DAD GOT HIS ANTELOPE!!!!!!

[ranchwife]

Just heard from my Mom that Dad finally got his antelope this morning!!!!!!!!!:dancin-red:

He has been hunting this one buck all season and this morning it finally paid off!!!! Apparently it is about somewhere between 16 and 18 inches. I'll know the exact length once he actually gets a tape measure to measure it and comes down off cloud 9!!
I guess 34 years of waiting to be drawn and then having DF&G forget to send him his acceptance letter (until we called them about it) finally paid off!!!

Story posted a few posts down - keep reading!

 

[songdog]

Congrats! Make sure to get some pictures for all of us.

 

[Qbn Hunter]

Congratulation to your dad. 34 yrs. waiting wow, that's being persistent. I would have given up and gone to Wyoming. Can't wait to see the pix.

 

[huntducks]

GREAT FOR POPS

Story & Pictures to fallow I HOPE.

 

[ranchwife]

Now that I finally know the story, I'll share it with you all.

He said from the time he actually got his tags that he was not going to shoot one at a water hole just to fill his tags, or go into someone's alfalfa field and kill one just to fill his tags - he wanted to hunt for one. He said that it had been 10 years since he hunted the Devil's garden (for deer, never for antelope), and darn it, he was going to hunt it on foot.

He spent quite a few days out scouting for antelope and saw a few small bucks and some does, but nothing too large. Finally about a week beore season opened, he saw his buck. It was running with a bunch of does and was fighting off smaller bucks. It appeared to be about a 15-18 inch buck (hard to tell when you're 400 yards away and not used to judging heighth of antelops horns). Once he saw that animal, he got excited. I stopped by mom and dad's house on Friday (the day before opening day) and Dad was, as my husband described it, "All giggles and farts." He was so wound up and excited; Mom was ready to escort him out of town because he was driving her crazy!

A good friend of his went out with him for the opening weekend. They saw the big antelope almost everyday, but he was never in a good place for a shot - so they kept looking. He shot at a smaller goat on Sunday, but missed (good thing). Other than that, there was nothing eventful the first 2 days.

On Monday, the weather turned really hot (90+ which is hot for up here) and hunting was kind of miserable. He was getting pretty discouraged because he was expecting antelope hunting to be like deer hunting. He was covering a lot of ground, but wasn't seeing much. He kept seeing the big antelope, but was never within shot of him. He did, however, learn the mating habits of the buck and what females he prefered and when he drank and fed. About Wednesday, he realized that he needed to find cover near where the buck was roaming and just wait.

While he was treed-up on Wednesday he had a herd of about 20 ferral (wild) horses walk past him. He sat and watched them play in the water and chase each other for a while. Then one of the mares got the scent of him (which according to Mom, was pretty hard to miss) and started snorting at him. Of course the rest of the herd got curious and came to investigate. Dad got a little annoyed at them at this point because they were interfeering with his hunt. So he started whistling at them and they eventually moved and went to the other side of the opening. He enjoyed watching the horses, but was more blown away by the two bull elk that he saw (one had horns which he estimated to be about 60 inches wide!).

Thursday evening, as dad was making his evening hunt, he saw his big goat (the same one). He was within shooting range, but by the time Dad got off his shot, the goat was running at full speed away from him and he missed. He went back home and decided that he would go for him again in the morning.

Friday morning comes, and Dad is back out at the antelope's feeding/watering area before sunlight. Just after the sun came up, he glassed the flat and saw his goat. The antelope was about 400 yards away and Dad decided not to take a shot. He thought that if he waited, he may get a better shot. He then decided to move from his location so that he could get a better view of the flat. So he picks up his gun and starts walking along the side of the flat. He finds a great place and sits down. He picks up his binoculars and glasses the flat again. Unbeknownst to him, the antelope moved when he did and is now about 130 yards away and by himself. Dad decides that now is the time, so he takes a rest and as he looks into the scope, the antelope goes behind a pile of rocks. So he waites again. Eventually the antelope reappears and this time he is only 93 yards away. Dad takes his rest and pulls the trigger! BANG! Finally, at 7:30 AM on Friday the 13th, after 34 years of waiting to be drawn for antelope, he got his wish - the antelope buck was his! It measured 14 3/4 inches and weighed 90 lbs fully dressed out and skinned. It is a beautiful animal!

I am happy for my father - he is truely thankful. When he told me the story, he cried and thanked me for checking DF&G's website to see if he was drawn. Had I not checked, the joy of getting this animal would not have been his. I thank whoever posted DF&G's website on Jesse's - without this page also, Dad's hunt would not have been possible. We have pictures (both paper and digital) but I don't know how to post them here. If anyone can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[spectr17]

Great story and hunt ranchwife. Congrats to your Dad. I guess you could call it "The Hunt That Almost Wasn't".

I've got some more space now on my server so if you want you can email me the pics. Try and keep each pic under 100k in size so my email box doesn't get locked up.

 

[BradCa]

Ranchwife,

I'm so happy for your Dad! Please give him my congratulations. I thought about him almost everyday and really was hoping that things were going well. It sounds like he really got to enjoy his hunt. No one deserved one more.

Brad

 

[yotegetter]

Now that is a great story! Congrats to your dad! We need pics!!!

 

[spectr17]

Here are the pics ranchwife sent of her Dad's antelope. Check out that happy grin.

Congrats again to Dad on a fine antelope.

 

[Sask Hunter]

Congrats on the nice antelope,I am going start putting in for draws this year for antelope,I just hope it does'nt take me that long to be drawn.That is a hunt your dad will never forget.How come you were not hunting with him?

 

[Megadeth]

Thanks Ranchwife, Excellent results along with a fantastic story. Im sure he still wants to kill a deer in that area also?