WNC2500 Southwest bound again (2023) (tags filled)

[Scott85]

Heck yeah!!!! Congrats!!! Really liked the play by play!

 

[Hunter4Life78]

On Cloud nine for you amazing job!!!

 

[SwaggyD]

Awesome!! Congrats!!

 

[WNC2500]

Friday PM: scouting for speed goats. Hoping for 2/2 on NM!
2 nice bucks seen and 12 does
1 coyote
Snapping turtle




Tommy the turtle

 

[Oak]

That’s an ornate box turtle.

 

[JoltnJoe]

Awesome to see a fellow Carolinian have some western success… you really hit the New Mexican lottery! Good luck on that speed goat!

 

[WNC2500]

Blessed to spend time with friends and family to fellowship. Elk, antelope, bacon wrapped steaks! My mouth is watering just looking at picture

 

[WNC2500]

First day of hunt: slept great till about 4am and then tossed and turned until alarm went off at 5:30. Thinking about speed goats so no way I was going back to bed!

 

[WNC2500]

Again, crap in NM does not like me! I bleed every time I sit down or put my hand on the ground!

 

[WNC2500]

Got out of the truck around 6:45am and saw antelope immediately. It doesn’t look like the buck and does we saw yesterday but boy is he big. Mass mass mass. 9 or 10 does with him.
Get to a good glassing knob and don’t really see much. Wait! There is a doe and a buck is chasing her like nobody’s business!
I now have decisions to make.
Hold on! Now there is another buck by himself but he’s a little one.

 

[WNC2500]

After the inventory was taken, I decided to go after the first buck that we saw. By the way, this hunt I was able to pull in a HT phenom by the name of @Valley1320.

We decided for the tall buck with mass but the only problem was that he had was the 9 does that surrounded him. He was initially at 1100 yards. The hunt is on. Time is 7:25

 

[Paisano]

Loving this story!!! Good luck! Awesome bull by the way!!!

 

[WNC2500]

Ok, the stalk is on and we are headed down a riverbed to try and get closer. It is a good corridor to stay low and we pop up about every 100 to 150 yards and hide behind mesquite which is a good camouflage for us.
Now they are at 800 yards. A couple more riverbed walks.

 

[WNC2500]

Have about ran out of riverbed and now it’s time to crawl to a couple more mesquites (aka shooting spots). Get to 380 yds and decide to get them in the rifle scope. Grass and mesquite is too high for bipod. Grab tripod and stand up to clear obstruction. Does don’t seem to like that so they start to go west. A couple more times to address the shot but nothing is steady nor do they want to mill around or eat and give me a broadside shot.

 

[WNC2500]

It is now time to back out. OnX says we have walked 2.2 miles on this excursion.

We back out, head down a two track and decide to drive past the herd and get maybe a mile in front of them. We have a good guess where they will do since they did it last night.

We see them now out again at 800 yards out but this time we have some topographical advantage and some fences. We walk the fence line but guess what? They are inquisitive and actually come toward us. They are actually trotting!



They are now at 300 yards. We work the fence and set up at 250.

 

[typhoon916]

Keep the crazy storys coming ...

 

[WNC2500]

Ok! If they keep moving toward me, it’s going down!

They stop and present a shot. Ok, I think I know where I am shooting from. Fence post? Nope. I’m tall but I can’t kneel on one knee and it not be too high.

Ahah! Barbed wire!



Steady as shooting prone baby!

 

[WNC2500]

Ok. Breathing is set! Range is 253. Barbed wire is working with me. Buck clears the does. He is broadside with his head heading to my right.

Safety clicked off! Breathe, settle, pull the trigger and it broke before I realized it!

 

[WNC2500]

Boom! Thwack!! (Cue Batman theme song for those of you that know)
That hit heart and lungs @Valley1320 says! Saw it from 250 yards out.
Proof that valley was correct!

 

[WNC2500]

God is good and this hunt was amazing! I love NM and all that it has to offer.