Five antelope, seven days

Bowmannate2000 said:
I made my way to @Pucky Freak and together we made the approach. After about 30 minutes we see the first doe walking from left to right. We sat down and I readied my rifle. He ranges her at 200 yards. Pretty soon another doe is following, then two more. I practice my aim from a seated shooting position, and feel pretty comfortable. We are waiting for a buck, as we know there are a couple in the group. Sure enough, antelope number 5 is a mature buck. He steps into the clear and stops broadside. I steady my aim and fire. The buck jumps, takes a few steps and turns straight away. He stands there for several minutes looking sick. Finally he turns again and I give another shot. Still standing. Third shot and he stumbles and tips over backwards. Not the one shot I was hoping for, but he's down and we celebrate with some pictures, ans then get to work.View attachment 347079View attachment 347081View attachment 347083View attachment 347084

Big thanks to @Pucky Freak for all the help on this one! Back to his unit for the last day of the season tomorrow.
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Congrats on the dandy of a buck.
 
Weds night we were beat after another long day of hiking. Simple supper, and then a plan to sleep in. With some much needed rest, and a hearty meal of camp breakfast burritos, courtesy of Nate, we drove back to my unit. We were cautiously optimistic to fill both my tags on the last 1/2 day of the season.

We decided to check out a new area, and after seeing nothing across several sections, I was ready to backtrack and hunt the animals we’d failed a couple of stalks on. However, there was one last section further down. I wanted to skip it, but Nate talked me in to giving it a peek.

I started seeing antelope tracks in the snow crossing the road, and then at the very back of the last parcel we found whom they belonged to. A quick crawl up a rise and range at 330 yards, I felt rock solid in prone. I don’t know what I did wrong, but after the initial shot, antelope scrambled and I didn’t see any signs of a hit. Since I have 2 tags, I set up again and dropped one.
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Antelope continued to hang around for about 10 more mins and I very easily could have killed a second one. However, I was not 100% sure I missed the first shot, so I passed.
 
We quick loaded up the animal, and then cooked a late lunch. At this point it’s 2 PM and we have a 45-min drive to get back to the nearest huntable antelope that we know of.

Once we arrive we stop and glass, repeat and repeat, hoping to find something on public. Nate eventually picks out a bedded herd and we put together a stalk plan.

They are about 900 yards, and we use terrain to close to 380. Wind is whipping good and I want to be within 300 at least. Nate stays back to spot, and I snake slither through any available cover to 250, which takes about 25 mins.

I set up prone again. I calculate 4” high and 5” right for the shot. There is one facing away and a dozen or so others bedded. I have a doe in mind that is bedded broadside, so I just wait. Not too much longer and she stands up, and I put one in the boiler room.
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Cutting up the doe I find a severed aorta just above the heart - perfect shot.

Just a little time to celebrate, and we are packed up and on our way to Montana. Two more tags and two days to make it happen. I have a BMA reservation, and no idea what to expect. New country for me, but Nate is a lot more familiar
 
BMA was a bust. We moved on to do a lot of driving and glassing from high spots. It’s super dry and antelope are on private land eating winter wheat, except to water, also on private. We saw well over 100.

Several locals spotted our orange hats and out-of-state plates and stopped by to give advice. This eventually led to a door knock tip, which panned out.
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I’m tagged out, and Nate is set up to try and ambush one with his bow.
 
Crazy Halloween night - we stopped in Gillette to gas up at around 10 pm, and I saw what appeared to be 3 guys chasing down a forth guy and start beating him up in the Best Western parking lot. The 3 guys were yelling angrily in some language I did not recognize, and the dude being chased sprinted through traffic like he was running for his life.

I called 911 and four squad cars were there in minutes. Someone tried fleeing on foot. We weren’t about to stick around and possibly get hit by a stray bullet, so we drove on out of there. As we were leaving an ambulance pulled up and someone put a blanket over what looked like a person laying in the parking lot. I got a call back by the deputy a while later for a statement.
 
I did a separate trip in September with my archery tag. Had some really cool encounters, but nothing quite worked out. To have one last afternoon is a nice bonus. I'm soaking in the views and reflecting on all the ups and downs of this week. It's been a great hunt.
 

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Pucky Freak said:
Crazy Halloween night - we stopped in Gillette to gas up at around 10 pm, and I saw what appeared to be 3 guys chasing down a forth guy and start beating him up in the Best Western parking lot. The 3 guys were yelling angrily in some language I did not recognize, and the dude being chased sprinted through traffic like he was running for his life.

I called 911 and four squad cars were there in minutes. Someone tried fleeing on foot. We weren’t about to stick around and possibly get hit by a stray bullet, so we drove on out of there. As we were leaving an ambulance pulled up and someone put a blanket over what looked like a person laying in the parking lot. I got a call back by the deputy a while later for a statement.
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Good ol Gillette. Glad I don't live there.
 
Bowmannate2000 said:
I did a separate trip in September with my archery tag. Had some really cool encounters, but nothing quite worked out. To have one last afternoon is a nice bonus. I'm soaking in the views and reflecting on all the ups and downs of this week. It's been a great hunt.
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900 tag?
 
Pucky Freak said:
Crazy Halloween night - we stopped in Gillette to gas up at around 10 pm, and I saw what appeared to be 3 guys chasing down a forth guy and start beating him up in the Best Western parking lot. The 3 guys were yelling angrily in some language I did not recognize, and the dude being chased sprinted through traffic like he was running for his life.

I called 911 and four squad cars were there in minutes. Someone tried fleeing on foot. We weren’t about to stick around and possibly get hit by a stray bullet, so we drove on out of there. As we were leaving an ambulance pulled up and someone put a blanket over what looked like a person laying in the parking lot. I got a call back by the deputy a while later for a statement.
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Had a similar experience in Madison wi. Pretty positive they killed that guy.
 
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