A little of everything, a lot of fun

[HappyCamper]

I Finally got around to recapping my favorite week this past season. Figured the off-season goes quicker with shared stories. Not sure I’ll get to posting the rest of my season but this year was definitely the most time I’ve spent afield in some awesome new spots. Here we go:



The season started with my first attempt at archery. All my life archery never caught my attention but I decided to get out and give it a try this year.

At the tail end of September I decided to take an inventory of the antelope bucks a week before the rifle opener as well as take my bow for a walk. I was able to get out Friday evening and found myself within 200 yards of an average buck and several does. Experimenting with my decoy did not have the desired results so the day ended uneventfully.

 

[HappyCamper]

On Saturday morning I got to a high point and immediately noticed a large, brown blob moving about a half mile away. A quick glance through my binos confirmed a decent bull moose was pursuing two cows and calf. They quickly disappeared into some willows and I returned my focus to antelope.


It wasn’t 20 minutes later as I traversed the small butte I was glassing from that I noticed 11 elk slowly feeding toward some cover in the willowed river bottom to the south. I quickly got my spotter up and confirmed there was 10 cows and an average 6 point. The bull easily outclassed my only bull I had ever harvested so i eagerly watched them for few moments before they disappeared. Seeing elk in the area was somewhat unusual, especially this time of year. My antelope hunt had suddenly turned into an elk hunt.

 

[HappyCamper]

As I contemplated on how to approach the herd I looked immediately off the butte below me and saw two rag horns (one likely a 5 point) walking with a purpose to the north only about 250 yards away. There was no possible play so I watched them disappear into a small network of shallow, sparsely timbered draws.



I also saw this eagle in a very nearby tree. I was slightly higher than it and I’d estimate 80 yards away:

 

[HappyCamper]

I quickly made the decision to pursue the two small bulls due to them being in a somewhat stalkable area I knew and the rest of the herd being in a nearly impossible area to approach given the wind. I walked north on top of the butte and quickly noticed four antelope off the opposite side of the butte the elk had been. I quickly look and confirm two bucks rutting up two does. One of the bucks appeared to be very respectable (65+ and wide) and something I would be willing to hang my tag on. Believing the raghorns would be bedded for the day, I attempt to use my decoy and draw them in. The opportunity quickly ended due to the does carrying the bucks the opposite direction. A brief distraction but back to my elk hunt.

 

[HappyCamper]

Now, what I had already been deeming the best hour of hunting in my life, quickly got better, fast. It wasn’t 50 yards from where I had crouched down with my decoy that I peered over the north slope of the butte that descended into where the raghorns had gone. I was familiar with the slope, knowing game frequently bedded in the timber to escape the sun. Unfortunately, I was unprepared for what laid a mere 25 yards below. A beautiful, non-typical Muley buck explodes from his bed and runs directly where the bulls had disappeared. I stare in disbelief and disgust, knowing I may have well just blown my best archery opportunity all season. It all happened very quick but I knew the buck wasn’t a world-beater, but plenty big enough to be my first archery kill. I can only chuckle at my carelessness and thank God for the amazing hour filled with almost every game animal I could expect.

 

[HappyCamper]

I decided to glass the area the elk and deer had disappeared in for approximately an hour before committing to the stalk and losing my elevation. I also glassed the opposite direction where antelope commonly are and located two groups of 8-10 with average bucks and two large groups of muley does.

 

[HappyCamper]

Around 10am I begin venturing into the drainages after the raghorns. I drop my pack and begin what seemed to be the most slow, cautious, blind stalk ever. Not wanting to repeat what I had just done to the Muley, I creep forward into the only areas I believed they could be, only to find nothing. The raghorns appeared to have disappeared into thin air. I decided to continue my walk in search of anything else, eventually locating 13 antelope including 4 bucks.

 

[HappyCamper]

The rest of Saturday was uneventful until 4pm when I decided to make a play on the small 6 point that had disappeared to the south earlier that morning. The wind had since switched and I was hopeful the herd would return where I had found them earlier. I soon found myself slowly approaching the dense willows, knowing I would never see them but may find sign a travel corridor.


Approximately 20 yards from the willows, there is an old river bank that drops approximately 12-15 feet, making me unable to see the first several yards of the willows unless you look directly over the edge. As I slowly approached the drop off, I catch a slight movement directly in front of me which I quickly identify as antlers. I drop down and sit for several minutes, praying I had not again blown it. I then drop my pack and crawl forward where I can see a set of 6 pt antlers in the willows only 30 yards away. Believing the bull was laying down, I decided to stay put and arrow him as soon as he stood up. This was the largest bull I had ever hunted and the closest I had been to alive elk.

 

[HappyCamper]

I watch him for only a few minutes before the antlers begin slowly moving deeper into the willows. He was standing the whole time… Disappointed I realize there was no possible way to hunt or shoot the bull in the willows. Additionally, should he come out near where he was bedded I would be unable to see him given the drop off. I elect to retreat approximately 100 yards away to gain more cover. I decided to approach the area the elk had entered the willows from the side, to avoid being in my blind, elevated position. The spot I selected would place me at the elk’s level, approximately 20 yards downwind from their trail into the willows. I slowly begin sneaking into the position but without warning, I hear and see several cows stand and begin running deeper into the brush. I freeze, only about 10 yards from my desired spot, and watch the bull’s antlers trot and disappear into the willows toward a river. Unfortunately, the wind seemed to be rather swirly as soon as I dropped off the small embankment.

 

[HappyCamper]

I spend the next several hours attempting to find a good vantage point overlooking the willows but never see the elk reappear or exit. I decide to sit over the area until dark, occasionally distracting myself with reading @BackofBeyond antelope adventure. Soon, I look over my shoulder to see a small 4 point whitetail buck staring at me about 30 yards away. He eventually spooked, only to return 50 minutes later when he came into 23 yards. The second occasion, i decide to try going full draw on my first animal. I learned the valuable lesson that it would be wise to knock an arrow during a sit… needless to say the buck didn’t tolerate me retrieving an arrow and knocking it, much less coming to full draw. Saturday ended and Sunday would pass with only a few more antelope sightings.

 

[HappyCamper]

The following weekend I was back in the same place for the antelope rifle opener. My wife and I each had either sex permits. The morning got off to a quick start with us spotting an average, heavy buck and one doe who were hanging out together and acting unusually calm and content. We ended up deferring to a father and daughter who were able to pull off the double on them. After watching the shots, we went going to congratulate them and learned the buck had a broken man piece. Made sense why he wasn’t acting to spirited… (anyone else experience animals acting off when that happens?)

 

[HappyCamper]

Later that weekend, we located a herd of 40+ and decided to stalk in close to evaluate. My wife and I had an awesome stalk, one of those that reminds me why antelope can be my favorite animal to hunt. After I get my wife to crawl through 100 yards of rocky, cactus invested prairie (dont worry about me, I had knee pads in my pants), we find ourselves 220 yards from a rut frenzy. Now all the credit to my woman, she was gassed from the crawl, totally tore up from the ground, and baking in the sun, but collected herself. I quickly realize there was one buck clearly better than them all, an unusually wide buck similar to one she never could catch up with 2 years prior when she was 8 months prego. (I ended up killing it that year and have heard about it since).



She gets settled for a shot and appeared to know what buck I was talking about. The rutting chaos delayed her shot for some time before a good opportunity was presented. She executed a shot without much input from me at all and the entire herd seemed to freeze. I watch the buck, obviously hit, hardly react. She shoots a second round, causing him to topple over. We are both super pumped with the buck and immediately call for my parents to bring our 2 year old out to see everything. We are able to check the buck out for a bit before they arrive and get some pictures of the memory. Assisting my wife with the hunt and seeing her do so well was the highlight of my season and something I look forward to doing with my boy.

 

[HappyCamper]

That afternoon I was chasing antelope solo while keeping an eye out for elk. I came to realize there were far less antelope around than years previous but still plenty of opportunity. I eventually found myself exposed on a hill overlooking a herd of 20+ with what I decided was a tall, worthy buck to the north. The stalk and wind required me to approach them from north so after a long, round about walk I began sneaking in close. At one point, I spotted the bucks horns over a rise approximately 275 yards away. Instead of crawling closer, I decide to back out slightly and reapproach from a slightly different angle that would offer a bit better topography. Unfortunately, only a few short minutes later I peered over the rise to see the herd had bolted almost a mile away. I spend the rest of the day glassing the area where I find several lone bucks hanging out uncomfortably close to some cattle. I recognize one of the bucks as the wide one I had encountered the weekend prior. I leave them be, hoping they will be away from livestock the following day.

The next day, which I expected to be the last day I had to fully dedicate to antelope, I decide to look into where I had seen the bucks the night before from the opposite direction. I locate a herd of 30+ on the butte I had hunted the weekend prior and only a few average bucks where I had left them. All the above average bucks seemed to be missing. I put together a good stalk on the larger herd after watching them for nearly two hours. I found myself on the very top of the butte, belly crawling down a steep slope to get tall thick grass out of my way to make a shot. The herd had three decent bucks and I decided I would be happy with one, given the small likelihood of me having another opportunity and it being a memorable, enjoyable stalk. The awkward downhill position and windy conditions led to me making a poor shot and missing.

 

[HappyCamper]

The rest of the day presented one more opportunity when I located this buck and a doe. The closest they got was 350 but they were almost always near 400. Given my recent miss, antelope being a small target, considerable wind, and the Buck not getting me overly excited, I decide to pass. I’m still trying to decide whether it was unwise to pass this buck, all my experience tells me he is a low 60?

 

[HappyCamper]

Here is my wife’s buck present day. I self measured him and will share that score in a few days after people get a chance to guess. I will say this antelope has totally destroyed my confidence in being able to field judge them!