Mudranger1
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- Jun 30, 2010
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Wyoming trip 2016
Day 1 We left Colorado Springs on Saturday around 1pm and pulled into Laramie around 430pm Which left us a little over an hour to go see what was going on. Its a very restricted access unit so just a bunch of little parcels. spot 1-5 hunters at each one..head on thru the mountains and we see some down in a bottom and realize they are right on the border of state land..For some reason my Dad didn't want to go after them so I happily volunteered. There was a mix of antelope, mule deer and cows and as I dipped thru a last little valley one of the mule deer picked me off and got everything spooked. made a little jog over another hill and had about a 200 yard shot which planted him ..1 hour in Wyoming and I was done...he is actually my biggest. not to mention he was a four point!
Day 2 we headed out and found some on a small piece of BLM just north of where I had shot mine again in the mountains. My Dad decided he was good enough and we made a little stalk and everything was perfect with the antelope about 50 yards away. I was watching my Dad fumble around and fumble around thinking he just couldn't see them over the little rise finally I'm like just stand up and shoot him when he informs me that the scope is messed up and he can't see thru it at all...sure enough So I head back to get my gun but by the time I got back they were spooked off The rest of the day was pretty uneventful except for hunters everywhere. Day 3 we find some right out of the gate. not in a great position but with a rifle I feel we should be able to make it work long story short we finally get a shot after about 2 hours and he missed at less than 200 yards. I had noticed this entire time he was having trouble keeping up and would be wheezing when he did. (mind you we are just in the prairie rolling hills) So I tell him we can just go sit on a waterhole about a mile down the road. We pull up and there is a small buck already posted up there with a big herd about 500 yards down past it. We eased our way to the hole and I see a wide buck just over the berm that surrounds the water.. I hustle him on up and he made the shot count His first ever. one prong was broke and the other was only about an inch long but it didn't matter
our KOA cabin in Laramie
Somehow in the debacle of me trying to organize the application game with 2 others that had no idea our 3rd tag was in a completely different unit up near Gillette (3rd choice, a unit that has leftovers thru September) so we drove up there after taking care of my Dad's buck.. Day 4 rain, fog and snow, 4 antelope 1 small buck on public land with none even close that might give some hope. lots of hunters and we drive all day with my buddy getting more discouraged about the situation. I try to remain positive but deep down I was pretty nervous. We drove the entire unit that day checking every little piece we could get to. Day 5 he decided to see if the little buck was still in the same area and we stop by other places on the way but at least today we are seeing herds within a couple hundred yards of public land. The original buck had moved on to private across the road so we motored on seeing plenty of antelope just not where they needed to be. we pulled into the last public land on the unit boundary and immediately spot some does and a I glimpse a buck down in the valley ..we grab our gear head over a little rise looking right into the sun and neither of us can find him. we circle around the nob and some lower does spook ..about the same time I find him on a distant hill but cant get a range.. the hill in front of him was 187 so I told him to just shoot for 300 as they were starting to move out.. down he went His first ever too and was easily the biggest one
Day 1 We left Colorado Springs on Saturday around 1pm and pulled into Laramie around 430pm Which left us a little over an hour to go see what was going on. Its a very restricted access unit so just a bunch of little parcels. spot 1-5 hunters at each one..head on thru the mountains and we see some down in a bottom and realize they are right on the border of state land..For some reason my Dad didn't want to go after them so I happily volunteered. There was a mix of antelope, mule deer and cows and as I dipped thru a last little valley one of the mule deer picked me off and got everything spooked. made a little jog over another hill and had about a 200 yard shot which planted him ..1 hour in Wyoming and I was done...he is actually my biggest. not to mention he was a four point!
Day 2 we headed out and found some on a small piece of BLM just north of where I had shot mine again in the mountains. My Dad decided he was good enough and we made a little stalk and everything was perfect with the antelope about 50 yards away. I was watching my Dad fumble around and fumble around thinking he just couldn't see them over the little rise finally I'm like just stand up and shoot him when he informs me that the scope is messed up and he can't see thru it at all...sure enough So I head back to get my gun but by the time I got back they were spooked off The rest of the day was pretty uneventful except for hunters everywhere. Day 3 we find some right out of the gate. not in a great position but with a rifle I feel we should be able to make it work long story short we finally get a shot after about 2 hours and he missed at less than 200 yards. I had noticed this entire time he was having trouble keeping up and would be wheezing when he did. (mind you we are just in the prairie rolling hills) So I tell him we can just go sit on a waterhole about a mile down the road. We pull up and there is a small buck already posted up there with a big herd about 500 yards down past it. We eased our way to the hole and I see a wide buck just over the berm that surrounds the water.. I hustle him on up and he made the shot count His first ever. one prong was broke and the other was only about an inch long but it didn't matter
our KOA cabin in Laramie
Somehow in the debacle of me trying to organize the application game with 2 others that had no idea our 3rd tag was in a completely different unit up near Gillette (3rd choice, a unit that has leftovers thru September) so we drove up there after taking care of my Dad's buck.. Day 4 rain, fog and snow, 4 antelope 1 small buck on public land with none even close that might give some hope. lots of hunters and we drive all day with my buddy getting more discouraged about the situation. I try to remain positive but deep down I was pretty nervous. We drove the entire unit that day checking every little piece we could get to. Day 5 he decided to see if the little buck was still in the same area and we stop by other places on the way but at least today we are seeing herds within a couple hundred yards of public land. The original buck had moved on to private across the road so we motored on seeing plenty of antelope just not where they needed to be. we pulled into the last public land on the unit boundary and immediately spot some does and a I glimpse a buck down in the valley ..we grab our gear head over a little rise looking right into the sun and neither of us can find him. we circle around the nob and some lower does spook ..about the same time I find him on a distant hill but cant get a range.. the hill in front of him was 187 so I told him to just shoot for 300 as they were starting to move out.. down he went His first ever too and was easily the biggest one
