elkantlers
Well-known member
I left Friday for my Wyoming antelope hunt driving into the huge storm that left over a foot of snow in my unit. I got there with a couple of hours of light left so I decided to ride out into the unit. The wind was blowing about 30mph+ and the visibility was not good. The drifts were bad and I was wondering if I should even be out here. Luckily I was able to get back to the main road. No antelope spotted that night in my area.
The next morning the skies were clearing but the wind was still howling and blowing snow. The roads were still drifted so I decided to drive the main road for a few hours hoping the wind would die down. I saw some antelope and a few bucks on BLM sections but nothing I wanted to shoot yet. About Noon I decided to head out into the unit and see how the roads were. They were horrible! My tracks were filling in about as fast as I made them.
I found a spot to turn around and was heading back to the main road. Off in the distance I spotted some antelope in a small cut in a hill feeding out of the wind. I decided I would try for on of the does so the day wasn't a complete bust. After a short stalk I was able to get my first antelope on the ground. You can see the snow blowing in the background.
I hurried and boned out the doe and got it in sacks. The snow was actually quite nice for cooling the meat and keeping it clean.
With one in the cooler I decided to head for the main road. I had only gone about a mile when I came upon a lady from Colorado driving a full size Toyota truck pulling a pop-up camper. I visited with her and found out she was headed to her property about three miles in. I helped her put chains on her truck cause she was really struggling pulling the camper. I gave her my phone # and told here to call if she had any problems. She was a nice lady and was very appreciative for the help. She wished me luck and I was on my way. I went about another mile and there were two trucks stuck. One had slid off the road and the other had gotten stuck trying to pull the first out. They were trying to dig themselves out with some push type snow shovels. I had two shovels in my truck and in about 20 minutes we had the dug out.
I followed them to the main road and they thanked me for the help and said they were going to make the 70 mile trip to Laramie to buy some "Real shovels" before they went back out hunting. The rest of the day I just stayed close to the main roads and tried not to get stuck my self. right before dark I came across a guy in a truck that was out looking for someone that had called in and was stuck. I told him where I had been and that I hadn't seen the person he was looking for. He asked me if I was hunting antelope and said if I wanted permission to hunt his property I could. He gave me written permission and told me to shoot all I wanted. lol
The next morning it was cold and clear with about a 15mph west wind. I headed out into the unit and the roads were frozen and it was easy going. We headed towards the property that we got permission to hunt the night before. We didn't quite make it to the property when we saw a buck on some state ground that my brother wanted to try for. one shot later he had his buck down.
We quickly took care of the buck and got back to hunting. We continued to make our way towards the property and the roads were starting to thaw out and get sloppy. As we continued to go I could tell that something wasn't right with my truck. It felt like the 4wd wasn't engaged. I check to see if the front tires were pulling and on;y the back tires were spinning. CRAP!! This wasn't good. I was about 20 miles from the main road with no 4wd. I was pretty sure the 4wd actuator that threads into the back part of the differential had gone bad, probably from all the moisture the past few days. I called and found the part I needed in Laramie, which was probably about 100 miles from where I was and 20 miles of that was slick as snot muddy, snowy, wet road. I got turned around and headed back but couldn't get up a small hill and kept spinning out. Well, time to pull out the chains. I got the back tires chained up and took off. I was actually going pretty good and for about 1/2 of a second thought about staying out and hunting. I came to my senses decided it would be better to get the truck fixed and then continue the next day. On the way out we were seeing some antelope. The temps had risen into the low 50's and I think they were enjoying the sun. There were several groups rutting. I thought no sense in wasting the drive so I got the spotting scope out to take a look. Nothing big, so we moved on. I saw a lone doe followed by a buck off in the distance. a quick look proved he was the best buck I had saw yet. They went over a small rise and out of site. I decided under the circumstances I should try a stalk. I parked the truck and got my stuff together. It was a short stalk as the were just over the rise. And like that I was done.
He is a very pretty buck with horns that curve way back. He was longer than I thought, which is always a nice surprise. I have taken bigger bucks off the unit and was hoping for something larger but with all that went on and the crappy weather I am plenty happy with him. The plus is that we made it out to the main road ok and I didn't have to go clear to Laramie for parts.
I was able to meet up with Muskeez and his family. They are great people and I enjoyed visiting with them. I'm sure there will be a post from him when he gets home.
The next morning the skies were clearing but the wind was still howling and blowing snow. The roads were still drifted so I decided to drive the main road for a few hours hoping the wind would die down. I saw some antelope and a few bucks on BLM sections but nothing I wanted to shoot yet. About Noon I decided to head out into the unit and see how the roads were. They were horrible! My tracks were filling in about as fast as I made them.
I found a spot to turn around and was heading back to the main road. Off in the distance I spotted some antelope in a small cut in a hill feeding out of the wind. I decided I would try for on of the does so the day wasn't a complete bust. After a short stalk I was able to get my first antelope on the ground. You can see the snow blowing in the background.
I hurried and boned out the doe and got it in sacks. The snow was actually quite nice for cooling the meat and keeping it clean.
With one in the cooler I decided to head for the main road. I had only gone about a mile when I came upon a lady from Colorado driving a full size Toyota truck pulling a pop-up camper. I visited with her and found out she was headed to her property about three miles in. I helped her put chains on her truck cause she was really struggling pulling the camper. I gave her my phone # and told here to call if she had any problems. She was a nice lady and was very appreciative for the help. She wished me luck and I was on my way. I went about another mile and there were two trucks stuck. One had slid off the road and the other had gotten stuck trying to pull the first out. They were trying to dig themselves out with some push type snow shovels. I had two shovels in my truck and in about 20 minutes we had the dug out.
I followed them to the main road and they thanked me for the help and said they were going to make the 70 mile trip to Laramie to buy some "Real shovels" before they went back out hunting. The rest of the day I just stayed close to the main roads and tried not to get stuck my self. right before dark I came across a guy in a truck that was out looking for someone that had called in and was stuck. I told him where I had been and that I hadn't seen the person he was looking for. He asked me if I was hunting antelope and said if I wanted permission to hunt his property I could. He gave me written permission and told me to shoot all I wanted. lol
The next morning it was cold and clear with about a 15mph west wind. I headed out into the unit and the roads were frozen and it was easy going. We headed towards the property that we got permission to hunt the night before. We didn't quite make it to the property when we saw a buck on some state ground that my brother wanted to try for. one shot later he had his buck down.
We quickly took care of the buck and got back to hunting. We continued to make our way towards the property and the roads were starting to thaw out and get sloppy. As we continued to go I could tell that something wasn't right with my truck. It felt like the 4wd wasn't engaged. I check to see if the front tires were pulling and on;y the back tires were spinning. CRAP!! This wasn't good. I was about 20 miles from the main road with no 4wd. I was pretty sure the 4wd actuator that threads into the back part of the differential had gone bad, probably from all the moisture the past few days. I called and found the part I needed in Laramie, which was probably about 100 miles from where I was and 20 miles of that was slick as snot muddy, snowy, wet road. I got turned around and headed back but couldn't get up a small hill and kept spinning out. Well, time to pull out the chains. I got the back tires chained up and took off. I was actually going pretty good and for about 1/2 of a second thought about staying out and hunting. I came to my senses decided it would be better to get the truck fixed and then continue the next day. On the way out we were seeing some antelope. The temps had risen into the low 50's and I think they were enjoying the sun. There were several groups rutting. I thought no sense in wasting the drive so I got the spotting scope out to take a look. Nothing big, so we moved on. I saw a lone doe followed by a buck off in the distance. a quick look proved he was the best buck I had saw yet. They went over a small rise and out of site. I decided under the circumstances I should try a stalk. I parked the truck and got my stuff together. It was a short stalk as the were just over the rise. And like that I was done.
He is a very pretty buck with horns that curve way back. He was longer than I thought, which is always a nice surprise. I have taken bigger bucks off the unit and was hoping for something larger but with all that went on and the crappy weather I am plenty happy with him. The plus is that we made it out to the main road ok and I didn't have to go clear to Laramie for parts.
I was able to meet up with Muskeez and his family. They are great people and I enjoyed visiting with them. I'm sure there will be a post from him when he gets home.
