USA: Wyoming Antelope DIY

[SCHUNTER73]

I have been buying preference points in Wyoming for elk and antelope for a 8 years now. Back in the spring, my buddy and I decided to cash in our points and put in for a tag in a unit that we thought we would have enough points to draw. Turns out we did and decided to get after it. He has a good deal of western hunting experience and has hunted antelope a few times so we felt confident in doing it on our own. This would be my first hunt for them. We booked our lodging and made a hunt plan. We got to our area in SW Wyoming last Wednesday afternoon and spent a few hours driving through part of our unit and saw a good number of antelope, along with mule deer does.

Thursday morning was our first real hunting day, and I was pretty excited. Being from the southeast, glassing big open areas is not something I get to do very often. I really enjoy that component of hunting in the west. We found a nice buck for my buddy and watched him fight another buck trying to steal some of his harem. We chased them around for a minute until Mike made a great shot at just under 300 yards. We cleaned his animal up, took a lunch break and hit the road looking for a buck for me. We spent the afternoon cruising the two tracks and marked a number of bucks that we thought were worthy of visiting again unless we saw a giant.

The next morning, we found a nice one after looking over 8-10 other bucks. Mainly because was in an approachable spot with does where we could use a slight rise to get within shooting distance. As we made our way up to the crest of the hill, we were careful to move slowly and staying low to keep from being skylined. As is often the case, we were crawling to the spot we wanted to be and several antelope that we did not see busted out of the bowl the others were in. Fortunately, our group only became alert for a few minutes then settled back down. Once he stood up and we were able to really look this guy over, I decided to take him. I really liked the character of his horns. I shot him a hair back, but he was done quickly regardless. My .280AI did good work. He’s not a giant, but I had a great first trip to Wyoming and am really happy with our animals. I would go back tomorrow if I could. Although I typically have that same sentiment when I get home from any hunting trip.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Congrats on a nice goat!

 

[WAB]

That’s a good looking speed goat. Congratulations!

 

[JimP]

Nice looking goat, I've got 9 more days before I head out on my hunt.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Congratulations.
Spotting and stalking them is a lot of fun.

 

[HookMeUpII]

That's awesome. I don't think it gets more gratifying than that. This is something my buddies and I are hoping to do soon ourselves.