heads. We were heading down the two track to hunt this afternoon when the damned battery light came on again. After checking the terminals, We rushed back to town to have the truck checked again. The alternator cycles through periods where it is fine and other periods where it is not meeting the trucks requirements. They think the loose connection fried a diode in the alternator. Since those guys didn't handle the initial install they couldn't help with the replacement. So tomorrow morning I have to call the shop to see if they'll replace the part under warranty. If not I am screwed out of $416. The shop we visited today thinks it'll go all the way out in a couple of days. Hopefully the part came from Car Quest and I cam just exchange alternators.
On the deer hunting note, we saw alot of deer on the way back from town tonight. Including several bucks. They were all in the area we are hunting. I guess the full moon has them up feeding all night. I hope to have the chance to see if any are moving in the day if I can ever get this truck issue straightened out.
Anyone want to buy a 2006 F150 crew cab 4x4? Priced reasonably, you pick up in eastern WY.
On the deer hunting note, we saw alot of deer on the way back from town tonight. Including several bucks. They were all in the area we are hunting. I guess the full moon has them up feeding all night. I hope to have the chance to see if any are moving in the day if I can ever get this truck issue straightened out.
Anyone want to buy a 2006 F150 crew cab 4x4? Priced reasonably, you pick up in eastern WY.
Foxtrot1
Well-known member
The day started hot and clear now it's 36 degrees with a 25-30 mph wind. This morning we glassed the draws and ridges where we saw the buck yesterday. The deer were in their beds by daylight, so we still hunted up a few bottoms but still didn't see anything. Jeff found a nice set of muley sheds. We stuffed his pack with clothes and topped it with the sheds to look like he was packing out a big buck for some texted photos home.
At lunch we drove to town and the shop replaced the alternator, luckily the part had a lifetime warranty. Hopefully this took care of the truck issue.
The wind moved in around noon. Its been a fairly steady 30 mph with some higher gusts. I was surprised to find camp mostly intact. This afternoon we glassed several new areas. We saw 5 does right at dark. Still no cooperative bucks. We did see a nice antelope this afternoon. They have been much less spooky here than where we hunted. I guess they haven't had the pressure they had in our antelope unit. Hunting has been tough, even the local guys we have seen are drawing nubs. Hopefully the cooler weather will get the deer moving. If not, I am not sure it's gonna happen in the next two days.
At lunch we drove to town and the shop replaced the alternator, luckily the part had a lifetime warranty. Hopefully this took care of the truck issue.
The wind moved in around noon. Its been a fairly steady 30 mph with some higher gusts. I was surprised to find camp mostly intact. This afternoon we glassed several new areas. We saw 5 does right at dark. Still no cooperative bucks. We did see a nice antelope this afternoon. They have been much less spooky here than where we hunted. I guess they haven't had the pressure they had in our antelope unit. Hunting has been tough, even the local guys we have seen are drawing nubs. Hopefully the cooler weather will get the deer moving. If not, I am not sure it's gonna happen in the next two days.
ihuntelk
Member
Keep at it! This cool weather tomorrow has got to help. I live/work close to where you're hunting. If the truck goes to the ER again, give me a shout and you can steal the ol' 4Runner to atleast be hunting. Sent you a PM with my number.............
-Cade
www.HuntForeverWest.com
-Cade
www.HuntForeverWest.com
jeffpg
Active member
I left Mississippi yesterday. I'm crossing South Dakota now.
I'll go straight to Gillette to hunt unit 23 for a couple of days before dropping down to make the most of my unit 64 tag.
This will be my first time on pronghorn & I'm pretty excited about it.
If anyone needs help or wants to visit my cell is 601-641-0398.
Jeff
I'll go straight to Gillette to hunt unit 23 for a couple of days before dropping down to make the most of my unit 64 tag.
This will be my first time on pronghorn & I'm pretty excited about it.
If anyone needs help or wants to visit my cell is 601-641-0398.
Jeff
Foxtrot1
Well-known member
Cade, thanks for the offer of help. I really appreciate it. So far the truck is up and going. It seems to be a reoccurring them among mechanics I've talked to lately that alot of the rebuilt alternators are junk. They're rebuilt in China or Mexico with poor quality control. The guy who works on my vehicles at home said he recently put 4 on a car before he got one that would work.
We moved a ridge over this morning and started seeing deer at daylight. We had 2 small bucks and 5 does standing at 230 yds. That fork horn almost got a free ride to Alabama, but neither of us wanted to shoot either of them 5 minutes after daylight. So we passed on them. I would rather shoot a doe than a young buck for the freezer, but our tags are only good for antlered mule deer. We moved down and over a ridge glassing and saw 5 more does. It was nice to finally see some deer moving. Excited about this afternoon. Hopefully we'll see some more deer.
Not sure if Jeffs going to be worth anything this afternoon, we started a big pot of antelope stew for tonight and he's wearing it out.
We moved a ridge over this morning and started seeing deer at daylight. We had 2 small bucks and 5 does standing at 230 yds. That fork horn almost got a free ride to Alabama, but neither of us wanted to shoot either of them 5 minutes after daylight. So we passed on them. I would rather shoot a doe than a young buck for the freezer, but our tags are only good for antlered mule deer. We moved down and over a ridge glassing and saw 5 more does. It was nice to finally see some deer moving. Excited about this afternoon. Hopefully we'll see some more deer.
Not sure if Jeffs going to be worth anything this afternoon, we started a big pot of antelope stew for tonight and he's wearing it out.
nidahunter
Well-known member
Keep up the good fight, I have enjoyed reading about it. I will be there in 16 days!
Duck-Slayer
Well-known member
Still your having a better time than most of us here at home, my hunting season is over here in Idaho and Wyoming.... I need too spread my killing out more... Good luck on the rest of your hunt....
Matt
Matt
