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Some Short and Mid-Range Hunting

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22 October 2010, 10:29
xphunter
Some Short and Mid-Range Hunting
I have been hunting primarily for a muley buck. But I also have a couple of buck antelope permits too. I hunted with the 7mm SAUM XP-100 on Monday, and shot this coyote at just over 300 yards-162 A-Max did a number on him.

On Tuesday I saw this antelope buck, and he is a good one for the area this year.
I had to make several crawl stalks and then back out as I ran out of cover. Shot him at just over 200 yards.
Wow, the 130 Berger (6.5 Leopard) just piled him up on the spot.
It did the same thing with the doe antelope I shot on the SP hunt just outside of Casper.

Spotting scope is the Vortex Razor HD-I really, really like this scope :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:





I had 2 1/2 days for muleys this year. First day, I saw the largest forkhorn I have ever seen in the wild. It was an easy shot @ 161 yards, but I just watched him through the scope for about 10 minutes.
For the next two days I second guessed myself on letting him go.
On Wednesday I went back and looked for that really large 2x2 (forkhorn) I saw on Monday, but couldn't find him. Wednesday was the last day of the season, and I knew that I could only hunt through noon.
I passed a real young one early on this morning.
I spotted this boy at about 550 yards away but had no place to make a shot.
I thought he had his back to me and was not worrying to much about making myself small (which is difficult to do).
I found a small alley way that would let the bullet fly free of brush.
Wouldn't you know it, he had spotted me.
I guess he didn't have his back to me the whole time after all.
Just by the way he acted, I assume he had been pursued this season already. He was 430 yards from me, and then disappeared going up a draw.
I was hoping he would come out on top where I could see him. I pre-ranged the area I believed/hoped him to show up at.
He didn't seem real spooked, so I felt like I had a chance. I loaded the 6.5 Leopard (6.5-270WSM - Norma brass) set up and dialed 7MOA, set the parallax, and waited. Somewhere between 3-5 minutes passed when he showed up where I thought he would. I re-lasered him @ 496 yards. I was already prone, so I checked the level and wind and made the shot.
I saw him go down in the scope.
This is the third big game animal I have taken with the 6.5 Leopard specialty pistol that Mac's Gunworks built for me. The 130 Berger leaving the muzzle right at 3100 FPS is amazing to watch on game.
Since I wanted to take pics I packed everything to the Buck. I packed out all the meat (deboned) plus all of my gear, but the Black's Creek pack once again handled it all well. It may have been 496 yards to the deer but there were several draws that caused me to burn some extra calories though
I have a couple of doe antelope permits, another buck antelope tag, and a elk tag. We will see if I get to all of them or not.




Ernie



23 October 2010, 08:01
Bobby Tomek
Ernie-

Very nicely done! I always enjoy both your stories and photos and appreciate the details you share.


Bobby
Μολὼν λαβέ
The most important thing in life is not what we do but how and why we do it. - Nana Mouskouri

25 October 2010, 08:10
Ammohouse
Ernie,
very nice!!!!!
I didn't get a goat tag this year so I've been pretty bummed!
Hopefully my son gets lucky come deer season.
We're both coming to the SP hunt next year...I really miss chasing goats.


*we band of 45-70ers*

USAF AMMO Retired!
07 November 2010, 11:27
SDHandgunner
Congrats Ernie. Looks like you are going to be eatin good this winter.

Larry
16 November 2010, 09:11
xphunter
For sure.
Some of the antelope was made into Jerky while the rest was made into burger.
The Muley was ground into burger as well.
Was hoping for an elk, but still haven't found a spot I am pleased with yet.


Ernie



16 November 2010, 15:41
Lawdwaz
Looks like a great season is unfolding! Hopefully you have enough freezer space..........<grin>
28 November 2010, 11:54
xphunter
quote:
Originally posted by Ammohouse:
Ernie,
We're both coming to the SP hunt next year...I really miss chasing goats.


Look forward to spending some time with you in September of 2011.


Ernie