R
redrabbit
Guest
After 16 years of applying, my antelope hunt in Arizona was about to begin. With the gas spent through several weekends of scouting, one buck had been located that would become the primary target buck. However, the day before the season found my truck heading into two new places to locate two bucks reported over 80?. The first location held three bucks as described to me earlier, but the scores were seemingly exaggerated.
Off to the second location to find the largest rumored buck. While the large buck may have indeed been there, but the aesthetics of the area to hunt were not desirable, especially when I was warned that if I kept nosing around, it would be a good way to get shot. So I left to the area where the target buck was roaming.
Late that afternoon found the buck with 14 does tucked up in a large basin. After rising from their beds, they circled and fed up a ridge which had the fence to the unit boundary. As they stood contemplating the crossing, my hopes for tomorrow diminished. Luckily, a few turned and led the group away from the fence to a vantage point. As the continued feeding and moving, they appeared they were going to circle towards me. Risking spooking the herd, I backed out to a more distant vantage point.
As I viewed the heard from afar using the tripod mounted binos, another truck with two hunters appeared to glass the basin. After a few minutes, they spotted the herd and watched them until dark, as my opportunity for the morning opener dimmed. They stopped as they drove past, and we discussed our intentions and plans.
Sunset on the eve of the opener illuminates the ridge above the large buck.
Come morning, with each of us glassing from a different hill, a single shot rang out 15 minutes into shooting light. The herd had been bedded a few hundred yards from the other hunter, John from Scottsdale. The big buck rose to chase a smaller buck away, and in doing so, headed straight to John where a single shot with a 165gr SST from his custom 30.06 dropped the buck instantaneously. I arrived to congratulate him just as he was beginning the field chores with his friend CJ. Since the sun had just crested the butte tot eh east, more pictures were taken of John and his nice 83? antelope. This is John?s first antelope and a great way to begin his young hunting career. He is very pleased and feels blessed that the hunt unfolded as well as it did for him.
After the shared feelings of success, the need to find another buck grew within me. However, I had no real number 2 choice that compared to the buck John took. So I looked for a heart-shaped buck nearby that John and CJ had seen the day before. Unfortunately, I saw only a lone doe and a smaller buck, and some stickery wildflowers.
I headed the truck westward down the highway to check a previously scouted spot where a buck with some mass was supposedly running. I located a herd in the distance as evening neared, and arrived on a point 350 yards overlooking the two bucks after driving several miles around and making a short hike. One was about 16? tall, with good mass, but his prongs were only extending out about an inch. I passed on this buck and drove to camp the night.
The second day of the long anticipated antelope hunt in AZ unit 18A included a drive along a ridge which offered glassing to the basins below. However the basins and flats only held cattle and no speedgoats.
After reaching the ridge?s end and glassing the flats below, the return drive had the afternoon sun at my back. I headed south along a different road to glass other draws and slopes.
Stopping at the crest of a hill, the tripod mounted 15x Leicas revealed a few tan spots in a cedar-edged opening at the base of a ridge several miles away. After driving across the basin, I parked the truck below a shallow ridgeline and set up the tripod and binos again. Changing to the spotting scope revealed there was a buck with horns worthy of further scrutiny.
So with about 30 minutes left before sunset, I loaded the Mystery Ranch pack on my back, put the 6.5 WSM Super Grade in the Kifaru Gun Bearer and headed up the edge of a wide drainage. My goal was to remain unseen as I hiked under the edge of the drainage until I got to a side cut which would hopefully bring me around to the edge of the opening where the antelope were located. Peering over from the end of the cut from behind a cedar tree revealed the antelope still close to a mile away to the east. Being that far away, I cut across the opening to the line of cedars along the north edge of the flat.
Eventually after some more walking, I was able to use the Leica rangefinder to determine they were still about 900 yards away. Skirting through the trees and counting steps, I relocated the small group of antelope from the edge of the trees, used the last tree as cover and sat under the limbs just under 400 yards away. The binos on the tripod showed the buck to have good mass above the prongs, but somewhat weak in prong length. As this buck was probably the second best one seen during the weeks of scouting, the decision was made to shoot him. The laser was used again the find the distance to a tree next to him, the turrets were dialed, and the rifle rested upon the tripod once the bios were removed. The buck dropped before I heard the kwop of the bullet a quarter hour after sunset. Not knowing any source of danger, the five does ran directly towards me in a seemingly frantic manner and stopped less than a hundreds yards out. I reached the buck with very daylight left. Pictures with the flash turned out poor, but the westward view back towards the truck revealed a red horizon.
After caping and field dressing the antelope by headlamp, all the while trying to keep the dirt off the hide and meat, the Mystery Ranch was loaded with meat, cape, head and gear. The hike back to the truck took slightly over an hour. With the pack weighing an estimated 70 pounds, my office job legs felt the work.
Pictures were taken the next morning after sunrise. Soon thereafter, the Wildlife Manager drove up to check the tag and hunting license. She and I had a nice chat for 30 minutes. It has always been nice to see and greet the wardens out in the field.
Doug ~RR
Off to the second location to find the largest rumored buck. While the large buck may have indeed been there, but the aesthetics of the area to hunt were not desirable, especially when I was warned that if I kept nosing around, it would be a good way to get shot. So I left to the area where the target buck was roaming.
Late that afternoon found the buck with 14 does tucked up in a large basin. After rising from their beds, they circled and fed up a ridge which had the fence to the unit boundary. As they stood contemplating the crossing, my hopes for tomorrow diminished. Luckily, a few turned and led the group away from the fence to a vantage point. As the continued feeding and moving, they appeared they were going to circle towards me. Risking spooking the herd, I backed out to a more distant vantage point.
As I viewed the heard from afar using the tripod mounted binos, another truck with two hunters appeared to glass the basin. After a few minutes, they spotted the herd and watched them until dark, as my opportunity for the morning opener dimmed. They stopped as they drove past, and we discussed our intentions and plans.
Sunset on the eve of the opener illuminates the ridge above the large buck.
Come morning, with each of us glassing from a different hill, a single shot rang out 15 minutes into shooting light. The herd had been bedded a few hundred yards from the other hunter, John from Scottsdale. The big buck rose to chase a smaller buck away, and in doing so, headed straight to John where a single shot with a 165gr SST from his custom 30.06 dropped the buck instantaneously. I arrived to congratulate him just as he was beginning the field chores with his friend CJ. Since the sun had just crested the butte tot eh east, more pictures were taken of John and his nice 83? antelope. This is John?s first antelope and a great way to begin his young hunting career. He is very pleased and feels blessed that the hunt unfolded as well as it did for him.
After the shared feelings of success, the need to find another buck grew within me. However, I had no real number 2 choice that compared to the buck John took. So I looked for a heart-shaped buck nearby that John and CJ had seen the day before. Unfortunately, I saw only a lone doe and a smaller buck, and some stickery wildflowers.
I headed the truck westward down the highway to check a previously scouted spot where a buck with some mass was supposedly running. I located a herd in the distance as evening neared, and arrived on a point 350 yards overlooking the two bucks after driving several miles around and making a short hike. One was about 16? tall, with good mass, but his prongs were only extending out about an inch. I passed on this buck and drove to camp the night.
The second day of the long anticipated antelope hunt in AZ unit 18A included a drive along a ridge which offered glassing to the basins below. However the basins and flats only held cattle and no speedgoats.
After reaching the ridge?s end and glassing the flats below, the return drive had the afternoon sun at my back. I headed south along a different road to glass other draws and slopes.
Stopping at the crest of a hill, the tripod mounted 15x Leicas revealed a few tan spots in a cedar-edged opening at the base of a ridge several miles away. After driving across the basin, I parked the truck below a shallow ridgeline and set up the tripod and binos again. Changing to the spotting scope revealed there was a buck with horns worthy of further scrutiny.
So with about 30 minutes left before sunset, I loaded the Mystery Ranch pack on my back, put the 6.5 WSM Super Grade in the Kifaru Gun Bearer and headed up the edge of a wide drainage. My goal was to remain unseen as I hiked under the edge of the drainage until I got to a side cut which would hopefully bring me around to the edge of the opening where the antelope were located. Peering over from the end of the cut from behind a cedar tree revealed the antelope still close to a mile away to the east. Being that far away, I cut across the opening to the line of cedars along the north edge of the flat.
Eventually after some more walking, I was able to use the Leica rangefinder to determine they were still about 900 yards away. Skirting through the trees and counting steps, I relocated the small group of antelope from the edge of the trees, used the last tree as cover and sat under the limbs just under 400 yards away. The binos on the tripod showed the buck to have good mass above the prongs, but somewhat weak in prong length. As this buck was probably the second best one seen during the weeks of scouting, the decision was made to shoot him. The laser was used again the find the distance to a tree next to him, the turrets were dialed, and the rifle rested upon the tripod once the bios were removed. The buck dropped before I heard the kwop of the bullet a quarter hour after sunset. Not knowing any source of danger, the five does ran directly towards me in a seemingly frantic manner and stopped less than a hundreds yards out. I reached the buck with very daylight left. Pictures with the flash turned out poor, but the westward view back towards the truck revealed a red horizon.
After caping and field dressing the antelope by headlamp, all the while trying to keep the dirt off the hide and meat, the Mystery Ranch was loaded with meat, cape, head and gear. The hike back to the truck took slightly over an hour. With the pack weighing an estimated 70 pounds, my office job legs felt the work.
Pictures were taken the next morning after sunrise. Soon thereafter, the Wildlife Manager drove up to check the tag and hunting license. She and I had a nice chat for 30 minutes. It has always been nice to see and greet the wardens out in the field.
Doug ~RR
