jryoung
Well-known member
I've heard Randy say several times to go to Wyoming and hunt pronghorn and you'll wonder why you never did it sooner. Well, I can say it was pretty much spot on. Did some research this past spring and found a unit that could be drawn on the special with 0 points since my brother and Dad have nothing, and I love them, but I'm keeping my 6 points. Got some local intel on the units I was looking at and pushed the "purchase" button. We got the tags and waited for September to arrive.
I jumped on I-80 and headed east, my brother and Dad flew to Denver and rented a car and drove up and met me.
DSC02066 by jryoung38, on Flickr
I rolled into the area around 3pm and since they weren't going to meet me at the hotel until late I figured I'd poke around the unit a bit and get my bearings. It didn't take long until I found some pronghorn and I texted my brother and Dad and asked if I should wait. We've got 7 tags to fill so get busy if you want to, was the response. I could walk up a creek bed and get close, so I parked down and out of the way. As I was getting my stuff together I looked up on the hill behind me and there were 5 pronghorn, 400 yards away. By the time I had my stuff, they were out of site feeding over the backside of the hill so I decided to make a push for them. Unfortunately, they disappeared like a fart in the Wyoming wind. So, I decided to walk around a bit more to the south on top of a little ridge overlooking the original creek bed I was going to walk up.
Sure enough, the first group I saw were feeding up a small cut about 400 yards away. Since this unit has sage that grows all of 6" high, it was a belly crawl to even get close. At this point I was super stoked I was in my sneakers and shorts since I had just drove 400 miles. There's not much that is rough, scratchy or pokey on the prairie floor, so it was perfect [/sarcasm].
I was able to close the gap to 300, took a bead on a doe, and filled my first tag. I broke it down, got it in the cooler and headed to town and waited for the others to arrive.
20170918_173226 by jryoung38, on Flickr
The next morning we started slow, it was a late night for the other two and I wanted to hit the processor. By late morning we were out in the unit. At lunch it was 73 degrees and sunny…..by 430 it was snowing and blowing sideways. Welcome to Wyoming I guess. We decided to drive around some more and see some more of the unit, because like dumbasses, our cold weather stuff was back at the hotel.
DSC02079 by jryoung38, on Flickr
The next morning we were off to an early start, and came across a buck, by brother didn’t want waste the opportunity so he got himself set up, took a shot and just barely broke the flesh on the back side of his leg. It was enough to get him limping, and to stop after running a short ways away. Another shot and he had is first pronghorn.
DSC02087 by jryoung38, on Flickr
DSC02093 by jryoung38, on Flickr
Obligatory gun pick, my brothers Cooper 92 in 7MM Rem Mag.
20170919_141642 by jryoung38, on Flickr
He was cut up and in a cooler my 9am so we decided to hunt the rest of the morning. We came back over the hill looking into the big creek basin that I was in when I first arrived. There was a bedded buck all by his lonesome out in the middle of the draw, but I could get to him by using the creek bed. I wandered up the draw for about a half mile and got to 217 yards, he caught me trying to sneak just past some brush for a shot so we stared at each other for 5 minutes then he decided to turn.
DSC02098 by jryoung38, on Flickr
20170920_081140 by jryoung38, on Flickr
We packed him up and headed to the processor. We got back out for the evening, but it was uneventful so we decided to look at some other areas.
The next morning we headed back to the north part of the unit where we had been having our success. Sure enough, right were my brother shot his buck the day before were two does. My Dad and brother set up for a double while I called out ranges. Dad shot and dropped a doe, while my brother hesitated on his and she started to run away. Like an alarm bell, the gun shot triggered “take me out of the gene pool” buck to come running over the hill right to us and my Dad wasted no time filling his second tag and doubling up.
DSC02110 by jryoung38, on Flickr
We ended up taking one more doe the next day and each of us filled our buck and doe tags. My brother and I ended up belly crawling to 285 yards of a doe. The best part of the crawl was about 15 yards away from the point we wanted to get to by brother turns his head to me and says “my nipple is in a cactus”. I have to give him credit for pushing the last bit and making the shot.
This was a super fun hunt, good terrain for both my Dad and brother, other than no sage brush to hide behind. There were lots of animals and there was no pressure on us to march ten miles a day. While I like the misery of elk camp, drinking local craft brew pints in a restaurant and sleeping in a bed was a great way to spend a few days in Wyoming. There was no shortage of bucks or pronghorn in this unit, which I was a little worried about being so close to town and no points to draw.
DSC02114 by jryoung38, on Flickr
Last night I finally got to cook some. Grilled with black bean paste, and matsutake gohan. I don’t think this is going to last long in my freezer.
2017-10-17_11-34-15 by jryoung38, on Flickr
I jumped on I-80 and headed east, my brother and Dad flew to Denver and rented a car and drove up and met me.
DSC02066 by jryoung38, on FlickrI rolled into the area around 3pm and since they weren't going to meet me at the hotel until late I figured I'd poke around the unit a bit and get my bearings. It didn't take long until I found some pronghorn and I texted my brother and Dad and asked if I should wait. We've got 7 tags to fill so get busy if you want to, was the response. I could walk up a creek bed and get close, so I parked down and out of the way. As I was getting my stuff together I looked up on the hill behind me and there were 5 pronghorn, 400 yards away. By the time I had my stuff, they were out of site feeding over the backside of the hill so I decided to make a push for them. Unfortunately, they disappeared like a fart in the Wyoming wind. So, I decided to walk around a bit more to the south on top of a little ridge overlooking the original creek bed I was going to walk up.
Sure enough, the first group I saw were feeding up a small cut about 400 yards away. Since this unit has sage that grows all of 6" high, it was a belly crawl to even get close. At this point I was super stoked I was in my sneakers and shorts since I had just drove 400 miles. There's not much that is rough, scratchy or pokey on the prairie floor, so it was perfect [/sarcasm].
I was able to close the gap to 300, took a bead on a doe, and filled my first tag. I broke it down, got it in the cooler and headed to town and waited for the others to arrive.
20170918_173226 by jryoung38, on FlickrThe next morning we started slow, it was a late night for the other two and I wanted to hit the processor. By late morning we were out in the unit. At lunch it was 73 degrees and sunny…..by 430 it was snowing and blowing sideways. Welcome to Wyoming I guess. We decided to drive around some more and see some more of the unit, because like dumbasses, our cold weather stuff was back at the hotel.
DSC02079 by jryoung38, on FlickrThe next morning we were off to an early start, and came across a buck, by brother didn’t want waste the opportunity so he got himself set up, took a shot and just barely broke the flesh on the back side of his leg. It was enough to get him limping, and to stop after running a short ways away. Another shot and he had is first pronghorn.
DSC02087 by jryoung38, on FlickrDSC02093 by jryoung38, on FlickrObligatory gun pick, my brothers Cooper 92 in 7MM Rem Mag.
20170919_141642 by jryoung38, on FlickrHe was cut up and in a cooler my 9am so we decided to hunt the rest of the morning. We came back over the hill looking into the big creek basin that I was in when I first arrived. There was a bedded buck all by his lonesome out in the middle of the draw, but I could get to him by using the creek bed. I wandered up the draw for about a half mile and got to 217 yards, he caught me trying to sneak just past some brush for a shot so we stared at each other for 5 minutes then he decided to turn.
DSC02098 by jryoung38, on Flickr20170920_081140 by jryoung38, on FlickrWe packed him up and headed to the processor. We got back out for the evening, but it was uneventful so we decided to look at some other areas.
The next morning we headed back to the north part of the unit where we had been having our success. Sure enough, right were my brother shot his buck the day before were two does. My Dad and brother set up for a double while I called out ranges. Dad shot and dropped a doe, while my brother hesitated on his and she started to run away. Like an alarm bell, the gun shot triggered “take me out of the gene pool” buck to come running over the hill right to us and my Dad wasted no time filling his second tag and doubling up.
DSC02110 by jryoung38, on FlickrWe ended up taking one more doe the next day and each of us filled our buck and doe tags. My brother and I ended up belly crawling to 285 yards of a doe. The best part of the crawl was about 15 yards away from the point we wanted to get to by brother turns his head to me and says “my nipple is in a cactus”. I have to give him credit for pushing the last bit and making the shot.
This was a super fun hunt, good terrain for both my Dad and brother, other than no sage brush to hide behind. There were lots of animals and there was no pressure on us to march ten miles a day. While I like the misery of elk camp, drinking local craft brew pints in a restaurant and sleeping in a bed was a great way to spend a few days in Wyoming. There was no shortage of bucks or pronghorn in this unit, which I was a little worried about being so close to town and no points to draw.
DSC02114 by jryoung38, on FlickrLast night I finally got to cook some. Grilled with black bean paste, and matsutake gohan. I don’t think this is going to last long in my freezer.
2017-10-17_11-34-15 by jryoung38, on Flickr
