Okay, well... this was way too easy, so maybe I did something wrong.

[CoRoMo]

Thanks to all the advice I got in my pronghorn thread here.

It turned out to be a walk in the park, compared to all the elk hunting I do. I basically did exactly what exbiologist said to do. Find a herd on public land, drive over the next hill or two, park the truck, and stalk back toward the herd. I was done, Saturday morning (opening morning) before the temperature hit the 60s.



During this past summer, I practiced with this particular .270 by shooting bowling pins from a quarter mile away. I thought it might come in useful. But I nailed this button buck from a whopping 30-40 yards. Poor guy. I was using some of the hottest handloads I've ever developed because I seriously thought I would be taking 400 yard shots. I'm sure they won't come this easy in years to come. Actually, this one didn't come out of the first herd that I stalked. I totally blew it on my first stalk (Man can these things run!). Also, looking back, there were a couple things I didn't immediately like about the setup, and I wouldn't have taken the shot, if I could do it over again. But a bird in the hand, as my Dad always says.

No trophy of course, but I subscribe to the idea that your first filled tag shouldn't necessarily be a trophy. I'll work my way up to a wall-hanger from here.

Thanks again guys!! The advice was invaluable.

 

[~z]

Looks like everything came together nicely!
~z

 

[desidog]

Trophies aren't only about aesthetic decorations. Frame that picture up and you're good to go.

I'm glad it went well for you...now on to the most important part: the eating.

Smoked loin-of-speed-goat is just about the most delicious thing out there; all the more so if you shot it yourself!

 

[CoRoMo]

I want to mention that you two also helped me get this food. Thank you ~z and desidog!!

Smoked loin eh? Hmmm... I've got a smoker and some apple wood just sitting around doing nothing.

 

[natman]

It's not always that easy!

I once went turkey hunting, sat down and made one yelp just to see if I'd get any response. A gobbler came running down the hill, gobbling his head off. I made one more yelp to stop him so I could shoot. Total elapsed time: 5 minutes and two yelps. I stopped for breakfast and I was still home by 10am.

It's fun when it's easy, but I'm glad it's not that easy every time!

Congratulations on your success.

 

[ChefJeff1]

Great job. I want to hunt antelope next year here in Idaho. also with my .270. I'll probably change bullets from my 150 partition to a 130 accubond or partition. What was your magic load, just wondering?

 

[~z]

I think most of your thanks go to the 'exbiologist'...all I did was agree with the good advice he gave!
~z

 

[CoRoMo]

@ Jeff:

Nothing fancy, just fast and accurate. It's a compressed load of H4831, hocking up a 130gr. Hornady InterLock SP loogie. I don't think this bullet is tough enough to handle this close an impact at this velocity. I was really expecting to be shooting no closer than 250 yards, but hey, he's dead. The Hornady bullet totally penetrated through and I haven't found so much as the tiniest fragment of it in there. But I have to believe it came apart because it was skipping along at over 3,000 fps. This particular bullet shoots exceptionally well through this rifle, but it doesn't group so well through another .270 of mine. I start to chronograph velocities around 3,000 fps, at about 58 grains of H4831, and the case still has some room for a couple more grains.

 

[FLAvalanche]

No it's not always that easy. For some it is and for some it takes work.

I work my butt off, watch cameras, plant plots, watch scrapes, scout for months in advance, and do everything you can imagine just to take a 4 point on closing evening. While my brother, who does absolutely nothing seems to bag a B&C buck and is out of the woods by 9:00 am opening morning every year.

 

[avs11054]

Colorado huh?

I grew up in Colorado. My dad and I would go antelope hunting every fall. We'd drive up and down I-25 around Aguilar, CO until we saw some a couple hundred yards off the interstate. We'd then drive a couple hills over, walk to where we saw them, and shoot one. This worked best towards late morning and early afternoon when they had just bedded down for their nap. One time, we found a heard of about five. I was using a large round metal grate for a gun rest. The antelope were just over 200 yards away, and were all laying down. We began yelling and throwing rocks at the grate to try and get them to stand up. After about five minutes of doing that, one finally stood up, and I put it back down.

And luckily, for me, antelope hunting is always that easy. Unfortunately, I live in Arizona now. You've got as good of chance at winning the lotto here as you do to get drawn for antelope. Maybe when I've got a little more $$ and a few less bills, I'll put in for an out of state tag in Colorado

 

[avs11054]

By the way, my first buck was a trophy. Maybe not a trophy to anyone on this thread, but it was my first buck, so it was a trophy to me. And it still hangs on my wall

 

[RevDerb]

What happened to your face?

 

[FLAvalanche]

Its one of those new mirror blinds and the sun is reflecting in it.

 

[ranger335v]

That was much to easy. Put that critter back!

I've seen people with blank expressions but that's the blankerist expression I've ever seen.

 

[Captcurt]

Congrats!

That is what I love about antelope hunts. They are a hoot. This is one of the easiest hunts that I have done. Elk and Mulies are usually found in high altitude and can be pretty taxing. Especially when you hit 60 and live at 800 ft above sea level. Whitetails make you want to pull out your hair ( if you have any left). But antelope are easy to see, hard to sneak on and have the best eyes of any game animal. I would like to do one more hunt before I am too old to crawl.

 

[CoRoMo]

What happened to your face?

Huh... that's odd. I guess I still don't know how to post a photo here. Oh well, I'll get the hang of it someday.

 

[Zanad]

wow..... I didn't see your face missing....I really wasnt looking at the guy but I just thought it was just a white hat.

 

[Roughneck08]

That sure is cool man! Great success. Sure love seeing them run going from the panhandle and in new mexico. Fast critters.

 

[CoRoMo]

Well thanks guys. 24 pounds of breakfast sausage (not counting the pork fat that we added), and then the ribs and choice cuts/pieces. This little guy yielded more than I thought he would. exbiologist was right about the live weight to boneless yield ratio of pronghorn. There seems to be more meat on these things than other critters of the same weight. I wish I would have gotten one of the fat doe from the first herd I stalked. I'd have made a good haul with her, but I'll see if I can't meet up with her again, in a future season.