First Antelope, hopefully not the last

[Sam]

Like many of you, I have spent almost a lifetime of applying for an antelope tag. I think I started in 1980, before bonus points even existed.  I skipped a few years in college and finally drew a tag this year with 25 points. I had great plans to do tons of scouting, but with trying to figure out how to open up a high school in the midst of Covid, almost every waking hour these last 5 months was dedicated to meetings, planning and tons of stress. On Thursday, as I drove through Seligman, it was 95 degrees. This was going to be one hot, dry hunt. This has been a heck of a drought. 

I had patterned the antelope pretty well and knew where to be opening morning. I did not see an antelope until 9am. Very unusual and discouraging.  The herd I spotted was working toward me so I stayed put and watched as they got closer. They ended up angling a little behind me and I shifted to get a better shot at  the buck when it got in range. Well, cactus is not the best cover and one of the does busted me and off they went. Drove back to camp, cut some wood and waited for the evening hunt.

At around 4pm I spotted a herd roughly 2 miles away. I knew this herd had a good buck. I started working towards them and thought there was no way I would get close enough for a shot, but it was opening day and I had 5 days left to hunt, so I tried.  I had my frame pack and stool with me and was having a heck of a time staying low. Between the pack, my gun and binoculars, it was a juggling act. I am not sure I should say what I did, but maybe someone can learn from it. For the first time ever, I dropped my pack to make the stalk easier. My water, knife and saw where in there. Big mistake, don´t ever do it. I thought I could find it easily later.......I crawled for a bit and then realized I could get to a little drainage and cut off the antelope. They kept feeding and had no idea I was there. I made good time when a herd of cattle got between me and the herd. I walked parallel to the cows and they hid me from the antelope, it worked perfectly. There were also some horses in the area and a coyote.  So, plenty of activity.  

There was one buck and 19 does. They continued to feed and ended up among the cattle. I got within 280 yards and set my scope at 300. So, very steadily, I pulled the trigger. I hit high and broke his back. Ran up and shot him quickly one last time. It was 6:30pm and I was a good 3 miles from the truck. This when I realized I left my knife in my pack. Forty years of hunting big game and I felt like a lost puppy. I went back to look for my pack and could´t find it. I am embarrassed to admit what happened, but like I said, maybe someone will learn from my stupidity. So, it is getting dark and after seeing the coyote, I thought, I need to drag it back to the truck. Right, with the guts, I made very slow progress. I am in decent shape, but this was the most exhausting thing I have ever done. Packing out an elk and moose is far easier. At midnight, I gave up. My ribbon was also in my pack so I left a trail of toilet paper every 40 yards or so. Got to camp at 1:30am, slept a few hours and prayed the coyotes did not get the buck.

At daybreak, I found my pack, found the trail of toilet paper and found the buck untouched. Talk about relief, anxiety, thankfulness and every emotion in between. It got down to 50 at night and the hole in the spine allowed the internal gasses to escape. The sun did not hit the animal. The meat was 100% fine. I used the skinless method, packed out the quarters, the head and the rest of the meat in one trip. 

The buck has a 7 inch prong and great mass. The broken prong still measured about 4 and half inches. Rough score was just under 80 inches. Great hunt and I learned a valuable lesson.......hoping for one more tag before I am really old.... I included a picture of my daughter´s antelope 4 years ago to show just how dry it is up there.......The West is in a heck of a drought. 

 

 

 

 

 

[eddielasvegas]

Congrats and great story too.

Which unit?

 

Eddie

[AZHunter1]

Good job nice goat, I'm hoping to be on deck next year for a tag I'm at 24 points now.

[U.T.A.H. Camp]

Great stoy and pictures. It is super dry. Your comparison pictures show it perfectly. Congratulations.

[Will K]

Awesome.

[Basquehunter]

Congrats. Well earned

[Delw]

Congrats

[naturebob]

Nice, Congrats. I have been applying since 89 and had 1 tag .Back up to 15 points. Hope for 1 more in my life at 64...................BOB!

[Chef]

Congratulations!  So glad it didn't rain and ruin your TP trail.

Thanks for including your pack fiasco, good lesson and reminder for all of us.

7" prong,,,wow!

[OpticNerd]

Congrats! Glad everything worked out for ya in the end. Some of my most memorable hunts are the ones that don't turn out as planned. . You probably won't be forgetting this hunt for awhile and now you got an awesome hunting story to tell. The difference in vegetation between your hunt and your daughters is crazy. Congrats again and thanks for sharing. 

[DCS]

My last and only rifle tag was 1964.

[kidso]

Sweet!

[PRDATR]

Really nice buck, Congrats. Many, many years ago I left my pack on an ATV while on a Caribou hunt to put a stalk on a group. After shooting one I went back for it only to find out one of the other hunters took the ATV to chase after a huge white antlered bull about 1 1/2 miles away.

It ended up working out but lesson was learned that day.

[Sam]

8 hours ago, DCS said:

My last and only rifle tag was 1964.

You must have stopped applying at some point?

[Sam]

5 hours ago, PRDATR said:

Really nice buck, Congrats. Many, many years ago I left my pack on an ATV while on a Caribou hunt to put a stalk on a group. After shooting one I went back for it only to find out one of the other hunters took the ATV to chase after a huge white antlered bull about 1 1/2 miles away.

It ended up working out but lesson was learned that day.

Never too old to learn something new.......