The family and I recently completed our first annual (hopefully it's an annual event anyway ) hunting adventure to Wyoming, where we were lucky enough to draw several pronghorn antelope tags and a deer tag. We had a great DIY hunt (with some local intelligence from an old college buddy). Wyoming is a wonderful state with super folks, awesome scenery, and pretty fair amounts of game. I can't wait to return next year!

Here are a few pictures of our successes.

On the first day, my wife shot this antelope buck after a short stalk. He was taken from about 90 yards with her .257 Roberts using 100 grain TSXs.


Our 3.5 year old daughter accompanied us on the stalk and was very happy that Mom scored.


The next morning a long walk and stalk that included cactus-evading belly-crawling culminated in a 217 yard shot at this decent buck. I used my Encore equipped with a 15" .308 pistol barrel and 150 grain Ballistic Silvertips.


A couple days later the wife and I stalked up on another herd and I was able to take this nice doe with a relatively long shot using my Sako 6.5X55. Our 20 month old son watched the stalk from the truck and was quickly on hand for picture-taking and field dressing.


On the afternoon of opening day of deer season, I was able to take this decent mule deer buck at about 125 yards with my 6.5X55 shooting 129 grain Hornady SSTs.

Great family hunting. Do you mind sharing info on hunt? Have hunted antelope but never a combination.

Thanks

Jeff

Nice job on the combo. Congrats!! A man after my own heart..handgun hunting!!

That is awsome. You remind me of my friend in CO. He and his wife and 4 kids all go on family hunts all the time. The whole family is involved and when mommy shoots a mulie, the kids always chant, "mom! You're the bomb!"

My wife and kids just saw your post and want to go next year. I told the wife she has to go through Ohio's hunter safety course, and she's got to put in some rangetime! Heck, with my brother's 270/110 TSX combo, it will be like shooting a reduced load 243.

Guess I'll have to take the kids out of school though.

quote:

Originally posted by BuddyK-9:
Great family hunting. Do you mind sharing info on hunt? Have hunted antelope but never a combination.

Thanks

Jeff

Jeff, the antelope season in some areas in WY is 6 weeks long. It overlaps deer and elk seasons in several areas, if not much of the state. The trick is getting drawn for several species in the same year. I hope to try for a three-way combo next year - deer, antelope, and elk. Based on some input from an old college buddy that works up there now, I chose an antelope unit that he was familiar with and that overlapped the general "D" area for deer. Get your hands on the rule book and you can probably find the same kind of overlap in an area that you're interested in.

Josh, I got a real kick out of handgun hunting this antelope. I like all hunting though - rifle, pistol, bow, whatever. My problem is that I have too many tools and not enough seasons/critters or money to hunt them all!

Doc, we take our kids on a lot of hunts with us. They've spent a lot time in the desert hunting doves with me, but this is the first time that one of them has accompanied us on the whole stalk. I'll probably take her coyote hunting this fall too, just to get her more exposure. She's so interested right now that I feel I should take advantage of that and expose her to as much as she wants. The boy Erik is coming up too. He was more interested in the doe's innards than the hunting part though. Just the reverse of his sister, who was a bit standoffish when it came to blood. Luckily they're not in school yet, but when they are, I'll be faced with a real dilemma. My dad used to take me out of school or deer/elk season when I was a kid (as long as my grades were good enough). I guess I'll probably do the same.

Troy,

That is an awesome hunt congratulations.

Gerhard

Troy & Dana,

Congratulations to you both. Give the hunt-loving kids a hug from me!

I, like you, like hunting. All hunting! But I just LOVE hunting with Cecilia. Family hunting is great.

Congratulations again!

Andrew McLaren

I am no expert on North American game but those look like nice animals, I do however watch National Geografic channel and it is said that those are the fastest antilope in USA.
Nice hunting and it looks like your children had a ball.
Hope they are learning to shoot, at least handle a "dry" weapon.
Have fun and safe your money for next African trip.

Wimpie

Very nice hunt. Everyone seems happy.

That is a great shot with a pistol.

Can you give me some info on the 6.5x55 rifle. My sone is interested in this cartridge and I have been doing some preliminary window shopping, but options are somewhat limited.
thanks

GREAT PICS!

I've got a whole series of our kids coming up with me and the wife,posing in our pics.Great memories.We've involved them since DAY 1 in all our outdoor pursuits,and they're all taking to it.

Have a pic of my wife with a deer she shot,DAYS before she gave birth to our first son.Said after she shot,he started kicking like crazy! Folks at the checkin station couldn't BELIEVE she was out hunting.(Had her in a low, elevated platform,with a tilted extension ladder,as she could no longer get in "her" stand) Couple days later I took my best buck ever,got it skinned and quartered,then her water broke!

Have my daughter squirreling this year,then she get after the deer in the next few.Then once the boys get a little more age on them,we're heading West.

There's NOTHING like being out hunting/fishing/trapping/ENJOYING life with one's family.
Thanks for the pics and reminding us all of it! Dave

Thanks chaps. Gerhard, Wimpie, Andrew - glad you guys chimed in. I thought after our experiences in SA that you might appreciate these pics.

Hikerbum, thanks. I'm really starting to love this little 6.5X55. It's a very mild cartridge (low recoil, low muzzleblast, etc.) that performs very well on game. It's not sexy, it's not a fancy new magnum (hell, it's over 100 years old), but it just gets the job done. Options in the new market may be limited (Sako, Tikka (?), CZ), but the used market has plenty offer. Ruger, Winchester, and even Remington have chambered rifles in this cartridge, as have most of the importers. It's readily available in Encore barrels too. If your son's not a reloader though, you have better options. Except for a few European loads, most 6.5 factory offerings are pretty anemic because of all the old rifles chambered for this cartridge. Newer, stronger rifles definitely benefit from stiffer handloads. If you don't handload, the .260 Remington is the balistic twin of the Swede and is probably available in more factory rifle offerings. Factory ammo is more common too.

Dave, you're a man after my own heart. Your wife and mine are alike too. My wife shot her 2002 mule deer when she was 7 months pregnant with our daughter in the antelope picture. She also responded to the shots while in utero. Taking the family along is the best thing about hunting now. I'm generally more excited about the wife getting her animal or the kids seeing it than I am about bagging my own game. My how times have changed my perspective.

Thanks for the feedback DesertRam.

I have never reloaded but my sone recently has gotten into it. He is only 18 and is intrigued by some of the cartridges that are more of reloader rounds. He has a 257 rob and likes the look of the 6.5x55. He also has on his wish list the 300 H&H. He likes the idea of being different.

quote:

Originally posted by hikerbum:
Thanks for the feedback DesertRam.

I have never reloaded but my sone recently has gotten into it. He is only 18 and is intrigued by some of the cartridges that are more of reloader rounds. He has a 257 rob and likes the look of the 6.5x55. He also has on his wish list the 300 H&H. He likes the idea of being different.

I also reload for the .257 Roberts (my wife's standard version and my AI). They are very similar cartridges, and seem to like the same powders. I've found Re19 to perform very well in all three of these (.257 Roberts, .257 AI, and the 6.5X55SE). If he's getting into, and plans to stick with, handloading, the little Swede is a very versatile and easy to work with cartridge.

Desert Ram, congratulations! Very nice bucks! I just got back a few days ago from my own western safari: three antelope near Saratoga and a small (but dead and in the freezer) muley in the North Park area of CO. Where were you hunting? We hunted for many years on a small ranch near Douglas that produced many great antelope, as well as some nice mulies, but when it changed hands lost our "in". The hunt two weeks ago was on BLM land. Lots of animals, but a bit on the skittish side because of all the traffic. A great hunt just the same. Mine also was with family, the best sort of hunt in my opinion. I think it's wonderful that you and your wife and daughter all go together!

wihntr, we too were near Saratoga, mostly on BLM and state land, though we did have access to a couple smaller parcels of private. And like you we found the antelope to be pretty cagey. Seems like most public land antelope had seen a little pressure. I understand from a couple locals that non-resident pressure eases considerably after the first couple weeks of season and that later in October the goats are pretty approachable. We may delay our hunt next year into mid-October.

Hey what a boyke! Congrats!
Man am I dreaming of making my hunting a family thing! But its a pipe dream. My old lady supports my hunting by not interfering, and that's it. I cannot imagine her actually doing it.
Well - good for you and give my congrats to Dana.
Regards from the guys around here,
Lochi.

ps. geee the little one is growing like a cane rat hey?