Well, despite no help from my hunting rig, I managed to tag the elusive(
) CO pronghorn this last weekend. I put about 8 miles on my boots Saturday morning, passing up five 12-14" bucks that were in range. One was a very symmetrical 14"er that walked past me at 80 yards. It took a lot of willpower to not drop the hammer on him.
Saturday afternoon I hit the road and glassed some other properties I had permission to hunt. After stopping to glass a buck that was laying in a planted winter wheat field, I went to leave and found my rig was dead. After a couple of miles walking to a phone, a tow to town, and borrowing a friend's truck, I got back out Saturday evening. I located a decent buck with a group of about 10 does in a low basin of a CRP field. I made a plan that seemed infallable, but the goats proved me wrong. The last rise I came over wasn't steep enough for me to see the goats below me through the grass, and I was way too close at only 60 yards. I could make them out, boring holes with their eyes through the grass where I was laying, but couldn't sit up high enough to see them through the scope. They finally had enough of my shenanigans and blew out of there for the property next door, which I didn't have permission to hunt.
The next morning I decided to head back out to the same spot. Amazingly, the same herd was back in exactly the same place I had stalked them the night before. I made a new plan, seeing that the old one hadn't worked. This time I came over the last rise about 200 yards out from the herd (shot was 217, ranged AFTER the fact
). I didn't waste any time finding the buck and getting a 130gr. Sierra Gameking from my .270 on it's way.
Although it's not a really big one, it's my best to date, and pretty darn good for the unit I was hunting. He's 14 1/2" on the short side and 15 3/8" on the long side. Unfortunately, he had broken about one inch off his right cutter. Man, I LOVE hunting those speed goats!!
Oak
Saturday afternoon I hit the road and glassed some other properties I had permission to hunt. After stopping to glass a buck that was laying in a planted winter wheat field, I went to leave and found my rig was dead. After a couple of miles walking to a phone, a tow to town, and borrowing a friend's truck, I got back out Saturday evening. I located a decent buck with a group of about 10 does in a low basin of a CRP field. I made a plan that seemed infallable, but the goats proved me wrong. The last rise I came over wasn't steep enough for me to see the goats below me through the grass, and I was way too close at only 60 yards. I could make them out, boring holes with their eyes through the grass where I was laying, but couldn't sit up high enough to see them through the scope. They finally had enough of my shenanigans and blew out of there for the property next door, which I didn't have permission to hunt.
The next morning I decided to head back out to the same spot. Amazingly, the same herd was back in exactly the same place I had stalked them the night before. I made a new plan, seeing that the old one hadn't worked. This time I came over the last rise about 200 yards out from the herd (shot was 217, ranged AFTER the fact
Although it's not a really big one, it's my best to date, and pretty darn good for the unit I was hunting. He's 14 1/2" on the short side and 15 3/8" on the long side. Unfortunately, he had broken about one inch off his right cutter. Man, I LOVE hunting those speed goats!!
Oak
