A little over a year ago, a friend of mine started talking about going on a pronghorn antelope hunt to Wyoming. He had been there and done it before and said we needed to be sure and get in on the draw if we wanted to do it. He had contact with the rancher north of Cheyenne where he had been before and we started making our plans.
Part of my plans included getting a new rifle for the occasion. After much thought and wringing of hands, I ended buying a Remington 700 CDL in 25-06 in September of last year. Then I selected a Vortex Viper 4-16x44 with a 30mm tube, and paired them with a hand loading from Venatic using a 100 grain Speer btsp.
This rifle turned out to be a sharp shooter right out of the box with dime sized groups at 100 yards, and one deer and hog on the tail end of last deer season proved it would do the job.
Four of us put in for the drawing for both a buck and doe tag in compartment 35, and we were all drawn, and plans were made over the last few months. Then about 3 weeks ago, one of the guys fell off a ladder and broke his leg requiring surgery and pins to fix it. That meant months of rehab and we were down to 3.
Before the hunt I upped the zero on my rifle to 200 yards, and the day before we left I went to the range to shoot at both 200 and 300 yards. On the first shot at 300 yards I hit the bullseye dead center so I put it in the a case since I couldn't be anything but get worse.
We pulled out Texas for the 19 hour trip Friday at 3am and it was a balmy 75 degrees and humid. We averaged stopping about once every 4 hours, and were in Nebraska by late afternoon. When we turned west on I80 in Nebraska, the temperature fell 25 degrees in the first hour, and by the time we made it to North Platte Nebraska at 6pm it was 37 degrees and starting to spit with a high wind. We stopped and got a motel and made a run to Wal-Mart to stock up on groceries before the 3.5 hour drive to Cheyenne and the ranch the next morning.
We left the motel about 6am, and by the time we got to Cheyenne, the weather was nasty with about 50 mph winds and snow.
This is what the ranch looked like when we got there.
And this was our camp for the next few days.
The wind was terrible, but we were eager to get in some hunting as soon as we had everything unpacked. After a couple of hours of walking in the cold snow and wind without seeing anything, I was starting to wonder if this was going to be a successful hunt after all. I got back to the truck before the other two, and was sitting in the truck warming up when I saw them top the hill way off. When they got about 200 yards from me, I see them crouch down and start looking to my right, but they were higher up and must see something I couldn't. I slipped over to where I could see what they were looking at, and it was a large group of pronghorns with a big buck chasing off smaller ones and trying to herd his does.
Between the wind, excitement and them running around, I was not able to get a shot and they disappeared over the hill. We did a little more looking around before dark and made a plan for the morning. We decided we would spread out a little on some good looking area and see how they were moving.
The next morning right after daylight we were driving to our spot, but the antelope were already up and moving. I set up on a slight slope where I could see what seemed like everything, including this windmill.
After 2 hours the only thing I had seen were a few antelope way off in the distance a mile or more and off the property. By this time I was getting cold and decided I would walk around some to warm up. I stood up to look around and about 200 yards up the slope to my 8 o'clock was about 15 pronghorns with a couple of bucks chasing around. Before I could get on one, they lined out and crossed the coulee and into the plain beyond and to the left of the windmill in the above picture and I figured they were gone for good. But when I eased up the slope where they had been I could see that they were in the plain just over a rise, so I dropped back down the slope crossed the coulee and eased up to see if I could see them over the rise.
Yes, there were about 350 yards beyond the cross fence on the edge of the rise. I crawled up to the fence and steadied on my shooting sticks.
This was may view.
There was a cross wind from right to left about 25 miles and I could only guess at the distance since I had left my range finder at home to my dismay. I scoped out the buck and held for 300 yards (second crosshair in my Vortex) a held about a foot behind the shoulder. At the shot I was amazed that the buck dropped in his tracks! When they came to pick me up, I used there range finder to get the distance of 350 yards. The wind drift was even more than I figured and I hit him right in the neck just front of the shoulder. My first time in Wyoming, and my first pronghorn.
I knew he was not a monster goat, but I was pretty stoked. After lunch and dressing my buck we went back out for the evening hunt. We parked the truck, and we all swapped spots from the morning. One hunted where I had been, and I took up the hill beyond the windmill and the spot I had killed the buck (back and left of the above picture).
Once on top, I saw a few probably a mile away and off the property, and then crested another spot and was busted by a couple of antelope. I moved to the end of ridge and set up looking back in the direction I had killed the buck, but at least a half mile away. An hour or so later, and I had buck pushing a doe in my direction. A 165 yard shot later, and I had my doe, and I was tagged out on the first full day.
As you can see, most of the snow had disappeared by the afternoon.
On the way back to the truck I noticed another doe that didn't seem to see me, and when one of my friends and I were driving out to get my doe 30 minutes later we spotted her bedded, and he was about to make a 150 yard shot for the 3rd goat of the day.
We fried up tender loins that evening, and there was not doubt when got a piece of the buck. It was pretty rank, and tasted about like they smell.
Since I was tagged out, the next morning I dropped them off in on different spots on the ranch with the plan to call coyotes while they chased goats.
My first stand was back near the windmill, and the wind had dropped from the 25-30 mph the day before to barely a breeze.
I set the call out about 75 yards in front of me and started with the female coyote howl #3 on the FoxPro, and coyotes answered in 3 directions with the closest seeming to be right out in front of me, but couldn't see them even though I thought I should be able to see them. This was my vantage point.
I had killed my buck about half way between my seat and they left end of the ridge in the distance. My doe was shot from that left end of the ridge.
After a minute of silence, I gave another howl, and about 2 minutes more of silence and I started with jackrabbit distress. 8 minutes after the first howl and I see a coyote across the coulee about 200 yards out. I steadied on my sticks and she dropped in here tracks. I bolted another round in and I see another one coming beyond where that once fell and it seemed not have heard the shot. I steadied again and fired. This one dropped, flopped and stood buck up and limped to the left a little. I bolted in another round and I see another coyote moving up to check on the limper. The third one died within feet of the second, and the second one was now done, and I had to reload my gun as I looked around. I could hardly believe that I had just killed a triple on my first stand in less than a minute of shooting.
By the time the pictures were taken, I had a text they had another buck down and went to pick him up.
We took pictures of his buck and talked him into going over the hill for a coyote stand. We topped the hill and there was another group of antelope. He dropped a doe about 200 yards out, and we moved on up to make the coyote stand. About 6 minutes of jackrabbit and switched to coyote death cry and had one running in from the left about 200 yards. He dropped down into a draw and instead of popping out right in front of us he made a hard left and came out of the draw on the fence line running dead out to get on the high ground where we were and get the wind. I could not get him to stop, and lost sight of him as he topped the hill to my left and probably saw then truck.
We headed back to get his doe, and it was gone! We found a pool of blood where she fell, but never did find her.
We took pictures of the his buck and headed back for lunch.
Nominated For Hunt Of The Month
Part of my plans included getting a new rifle for the occasion. After much thought and wringing of hands, I ended buying a Remington 700 CDL in 25-06 in September of last year. Then I selected a Vortex Viper 4-16x44 with a 30mm tube, and paired them with a hand loading from Venatic using a 100 grain Speer btsp.
This rifle turned out to be a sharp shooter right out of the box with dime sized groups at 100 yards, and one deer and hog on the tail end of last deer season proved it would do the job.
Four of us put in for the drawing for both a buck and doe tag in compartment 35, and we were all drawn, and plans were made over the last few months. Then about 3 weeks ago, one of the guys fell off a ladder and broke his leg requiring surgery and pins to fix it. That meant months of rehab and we were down to 3.
Before the hunt I upped the zero on my rifle to 200 yards, and the day before we left I went to the range to shoot at both 200 and 300 yards. On the first shot at 300 yards I hit the bullseye dead center so I put it in the a case since I couldn't be anything but get worse.
We pulled out Texas for the 19 hour trip Friday at 3am and it was a balmy 75 degrees and humid. We averaged stopping about once every 4 hours, and were in Nebraska by late afternoon. When we turned west on I80 in Nebraska, the temperature fell 25 degrees in the first hour, and by the time we made it to North Platte Nebraska at 6pm it was 37 degrees and starting to spit with a high wind. We stopped and got a motel and made a run to Wal-Mart to stock up on groceries before the 3.5 hour drive to Cheyenne and the ranch the next morning.
We left the motel about 6am, and by the time we got to Cheyenne, the weather was nasty with about 50 mph winds and snow.
This is what the ranch looked like when we got there.
And this was our camp for the next few days.
The wind was terrible, but we were eager to get in some hunting as soon as we had everything unpacked. After a couple of hours of walking in the cold snow and wind without seeing anything, I was starting to wonder if this was going to be a successful hunt after all. I got back to the truck before the other two, and was sitting in the truck warming up when I saw them top the hill way off. When they got about 200 yards from me, I see them crouch down and start looking to my right, but they were higher up and must see something I couldn't. I slipped over to where I could see what they were looking at, and it was a large group of pronghorns with a big buck chasing off smaller ones and trying to herd his does.
Between the wind, excitement and them running around, I was not able to get a shot and they disappeared over the hill. We did a little more looking around before dark and made a plan for the morning. We decided we would spread out a little on some good looking area and see how they were moving.
The next morning right after daylight we were driving to our spot, but the antelope were already up and moving. I set up on a slight slope where I could see what seemed like everything, including this windmill.
After 2 hours the only thing I had seen were a few antelope way off in the distance a mile or more and off the property. By this time I was getting cold and decided I would walk around some to warm up. I stood up to look around and about 200 yards up the slope to my 8 o'clock was about 15 pronghorns with a couple of bucks chasing around. Before I could get on one, they lined out and crossed the coulee and into the plain beyond and to the left of the windmill in the above picture and I figured they were gone for good. But when I eased up the slope where they had been I could see that they were in the plain just over a rise, so I dropped back down the slope crossed the coulee and eased up to see if I could see them over the rise.
Yes, there were about 350 yards beyond the cross fence on the edge of the rise. I crawled up to the fence and steadied on my shooting sticks.
This was may view.
There was a cross wind from right to left about 25 miles and I could only guess at the distance since I had left my range finder at home to my dismay. I scoped out the buck and held for 300 yards (second crosshair in my Vortex) a held about a foot behind the shoulder. At the shot I was amazed that the buck dropped in his tracks! When they came to pick me up, I used there range finder to get the distance of 350 yards. The wind drift was even more than I figured and I hit him right in the neck just front of the shoulder. My first time in Wyoming, and my first pronghorn.
I knew he was not a monster goat, but I was pretty stoked. After lunch and dressing my buck we went back out for the evening hunt. We parked the truck, and we all swapped spots from the morning. One hunted where I had been, and I took up the hill beyond the windmill and the spot I had killed the buck (back and left of the above picture).
Once on top, I saw a few probably a mile away and off the property, and then crested another spot and was busted by a couple of antelope. I moved to the end of ridge and set up looking back in the direction I had killed the buck, but at least a half mile away. An hour or so later, and I had buck pushing a doe in my direction. A 165 yard shot later, and I had my doe, and I was tagged out on the first full day.
As you can see, most of the snow had disappeared by the afternoon.
On the way back to the truck I noticed another doe that didn't seem to see me, and when one of my friends and I were driving out to get my doe 30 minutes later we spotted her bedded, and he was about to make a 150 yard shot for the 3rd goat of the day.
We fried up tender loins that evening, and there was not doubt when got a piece of the buck. It was pretty rank, and tasted about like they smell.
Since I was tagged out, the next morning I dropped them off in on different spots on the ranch with the plan to call coyotes while they chased goats.
My first stand was back near the windmill, and the wind had dropped from the 25-30 mph the day before to barely a breeze.
I set the call out about 75 yards in front of me and started with the female coyote howl #3 on the FoxPro, and coyotes answered in 3 directions with the closest seeming to be right out in front of me, but couldn't see them even though I thought I should be able to see them. This was my vantage point.
I had killed my buck about half way between my seat and they left end of the ridge in the distance. My doe was shot from that left end of the ridge.
After a minute of silence, I gave another howl, and about 2 minutes more of silence and I started with jackrabbit distress. 8 minutes after the first howl and I see a coyote across the coulee about 200 yards out. I steadied on my sticks and she dropped in here tracks. I bolted another round in and I see another one coming beyond where that once fell and it seemed not have heard the shot. I steadied again and fired. This one dropped, flopped and stood buck up and limped to the left a little. I bolted in another round and I see another coyote moving up to check on the limper. The third one died within feet of the second, and the second one was now done, and I had to reload my gun as I looked around. I could hardly believe that I had just killed a triple on my first stand in less than a minute of shooting.
By the time the pictures were taken, I had a text they had another buck down and went to pick him up.
We took pictures of his buck and talked him into going over the hill for a coyote stand. We topped the hill and there was another group of antelope. He dropped a doe about 200 yards out, and we moved on up to make the coyote stand. About 6 minutes of jackrabbit and switched to coyote death cry and had one running in from the left about 200 yards. He dropped down into a draw and instead of popping out right in front of us he made a hard left and came out of the draw on the fence line running dead out to get on the high ground where we were and get the wind. I could not get him to stop, and lost sight of him as he topped the hill to my left and probably saw then truck.
We headed back to get his doe, and it was gone! We found a pool of blood where she fell, but never did find her.
We took pictures of the his buck and headed back for lunch.
Nominated For Hunt Of The Month
