Unit 8 Goat

[elkaholic]

74 Mike?! I think you pressed a wrong button.

he looks bigger than the one in your avatar!!

 

if he isn't 74 do you think hes 84 cuz he way past 64-- lol

 

I think for a guy on his first loper hunt and DIY at that = its a great buck and deserves more than a comment did you hit the wrong button!!

[Chef]

Great buck no matter the score.

Congratulations and I can't wait for the full story.

[firstcoueswas80]

 

 

For what it is worth, I of course meant he pressed 7 istead of 8.....

 

Great buck Mikey! you done good!

[Hornhunter247]

That bucks better than 74! Great buck! Congrats on that awesome antelope!

[azbiggamenv]

with Your effort,results like this do happen ... Good job, "Congrats"

[wing master]

Thanks for being patient guys and gals. Haven't gotten the photos to see if I shot a different animal then the one I wanted yet but need to end the suspense. Sorry this is also long. Hope you enjoy it.

 

First I put a ton of effort into the hunt but my luck out weighs my effort by a large margin.

 

As firstcoueswas80 so eloquently put it in my first thread. I didn't even know that the draw had been posted by the state for a few days and he made me check if I had been drawn. The look on his face was priceless when I told him I had been drawn for antelope. I also drew with zero points so the luck started right from the beginning.

 

After that I got a lot of help from elkaholic on where to start looking. You really pointed me in the right direction. Thank You! I made a lot of scouting trips and had some good bucks on the hit list.

 

On my last scouting trip I couldn't find most of my bucks because of their moving for the rut. I showed up three days early in hopes of locating most of them. Early on day one I saw from what I could tell was a BIG buck. No more scouting necessary. I wanted this buck and was going to pattern him for the next three days.

 

This is where I met Kevin Overfield. I attribute all of my success to this man. From long distance glassing we couldn't get a good idea of his score and he was hoping to get the governors tag on this buck. They decided it was to small. From then on he put his effort into helping me bag this buck.

 

Opening day we had a plan of me getting near the bucks area in the dark and when the sun came up he would walk me in using hand signals. Everything worked perfectly until the sun came up. I was way off. The buck was 900 yards out and I would have to crawl. I went maybe a hundred yards and looked back up but couldn't see a thing. My glasses, gun scope (No I didn't point it at him) and binos were fogged and covered with dew from the grass. I was blind. At that point in time I have a general idea of where the buck is and just low crawl in the hopes of getting close enough. Didn't happen. After the shooting started he moved down into a huge flat with another buck that was also very big. I tried making a move on him then but no dice. He had gotten to far out in the open. Back to the truck I went. Attempt 1 Fail

 

After that a lot of people were after him. Cant blame them, he is big. We glass him and watch failure after failure. Its wide open and 6 inch grass mostly with some taller patches. We decide the buck is already educated and I might as well jump in and give it a try but I was going to crawl on all fours and belly slide not the low crouch walk everyone else tried. This is the longest and most painful stalk I have EVER done. It was over three hours and over a half mile. The person who invented knee pads is a genius. At least the sun had dried the grass and I could see his hand signals. We get me in to about 300 yards but that is a bit long for a muzzleloader. Luck would have it the buck started pushing the other buck my way! I had no range finder but I knew they were close. I tried resting my gun on a rock but couldn't see because of the grass so I rested my elbow on the rock. I could not get steady and the buck would walk broadside but would always stop facing me. Eventually I got as steady as possible when he was stopped and took a shot. I felt confidant because the crosshairs were dead center of his chest. When the smoke cleared there he stood unharmed. Pure devastation. Back to the truck I go. Attempt 2 Fail

 

I get to the truck exhausted and needing water. Kevin watched the buck the whole time saying we needed to go, we could still get him. I had to pause for water but was ready about 5 min later. There was a road that wrapped around the south side of the flat. We take off and get to the south side and see a herd. All doe and one very small buck. We move on. A quarter mile down the road we pull off the road to glass and almost instantly we can see the ears of a couple doe just under us on a slight drop off. Then we can see both bucks walking up to us! They are a long way out but in range for what I had practiced and knew my gun could make the shot. Kevin looked at me and said "If your going to kill this buck its going to be now". I set down to take the shot but the grass is very tall here and cant see anything. I get into a kneeling position and can see the bucks head, neck and top half of his back. He is broadside walking left to right. I put the crosshairs on the shoulder and with a smooth motion pulled forward to compensate for the walk and squeezed the trigger. I see smoke and Kevin yells you got him. I never saw him drop. The rest is celebration! I know it was a long distance moving shot but I know my guns capabilities and I had recovered from my second stalk and the crosshairs were steady. I made the decision and shot. The results speak for themselves. Ranged the shot after and it was 214 yards. For anyone who is curious the flat I was on was Garland Prairie. I know the south side has a ton of private and I was on it. Through Kevin I met the land owner and he witnessed the shot. No issues on trespassing. If I determine I accidentally shot the smaller of the two big bucks I will let you all know but for now I think I got the big one. Attempt 3 SUCCESS!

[bonecollector]

Great story way to stick with it.

[hunter01]

Nice job there!

[tjhunt2]

That's a dandy of a buck. Great story and congratulations.

 

TJ

[lucky2hunt]

Outstanding buck! Your hard work certainly paid off!!!

 

I am shocked that you drew with zero points, my husband puts in for that hunt yearly, he's currently at 12 bp!