I really want to kill one with the stick!
I am excited!.
Will finish this story after the hunt next week.
My best, Paul
PS. Man! Hunting season is here!!!!!!!!!!!
Love the pics!
Best of Luck Jeff
Sometime us older guys just need a crutch but then I enjoy shooting them both.
Paul
Little does he know, he'll be in neat white packages in Paul's freezer by then.
Looking forward to the update, Paul.
I'll be watching this post daily.
Go get 'em Paul!!!!
I am hoping that Teeton will be posting his hunt soon, too!!
Can't wait for your report & your ALWAYS great pics as well!
The season is now open where you are....so hopefully, as I type this, you are in a blind somewhere watching some antelope out on the prairie approaching your location....good luck.....
We both would arrive two days before the season on Saturday, set up camp and check the trail cameras. We had set up blinds and trail cameras the week before. Both of us had hunted this ranch 5 years before but it now take 5 preference points to draw an archer tag.
The most pleasant drive took me up to Laramie Wyoming and then west through the Medicine Bow National Forest and the Snowy Mt Range. Later I would drop back down into Colorado.
We found this Cottonwood tree grove that provide shelter from the wind but also shade from the 90 degree weather/sun.
I want to be you when I grow up!!!
Mark
I pulled the chip and scrolled through the pictures with high anticipation of lots of pronghorn pictures.
Well I was very disappointed. The rabbits during the night and the magpies birds during the day had set off 960 of the hits. The remaining were a few pronghorns but no good bucks, mostly does.
My friends camera indicated that lots of pronghorns and mule deer were visiting his water hole and the vast majority of the pics were of animals. Great news indeed.
I still had high hopes for my setup and would be there on opening day to have a first hand experience and figure things out. Five years ago, this place was pronghorn central.
But, we all know, they give a warning rattle before they strike. Well, that is what I have heard. :)
O dark thirty, ie, 4 am.
Dary's blind was only a mile from camp but I had to drive 12 miles to the north side of ranch. By leaving at 4:15 am, driving cross country on dirt two tracks, and then walking 1/3 mile to the blind, I would arrive just as the first hint of a new day arrived.
I had positioned the Dark Horse Blind in the same place as 5 years before. One can see the trail camera on the post to the right near the water.
Only time would tell if this set up was correct.
I was getting the feeling that the pronghorns had changed their pattern and were not active at my end of the pond. The camera surely had shown this with the lack of pronghorn activity.
I will pick back up on this story tomorrow.
Paul
Below me in a wheat field was the rancher combining wheat but he was now standing on his truck looking to the south east. I arrived there in a few minutes and the expression on his face was worry-some.
He yelled at me, " I need to get over there and check it out but I only have the grain truck".
Come on, I yelled, ( the Tacoma was up to the challenge). We were off to the top of the hill a mile away, bouncing all of the way and holding on tight, where we both had a good view of the surrounding country. It did not take him long to figure the situation and call 911 and reported a raging prairie fire. ( the closest help was 30 miles away.) The sheriff was on his way along with some volunteers with a fire tanker truck.
We then raced for the ranch on two rut roads, where he had a 600 hundred gallon water truck filled and standing ready for just such an situation. This fire was bring back bad memories of a 30,000 acre prairie fire in 2006 that burned part of the ranch and destroyed a lot of good grazing land, fence lines and bailed hay.
Back at camp, we heard the BLM fire trucks pass by heading towards the fire, then a large road grader, and more trucks with volunteers.
Over the horizon, the black and white smoke was blotting out the setting sun.
Dary said he had the most enjoyable day he had ever spent 9 hours in the pop up blind. There was non stop action from pronghorns and mule deer at the water hole.
He passed up a few bucks waiting for a "16 incher", but then we still had 4 more days to hunt.
Well we both hoped that the fire did not bring our hunt to an end. The next morning would surely expose that.
Four AM would come too quickly!
There was still a smell of smoke in the air but we both had high hopes that the hunt would continue. The fire was just across the road to the east of the property but that road was how I accessed my hunting area.
A half hour later I could now see a few fire truck's lights up on the hill. The fire was out but here were some hot spots to be dealt with. As I drove farther up the road and adjacent to the fire area, I noticed many glowing sagebrush trunk/roots, still glowing fire-red in the dark.
I had a few extra gallons of water so I stopped the truck and tried to put out as many as I could. I knew later the BLM fire guys would be around also to do just that.
Well the hunt was still on and day two, a new day, a new opportunity.
As it became more light and before the sun came over the horizon, I noticed some movement on the far ridge.
Not pronghorns!
To the east, I saw a pronghorn buck racing across the flats just 200 yards away. Something had spooked him but then I heard the tractor engine in the adjacent field. That buck would surely be in the next county in a few minutes.
I sat back down in the blind, gazing out over the water trying to visualize a good buck stand there within bow range. Ten minutes later.......
A movement caught the corner of my eye out of the side window. Tan and white hair for sure and only 10 yards away.
There BETTER be more....his last comment was "A movement caught the corner of my eye out of the side window. Tan and white hair for sure and only 10 yards away."!!!
LOL
But something seemed strange as I observed this buck drinking. He not only waded out a little but put his head down for 5 minutes just lapping up the water. I have never seen a pronghorn stay at water for so long without being on pins and needles and jerking up their head to look for danger.
My thought was, great, a live decoy!
Seems like he sensed something was wrong and within a few minutes, turned around and walked away. He knew, animal instinct, all was not right.
Well my live decoy was starting to become a negative factor so I crawled out of the back side of the blind to gather a few close by dirt clumps to throw at him.
Well, that did not work.
So I exited the blind and walked towards the buck at ten yards, and finely he arose and walked away on weak legs. When he tried to step over a low wire fence, his legs caught, and he almost tripped and lost his balance. Over the hill he went and out of my sight. I doubt if he will make to through the winter season but I do wish him luck.
Would you have taken the other buck, if he hadn't turned around and left?
Love the pics and story!
It's why I love hunting them so much.
The wind was blowing my scent across the pond but since there had been no action on that side, I was not worried about that.
I think it will work!
I had not been in the blind but for more that a half hour when behind me and out of the side window, a caught movement.
This group of bucks were passing by at 50 yards, but slightly on alert. Maybe they saw the top of the blind, something they had not seen before.
They knew something was not right.
A half hour later, they joined up with 4 more bucks, and all 12 of them were heading away to a place unknown to me. With three more days to hunt, I might have educated most of the bucks in the area of my location, my odds of killing one just dropped a notch or two.
With dark rain clouds forming in the SW..........
Tomorrow would be another day.
I convinced him to return instead of trying out a different blind a mile away. I was sure the bucks would return as then do circle their territory to check things out and visit other water holes.
He would try this same blind in the morning and I would revisit my reset blind also.
After a good meal of steak, green mixed salad, and good conversation, we hit the sack. The nightly temp of 60 degrees made sleeping comfortable.
That night the sky was full of a billion-billion stars and we both saw a few shooting stars enter our atmosphere and burn up.
We might have both wished upon a star, I know I did.
Maybe Dary did also.
As I looked out into the gray of first light I caught movement across the pond.
Seems like this good buck was also up early but moving away.
This might be the longest horned buck to date.
Maybe that 'wishing on a star' was just a tall tale and "wishful" thinking.
He was still down wind and I was sure he would find me.
Ok, think!. I would close all of the windows of the blind but only keep the shooting port open to the front, and one small side window in his direction.
I sprayed the window openings with a liquid sagebrush masking scent and then hoped for the best.
I held my breath!
He gave the blind only a slight glance and continued on to the water's edge only 25 yards away. He passed directly in front of me giving me a good look at him.
I was horns were longer than his 6 inch ears and maybe 5 inches higher.
You know the saying about, a bird in the hand....
The compound bow was up, the sight picture was clear, the release smooth, and arrow was on its way.
With a second, the tell tail whack of a hit was heard.
The buck stumbled, and disappeared into the ravine just 50 yards away.
Back straps, stakes, burger, wild game meat at its finest. Great nourishment for sure.
I thanked him for giving up his life.
And never once did I consider using the term, " I smoked him!"
On ice he would make his way to my freezer and then my plate in a few days.
To the casual observer, the sagebrush and grass prairie may look void of life.
We hunters of pronghorn know if there is water, animal life will flourish, not only pronghorn but all of the other critters that make up this mighty prairie environment.
Secrets in the tall grass, you bet. One just has to look and understand what really is just under their nose.
That was fun. Hope you enjoyed.
My best, Paul
I called Dary when I returned to the truck and stated when he answered, " buck down".
He said, me too and I am field processing at this moment. A 13 incher.
Both bucks were killed at 8 am.
Maybe there is something to be said about, "wishing upon a star"".
My best, Paul
Mark
I'll bet "Put the smackdown on him" probably never crossed your mind either;>)
Fun read, glad you had another great hunt.
Any details about the angle of the shot and what all you hit, please?
The buck was drinking and hard quartering away at 25 yards.
The sharp three bld BH gazed his lower left hip, entered his body and sliced through the heart.
Charlie, yea, I appreciate every year I can hunt now (one year at a time) and surely all of the grand wild animals I come in contact with, big and small. The camera, yes the camera really does add another dimension to the hunt and added memories. Looking for good camera shots does make me more aware of my surroundings and makes me take that second look.
I am now preparing for my Colorado archery elk hunt and will be leaving on August 27, and yes, with bow and camera in hand. I will spend 3-4 weeks out if needed and I will be taking every photo opportunity I can on that trip. Most will be back packing, solo and bivy hunting. ( I did purchase a SPOT Messenger this year)
Looking forward at the end of September to share another memorable hunt with my friends on Bowsite.
One step, one year, one hunt, one photo, one story, one heart beat at a time but always moving forward. Life, yes life is good but it is what one makes of it.
Good luck to all.
My best, Paul
Congrats on your antelopes. Any pictures of your hunting partner's goat?
I enjoy your stories and your pictures. Well done.
Rob
This is a great quote! Thanks Paul!
Congrats!
Makes the effort well worth it to share. I know some of you might never pronghorn hunt but I hope I and others on this site, give you a feeling for the hunt of the "speed goat".
A few of the pronghorn buck hunters who spot and stalk, now that is a real challenge. My hat is off to you all.
Just finished processing the buck into back straps, tenderloins, two ham roasts, and the rest will go for burger.
My best, Paul
Enjoy your elk hunts.
Butts, It seems that mostly sage and grass burned, along with some fence posts and 8 round bails. There was one ranch house that the Fire Dept protected. All in all, it could have been worst if it had got out of control like in 2006, but with a quick response and lighter winds, the fire was brought under control. The BLM fire dept sat over it for the next two days making sure there were not any hot spots that might flare up. I would guess, 200 acres. The rancher told me that if there is a fire on BLM leased ground for grazing, that that ground can not be graze for the next two years. So one can see how this might affect a ranching operation that depends on those leases along with their own private ground.
Bonecracker, Tricia and I had a house guest last night and I grilled a fresh-unfrozen pronghorn back strap,room temp, seasoned, rapped in bacon, and cooked med rare. Had a baked potato, green salad and then, I picked some fresh sweet corn from my small sweet corm plot (first picking) in the back yard. With a glass of red wine, we all thought we had "died and went to Heaven", after that meal. Know what you mean! Within two hours, the buck was skinned, quartered, cooled down and placed on ice.
My best, Paul
I always tell guys to enjoy every moment - even when things are tough because it only takes a minute for everything to change.
Antelope hunting is the epitome of this.
You can sit for 8 hours and not see a thing and the next morning a buck can walk in and you are smiling!
Enjoyed every minute of your story!
Paul
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