- Joined
- Jan 28, 2003
- Messages
- 13,329
Phone call;
“Hey, do your girls have tags they need to fill?” Yeah, we haven’t filled anything yet. “Well bring them girls over I’ve got a couple of does taking an afternoon siesta in the lower quarter section.” Alright, we’ll be right over THANKS!!
That was the cell phone call that from a local friendly rancher started our antelope season for 2011. We had 4 doe tags to fill and three days to do it. Upon arrival at the lower quarter section we quickly spotted a lone doe laying down for the afternoon heat. We pulled the old stop, drop and crawl trick that works so well on antelope. I had my wife drop us off on the back side of the truck and she drove a bit down the roads as we slipped under the fence and belly slithered out into the prairie until we were within range for my 12 year old girl to make a shot with her .30-06.
We got up to 158 yards and the old doe started to get nervous. I deployed my daughter’s bi pod and got her on the doe and ready. And then we waited and watched as the doe relaxed and went back to casually watching her surroundings. We lay there for a long time until I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I whistled at the doe and flapped my hat in the air the old girl casually glanced at us and continued her siesta. I tried again the old girl still wasn’t impressed. So I told Bailee to get ready as I rose to my knees and moose grunted at the doe. She unexcitedly stood up and stared at me. I heard Bailee slip the safety off and waited as I watched the doe. The mid afternoon peace was shattered by the report of her .30-06 as she sent a 150 gr Hornandy interlock down range. It was a clean miss! My young huntress had already re chambered a round and was tracking the doe as she trotted off. I was able to range her once more and called out 178 yards. BOOM, KERWHOOOP! The old doe accelerated immediately into a run and sprinted about 30 yards then started getting lower to ground before she flipped over and kicked a few times. I proudly patted my girl on the back and told her “nice job young lady!”
When we got to the doe it turns out that she was blind in one eye, the side we had approached from and was older than dirt. She had zero body fat, most of her teeth were gone and she would not have made it through the winter or even the first fall storm a perfect animal to take out of the herd! Congratulations young huntress on a job well done.
We belly crawl into position.
Victorious we approach our prize!
A young huntress and her first antelope.
The support staff.
After Bailee got her doe we drove a bit and glassed but ran out of daylight before we could get on another and called it a night. Early the next morning we headed back out to another gracious ranch owners property. I’ve noticed that most ranchers around here are more than happy to grant access when you show up with a couple of little girls dressed in hunters orange!
In any case we were driving out across a pasture when we spotted three does trotting across the prairie. We parked the truck and hustled in a hunched bent over jog to a high spot. The does trotted on their course and pulled up at 228 yards to have a look at us. Daughter #1, my teenager who has played this game a time or two didn’t hesitate and immediately sent a 165 gr Sierra Gameking from her custom pink zebra stripped M-70 in .308 into the doe’s heart. The doe turned, spun and fell over dead. No drama just one shot and it was over this girl doesn’t waste too many bullets. Congratulations on a fine shot and on really getting good with your rifle.
As we field dressed and carried the doe to the truck the rancher came over the hill on his ATV. “Hey there’s a big fat doe sleeping under some chyamisa just north of the state pasture about 500 yards to the north of the equipment barn. Off we go to fill Mrs. H&H’s tag!
In true outdoorsmen style we drove to the equipment barn which just happened to be downwind of the doe, parked the truck and slipped down to a wind row of trees that allowed us to remain covered until we were 212 yards from the our quarry. Once again I had my wife deploy the bipod on her Styer Scout in .308, she got ready and we waited. After a short time the doe stood and Mrs. H&H immediately sent a 165 gr SGK into her heart. The doe ran a short distance and did a nose dive, deader than yesterday’s coffee! This BTW was her first ever big game animal taken! Good job Mrs. H&H I only wish most experienced hunters could stay as calm and shoot as well as my girls do!
Speaking of staying calm and shooting well this is not how you do it. As we were driving off the ranch we spotted another group of does. I decided to show my ladies how a real man with awesome firepower and training at his command kills a doe antelope at long range. We put on a stalk that went on for a while until I finally got a shot at big doe at about 350 yards and missed her clean off a bipod and a solid hold. She ran into arroyo with the rest of the herd and reappeared on the back side now at a lazed 428 yards. I adjusted my point of aim for 400 yards and waited until my “doe” stopped. I squeezed the trigger and sent a 140 gr SGK down range from my custom tack driving .270 Bee. Kerwhack! The “doe” jumps up and runs in a circle before falling over dead. I turn to my girls and proudly proclaim “That ladies, is how you shoot a speed goat at long range!” My pride being bruised from missing the first easier shot I was badly overcompensating with my bravado and machismo. I proudly took the lead and strutted like a bandy rooster to my prize, a very dead long range speed goat.
After walking the forever and a day we finally got to my goat that was most certainly dead. I had noticed that “she” was a pretty small “doe” from about 50 yards back and my once ripe and overly inflated ego was beginning to deflate. As we approached the “doe” my youngest girl casually announced that daddy’s doe has “thingys!” Innocently she asks her mom if doe’s can have “thingys” between their hind legs. My wife gives me one of those looks and explains that daddy shot the WRONG antelope! In full retreat mode now I feel about 3 inches tall and inform my girls that in Colorado an antelope with horns less than 5” are considered does so while I made a HUGE mistake by one, taking a shot at longer range than I should have, two, not being 100% sure that I was shooting the correct animal and three, acting like a buffoon that we were legal with this kill. I felt absolutely horrible about taking a young buck out the gene pool!! My girls made me pose for a picture which I did as you can see, trying to make good from a bad situation.
After cleaning the buck we were surprised to see the rancher coming along on his Polaris to give us a ride to the truck with our buck on board. I apologized to the land owner who admitted to couple of those kind of foul ups over the years and assured me that he was OK with it as there was a huge surplus of antelope eating his hay anyway. In any case I know better and shouldn’t have played the hero because those types of behavior will more times than not turn you from a hero into a goat!
The next week Young Bailee made a beautiful 203 yard shot after a 500 + yard crawl in open farm country on this fine Whitetail buck, also her first deer ever! She killed him from 203 yards from a seated rest with one shot. Her hunting partner and best friend "Mickey" her Jagdterrier, had come along and rode in the truck for moral support. He was more than glad to share in the glory after his girl had provided for the family.
“Hey, do your girls have tags they need to fill?” Yeah, we haven’t filled anything yet. “Well bring them girls over I’ve got a couple of does taking an afternoon siesta in the lower quarter section.” Alright, we’ll be right over THANKS!!
That was the cell phone call that from a local friendly rancher started our antelope season for 2011. We had 4 doe tags to fill and three days to do it. Upon arrival at the lower quarter section we quickly spotted a lone doe laying down for the afternoon heat. We pulled the old stop, drop and crawl trick that works so well on antelope. I had my wife drop us off on the back side of the truck and she drove a bit down the roads as we slipped under the fence and belly slithered out into the prairie until we were within range for my 12 year old girl to make a shot with her .30-06.
We got up to 158 yards and the old doe started to get nervous. I deployed my daughter’s bi pod and got her on the doe and ready. And then we waited and watched as the doe relaxed and went back to casually watching her surroundings. We lay there for a long time until I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I whistled at the doe and flapped my hat in the air the old girl casually glanced at us and continued her siesta. I tried again the old girl still wasn’t impressed. So I told Bailee to get ready as I rose to my knees and moose grunted at the doe. She unexcitedly stood up and stared at me. I heard Bailee slip the safety off and waited as I watched the doe. The mid afternoon peace was shattered by the report of her .30-06 as she sent a 150 gr Hornandy interlock down range. It was a clean miss! My young huntress had already re chambered a round and was tracking the doe as she trotted off. I was able to range her once more and called out 178 yards. BOOM, KERWHOOOP! The old doe accelerated immediately into a run and sprinted about 30 yards then started getting lower to ground before she flipped over and kicked a few times. I proudly patted my girl on the back and told her “nice job young lady!”
When we got to the doe it turns out that she was blind in one eye, the side we had approached from and was older than dirt. She had zero body fat, most of her teeth were gone and she would not have made it through the winter or even the first fall storm a perfect animal to take out of the herd! Congratulations young huntress on a job well done.
We belly crawl into position.
Victorious we approach our prize!
A young huntress and her first antelope.
The support staff.
After Bailee got her doe we drove a bit and glassed but ran out of daylight before we could get on another and called it a night. Early the next morning we headed back out to another gracious ranch owners property. I’ve noticed that most ranchers around here are more than happy to grant access when you show up with a couple of little girls dressed in hunters orange!
In any case we were driving out across a pasture when we spotted three does trotting across the prairie. We parked the truck and hustled in a hunched bent over jog to a high spot. The does trotted on their course and pulled up at 228 yards to have a look at us. Daughter #1, my teenager who has played this game a time or two didn’t hesitate and immediately sent a 165 gr Sierra Gameking from her custom pink zebra stripped M-70 in .308 into the doe’s heart. The doe turned, spun and fell over dead. No drama just one shot and it was over this girl doesn’t waste too many bullets. Congratulations on a fine shot and on really getting good with your rifle.
As we field dressed and carried the doe to the truck the rancher came over the hill on his ATV. “Hey there’s a big fat doe sleeping under some chyamisa just north of the state pasture about 500 yards to the north of the equipment barn. Off we go to fill Mrs. H&H’s tag!
In true outdoorsmen style we drove to the equipment barn which just happened to be downwind of the doe, parked the truck and slipped down to a wind row of trees that allowed us to remain covered until we were 212 yards from the our quarry. Once again I had my wife deploy the bipod on her Styer Scout in .308, she got ready and we waited. After a short time the doe stood and Mrs. H&H immediately sent a 165 gr SGK into her heart. The doe ran a short distance and did a nose dive, deader than yesterday’s coffee! This BTW was her first ever big game animal taken! Good job Mrs. H&H I only wish most experienced hunters could stay as calm and shoot as well as my girls do!
Speaking of staying calm and shooting well this is not how you do it. As we were driving off the ranch we spotted another group of does. I decided to show my ladies how a real man with awesome firepower and training at his command kills a doe antelope at long range. We put on a stalk that went on for a while until I finally got a shot at big doe at about 350 yards and missed her clean off a bipod and a solid hold. She ran into arroyo with the rest of the herd and reappeared on the back side now at a lazed 428 yards. I adjusted my point of aim for 400 yards and waited until my “doe” stopped. I squeezed the trigger and sent a 140 gr SGK down range from my custom tack driving .270 Bee. Kerwhack! The “doe” jumps up and runs in a circle before falling over dead. I turn to my girls and proudly proclaim “That ladies, is how you shoot a speed goat at long range!” My pride being bruised from missing the first easier shot I was badly overcompensating with my bravado and machismo. I proudly took the lead and strutted like a bandy rooster to my prize, a very dead long range speed goat.
After walking the forever and a day we finally got to my goat that was most certainly dead. I had noticed that “she” was a pretty small “doe” from about 50 yards back and my once ripe and overly inflated ego was beginning to deflate. As we approached the “doe” my youngest girl casually announced that daddy’s doe has “thingys!” Innocently she asks her mom if doe’s can have “thingys” between their hind legs. My wife gives me one of those looks and explains that daddy shot the WRONG antelope! In full retreat mode now I feel about 3 inches tall and inform my girls that in Colorado an antelope with horns less than 5” are considered does so while I made a HUGE mistake by one, taking a shot at longer range than I should have, two, not being 100% sure that I was shooting the correct animal and three, acting like a buffoon that we were legal with this kill. I felt absolutely horrible about taking a young buck out the gene pool!! My girls made me pose for a picture which I did as you can see, trying to make good from a bad situation.
After cleaning the buck we were surprised to see the rancher coming along on his Polaris to give us a ride to the truck with our buck on board. I apologized to the land owner who admitted to couple of those kind of foul ups over the years and assured me that he was OK with it as there was a huge surplus of antelope eating his hay anyway. In any case I know better and shouldn’t have played the hero because those types of behavior will more times than not turn you from a hero into a goat!
The next week Young Bailee made a beautiful 203 yard shot after a 500 + yard crawl in open farm country on this fine Whitetail buck, also her first deer ever! She killed him from 203 yards from a seated rest with one shot. Her hunting partner and best friend "Mickey" her Jagdterrier, had come along and rode in the truck for moral support. He was more than glad to share in the glory after his girl had provided for the family.
