Flatbrimmer
Well-known member
Dude that’s a good one!! You had two antelope buck tags? You’re gonna have a good season!
The veil has been opened! 1/11
- Thread starter perma
- Start date
perma
Well-known member
Yup one in CO and one in WY. All tagged out for the year.
perma
Well-known member
It actually helped with the bloodshot. I had a questionable quarter that didn’t have a good taste to it. Brined it for a few hours and it was significantly better.
perma
Well-known member
Alright. Story time now that I’m showered and he’s in a cooler.
So as soon as work let out, I jet down to the place I’m hunting. I’m driving around to see who is where. I get stopped by a rancher to be asked for HMA papers which I shared with him. He had a phone call come in so he let me go and I carried on driving. He actually chased me down and started telling me where he’s seen bucks. He told me to follow him and while driving 45 on a county road he slammed his brakes and pointed towards him. He had 6 does with him.
I parked my truck by a gate and parted ways with him. With zero expectations, I walk over three hills totaling 2 miles. With the cows following me I turn to my left and there they are. The buck was rutting does like a horse rounding a cow. He was full of vinegar.
I set up and range him at 425 yards. Too far for me, I said 350 is my limit. By some weird chance, the doe ran towards me while the buck rounded her up. By the time the doe stopped, he was gassed. I hit him again at 375. Still to far but I can do it, I practiced at 400. I click my scope to 375 on the line and do my breathing. Boom.
The buck did not react to the shot like I expected. So now I have it in my head that I have another ugly shot. I wait 10 minutes because I lost sight of him. Now I’m in my head. I’m picturing myself finding blood but no buck so I’m already notching my tag.
To my surprise, and kind of not surprise, he only ran 40 yards down the hill. Perfect lung shot. He was still bubbling out but stone dead. Overreaction for nothing. That gun works, I’ve shot it a lot and this shot proved it. I laughed at myself as I admired him. For the HMA he was on, he was a trophy buck. Biggest one I’ve seen there.
I got him quartered and trimmed within an hour after taking bad pictures. I was able to pack everything out in one trip but had to carry the head by hand. It was sunset when I left, and pitch dark by the time I got to the truck. One pack out for 2 miles. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
So as soon as work let out, I jet down to the place I’m hunting. I’m driving around to see who is where. I get stopped by a rancher to be asked for HMA papers which I shared with him. He had a phone call come in so he let me go and I carried on driving. He actually chased me down and started telling me where he’s seen bucks. He told me to follow him and while driving 45 on a county road he slammed his brakes and pointed towards him. He had 6 does with him.
I parked my truck by a gate and parted ways with him. With zero expectations, I walk over three hills totaling 2 miles. With the cows following me I turn to my left and there they are. The buck was rutting does like a horse rounding a cow. He was full of vinegar.
I set up and range him at 425 yards. Too far for me, I said 350 is my limit. By some weird chance, the doe ran towards me while the buck rounded her up. By the time the doe stopped, he was gassed. I hit him again at 375. Still to far but I can do it, I practiced at 400. I click my scope to 375 on the line and do my breathing. Boom.
The buck did not react to the shot like I expected. So now I have it in my head that I have another ugly shot. I wait 10 minutes because I lost sight of him. Now I’m in my head. I’m picturing myself finding blood but no buck so I’m already notching my tag.
To my surprise, and kind of not surprise, he only ran 40 yards down the hill. Perfect lung shot. He was still bubbling out but stone dead. Overreaction for nothing. That gun works, I’ve shot it a lot and this shot proved it. I laughed at myself as I admired him. For the HMA he was on, he was a trophy buck. Biggest one I’ve seen there.
I got him quartered and trimmed within an hour after taking bad pictures. I was able to pack everything out in one trip but had to carry the head by hand. It was sunset when I left, and pitch dark by the time I got to the truck. One pack out for 2 miles. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Wyhunter
Well-known member
Awesome job man! Thats a nice buck for these parts. 2 for 2!
Flatbrimmer
Well-known member
Tagged out?? No deer or elk tags anywhere??? You’re on a roll bud, can’t stop now 
Scott85
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2018
- Messages
- 3,004
Great job!!!
perma
Well-known member
Two more elk tags and one more deer tag. All done with pronghorn this year.Tagged out?? No deer or elk tags anywhere??? You’re on a roll bud, can’t stop now
elkrchr
Well-known member
Great start to the season, congrats!
perma
Well-known member
Ol boy is processed, cleaned and stowed in the freezer. Much better yield; 35 pounds altogether. Two roasts, six backstraps, tons of loose meat for pulled pronghorn and tacos, and about 20 lbs grounded. With him, the buck from last week, some deer I got from my sisters BF and the little bison we have, we’re good on meat for the rest of the year at least.
Horn sheds were a bit tough coming off. Really had to twist. I noticed the tips of his horns on the skull side were very rubbery and soft. May have boiled him for too long. None the less, he will be sun bathing for a few days. Then I’ll glue his sheds back on and score him. I’m guessing 65-70”. He did shrink a bit; I wasn’t able to wrap my hands around the base and today I was. Oh well!
Ate the tenderloins today. I sinned and overcooked it to medium. Still great but a bit tough. It sat in a marinade all day and never froze so I think I just over cooked it. No gamey flavor at all. That was the freshest meat I’ve ever eaten. 23 hours old.
I think we’ll be silent on this thread for awhile. I’m taking next week off to relax and prep for the elk hunt. It’s nice to get the kill off my mind and have two under my belt now. But the elk is the true prize.
I’ll bask in my victory for now.
Horn sheds were a bit tough coming off. Really had to twist. I noticed the tips of his horns on the skull side were very rubbery and soft. May have boiled him for too long. None the less, he will be sun bathing for a few days. Then I’ll glue his sheds back on and score him. I’m guessing 65-70”. He did shrink a bit; I wasn’t able to wrap my hands around the base and today I was. Oh well!
Ate the tenderloins today. I sinned and overcooked it to medium. Still great but a bit tough. It sat in a marinade all day and never froze so I think I just over cooked it. No gamey flavor at all. That was the freshest meat I’ve ever eaten. 23 hours old.
I think we’ll be silent on this thread for awhile. I’m taking next week off to relax and prep for the elk hunt. It’s nice to get the kill off my mind and have two under my belt now. But the elk is the true prize.
I’ll bask in my victory for now.
Flatbrimmer
Well-known member
Six backstraps!??
That's great, monkey is off your back and now you're heating up! Nice work sticking with it. I bungled a shot on a pronghorn once and it was a mess. And, good to hear your confidence with the rifle. 375 is a poke (for me, at least) on such a small target. It has been a few years since I've had pronghorn in the freezer and I miss it!
perma
Well-known member
Six servings. Sorry that sounded confusing. My wife and I are pretty conservative on meat. We only eat 1/4- 1/3 pound meat serving. After we cut it up we have 6 backstrap meals.
perma
Well-known member
It was for me as well. I didn’t anticipate making such a long shot but I did practice it enough to take it. Big confidence booster considering I have an eye that requires me to wear a hard plastic lens. But it was a clean lung shot. I’m more giddy about that than the meat if I’m honest.
perma
Well-known member
Semi-final product. I’m getting some 40 vol and white powder for the little guy. His skull started turning blue for whatever reason. Then I’ll epoxy the horns back.
I’m interested to see what your opinion of the score is on the left. I measured him with a loose tape measure and have a number but I’m no expert in scoring.
Roughly a little under 76" is what I measured.
Last edited:
SwaggyD
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2022
- Messages
- 1,699
I would guess you're pretty close with that number. Very nice antelope!!
perma
Well-known member
My wife and I were discussing marriage today. We got onto the topic of “love language”. For those who don’t know, it’s ways you express your love to your significant other, most often in other forms without saying “I love you”. For example, small gifts and gestures such as a hug every morning or making a cup of coffee for her would be quantified as such.
(Sorry boys, I may have poured the coals onto you).
My wife and I happen to express love for each other in two different defined ways: spending quality time together and giving food to each other. Focusing in on the food, we often share the burden of the kitchen, but I am the main chef and she is the baker. We found that we most often enjoy getting a reaction out of each other when we make new recipes. What prompted this post is that I made tomatillo salsa for us from my SIL’s garden. She hates tomatillos but I told her to try this recipe I scratched together. We ate through a small bag of chips. It warms me to know that I provide for my little family through the garden and, now, through hunting. Tomorrow, she’s making blueberry cobbler. I’ve been on a hard cobbler kick ever since we got Palisade peaches.
Where this gets a bit dark is that tomorrow her parents are coming over for lunch. I’m making them a Pueblo tradition of green chili pronghorn sloppers. Everything from scratch except the cheese, I’m not talented enough for that. I’ve never had a great relationship with her parents due to a dilemma that happened (if you ever share a camp with me, you’ll get the story). Moving back home was my way of rekindling that relationship, and I planned on starting with her dad, who also hunts.
Turns out, he “retired” from hunting (I don’t know that he ever shot anything, never seen any antlers on the wall). So my one way of expressing my appreciation through hunting and sharing a camp and some food was evaporated this year. Maybe I have a chip on my shoulder from 0/10 years of no kills but this was a gut punch I was not wanting to deal with. Showing him my bucks tomorrow will be the diversion of an evilish smirk on my face suggesting “you could have been there with me”. He keeps bringing up a pheasant hunt, but he’s making the plans for that. I told him that I’d happily go..
Nevertheless, as I do my wife, I will show my appreciation for them with a fresh from scratched home cooked meal with a beautiful view of the high plains.
Also on the topic of food, I portioned my meals out for 7 days. That’s how long this elk hunt will take, 2 scouting days and 5 days to figure it out. Gun range tomorrow to foul the barrel and waiting on a few pairs of socks to come in the mail. Bag is packed, water is freezing and coolers are sterilized.
Five point bull is the goal, the first one I see is going down.
(Sorry boys, I may have poured the coals onto you).
My wife and I happen to express love for each other in two different defined ways: spending quality time together and giving food to each other. Focusing in on the food, we often share the burden of the kitchen, but I am the main chef and she is the baker. We found that we most often enjoy getting a reaction out of each other when we make new recipes. What prompted this post is that I made tomatillo salsa for us from my SIL’s garden. She hates tomatillos but I told her to try this recipe I scratched together. We ate through a small bag of chips. It warms me to know that I provide for my little family through the garden and, now, through hunting. Tomorrow, she’s making blueberry cobbler. I’ve been on a hard cobbler kick ever since we got Palisade peaches.
Where this gets a bit dark is that tomorrow her parents are coming over for lunch. I’m making them a Pueblo tradition of green chili pronghorn sloppers. Everything from scratch except the cheese, I’m not talented enough for that. I’ve never had a great relationship with her parents due to a dilemma that happened (if you ever share a camp with me, you’ll get the story). Moving back home was my way of rekindling that relationship, and I planned on starting with her dad, who also hunts.
Turns out, he “retired” from hunting (I don’t know that he ever shot anything, never seen any antlers on the wall). So my one way of expressing my appreciation through hunting and sharing a camp and some food was evaporated this year. Maybe I have a chip on my shoulder from 0/10 years of no kills but this was a gut punch I was not wanting to deal with. Showing him my bucks tomorrow will be the diversion of an evilish smirk on my face suggesting “you could have been there with me”. He keeps bringing up a pheasant hunt, but he’s making the plans for that. I told him that I’d happily go..
Nevertheless, as I do my wife, I will show my appreciation for them with a fresh from scratched home cooked meal with a beautiful view of the high plains.
Also on the topic of food, I portioned my meals out for 7 days. That’s how long this elk hunt will take, 2 scouting days and 5 days to figure it out. Gun range tomorrow to foul the barrel and waiting on a few pairs of socks to come in the mail. Bag is packed, water is freezing and coolers are sterilized.
Five point bull is the goal, the first one I see is going down.
Scott85
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2018
- Messages
- 3,004
What’s up with the blurring?
