I'll guess I'll start the thread since I drew first blood, then the rest of the guys can chime in and hopefully One Track will be home soon to post pics. In all, we seriously scored. We did very well, killed some VERY respectable bucks (actually huge ones for this unit) and had a great trip. We had great hunting weather with highs in the mid 40's. With the wind it was downright cold at times but that just added to the adventure. Of course the day we leave it was 65 degrees, sunny and no wind.
We got there on Friday afternoon. Buck-eye, NWOkla, and I drove up from Denver and One Track drove down from Sheridan where he was bow hunting muleys (another story I'm sure he'll fill us in on later). We met near the area I wanted to look at first. The rifle season opened the next day on Sat but I had an archery license so I could bow hunt right away. My initial plan was to try to take a doe if it was easy enough, and not let it get in the way of scouting up some good bucks for the other guys. Then I could later hold out for a buck after all the other guys got one. I had determined long prior that my main objective for this trip was to kill an antelope, spot and stalk, with my bow. I didn't care if it was a doe or a buck, and since I had both tags I could always fill the other with a rifle if I wanted. I had made up my mind to take the first animal that presented me with a workable shot. I could always hold out for quality later.
As soon as we step out of the car and say hi to OT there are antelope 300 yards away. They already had us pegged. A halfhearted stalk resulted in nothing.
We hop in the vehicles and cruise around looking for some good bucks to hang tags on the next day. As we top a rise there is a good P&Y class buck with 3 does in a slight depression with a perfect ridgeline just above them. We drive on past and I get out to stalk. The set up was perfect with a nice bush right at the lip of the ridge to block my outline. I crawl up there undetected. I lean out and range a doe at 38 yards. I draw and stand at the same time. Trained on the doe and about to release, I look over and there is the buck just a few yards past. He is quartering to me just a bit but still giving me a fine shot. I guess him at 42 yards, but he is downhill and he is also standing in a low spot so all I can see is his body, not legs. I get a good bead and release clean. All looks good until the arrow drops it's last few yards and drills a small sage that was a few yards in front of the buck. Game over. I think he actually ended up being a bit farther than I thought, and since he was standing in a low spot, that sage was right in the arc of my arrow's flight. I was bummed as it was a nice buck.
OT and NWOKla went to go get some fuel and Bucky and I stay out for a bit. We find some more goats, with another nice buck in the herd, and try to set up on him. An easy 20 yard shot turns into a long one. I make a quick guess at 60 and take a shot at the perfectly broadside buck. The arrow arcs up and all looks absolutely perfect until the last few feet when the bottom drops out and the arrow lands at his feet. Game over again.
We meet back up with the other truck and agree to go see some other parts of this huge unit. We weren't seeing any really good bucks in this area. This evening was primarily a scouting mission, not a SDHNTR archery mission, and we needed to find some big bucks.
Driving back to the highway we spot a herd of does in a creek bottom, perfect for a stalk. I sneak in undetected, and take a 40 yrd shot at a doe. Let me digress here, I consider myself to be a fair to good shot with a bow and usually do pretty well at 3d shoots. I usually would consider anything out to 50 a gimme. But I'll admit, I only have a few bow animals under my belt, so I really get rattled once I'm in bow range. Back to that stalk... I choke and blow an easy shot at a broadside doe. The animals take off just a short distance but they aren't too spooked. I move up and get another crack. I range at 45 yards, stop myself, mentally check everything, 40 pin on the back 50 pin on the bottom of the chest as the animal is slightly below me and quartering away just a hair. A smooth release results in a good hit and the animal goes down just 25-30 yards. The shot taking out liver and both lungs.
As I walk up to the critter I was a bit surprised, it wasn't what I thought it was. In my haste, I neglected to look for cheek patches and I ended up killing a small yearling buck. Yes, a mistake on my part, but I had both tags so I was perfectly legal and not too concerned. Just bummed, it really didn't work out the way I thought as I wanted to take a doe early and then worry about taking a buck later. Oh well, I still accomplished my goal of taking an antelope, any antelope, spot and stalk with a bow. I'll admit I was embarrased to take that little guy to the processor but I'm sure that feeling will subside once I take my first bite of that fork tender meat. Mission accomplished, albeit bittersweet.
Opening morning comes and it is eventful. You'll get that part of the story later. Opening evening was equally eventfull. It was great seeing some EXCELLENT shooting and the filling of two first antelope tags. We also captured some great video.
Sunday morning came and we had one more buck tag to fill and two more doe tags. The decision was made to get the does out of the way. I pass an a shot first thing as she never gave me the right angle and since I was meat hunting now (I LOVE antelope meat) I wanted a clean shot that wouldn't waste anything.
I'm using my .243 now as I have never taken anything with it and I wanted to de-virginize it. I'm still a little salty about my bow performance anyway.
We later get on a herd and they are out there a ways, but the guys talk me into taking a poke and making it interesting. I pick out a mature animal, make sure there are no cheeck patches and get set into the shooting sticks. NWOkla ranges her at 274. In retrospect I should have properly set up on a backpack and shot prone at that range, but I took the poke off the sticks. I hit her in the brisket, in front of the shoulders. The herd took off with her at the back and moving slower than the rest. I took another shot and missed and another that just clipped hair. We could see blood pouring out so I knew she wouldnt go far. The herd went down into a creek bottom and when they came out the other side I glassed them hard. None were hit. She must of gone down out of sight in the creek bottom. We hike down and there she is. Two more shots to the neck (yes two, this old broad was tough!) and she's in the truck. A nice, big, fat, mature doe. Turns out the first shot did clip lung, there was massive blood loss, and she was about done when we found her.
I'll let the other fellers continue on from here.
We got there on Friday afternoon. Buck-eye, NWOkla, and I drove up from Denver and One Track drove down from Sheridan where he was bow hunting muleys (another story I'm sure he'll fill us in on later). We met near the area I wanted to look at first. The rifle season opened the next day on Sat but I had an archery license so I could bow hunt right away. My initial plan was to try to take a doe if it was easy enough, and not let it get in the way of scouting up some good bucks for the other guys. Then I could later hold out for a buck after all the other guys got one. I had determined long prior that my main objective for this trip was to kill an antelope, spot and stalk, with my bow. I didn't care if it was a doe or a buck, and since I had both tags I could always fill the other with a rifle if I wanted. I had made up my mind to take the first animal that presented me with a workable shot. I could always hold out for quality later.
As soon as we step out of the car and say hi to OT there are antelope 300 yards away. They already had us pegged. A halfhearted stalk resulted in nothing.
We hop in the vehicles and cruise around looking for some good bucks to hang tags on the next day. As we top a rise there is a good P&Y class buck with 3 does in a slight depression with a perfect ridgeline just above them. We drive on past and I get out to stalk. The set up was perfect with a nice bush right at the lip of the ridge to block my outline. I crawl up there undetected. I lean out and range a doe at 38 yards. I draw and stand at the same time. Trained on the doe and about to release, I look over and there is the buck just a few yards past. He is quartering to me just a bit but still giving me a fine shot. I guess him at 42 yards, but he is downhill and he is also standing in a low spot so all I can see is his body, not legs. I get a good bead and release clean. All looks good until the arrow drops it's last few yards and drills a small sage that was a few yards in front of the buck. Game over. I think he actually ended up being a bit farther than I thought, and since he was standing in a low spot, that sage was right in the arc of my arrow's flight. I was bummed as it was a nice buck.
OT and NWOKla went to go get some fuel and Bucky and I stay out for a bit. We find some more goats, with another nice buck in the herd, and try to set up on him. An easy 20 yard shot turns into a long one. I make a quick guess at 60 and take a shot at the perfectly broadside buck. The arrow arcs up and all looks absolutely perfect until the last few feet when the bottom drops out and the arrow lands at his feet. Game over again.
We meet back up with the other truck and agree to go see some other parts of this huge unit. We weren't seeing any really good bucks in this area. This evening was primarily a scouting mission, not a SDHNTR archery mission, and we needed to find some big bucks.
Driving back to the highway we spot a herd of does in a creek bottom, perfect for a stalk. I sneak in undetected, and take a 40 yrd shot at a doe. Let me digress here, I consider myself to be a fair to good shot with a bow and usually do pretty well at 3d shoots. I usually would consider anything out to 50 a gimme. But I'll admit, I only have a few bow animals under my belt, so I really get rattled once I'm in bow range. Back to that stalk... I choke and blow an easy shot at a broadside doe. The animals take off just a short distance but they aren't too spooked. I move up and get another crack. I range at 45 yards, stop myself, mentally check everything, 40 pin on the back 50 pin on the bottom of the chest as the animal is slightly below me and quartering away just a hair. A smooth release results in a good hit and the animal goes down just 25-30 yards. The shot taking out liver and both lungs.
As I walk up to the critter I was a bit surprised, it wasn't what I thought it was. In my haste, I neglected to look for cheek patches and I ended up killing a small yearling buck. Yes, a mistake on my part, but I had both tags so I was perfectly legal and not too concerned. Just bummed, it really didn't work out the way I thought as I wanted to take a doe early and then worry about taking a buck later. Oh well, I still accomplished my goal of taking an antelope, any antelope, spot and stalk with a bow. I'll admit I was embarrased to take that little guy to the processor but I'm sure that feeling will subside once I take my first bite of that fork tender meat. Mission accomplished, albeit bittersweet.
Opening morning comes and it is eventful. You'll get that part of the story later. Opening evening was equally eventfull. It was great seeing some EXCELLENT shooting and the filling of two first antelope tags. We also captured some great video.
Sunday morning came and we had one more buck tag to fill and two more doe tags. The decision was made to get the does out of the way. I pass an a shot first thing as she never gave me the right angle and since I was meat hunting now (I LOVE antelope meat) I wanted a clean shot that wouldn't waste anything.
I'm using my .243 now as I have never taken anything with it and I wanted to de-virginize it. I'm still a little salty about my bow performance anyway.
We later get on a herd and they are out there a ways, but the guys talk me into taking a poke and making it interesting. I pick out a mature animal, make sure there are no cheeck patches and get set into the shooting sticks. NWOkla ranges her at 274. In retrospect I should have properly set up on a backpack and shot prone at that range, but I took the poke off the sticks. I hit her in the brisket, in front of the shoulders. The herd took off with her at the back and moving slower than the rest. I took another shot and missed and another that just clipped hair. We could see blood pouring out so I knew she wouldnt go far. The herd went down into a creek bottom and when they came out the other side I glassed them hard. None were hit. She must of gone down out of sight in the creek bottom. We hike down and there she is. Two more shots to the neck (yes two, this old broad was tough!) and she's in the truck. A nice, big, fat, mature doe. Turns out the first shot did clip lung, there was massive blood loss, and she was about done when we found her.
I'll let the other fellers continue on from here.
