Nebraska “slam” attempt

[Stocker]

I wasn’t gonna leave until tomorrow early morning in an attempt to miss a wedding Saturday night. My wife convinced me to leave this morning to try to fill my antelope tag so I could make the wedding………..

Running on 4 hours of sleep so if I shoot a dink I’ll blame it on delirium. It’s always good to have another excuse in your pocket.

 

[BackofBeyond]

if I shoot a dink it's to match my 'stache

FIFY

 

[BoulderBulls]

C'mon stocker get em! Looking forward to the update

 

[Stocker]

I’ve been on 6 antelope hunts, all in arid climates. 5 of the 6 time it’s rained with low clouds and fog. This is no exception. I guess I’ll take 48 and drizzle over 95 and windy. Made good time out here, left home at 10, basically the Missouri River and I’m 50 miles from Sidney.

 

[Gellar]

Be a man, pull your pants up, put your foot down, tell your wife you don’t go to weddings during hunting season.

 

[Stocker]

Be a man, pull your pants up, put your foot down, tell your wife you don’t go to weddings during hunting season.

If I fill the lope tag quick I feel this could probably turn into me chasing a big mule deer buck until at least I won’t be home in time for the wedding.



Even if that mule deer buck is mounted over top of a bar in the middle of the Sandhills……..

 

[Stocker]

Just hit a tiny chunk of public, got within 239 of a 70ish” buck before a doe popped me and they were gone.

 

[BackofBeyond]

Just hit a tiny chunk of public, got within 239 of a 70ish” buck before a doe popped me and they were gone.

Have you tried not letting them see you? I’ve heard it works pretty good.

Keep after ‘em buddy. I’m having fun living vicariously through you.

 

[Stocker]

Have you tried not letting them see you? I’ve heard it works pretty good.

Keep after ‘em buddy. I’m having fun living vicariously through you.

You obviously haven’t read the B&C “fair chase” rules. You need to stand and chase them to go in the books I guess. I don’t have any in the books though……

 

[BackofBeyond]

You obviously haven’t read the B&C “fair chase” rules. You need to stand and chase them to go in the books I guess. I don’t have any in the books though……

I’m to old and fat for that.

 

[Stocker]

Buck down. Long Fubar story to come and pics once I get him packed to the truck.

 

[BackofBeyond]

Buck down. Long Fubar story to come and pics once I get him packed to the truck.

YEEEEESSSSSSS!!!

 

[Stocker]

Yesterday after I blew the stalk I found another good buck, asked permission and was told thanks for at least asking but no. Spent the next hour searching some places other HTers had told me they’d seen antelope on. I wasn’t finding much, about an hour before dark I started driving and glassing as much as I could. The only thing I turned up was 2 yearling bucks. Even though I wasn’t going to shoot a yearling buck or doe, (didn’t beat my line by much) It was at least something to go on so I stopped and asked the farmer. He told me to go ahead and there had been quite a few hanging on his alfalfa under the pivots.

 

[BackofBeyond]

 

[Stocker]

I stayed in Scottsbluff last night texting back and fourth with @jbowlin who reached out yesterday afternoon and offered to help me out in the area. In the dark this morning I snuck up the only cover anywhere close which was a deep but narrow ditch. The odds of an antelope, being close enough to the ditch weren’t great, but there wasn’t any other options. Talking with the landowner I asked about elk in the area, he said they were further south and didn’t hang around there. First light this morning a 6pt bull elk is walking 30 yards in front of me. He gets downwind and decides to boogie.

 

[Stocker]

Not long after that a herd of antelope was feeding parallel to me at 166 yards. Three was 15ish does and 1 buck. There was also 2 yearling bucks about 80 yards behind me. The buck with the does wasn’t big, but I decided it may be my only chance on a short hunt. I held it on him snd squeezed the trigger.

 

[Stocker]

Heard the thump but didn’t see the shot through the smoke. I was pretty confident it was a good shot. I was wrong. I watch him limp over the hill into a pasture. I was pretty upset with myself, but determined not to let him suffer any longer than needed. I saw him bed down and made a stalk on him in a shallow valley, I ran out of cover at 300 yards. I tried to close in, but he spotted me and walked another 300 yards directly away from me, and bedded down on a cattle trail in a low place at the base of 2 hills. I backed out and made a 3/4 mile loop to the backside of the hills. I decided to come up snd around the far hill so I didn’t spook him any further and possibly onto neighboring property I would also be coming out of the sun. I got within 400, dropped my pack and started at him hunched over for a while, then crawling, and then finally belly crawling as I got closer to where I hoped he was still bedded. I spotted the tips of his horns at 120 yards, I decided to just wait it out until he stood up so I could shoot.

 

[Stocker]

After an hour of laying there I grew impatient and decided to crawl sideways to my left to gain a few feet of elevation, hopefully seeing more of him. I crawled about 50 yards close, I could see the back of his head now. 1 more crawl and he spun his head right to me. He wasn’t sure what I was, and he sat up enough I could see his body in the grass so I shot him right there.

 

[Stocker]

He won’t make any record books, but I am so thankful to fill this tag with limited time to hunt it. I really wish I could have done it more justice, but my elk tag and my in-laws elk tags ate up a lot of my time I should’ve been dedicating to this tag. I’m thrilled to punch it, now on to deer.

Big thanks to @seeth07 and @jbowlin they gave me some really good starting points to work from.

 

[Festus]