Father and Son Wyoming Trip

[Southern Elk]

I normally just post pictures of my hunts without much of a story, but this one was special. Bear with me as this story may take a couple of days for me to tell. I have a lot of pictures to share.

I was lucky enough to draw Wyoming antelope and mule deer tags this year. Spoiler alert, this is not a trophy hunt. If that’s what you’re into, you might want to find another thread.

 

[Southern Elk]

This was the first time that my 9 year old has traveled with me to hunt. We have hunted together around home, but I felt like this year he was old enough to tag along for a few days traveling and hunting.

 

[Southern Elk]

The rifle...

I’ve always wanted a .280. The local sporting goods store sells used guns. I’ve had my eye on a used .280 x bolt for a while. It started out priced at $499. I was able to refrain from buying it until the price recently dropped to $399. I couldn’t resist. I added a Vortex scope, but I wasn’t sure how well it would shoot. I was worried...why would someone trade in such a nice looking gun?

I picked up a box of factory loaded Federal Premium 150 grain Nosler Partitions and headed to the range. One 3 shot group at 100 yards was enough to know that my new rifle would be making the trip to Wyoming.

 

[Southern Elk]

The truck...

I have a really nice newer truck, but I also have a 1994 Chevy work truck that my son loves. He wants it when he turns 16. He begged to take “his truck” on our trip. I was a little nervous, but this truck has been very well maintained and I felt that it could make the 450 mile (one way) trip.

 

[Focus]

Following.....

 

[Pucky Freak]

The stage is set... Looking forward to hearing the rest!

 

[Southern Elk]

We had two tags and only 4 days of hunting to fill them, because I had to get back to work and he had to get back to school.

The antelope tag that I drew required no points and the unit is considered to have limited access to public land. I decided that we would hunt antelope first and shoot the first buck that we saw on public land. We would then devote the rest of our time to finding a mule deer.

 

[Southern Elk]

I originally planned on hunting by myself and sleeping in the camper shell on my truck. Once I decided to take my son, I checked on hotels in the area. To my surprise hotels in Wyoming are much cheaper than my corner of Montana, so we booked a room at a nice hotel that had a water park. This would provide some great fun at night and if we were lucky enough to tag out early.

I picked my son up from school Friday afternoon and we made the 6.5 hour drive to our hotel. I was starting to question my decision to take the old Chevy. Not because of mechanical issues, it was only getting 12 mpg!

We arrived at the hotel around 9:00 pm and settled in for the night.

 

[Addicting]

Following!

 

[Southern Elk]

Day 1

Antelope hunting is nice because you don’t have to get an early start. You have time to eat breakfast at the hotel before leaving.

 

[TheBenHoyle]

I don't know, the smile on your son's face makes it seem like this is a trophy hunt, even if it isn't measured in horns or antlers. I can't wait to read the rest of it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[LCH]

Good stuff so far! Hunting is about lot more than just horns and antlers.

 

[NoWiser]

I'm following this bad boy. Thanks for posting it!

 

[jwatts]

That hotel looks a lot nicer than the joints we usually end up in. I already know the end, but I'm following along anyway.

 

[HSi-ESi]

Following along. Beer for breakfast though? (I'm sure it's Apple Juice, but at first glance....)

 

[JEL]

Day 1View attachment 117193

Antelope hunting is nice because you don’t have to get an early start. You have time to eat breakfast at the hotel before leaving.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch....heck ya!!

I loved hunting trips with my kids. My Dad didn't hunt much but in the fall we always took a trip to NW MT to snag salmon. I am 57 now, my Dad is gone but I still love the memories of that time with him. Just awesome as a kid. Great thread!

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Following along. Beer for breakfast though? (I'm sure it's Apple Juice, but at first glance....)

Spotted that glass of beer right off.Breakfast of champions! Ha!,Ha!Following...

 

[Southern Elk]

Apple juice. No beer on this trip.

 

[Southern Elk]

It was breaking day by the time we left the hotel. I knew where I wanted to go. I hunted this unit for antelope last year with 2 buddies. We all tagged out and 2 of the 3 of us shot ours on the same small piece of BLM.

As we approached the spot, I saw a truck parked where I wanted to park. I started to think that I was going to have to find a different spot. We passed the truck and I pulled over to try to figure out a plan.

Something told me to turn around and take one last look at this place before leaving it for the day. I was about a half mile from the truck that was in my spot when I saw an antelope about 500 yards from the road. One look at him through my binoculars confirmed that it was a buck! We were going to try to make a stalk.

I pulled over and parked in the ditch. This provided us with enough cover to at least get out of the truck and get over the fence without being seen.

I told my son to stay behind me and stay as low as he could. The first time I ranged him, he was 400 yards. I didn’t have a bipod and I had left my pack in the truck. We needed to get closer. We stayed as low as we could and the next time I ranged him he was at 250 yards. I dropped to one knee and propped my elbow on the other knee. The antelope started moving away to my left. The gig was up. He knew something wasn’t right. I had my crosshairs on him and the first time he stopped I pulled the trigger. One shot from the .280 and he dropped in his tracks. It was 8:10 am.

We were both so excited. We rushed over to him and took a ton of pictures.

His right side was really long and his left side was somewhat deformed. We were happy with him. He was just what we were looking for.

 

[Southern Elk]

We had to go back to truck and get the pack. We quartered him up and made the short 1/4 mile pack back to the truck.

This hunt was turning out just like we had hoped.

We made calls to mama and grandparents as we headed back to town. We were going to be back to town in time for lunch.