Brad's First Antelope

B

bbentley392t

Guest
How goes it,
Today, 8-15-09...was opening day of the 09' archery season here in Utah. After drawing a limited entry tag, I had the opportunity to harvest my very first Pronghorn Antelope...in the beautiful red-rock high desert of the swell! I was fortunate enough to share this special accomplishment with my dad, who was sitting beside me in the ground blind. Unfortunately after sevral hours with no activity...other than squirming & hoping frogs in the water, we both were falling victim to a persuasive mid-morning nap, and almost missed our opportunity! With my head bobbing in & out of a sleepy daze...I opened my eyes and out of nowhere a buck was at the edge of the water! Although this wasn't the 80" buck that my good friend and I had spotted just days before, I got a little too excited and took a shot without hesitation on this buck at just 30 yards from the ground blind! My shot placement was a little high in the shoulder and it took this buck quite awhile to finally go down, we tracked him for an hour and a half...he was bleeding profusly but just kept going, however a second arrow eventually helped make the decision a little easier for him! Regardless of the fact that he's not the big one I had my heart set on...I'm still happy I was able to fill my first antelope tag, and experience this new aspect of hunting with such good friends and family. The buck only gross scores 62" and is kind of a "dink" especially by trophy standards...however I think taking an antelope with a bow is quite an achievement, regardless of size. I sincerely can't wait to try this again thr next time I 'm lucky enough to draw...hopefully I'll have the patience to wait it out a little longer and take that "monster" buck of a lifetime.

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Congrats!!! Nice first buck. Got your first now you can work towards that trophy you have your heart set on. First antelope, with a bow and with your father by your side. Can't second guess that!!! Great job and thanks for sharing.
 
NICE! It is all about the experience. Sounds like it was about as good as it could get...next time you can focus on the huge one.
 
LAST EDITED ON Sep-05-09 AT 06:41PM (MST)[p]How goes it ohngren,
By "trophy" standards, I personally feel that this buck really isn't one that is up to par or truly worthy of a shoulder mount...a european should most likely be it's fate. However since it's my very first antelope, and it was harvested with a bow...I will be having it mounted for sure. I also ran into a similar situation with the mule deer I took in back in 07'. It was my very first archery deer kill and was a 24" wide, 134" 3x3...a good first buck. And once again, by "trophy" standards...not really the typical monster that you would want to have hanging on the wall, but since it was my first buck and an archery kill, I had it mounted as well.
 
You are making the right decision by doing a shoulder mount.

Its a great looking goat and will look great on your wall.

I was in a similiar situation last year in Wyoming. I am
glad its hanging on my wall.
 
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