*Monster Goat in the Dirt* 2014 Antelope Hunt

[Flatlander]

I have decided to create one consolidated thread that I will continually update in reference to my upcoming antelope hunt.

 

The fact that I have a hunt to prepare for at all is a testament to two principles related to tough-to-draw hunts in this state. First - You can't win if you don't play. Meaning, you better apply every year if you want a chance at getting a tough tag in this state. With 80% of the tags going to random draw recipients bonus points don't do much to help you for goat unless you are closing in on the bonus pass for a specific hunt (archery, because the bonus pass for firearms hunts aren't able to be caught). Second - Do your research. I studied the draw odds for years, did countless hours of data entry and researched what hunts might give me the best opportunity to pull a rabbit out of my hat with one of the toughest to draw species in the state. After all my research I determined what hunts gave me the best opportunity to somehow snag a tag and also allow me the experience I was hoping for. This year I drew the last permit for my hunt, meaning if I had applied for some other hunt because I didn't do all the homework and find the hunt that gave me the very best chances, I wouldn't be hunting at all. Okay, now that I have spoken about the stuff that is near and dear to my heart, I will get on with the details.

 

With a tag finally in my pocket I started doing my field homework reaching out to past tag holders, contacting the WM, calling landowner's and studying maps. Armed with enough info to make me dangerous I decided this weekend it was time to put the rubber to the road and start looking around. I loaded up my 4 & 5 yr old sons and headed North. Here are the results of our first day out.

 

The first buck I saw that peaked my interest:

 

 

Some more bucks:

 

 

Another group of bucks:

 

 

And this buck:

 

 

And these:

 

 

Not bad for a first day's work. I found plenty of bucks to gawk at and best of all my boys had as much time staring at them as I did. It was a day that I will never forget and I hope the same is true for them.

 

 

[camoremi]

Very productive day.

[tjhunt2]

I wish you all the luck in the world. Can't wait to see the end result.

 

TJ

[arizonaelkhunter]

Sweet

[AZHog]

Nice pics and great that you were able to share the experience with your boys! Looking forward to following your adventure!

[Couestracker]

I'm looking forward to following your hunt through your posts. It'll be the next best thing to having my own tag. Thank you for posting for all to share, that's awesome. For the record, which unit are we, uh, you hunting in?

[Big Browns]

Great pictures! What unit did you draw? If you need any help scouting or during your hunt I would be happy to help. I love looking at Antelope!!!!!

 

Adam

[bowhuntinmaniac]

By showing that last buck, I know what unit you have a tag in...good luck, Great unit and great hunt!

[Flatlander]

This hunt is providing me with a countless number of new opportunities. This is the first antelope hunt I have participated in since 2001 when I had an archery tag, its in a new unit, and I am hoping it will be my first muzzleloader harvest. I have been learning the ropes of smoke pole hunting since 2012 when I traded a backpack I won in a "Guess the Draw Date and Time" contest for a CVA Magbolt 150. I swapped out the straight 2x tasco scope with a Leupold Ultimate Slam 3-9 SABR reticle.

 

Last week I took the rig out to the range to start dialing in the ballistics reticle with the recommended loads. It took me over 3 hours at Rio Salado to send 28 rounds down range, and get dialed in at 100 yards. It was a long hot afternoon and I am pretty sure my palm is permanently scarred from pushing ttsx sabots down the tube, but I couldn't be happier with the end results:

 

 

After some long nights studying maps, Google Earth and two pages of notes gathered from cwt members advice I was prepared to head back up the mountain with my two little helpers. As we arrived in the unit we were treated to a high country downpour. There is nothing like the smell in the mountains after a good shower.

 

 

Our first stop was to check into a new vantage point over looking some of the country we had looked at on our last trip. Before we could even get out of the truck we were greeted by this buck feeding near the road:

 

 

After letting the boys watch this buck for a few minutes we set up the glass and watched several more groups of antelope feeding between rain showers. There were plenty of bucks, in fact it seems like does are hard to find. We found several mature bucks int this group:

 

 

When we drove out we found this brute hanging out in another group of 6-8 bucks.

 

 

We made a few more stops with nothing more to show for it than a few does and an endless string of orange fence posts. After driving 40 miles on a FS road we made our way to a section of grassland surrounded by juniper mountains all around. This is my favorite country to hunt so I was excited when we turned up a couple of bucks after just a few minutes behind the Gold Rings:

 

 

The highlight of the day came when we headed across the valley to a nearby hill to see if we could locate anymore lope, as we started walking I thought to myself that I should keep my eyes peeled for sheds because this looked like horn country. 30 yards later I stumbled onto the biggest mule deer shed I have ever picked up. With a storm closing in I told the boys to keep moving while I looked for the other side. No sooner were the words out of my mouth when I heard my 5 yr old son Hunter shout "Daddy I found one too!" The other side was only about 10 yards away. Hunter was so excited to pick up his own antler, he packed it around the rest of the day. I am the world's worst shed hunter, with my lack of achievements in this redneck endeavor only being rivaled by my lackluster pig hunting record (don't ask, its too embarrassing to speak of), so I was coming out of my shoes excited about my first matched pair being a father/son effort, the set being such an awesome pair was icing on the cake. Unfortunately the left side had its fronts licked off by other critters. Later this week I will put a tape to the in tact right side and come up with a good faith estimate of what he would score, any one venture a guess?

 

 

 

Our plan was to travel a FS road from this location into the next valley over and loop back to the highway. Unfortunately 4 miles down the road we ran into a familiar fence marked with orange posts and had to turn back. This turned our return trip home into a 6 hour affair. But fortunately we were able to make the most of the trip and get a look at portions of the unit we had not yet put eyes on. It ended up paying dividends as we were able to find lots of country to scout on future trips, and if the pressure gets hot on the bucks we already have located, we know we have somewhere to go during the hunt. I can hardly wait to get out again. But between now and then I have some additional range work to do to get comfortable out to extended distances. Thanks to all the members who have provided insight and information in relation to this hunt. There is no way I could have gotten up to speed without you guys.

 

 

[SirRoyal]

Some shooters for sure ! Keep up the good work I mean scouting !

[SWDesertRat]

Looks like a great trip and time with the boys, thanks for sharing with us. Major bonus on the shed too!

[Yoshi]

Thanks for sharing!!!

 

you're doing everything right and you will have great success!

[4Falls]

I know that unit and cant believe how many bucks are in there. Your going to have a blast. Literally and figuratively.

[bonecollector777]

I say if left matched right with a 24 I checked spread he would come up around D 175-180? Huge fronts!

[HuntHarder]

81" left horn. if matched somewhere around 185-190" Stud buck!