WY and MT Antelope

mdunc8

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Not Virginia anymore!
After years of discussions and one failed trip, I was finally able to get my old man out on an antelope hunt in Wyoming. Hunting antelope has been on his bucket list for as long as I've been around. I wasn't quite sure what to expect since he's spent the last 75 years consuming ungodly amounts of country ham, bacon, and fried chicken resulting in several heart attacks and the physique of a defensive tackle. Smoking most of his life didn't help either. To make matters worse, he's been battling psoriatic arthritis the last year, which resulted in the complete loss of his hands for about three months. They got his meds figured out, so he's able to at least hold a cup of coffee but still doesn't have much feeling. After a little shooting to make sure the rifle was still on, it quickly became apparent that we were going to need to get within 100 yards to be effective. However, after getting to town, the smile on his face assured me he was going to have fun roaming some amazing country regardless of whether he filled his tag or not.

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Luckily, Wyoming has piles of antelope many of which are especially ignorant of the consequences of standing around whilst an old man walks approaches them with a rifle. Dad picked out one such antelope and put a good shot on him. He was talking about the next antelope hunt before we even got it quartered and back to the truck.

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Since he was able to punch his tag fairly quickly, we scooted up to Montana to squeeze in some fishing on the Yellowstone before our season opened up. Luckily few people appreciate what that stretch of river has to offer. If you're ever in the neighborhood, find a way to spend some time on the water. You'll be happy you did.

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With a little help, I was able to find this guy a few hours after daybreak on Saturday. Based on what I saw this summer and the rest of the day, I'm more than happy with him. I'm sure there are pockets with good numbers, but the areas I hangout still don't have many antelope running around. I almost felt bad for the few that were out there after seeing the pumpkin patches surrounding almost every animal.

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way to go. I've been endeavoring to get my dad out in the field more as well. good on you
 
Good on you for guiding your dad.

On a different note, did the lucky hat make the trip back from the east coast?
 
I'm glad you enjoyed yourself here in eastern Montana. It was great to meet your dad and to catch up.

Congrats again.
 
Great story Mike, and a stud of a Montana buck for you.

That's great that you drug your old man out there. I'm sure neither of you will be forgetting the trip anytime soon.
 

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