Finally posting about my DIY antelope hunt. Broke some stuff on the way up and on the way back, had tire failures too, but that did not deter me, lol. I scouted this area back in August, saw the biggest buck ever there, so that's where I went each day. I didn't see that huge buck again, but I sat a water hole in that area. I used my Ranger as a blind, sat about 200 yards from a waterhole. It was comfortable, out of the wind and sun and the antelope didn't seem to care I was there. On day 2, a very unusual buck came in. He had a pure white head and a prominent black cheek stripe. Reminded me of an oryx. Trouble was he wasn't very mature. Sure would of made an awesome mount though. He also came in on day 3, so I had to decide not to shoot him twice, lol.
Also on day 3, I was amazed to see a small herd of elk nearby. I wouldn't have ever guessed there would be elk around there. 4 huge bulls and 2 cows. Man were they dark compared to Arizona elk.
Also on the 3rd day a pretty big buck came in. I really liked him so I decided to try and get him. Getting out of the Ranger and into a shooting position proved difficult, plus he was dashing all over the place, then left the water pretty quickly. I moved to a berm, set up and took a shot at 645 yards. Just missed him!
Went back to the Ranger and sat a while more. Another group of antelope showed up and there was a buck similar to the one I just missed. I watched as he chased does and ran off all the other bucks. He was ruling the roost! I liked him, so while he was chasing does, I got out of the Ranger and set up for a shot. When I got my sights on him, he had his head down getting a drink. When he lifted his head, he was kind enough to turn broadside, so I squeezed the trigger. After the shot he was gone! I stood up but couldn't see him. All I had on me was my rangefinder, so I started panning looking for him. I saw his white rump out in the field. He ran 80 yards!
I go over to him, there's a huge pool of foamy blood next to him. Turned out the shot went through both ribs without hitting bone and took out both lungs. I was a happy hunter!
As he lay
Didn't have a pen, so I signed it with antelope blood.
First broken leaf spring.
Second broken leaf spring.
First blown tire.
Second tire failure.
Fresh backstraps made it all better.