406LIFE
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2016
- Messages
- 3,128
...I know I do. I really like antelope hunting.
I didn't draw my Montana tags this year and we had to cancel our WY goat trip since one in the party thought October would be a good time to have a baby (whatever). But, I did manage to get a leftover tag for just outside Helena, MT. Access was either BLM with short range weapons on the west side or private with rifle on the east side of the unit. I dorve around, knocked on a lot of doors and got told no all but one. I was able to get on a larger ranch that held goats later in the season. You can read about opening weekend in my thread about jerks.
I went back this morning and saw one doe about 500 yards out, so I drove around and put a stalk on her. When I got there, she wasn't. I have no idea where she went. I really don't. While there is some terrain changes, it wasn't enough that she should have just evaporated. I stood there for 20 minutes thinking I was standing on top of her and just didn't see her.
I walked out, and drove around to a pivot where there was a dandy buck and a handful of does. I drove on past, parked about half a mile away and used a draw to get to the edge of the field. I eased my way up into the field, using the gentle roll to hide me. I crept along until the horns of that buck appeared on the horizon. I setup my tripod and tried to get a range on a weed growing next to him. It was somewhere between 97 and 115 yards, depending on the shadow cast by the sun. I don't really know. They were close enough. So I waited. 22 degrees, slight wind in my face and I just stood there. Forty five minutes later that buck got up and began to feed, and slowing the rest did too. The first doe mingled in with the big buck and a smaller one, so I shifted focus to the next one. She stood and faced me, feeding towards me. After a couple of minutes she turned broadside, and I took a breath and squeezed the trigger. She ran just about 50 yards and dropped. I'll have antelope in the freezer again, fifth year in a row for me. The hunt and the meat never get old.
I didn't draw my Montana tags this year and we had to cancel our WY goat trip since one in the party thought October would be a good time to have a baby (whatever). But, I did manage to get a leftover tag for just outside Helena, MT. Access was either BLM with short range weapons on the west side or private with rifle on the east side of the unit. I dorve around, knocked on a lot of doors and got told no all but one. I was able to get on a larger ranch that held goats later in the season. You can read about opening weekend in my thread about jerks.
I went back this morning and saw one doe about 500 yards out, so I drove around and put a stalk on her. When I got there, she wasn't. I have no idea where she went. I really don't. While there is some terrain changes, it wasn't enough that she should have just evaporated. I stood there for 20 minutes thinking I was standing on top of her and just didn't see her.
I walked out, and drove around to a pivot where there was a dandy buck and a handful of does. I drove on past, parked about half a mile away and used a draw to get to the edge of the field. I eased my way up into the field, using the gentle roll to hide me. I crept along until the horns of that buck appeared on the horizon. I setup my tripod and tried to get a range on a weed growing next to him. It was somewhere between 97 and 115 yards, depending on the shadow cast by the sun. I don't really know. They were close enough. So I waited. 22 degrees, slight wind in my face and I just stood there. Forty five minutes later that buck got up and began to feed, and slowing the rest did too. The first doe mingled in with the big buck and a smaller one, so I shifted focus to the next one. She stood and faced me, feeding towards me. After a couple of minutes she turned broadside, and I took a breath and squeezed the trigger. She ran just about 50 yards and dropped. I'll have antelope in the freezer again, fifth year in a row for me. The hunt and the meat never get old.
