Ok, I hope I can manage the pic uploads and make this story somewhat interesting and, most likely, painstakingly long.
To make things easier, let's create a simple legend:
B1 = The great buck that got away (read, I missed)
B2 = The 2nd buck that got away (read, I missed ANOTHER ONE)
B3 = The buck I was fortunate to harvest (read, I'm lucky I can shoot this dang gun)
The hunters: Drew (me); Greg (my neighbor); Chris (my neighbor's brother).
This was the 1st antelope hunt for all of us. However, I had hunted WY successfully in the past for deer.
Skipping the details, I think Greg and Chris were too amped about the hunt and shot bucks the 1st day/night there. They shot respectable bucks but you'd think they had the "love muffin" back home on their minds.
Day 1 (or 1.5) starts out simple enough. Spotting tons of goats and the bucks are crazy! They're either chasing/mounting does or running off other bucks. It's really fun to watch a buck stand on "his" vantage point and scan the prairie or valley for interlopers.
I wanted to head straight to a small bowl with an active spring that we had scouted a month earlier but we spent a lot of time looking at multiple bucks. We put two stalks on but I decided not to shoot on either. The 1st stalk had a nice buck but his horns laid out so flat it was hard to judge his height.
Let me interject(on myself), I wasn't looking for an 80"+ animal on this hunt. I would've loved one but I was hoping for something that would go 75"+. Heck, how would I know the difference anyways.
I progress...we finally continued up the small ridge via truck to a spot that would allow us to reach a rock outcropping and glass the small bowl mentioned earlier. Just as we're about to stop, a small doe/fawn trots in front of us. I thought it was somewhat odd that she basically ignored us...then I saw why! A silly coyote had picked the wrong doe/fawn to stalk because I was right there to protect her!!! My 1st shot(s) of the 2010 WY Antelope Season went downrange at that silly coyote. First shot at approx. 210 (ugh) and the second at no more than 250! Obviously, both shots had the same result and the coyote lives on...bugger.
We moved the truck approx. 100 yds to the spot we wanted earlier. We make our way down to the rock outcropping and Greg turns toward me with that look and pointing finger, "they're right down there". Well, "right down there" turned out to be approx. 750 yds but there was no question that this buck (B1) was an obvious shooter.
The 1st REAL stalk was on. The rocks, the cactus, the varying land contours...what more could you ask for?!?!?! After closing 300 yds we stopped on a small rise and contemplated the next move. "Use this draw" or "follow that rock base"??? Chris (who had my rangefinder) gives me the "he's 438", can you take it. I felt comfortable with the shot but told them I'd like to get closer heading for the next small rise.
Right at that moment, I heard a funny sound behind me. It took my brain 2-3 seconds to register, "Holy Crap, there's another buck behind us"!!! I whisper to Chris, "is there a buck behind me" and literally, the buck on the ridge behind us (about 150 yds) snorts again and hauls mail back over the top!
At this point, there was no way we getting closer to B1 and his 16 does. All eyes were now trained on our general vicinity. I don't think they knew where we were exactly, but there wasn't a single eye looking anywhere else but in our direction.
I had wanted to get closer, but I was comfortable with the oringinal shot in the 1st place...settle in; settle down; set-up in a good shooting position (we were already prone); and finish the deal on Mr. B1 (he has now taken on an air of deserved respect).
The whisper crosses my lips, "I'm gonna take the shot". Chris and Greg are ready...BANG!!!
Cloud of dust in front of the chest; Mr. B1 looks down and spins around. At first I thought he was hit but I think the shot confused him. He gained his bearings and bolted after his does who had a strong headstart. I track, lead, and squeeze...BANG!!! Cloud of dust about 10 feet behind him. I've never been good at moving shots, but a sprinting antelope buck at 400+ is a whole different skill set for anybody! The plus side to my two misses on B1 is that my elevation was perfect both times. That equates to an unfinished #####...
Greg retrieved the truck while Chris and I made sure of my misses. B1 stopped a couple of times to watch us but trotted off happily to bed his ladies and I'm off to bed with nightmares.
Day 2 (or 2.5) is another beautiful day but hot again. Yesterday was 94 and today is forecasted to hit 90. We try the opposite side of the bowl in hopes of spotting Mr. B1, but we spot B2 on his vantage point. Shortly, we notice another buck approx. 1/2 mile away on an adjacent "point". The short-lived chess game commences between the two until B2 has a doe bolt from his harem. She was hot and B2 wasn't going to let anybody else share in his hard work.
I thought B2 was a shooter (again, what do I know) so I move downhill because his doe was heading straight down a small draw. I set-up in a good position and proceed to watch B2 corral his hot lady and get her pointed back to the harem. I thought about taking a shot multiple times...heck, I would've been better off shooting spitballs at Barry Sanders while he navigated a defensive line. Everytime I thought I had a shot, he'd juke or cut in a different direction. Chris said he heard me say, "just stop for two seconds you mutha...". I don't recall saying that but...
Anyways, B2 gets his girl back with the rest of the harem and it seems we could put a relatively easy stalk on him by coming up an opposite finger of the small ridge he's on.
The B2 stalk is on. Chris and I navigate the contours while Greg stayed back in a position to keep the "eyes" moderately engaged. To shorten the story, Chris and I were able to get into a great position without getting busted. Straight broadside, 320 yds...BANG!!!
Dust cloud right over the shoulders...ARGH!!!
Now I'm second guessing my "skills" and my equipment. I've taken multiple animals over 350 with my current set-up so I start to place the blame on myself. "Did I pull the shot", "did I flinch", or "can you hit yourself in the ass with both hands"???
Dust off, pull that 100th cactus spine out of your elbows, tuck your tail between your legs, and head back to the truck.
We meet Greg at the bottom of the draw and he tells us that he watched B2's competitor follow me and Chris along a ridge lower than B2 and his girls. Oh well, he wasn't a shooter anyways I reply. Then Greg says, but you'll be pissed to know the truck is dead! WTF!!!
We gathered our thoughts; me about my "lack" of shooting skills, Chris and Greg about how we're gonna get out of this spot. One of them asked me about jumper cables and I half-wondered, "what good would they do us without somebody to give us a jump"? I'm very surly at this point.
Anyways, Chris starts the 3/4 mile hike out of the draw to the "main dirt". Actually, he had to RUN almost the whole distance because he saw a cloud coming down the "main dirt".
Either way, he flagged down a couple of guys from Casper and they came down and gave us a jump and some friendly conversation. Have I ever mentioned how much I like the people in WY?
This day looks sacked because we feel we need to drive to Casper to buy a back-up battery in the event the alternator is smoked. We start the drive to Casper, which takes about an hour, and drive by multiple bucks on private and public land. I believe I make one or two comments along the lines of, "if I'm not close enough to kiss them, I'm not close enough to shoot them". That generates a few chuckles among my companions...go figure.
We go to Wally World and pick-up a new battery and the other guys grab something to eat at the convenience store. We then jump in the truck and make a plan for the afternoon. Originally, we thought midday and early afternoon wasn't going to be very productive but we decided that the current buck activity made it worth the effort.
Let me point out, I was lucky in this hunt. I had two guys that had filled their tags and were willing to do anything I wanted to get my buck. We performed multiple stalks that aren't mentioned in this post (it's long enough already) where my whisper, "he's not what I want" was good enough for them. I'll touch on that later.
OK, back to the goods. I wish I had a SUPER STORY to post about B3 but it will most likely be anticlimatic for most.
On the drive back from Casper, I'm scouring my maps and thinking about our scouting trip.
I know there is a vantage point that we can glass multiple draws and highpoints that will probably hold bucks. At this time it's mid-afternoon and I wanted to play the sun correctly and set-up glassing to the East. To me, that makes the most sense. What do I know, I can't hit my ass with both hands anyways but Greg and Chris are on board with my wishes.
I'm "trying" to set-up a glassing position when one of the guys says, "Drew, buck behind us (to the West)".
Is he a shooter??? I don't know and don't bother with the spotting scope.
Me and Chris immediately try to find a "low" spot so we can get some glass on this buck, now known as B3. Greg, as always, has already found a spot that couldn't hide a gopher. He's pretty good at that.
Chris and I formulate a plan for B3. B3 looks good from 600 yds but so do I...LOL!!!
I'll be honest, the stalk on B3 wasn't very hard. We followed the fingers and mini-draws to sneak up on his "point". We crest a small rise and...nothing!!!
Did he bust us??? Where's his girls??? There's no way we wouldn't have seen him bolt, right???
At least I didn't have to miss the shot...AGAIN!!!
Greg and I are glassing a low basin and I look over to Chris to see him throwing rocks at me and Greg and "pointing the finger"!
We all drop in unison and crawl towards the small rise Chris is behind. We're staggered Me, Greg, and Chris left to right and I'm on the lowest belly of the rise.
Greg and Chris are telling me this is a shooter but I can't get a look without busting the skyline.
Without seeing the buck, I ask for a range and Chris calls out "364 and closing". Closing??? Shut the F*CK UP.
I see a small skinny-dip valley to my left and move that way. Greg actually turned around with that look that said, "where are you going"???
It turns out, the buck was moving to his right (my left) and I had moved into a perfect shooting position as he skylighted himself at 350 yds. Please visualize, Chris and Greg were on a small hump that gave them perfect sight lines but I was no more than 3 feet lower than them and couldn't see the buck. It was easier for me to move perpendicular to the buck than it was to move forward as B3 was closing on us.
I pull a beautiful sage brush rest in the prone position and grab B3 in the scope (I had thrown my Steiners off 15 yds earlier) and my HEART DROPS!!! B3 is staring directly at me and he's not a shooter! Mass is everything in a good buck but you still need some length but B3 looks to be no more than 12-13"!
Whoa, wait a minute Drew...B3 turns his head to his right and I see these great, sweeping hooks!
Is he a shooter? Is this the one I want?
Again, the famous whisper goes down the line "I'm gonna take him".
Focus, exhale, squeeze...BANG!!!
B3 pops straight up, turns, and goes 5 yds. I release my remaining exhale and drop my head knowing that my 2010 WY Antelope hunt was successful and very rewarding.
The Tool: Me
The Equipment: my trusted Ruger 7mm throwing the "new" 140g Barnes Vortx TTSX
The Advantage: Chris and Greg who were willing to do want I wanted for the buck I wanted
The Harvest: He's far from a "book" buck that everybody wants but his "hooks" make him an outstanding buck (IMO). Without sounding melancholy, I'll remember this buck and hunt forever.
"Born in Wisconsin; live in Colorado; lay to rest in Wyoming (but not this year)"
