MY 2010 OPENING MORNING NEW MEXICO MUZZLELOADER ANTELOPE

[Arizonahunter]

8 years since my last NM speed goat tag! Well worth the wait. It all started 2 weeks ago on my first scout trip that we spotted this buck on the ranch I would be hunting, along with 5 other bucks...He was the one I said I wanted to bring home. Well, this past Thursday, my brother and I made the 7 hour trip to NM to set up camp and scout 2 days before the hunt, which started Saturday. We in deed found this buck on Thursday evening, again on Friday morning and evening ( which we got some great footage of him ) and then obvisouly on Saturday. Saturday morning we arrived about an hour before dawn and parked about a mile away from where we had last spotted him feeding the night before. As dawn broke, we started glassing in the same area and I spotted a buck feeding about a mile away, within seconds, my brother says, " I have another buck out there also, and I think hes the one we are after". After glassing him myself, I said, yep, thats him, let go!!! We locked the truck up and headed out after him. We got to about 4oo yards from him and he decides to bed up in the middle of an open field just before sun up. This want definitely NOT to our advantage. We then had to literally belly crawl to close the distance. We got to 277 yrds and with my TC Omega, topped with the new Nikon Omega BDC 300 , I could have taken the shot from there, but wanted to get closer. We made it to 170 yards without him spotting us, but i didnt have a shot. I was then able to make it to 145 yards without him knowing I was there. My brother was 25 yards behind me, behind a creosote bush watching. I sat there for about 5 minutes, still he had not got up. My brother then motioned to me he was going to crawl over, hoping it would get the attention of the buck and it did. No more than 30 seconds of him meeting up with me, the buck stood up broadside to me and immediately turned straight on, facing us head on. I told my brother are you ready??? He said " As long as you are ". I took a deep breath, put the 150 yard reticle dead center of his chest and squeezed the trigger. The smoke pole released the 150 grains of Triple Seven powder and the 250 grain TC Shockwave bullet and the somke billowed out. We heard the impact and waited for the smoke to clear, we saw the buck running away, he ran about 40 yards and piled up. At that moment, I knew I had just dropped the biggest buck on the ranch and most importantly, the buck I had come to get! We let the woohoos out, gave each other a big hug and started the congrats !!! Walking over to him, emotions were high. We got there and were so jazzed! Took the pictures for years of long lasting memories. What a fun and memorable hunt it turned out to be! I got to harvest a great buck and spend some quality time my brother! Thanks so much bro!!!

Now I have to start getting ready for my New Mexico Burro Mtns muzzleloader Mule deer tag I was lucky enough to draw and then a AZ whitetail tag for myself and my wife! Keep ya posted!

[matthewp45]

Really nice buck! Congrats! Make sure you show us pics of him on your wall!

[Oak]

Nice buck! Congratulations, and thanks for sharing.

[tjhunt2]

Great story and congratulations on your buck. That had to be special to have your brother there with you. Glad to see family hunting together. What unit are you and the wife hunting wt here in az?

 

TJ

[Arizonahunter]

Thank you! Had a blast! Unit 33 and 34a. Have taken nice WT out of both units. Will be the wifes first deer hunt.

 

 

 

 

Great story and congratulations on your buck. That had to be special to have your brother there with you. Glad to see family hunting together. What unit are you and the wife hunting wt here in az?

 

TJ

 

[tjhunt2]

Thank you! Had a blast! Unit 33 and 34a. Have taken nice WT out of both units. Will be the wifes first deer hunt.

 

 

 

 

Great story and congratulations on your buck. That had to be special to have your brother there with you. Glad to see family hunting together. What unit are you and the wife hunting wt here in az?

 

TJ

 

Don't knoe the unit but good luck on both your hunts and keep us posted.

 

TJ

 

[CouesWhitetail]

Beautiful antelope! Thanks for posting the story and pics!!

 

[Sir Buckwheat]

Great buck! Gotta love the TC Smoke Poles. Sounds like you have a full fall ahead of you. Can't wait to see what you get with your remaining tags.

[Codywhi]

great story and great pic buddie...

[izquik72]

Nice buck

[Chef]

Pretty sweet you got to close the deal on the one you wanted.

It doesn't get much better than that! Congratulations!

[gotcoues]

Got to love it when a plan comes together. Nice job on your speedgoat. I love the wide goats, very cool!

[Heat]

Awesome spread and mass. Way to go!

[Coues Archer]

Amazing goat great job .