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My buddy Chris has some family in WY and they invited us out for some antelope hunting. My wife, Chris and I headed out them last Monday night. We drove all night and started hunting on Tuesday. Still some snow left on Tuesday and the antelope we found were really grouped up. The misses and I were both shooting my 270 Win with 130gr Interbonds. About 11am on the first day we found a group of about 30 animals with a couple bigger bucks. It was a brisk stalk up the back of a hill to catch them before they crossed through a saddle. We got there just in time. The animals were already on top but we were able to get her up on the sticks without the group seeing us. It was probably 5 minutes before the buck finally cleared and gave us a clear shot. She made a great shot, 220 yards in a heavy crosswind. It was my first "guiding" attempt and I really enjoyed it. He's a great first antelope. Just shy of 14 inches.   After taking her buck to the locker we spent the last couple hours of the day looking but never found another good buck for me to make a stalk on. These two little bucks where only 20 yards off the road. Hopefully they wise up and get some age.  On day two we put a bunch of miles on looking for another shooter. At one point we were only a half mile from MT so we crossed over for a quick pic.  About 3pm we ended up back where my wife shot her buck. After looking over a couple bucks I decided to make a stalk. Ended up being a carbon copy of what we did the day prior except the buck was bedded on top a little closer to our shooting position. When I got up on the sticks he was facing me but hadn't noticed me yet. All I could see was his head so I raised up on my knees to get his attention. He saw me but didn't stand up so I raised up again. That got him up and he started slowly walking to my left. He was close enough I just shot him walking. We later ranged the shot distance and it was only 75 yards. He's not very big but he did have some heavy bases, just over 7 inches.   Overall it was a great trip. We all had a great time hunting together with my friend's uncle. He didn't hunt but I think he had as much fun as we all did. I would have liked to have spent another day looking for a bigger buck. However, my wife and I were guests and my buddy still had a doe tag to fill on day 3. I didn't figure it would be very gracious on my part to ask the whole group spend 2 full days out of our 3 day trip trying to find me a "big buck". That's why there's next year. Filling my wife's tag was my main goal for the trip and I was really proud of her for making a great shot on her first big game animal. Time to chase waterfowl for a month or so until I head back to Cody for a cow elk hunt. Hope you enjoy. "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" - Robert Burns | ||
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Good for both of you! The wife gets the bigger buck. I love it when that happens. Frank "I don't know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so.....He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money." - Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter, 1953 NRA Life, SAF Life, CRPA Life, DRSS lite | |||
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Great post...congrats to you and your wife...the more I hunt the less I care about trophy size and the more I care about the stalk and the people I am with... Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Congrats on a double. Trip has to be all the better, if one gets to hunt with their wife! Don't limit your challenges . . . Challenge your limits | |||
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Looks like you had a great trip! Congratulations! | |||
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Congrats to both of you! What a great trip and hunt! Bob There is room for all of God's creatures....right next to the mashed potatoes. http://texaspredatorposse.ipbhost.com/   | |||
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