A write-up by a new member led to write about my own antelope experience last month.
It was day 4 of what was supposed to be a 1 or 2 day hunt. The pronghorn were clearly not interested in cooperating in their own demise. This was a double duty trip. At Easter my octogenarian parents expressed a desire to go out to Colorado and see my brother (@MountainBug) while they are still able to travel. As dutiful oldest son I assumed the role as chaperone during travel (they are not Luddites, but the whole of e-boarding passes and such can be challenging). With an antelope tag in my pocket iI planned to spend mornings and evenings hunting and the rest of the day as a participating family member.
That was the plan. Plans rarely go forward as planned.
Day 1 was almost as many errors and unexpected events as could be fit into a day. The top (bottom) of the event was a helicopter aerial spraying the adjacent ranch for most of the day. Day 2 was not as bad, but could be summed up as “dozens of deer, zero antelope” (no tag, therefore not legal). Day 3, a repeat of Day 2, except MORE deer, including some impressive bucks. Day 4, my final day, looked to be a repeat of Days 3.
Well before light I was in a new vantage point. Again a repeat of the mule deer parade, with a young coyote making an appearance as well. I kept trying to get a shot but the little bugger was constantly on the move. Finally – at around full sun up I called it a day – the tag was likely going unfilled.
We drove off to check a few other nearby spots, and on the way back to the house we drove by the field again – where a herd of over a dozen antelope had miraculously appeared. Hasty, and I do mean hasty plans were hatched. Basically I bailed out of the truck with the rifle, 3 rounds in my pocket, and a cow silhouette. The silhouette allowed me to cover the first 30 yards of completely open ground until I could get into a very shallow draw. Once in the draw, I began to crawl. 175 yards of crawling, dodging around cactus (mostly) until I ran out of draw. At about the same time 4 doe antelope came towards me to sate their curiosity. I was pinned down, out of cover, and unable to move.
Eventually they lost interest and I was able to look the remaining antelope over. There was one young small buck amongst them, verified when he mounted a doe. Then he bedded down, with an fence post directly between he and I. I was estimating yardage, since in my haste the range finder (and phone, and water bottle ) were all still in the truck. But on the bright side, brother had pulled the truck forward just far enough to watch the show.
After a bit of a wait, the young buck got up, nosed the doe again, then mounted. After a successful breeding, he stood alone, quite pleased with himself. This let me hold high on the should, as I estimated 300 yards and the rifle was zeroed at 200. At the shot he just crumpled. A wave of relief washed over me, as I stood and the remaining antelope trotted off a couple hundred yards and watch.
At the shot, an unseen coyote bolted from cover 60 yards away giving me a right to left crossing shot. Unfortunately I was still dialed up to 16X and had to take the rifle down, crank down as low as it would go (6x) and reacquire. My shot was just over his back, and I worked the bolt ready to correct my error. However, he decided to head straight toward the highway, leaving my no safe shot. He was a very lucky coyote, managing to dodge between trucks in both direction and emerging safely on the other side of the road.
Walking forward towards my buck, he was “barely” a buck and upon arrival the first thing I did was to kick the back legs apart, just to be 100% certain. Indeed, he was a he, and the fear of an unfilled tag evaporated. After providing him his “last bite” I then realized I had not missed all the cactus during the crawl. Adrenaline had masked the discomfort, and now adrenaline was gone and my left arm and chest were itching. These unwanted spines continued to make their appearance for several days, even resulting in the tossing of shirt that seem to harbor an infinite number.
Best part of the hunt, was sharing it with my brother who was watching it all unfold. I had been out to help him fill tags on the same ranch, except our roles were reversed. Second best part was the wonderful antelope loin we had for supper the next day. People often complain about the gaminess of antelope. We have found it actually to be a very subtle and delicious meat, but very prone to developing off tastes when poorly handled. I would go so far as to say I don’t know of another meat that can swing to such extremes based on handling
It was day 4 of what was supposed to be a 1 or 2 day hunt. The pronghorn were clearly not interested in cooperating in their own demise. This was a double duty trip. At Easter my octogenarian parents expressed a desire to go out to Colorado and see my brother (@MountainBug) while they are still able to travel. As dutiful oldest son I assumed the role as chaperone during travel (they are not Luddites, but the whole of e-boarding passes and such can be challenging). With an antelope tag in my pocket iI planned to spend mornings and evenings hunting and the rest of the day as a participating family member.
That was the plan. Plans rarely go forward as planned.
Day 1 was almost as many errors and unexpected events as could be fit into a day. The top (bottom) of the event was a helicopter aerial spraying the adjacent ranch for most of the day. Day 2 was not as bad, but could be summed up as “dozens of deer, zero antelope” (no tag, therefore not legal). Day 3, a repeat of Day 2, except MORE deer, including some impressive bucks. Day 4, my final day, looked to be a repeat of Days 3.
Well before light I was in a new vantage point. Again a repeat of the mule deer parade, with a young coyote making an appearance as well. I kept trying to get a shot but the little bugger was constantly on the move. Finally – at around full sun up I called it a day – the tag was likely going unfilled.
We drove off to check a few other nearby spots, and on the way back to the house we drove by the field again – where a herd of over a dozen antelope had miraculously appeared. Hasty, and I do mean hasty plans were hatched. Basically I bailed out of the truck with the rifle, 3 rounds in my pocket, and a cow silhouette. The silhouette allowed me to cover the first 30 yards of completely open ground until I could get into a very shallow draw. Once in the draw, I began to crawl. 175 yards of crawling, dodging around cactus (mostly) until I ran out of draw. At about the same time 4 doe antelope came towards me to sate their curiosity. I was pinned down, out of cover, and unable to move.
Eventually they lost interest and I was able to look the remaining antelope over. There was one young small buck amongst them, verified when he mounted a doe. Then he bedded down, with an fence post directly between he and I. I was estimating yardage, since in my haste the range finder (and phone, and water bottle ) were all still in the truck. But on the bright side, brother had pulled the truck forward just far enough to watch the show.
After a bit of a wait, the young buck got up, nosed the doe again, then mounted. After a successful breeding, he stood alone, quite pleased with himself. This let me hold high on the should, as I estimated 300 yards and the rifle was zeroed at 200. At the shot he just crumpled. A wave of relief washed over me, as I stood and the remaining antelope trotted off a couple hundred yards and watch.
At the shot, an unseen coyote bolted from cover 60 yards away giving me a right to left crossing shot. Unfortunately I was still dialed up to 16X and had to take the rifle down, crank down as low as it would go (6x) and reacquire. My shot was just over his back, and I worked the bolt ready to correct my error. However, he decided to head straight toward the highway, leaving my no safe shot. He was a very lucky coyote, managing to dodge between trucks in both direction and emerging safely on the other side of the road.
Walking forward towards my buck, he was “barely” a buck and upon arrival the first thing I did was to kick the back legs apart, just to be 100% certain. Indeed, he was a he, and the fear of an unfilled tag evaporated. After providing him his “last bite” I then realized I had not missed all the cactus during the crawl. Adrenaline had masked the discomfort, and now adrenaline was gone and my left arm and chest were itching. These unwanted spines continued to make their appearance for several days, even resulting in the tossing of shirt that seem to harbor an infinite number.
Best part of the hunt, was sharing it with my brother who was watching it all unfold. I had been out to help him fill tags on the same ranch, except our roles were reversed. Second best part was the wonderful antelope loin we had for supper the next day. People often complain about the gaminess of antelope. We have found it actually to be a very subtle and delicious meat, but very prone to developing off tastes when poorly handled. I would go so far as to say I don’t know of another meat that can swing to such extremes based on handling
