ihuntelk
Member
I really wish I had a couple tags open right now. I'm on furlough from work and I laugh with my buddies that if I had tags open I'd be a subsidized hunter. Guess it's not meant to be unless this pissing match between 'our' elected officials drags on a couple more weeks. 
After I got the kiddos off to school, I thought I'd fire up the ol' computer for a little Hunt Talk this morn. This is what I found instead..........and no - satellite internet doesn't work in these conditions either!
I knocked all the snow off and yes, it was blowing directly at me. I then let a little more melt off while I tried to clean out the vents in the floor to turn the furnace on for the first time this year. I figure that was enough 'honey-do's' for the day so I now I get my Hunt Talk fix.
After Paige's first pronghorn was de-boned and on ice in the cooler, it was time to go find Kenz a buck.
We had looked at quite a few bucks the day before. Kenz has killed 2 bucks so she told me she wanted to find a BIG one. I let them choose the one they're happy with so the search began.
Here are some pics from that day and the day before.
Finally, late in the afternoon we spotted a buck in his bed. Kenz didn’t even have her bino’s to her eyes and she knew she wanted this goat. He was just the other side of legal so we watched him til dark to see if he’d move down the draw onto BLM. He ended up going the other way………….
It was a fairly worrisome night. We had met one other truck that had seen this buck a couple days before the opener and they were hunting specifically for him. My buddies, Bob and Jim, also had the tag and were hunting fairly close to us. They visited with another truck that asked if they'd seen the buck with the big cutter off the back. Apparently he was their #1 choice as well.
The next morning we were back on post. At first light, the first pronghorn we could see was him. He was moving back to where he’d bedded the day before. He was acting a little rutty and was ‘lope’ trotting to a big knob in front of us. He stood up there for 3 or 4 minutes until he spotted a couple does in the distance. BINGO! They were on the right side of the fence.
We watched him for several minutes from a distance. As soon as he dropped over a ridge 50 yards from the does, we were off. We covered the distance fairly quickly and popped over the ridge to find all 3 feeding. He was the closest at 89 yards. Kenz got on the rest and he saw the movement. Head was up and he took a couple short steps toward us. He was angling at her so I whispered to shoot him in the crease of his neck and front shoulder. BOOM – FLOP!
She knew he was a really nice antelope as even I had gotten pretty excited the day before as we were glassing him. His big extra cutter off the back of his horn was something I’d never seen on a pronghorn before. At least I’d never seen one that big.
She was all grins and giggles as we walked down to him. It always amazes me at the amount of respect my girls, and Kenz in particular, has always shown for her quarry. She picked up his horns and just kept saying how beautiful he was. I’m glad she had her rubber bands on her braces that day to help pull her great big smile back together. It could have been permanent!
This is what a 16 3/8 tall pronghorn looks like
Boyz Beware! They both know how to shoot.
Hunt WITH your kids NOW so you don't have to hunt FOR them LATER!
After the picture session, we got him boned and on ice. When we were about half finished the warden showed up to check her license. He was perched on a hill and watched us kill a pronghorn 2 years ago that had just crossed the fence onto legal. I also had 2 warden’s watch me kill my Idaho bull last year from 2 miles away across a big canyon. It was a great teaching opportunity to visit with him and then discuss ethics and regulations with the girls. I never asked but don't think he was perched on a hill watching this unfold from a distance.
Now it was their old man's turn to go try and find him a big goat. I'm pretty sure he could care less! This is how they spent most of the day. So much for extra eyes helping dad spot.
Part 3..............The Tri-Fecta?................is on deck.
After I got the kiddos off to school, I thought I'd fire up the ol' computer for a little Hunt Talk this morn. This is what I found instead..........and no - satellite internet doesn't work in these conditions either!
I knocked all the snow off and yes, it was blowing directly at me. I then let a little more melt off while I tried to clean out the vents in the floor to turn the furnace on for the first time this year. I figure that was enough 'honey-do's' for the day so I now I get my Hunt Talk fix.
After Paige's first pronghorn was de-boned and on ice in the cooler, it was time to go find Kenz a buck.
We had looked at quite a few bucks the day before. Kenz has killed 2 bucks so she told me she wanted to find a BIG one. I let them choose the one they're happy with so the search began.
Here are some pics from that day and the day before.
Finally, late in the afternoon we spotted a buck in his bed. Kenz didn’t even have her bino’s to her eyes and she knew she wanted this goat. He was just the other side of legal so we watched him til dark to see if he’d move down the draw onto BLM. He ended up going the other way………….
It was a fairly worrisome night. We had met one other truck that had seen this buck a couple days before the opener and they were hunting specifically for him. My buddies, Bob and Jim, also had the tag and were hunting fairly close to us. They visited with another truck that asked if they'd seen the buck with the big cutter off the back. Apparently he was their #1 choice as well.
The next morning we were back on post. At first light, the first pronghorn we could see was him. He was moving back to where he’d bedded the day before. He was acting a little rutty and was ‘lope’ trotting to a big knob in front of us. He stood up there for 3 or 4 minutes until he spotted a couple does in the distance. BINGO! They were on the right side of the fence.
We watched him for several minutes from a distance. As soon as he dropped over a ridge 50 yards from the does, we were off. We covered the distance fairly quickly and popped over the ridge to find all 3 feeding. He was the closest at 89 yards. Kenz got on the rest and he saw the movement. Head was up and he took a couple short steps toward us. He was angling at her so I whispered to shoot him in the crease of his neck and front shoulder. BOOM – FLOP!
She knew he was a really nice antelope as even I had gotten pretty excited the day before as we were glassing him. His big extra cutter off the back of his horn was something I’d never seen on a pronghorn before. At least I’d never seen one that big.
She was all grins and giggles as we walked down to him. It always amazes me at the amount of respect my girls, and Kenz in particular, has always shown for her quarry. She picked up his horns and just kept saying how beautiful he was. I’m glad she had her rubber bands on her braces that day to help pull her great big smile back together. It could have been permanent!
This is what a 16 3/8 tall pronghorn looks like
Boyz Beware! They both know how to shoot.
Hunt WITH your kids NOW so you don't have to hunt FOR them LATER!
After the picture session, we got him boned and on ice. When we were about half finished the warden showed up to check her license. He was perched on a hill and watched us kill a pronghorn 2 years ago that had just crossed the fence onto legal. I also had 2 warden’s watch me kill my Idaho bull last year from 2 miles away across a big canyon. It was a great teaching opportunity to visit with him and then discuss ethics and regulations with the girls. I never asked but don't think he was perched on a hill watching this unfold from a distance.
Now it was their old man's turn to go try and find him a big goat. I'm pretty sure he could care less! This is how they spent most of the day. So much for extra eyes helping dad spot.
Part 3..............The Tri-Fecta?................is on deck.
