LAST EDITED ON Oct-29-16 AT 00:49AM (MST)[p]Tags are all filled, vacation time is about up, and a couple more day's butchering left...
It was a good season. There is a thread in the Wyoming forum on my deer (2016 Deer).
My youngest daughter was home from college for a few days and helped me process some of the deer.
She found out that using a sausage stuffer isn't for the weak of limb.
Rewards of the hunt: snack sticks
While home she wanted to go out on an evening elk hunt. We didn't see any elk, but the country was beautiful, weather good and company the best.
The mighty huntress.
Last weekend, my eldest son and I headed down to area 99 to hunt antelope. It had been six years since he had been down with us. He had two doe tags and I a buck and two doe tags. The area was an open access area this year and the lack of visible antelope reflected it. We did find that a little walking and glassing turned plenty up. The first evening we glassed several groups, but didn't find any that were situated so that we could get close enough for our range. The next morning, my son shot a doe. I followed the herd where they crossed a ridge to see if I could get a shot.
I wasn't able to connect for a shot on that group, but found a buck that I thought was pretty decent and worked in on him. I ranged him at 198 yards, shot and heard the tell tale whomp of the bullet connecting. He just stood there. I was getting ready to shoot again when he turned and started trotting away. I didn't have much time, and didn't range him again. I judged distance and held high and fired. He dropped with that shot. I ranged it then at 422 yards. Not a shot I would normally take on an antelope, but knew I'd hit him with that first shot. Turns out I'd shot high and clipped the top of a vertebra. I'm surprised he showed no visible reaction.
When my son and I reconnected, I found he'd shot a second antelope when a group wondered back in where the first was. We got our goats loaded up and back to camp, had a lunch and went back out. We saw several groups during the afternoon and settled on a group to work in on. We were watching them when another group came up out of a gully or something and I got a solid shot for another doe. The next morning we went out and put a stalk on a group for the final doe. Sunday was spent skinning and breaking them down and putting them on ice. It was a great time with my son.
My son, master knife sharpener...
The goats with our home away from home in the background.
Ready to process
The buck. The pictures don't do the mass justice.
We finished processing the antelope Tuesday. Continued below...
It was a good season. There is a thread in the Wyoming forum on my deer (2016 Deer).
My youngest daughter was home from college for a few days and helped me process some of the deer.
She found out that using a sausage stuffer isn't for the weak of limb.
Rewards of the hunt: snack sticks
While home she wanted to go out on an evening elk hunt. We didn't see any elk, but the country was beautiful, weather good and company the best.
The mighty huntress.
Last weekend, my eldest son and I headed down to area 99 to hunt antelope. It had been six years since he had been down with us. He had two doe tags and I a buck and two doe tags. The area was an open access area this year and the lack of visible antelope reflected it. We did find that a little walking and glassing turned plenty up. The first evening we glassed several groups, but didn't find any that were situated so that we could get close enough for our range. The next morning, my son shot a doe. I followed the herd where they crossed a ridge to see if I could get a shot.
I wasn't able to connect for a shot on that group, but found a buck that I thought was pretty decent and worked in on him. I ranged him at 198 yards, shot and heard the tell tale whomp of the bullet connecting. He just stood there. I was getting ready to shoot again when he turned and started trotting away. I didn't have much time, and didn't range him again. I judged distance and held high and fired. He dropped with that shot. I ranged it then at 422 yards. Not a shot I would normally take on an antelope, but knew I'd hit him with that first shot. Turns out I'd shot high and clipped the top of a vertebra. I'm surprised he showed no visible reaction.
When my son and I reconnected, I found he'd shot a second antelope when a group wondered back in where the first was. We got our goats loaded up and back to camp, had a lunch and went back out. We saw several groups during the afternoon and settled on a group to work in on. We were watching them when another group came up out of a gully or something and I got a solid shot for another doe. The next morning we went out and put a stalk on a group for the final doe. Sunday was spent skinning and breaking them down and putting them on ice. It was a great time with my son.
My son, master knife sharpener...
The goats with our home away from home in the background.
Ready to process
The buck. The pictures don't do the mass justice.
We finished processing the antelope Tuesday. Continued below...
