WY Antelope

Day 1:

I picked Ryan up about 9:30am grabbed some Mickey D’s and hit the road. We headed out hoping to make to Cheyenne, WY, but we were making good time and drove all the way to Casper. Stopped at Outback had a steak dinner and got a hotel for the night.

Day 2:

Woke up early, went a got the weeks supplies at the local Wal-Mart, Sportsman Warehouse, and Best Buy. Then we headed over to the Game and Fish Office to get our conservation stamps. We left out of town from there, and drove an hour and a half to our hunting area. As soon as we arrive we immediately see groups of antelope. With my previous experience with public land the game was very scarce. I saw more animals in five minutes than all of my previous public land western hunts (2 CO Elk and 1 NM Deer). I thought to myself, this was going to be an awesome hunt. We spent the rest of the day exploring the unit getting our bearings, and made a half ass attempt at a stalk. With the light fading, we found a good place to set up the tent, and got some much needed rest.

Day 3:

Woke up to a car driving down the road we had planned to go down. This did not set well with me, because I like to be the first to the hunting area. This only happened once, due to our new camping strategy (more on that later). We loaded up our camp and headed down the road. Shorty after driving we spot a rather large group of antelope. Within this group we spotted a rather large buck. Ryan decides to make a stalk he gets maybe 1000 yards from the group; they bust him and head for the hills. We didn’t know it at the time but this buck was probably one of the largest we saw during the trip. Being “green” at field judging a pronghorn, we had no clue that he was definitely a B&C Buck. Later that afternoon, we were running a little low on fuel, so we headed to town. Got back to the hunting area, and spent the rest of the evening spotting and scouting new areas. That evening we broke out the Colman stove and Ryan cooked us a gourmet dinner consisting of brats and tortillas. That night we just parked on an upslope and slept in the truck. It wasn’t the most comfortable I’ve been in my lifetime but it was definitely not the worst. Also I figured out how to rig my iphone to the rear view mirror and watch “The Ghost and the Darkness.” I’m sure no one cares, but at the time I felt like an engineering genius.

Day 4:

The day started off by me informing Ryan that I was now in “Super Guide” mode, and it was time for him to get his trophy. “Super Guide” proceeds down a road we had not been down before, but by looking at the topo map it looked promising. We see several groups of antelope, none of which we were able to put a stalk on. I see a road branching off the one we were on, and it looked like a good vantage point to glass the creek bottom below. We start down that road, and as soon as we crest a rather large hill. We can barely see the tops of what later turned out to be two probable Booners. Ryan jumps out grabs is gun and shooting sticks walks out to get a shot on one of these bucks. I thought to myself “Super Guide” did it. I have the buck Ryan is aiming at in my spotting scope. BOOM! The buck shows no sign of being hit. Ryan sets up for another shot. The antelope have had enough and after looking around for a brief moment they put on the afterburners and took off. That evening we head to town for dinner, gas, and nice bed to sleep in for a change.

Days 5, 6:

The next two days, we spent spotting and stalking and getting busted. These were the days we definitely spent hunting the hardest. I got up to 80 yards from a nice buck, and passed due to the fact he was nowhere near the size of the previous antelope we had seen.

Day 7:

Today, I was on a mission something was going to hit the dirt. We got going to the “Honey Hole” just as the sun started rise. We past the outfitter that had set up camp where we had previously camped, and luckily all their vehicles were still there. We were going to be the first down the road. About 9:00 am, after a couple of good stalks that produced nothing, a lone buck crossed the road. I got out, and new if this dude gives me a shot he’s going down. After a nice belly crawl, I set my bipod up, and range him at 300 yards. I got this…..6” drop…….aim at the top of his back……BOOM. Then I see dirt fly in front of him. (Insert cuss word here) I must have ranged the hill in front of him. I then proceed to aim a foot higher….BOOM…..he takes off running this time. I jump up and run to the basin I assume he going to go down for a visual confirmation that he’s dead. I see nothing running in the bottom. He must be down! Ryan comes up in the truck and confirms that I had hit him so we go to look for him. We look down each of the fingers that lead to the basin, no goat. I’m feeling sick. I start heading to the place where I think he was standing to start blood trailing. Ryan then yells, “What are you doing, he’s right here.” Some people say they feel a bit of remorse when they take a game animal. Not me, not this time, after four years trying to draw a quality tag out west, I finally took my first western big game animal. I had an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. We get my antelope taken care of and on ice. We are feeling good, and we’re off to fill Ryan’s tag.





Ryan is driving now, and we take off down one of the main county roads. I’m thinking that we need to hurry up and get to another one of the good spots we found, because we aren’t going to see anything on this road. Shortly after I think this, sure enough, a good buck leisurely strolls across the road. We both jump out of the truck. I hand Ryan his rifle and starts off on his stalk. He gets to about 150 yards gets a good rest and puts a good shot right through both shoulders. No tag soup for us!