Pronghorn with the Grandson

[bigtex]

Justin and I spent some quality time this week in Wyoming. We've been planning this trip for two years, and it was definitely worth the wait.
The ranch we hunted is not known for large Antelope but what it lacks in size is made up in sheer numbers.
We arrived at the Ranch the day before the opener to do a little scouting, the weather was not very cooperative due to a steady rain which continued throughout the next day. But the Pronghorn didn't seem to mind as they were out and about.
Opening morning found us cruising the back road looking for our first "candidate". We were seeing a lot of animals but they were all small even for this Ranch. We finally spotted what looked like a good one a thousand yards or so away in a deep depression. The stalk was on! We closed the distance by a couple of hundred yards but one of his harem spotted us and the gig was up. We circled around trying to cut them off but they again saw us and the chase was over. We made our way back to the truck and before long spotted another one down in a deep draw. This stalk was also a bust as we ran out of cover and were busted once again. Not to be outdone we circled around and spotted the one Justin eventually killed. He was with several does and within a couple of hundred yards of the Ranch road. We slowly drove past them and went over a small hill. I stopped the truck and we got out and quietly closed the truck doors. The Antelope were out of sight and I was hoping they were still close to where we last saw them. As we slowly got to the top of the hill we peeked over, they were still there and facing the opposite direction. Perfect!! I ranged them at 176 yds. Justin crept a few yards closer, got settled behind the bipod and before I could raise my binocs squeezed off the shot. The Goat dropped at the shot, the little .243 Remmy with Granddads handloads had done the job. Not a large Pronghorn by any means but a very good representative for this area and a darn nice first one for any hunter. To say I was proud of him would be an understatement, I was beaming with pride!!

 

[AT Hiker]

Absolutely fantastic! Memories that will last many lifetimes and one he will cherish more and more every passing year.

Looks like y'all dodged the nasty weather. We just got back from Yellowstone and literally got snowed in. Temps were nice and cool, it's a scorcher back here. To bad we didn't cross paths out there, I would have gladly taken some of that meat off your hands[emoji14]

A great pronghorn with a great story!


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[hunter0925]

That's awesome! I was thinking about y'all going and hoping he had conected after we had met. Glad it worked out for y'all!

 

[Buzzard Breath]

That's awesome. Those are some great memories you can share for years. I bet he's ready to head back out every year.

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[bigtex]

Continued.....................
After my Grandson killed his Goat we field dressed him and headed back to the ranch where they have a walk in cooler. We got him hung up, had a bite to eat and headed out in search of another Pronghorn.
It didn't take long for us to start seeing animals but they were either smallish ones or were in spots where a stalk would be impossible.
We drove up on a high rise where it looked like a good spot to do some glassing, got out of the truck and climbed up on a big rock outcropping. We could see Antelope in the distant but something caught my eye about 900 yds in a ravine. I kept going back to it with the binoculars and finally made out an animal behind a large clump of sage. It was just standing there with its head down and every now and then it would shake its head, I told Justin it must be a buck and he was horning the sage. We watched for quite sometime but the Antelope never took a step. I told Justin "that aint right" somethings wrong! We decided to sneak down there to see what the deal was. As we got closer the Antelope raised its head, we then saw what the problem was. There was another Antelope attached to this ones horns, and unfortunately was dead. Very dead!!! Most of its hair was gone and was in an advanced state of decomposition. What to do, what to do. The dead goat had the largest horns we had seen on the ranch, the one still alive was small. Not that I would of shot him if the roles had been reversed as it just wouldn't of seemed right to me. Now we were faced with an ethical thing to do, one side of me wanted to put him down to end his suffering and burn my tag. The other side didn't want to end my hunt on a small Goat which was unable to run off.
We decided to back off, go back to the truck and call the Ranch owner. Cell service was spotty, where the truck was parked had no service so we drove to a higher spot. After calling the owner it was decide to stay put and he would come out and see what we could do. After what seemed an eternity we saw him heading our way with a couple of ranch hands. They followed us back to where we had last seen the two bucks but from the road we couldn't see them. I knew we were in the right spot because there was a two track road that I had made a mental note of to mark where he was. We finally decided to ease down the draw to look for them. After a quick search we spotted them lying up behind some brush. As we approached he tried to run but obviously couldn't. He was pretty tuckered out but still had some fight in him. Luckily the rancher had brought along a battery operated sawsall. One of the Ranch hands pinned the live one down and the other used the saw to cut the prongs off of the one still alive. That's all it took to free them. The smaller one didn't look to bad from his ordeal and the last time I saw him he was hightailing it over the next ridge.
Justin and I felt good that we had done our good deed for the day and the Rancher was happy that we had done the right and ethical thing.
To be continued......................

 

[KJK]

Great hunt so far, and your update made it better. Hope you get one as well!

 

[Buzzard Breath]

Good story! Sounds like an interesting trip. Looking foward to the next chapter.

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[bigtex]

CHAPTER III
After the "dead Pronghorn" episode Justin and I resumed the hunt for my Goat. We drove around to what the Rancher called the "North Pasture" where we had seen a decent buck the day before. We didn't have to go far before we started seeing game. We rounded a bend on the gravel ranch road and immediately saw what looked like the same buck with his harem of does, I don't know how far away he was but was too far for my range finder to get a reading. We drove down the road until we were out of sight, quietly exited the truck and made our way on foot to where we thought we were directly above him. It looked like a perfect place for a stalk as there was a very deep ravine leading from the road down to where the Pronghorn were. The last time we saw them they were on the right side of the ravine. There was a large Cottonwood tree in the bottom of the ravine that was pretty much in line with the Buck that I could use as a reference.
My plan was to drop down into the ravine, sneak down to the Cottonwood, crawl up to the top and take a peek. I told Justin to find a spot on top where he could watch the action.
I quickly dropped down into the ravine then slowly made my way to the Cottonwood which probably took 30 minutes or so then crawled to the top. As I got close to the top I peeked over to where they had been when we first saw them,..................nothing!? I then turned to look on the other side and there they were. I ranged my buck at a little over 200 yds. I already had my bipod extended and tried to settle in behind it but the ground was so darn uneven I couldn't get the best rest. It didn't help that I was a little winded from the stalk either. I finally settled down lined the cross hairs up on him and squeezed the trigger...............I missed!! But unbelievably he was still standing there but getting a little antsy. I crawled up a few more feet out of the ravine to try and get a more solid rest, the buck spotted me and sprinted away in the opposite direction then stopped. I ranged him again, 275 yds this time but my rifle is sighted dead on at 300 and I had a much more solid rest. I settled the cross-hairs center of chest took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. He folded at the shot!!! Whew, what a relief!
I just sat there for a few minutes taking it all in then looked back to where Justin was. Through my binoculars I could see a wide smile on his face. I motioned him down to me, we high fived and hugged.
He had witnessed the whole thing from up on the road and told me that before I got to the Cottonwood the herd of Antelope had already crossed to the other side and at one time were probably less than 75 yards from me.
We made our way down the ravine and up the other side to get a look at my Antelope. He's no record breaker but i'm tickled to have him, he's a little wider than the typical Bucks from that area.
If you look in the background of the pic you can see the Cottonwood in the ravine, I was on top of the ravine on the other side.
Thanks for reading along, thanks to my wife for putting up with my hunting obsession, thanks to my daughter for allowing me to take Justin on this hunt and thanks to my Grandson Justin for making some memories. A special thanks to Buzzard Breath, and AT Hiker for encouraging me and taking the time to answer a million questions two years ago on my first Pronghorn hunt. And last but certainly not least our Creator for giving us the opportunity.
THE END

 

[Buzzard Breath]

That is a cool looking stink goat!!! Congrats. Don't you love hunting those things; there's a crap load of them and they're out all day long!?!

 

[AT Hiker]

Nice and wide for sure! Congrats


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[hunter0925]

That's awesome! Congrats again!

 

[2in1shot]

I happen to know Justin well. He is a heck of a young man!! Congrats to you both.

 

[bigtex]

I happen to know Justin well. He is a heck of a young man!!

Thank you! And yes he is!! I'm proud of him in so many ways. I wish I had his musical talents.
The day we got back from our trip he played a Gig, I was worn out and stayed on the couch.

 

[grouser]

Good post and pix, great memories.

 

[mike243]

thanks for sharing :tu:

 

[EastTNHunter]

Great write up and story. I hope to do this with my kids someday

 

[X-Tennessean]

Awesome post and congrats on the memories made!!
Thanks for sharing, very enjoyable reading.

 

[wjohnson1983]

Great write up and congratulations. I'm ready for my son to get old enough to take him out there one day.

 

[megalomaniac]

Great hunt, memories for sure. Congrats and I enjoyed the stories!

 

[bigtex]

I just noticed that I didn't thank everyone for their comments and congrats. For that I do apologize!!!!
Thank you one and all!!
I just finished mounting Justins goat and will have it ready for him for Christmas. Only the second one I have ever done they are a little more challenging than a Whitetail but I think he came out ok. I'm just going to make a skull mount out of mine.
Thanks again!!!!!!