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Earlier this year, an organization called Helluva Hunt selected me to join their 2008 event in Douglas, Wyoming. Helluva Hunt is a great group of people that takes 15 disabled hunters out every year to go pronghorn antelope hunting, and on September 30, my family and I finally arrived after a 1700-mile road trip. We met the HH folks at a designated location to fill out paperwork and get my tag for the hunt, and I got to meet a lot of the other hunters there who were going to be hunting with me that week.
After everyone checked in, it was off to the range so everyone could shoot their rifles. It’s always a good idea to make sure your gun is still on target after a trip, and I think maybe our guides wanted to see if we could shoot straight. So, we all fired a few rounds before being introduced to our guides. Mine were Paul, Terry, Tami, Jason, and Mike.
My guides Jason, Paul, Terry, and myself with my
Pronghorn.
After talking with them for a few minutes, I learned that Paul was a professional, guiding antelope hunters for 17 years, which totally psyched me up! That made me even more excited about the hunt the next day.
For me, this hunt would be more of an adventure because it was going to be my first time hunting from the back seat of a pickup, which I’d never done before. I told Paul all about my equipment and what I thought I’d need to be able to shoot. Since I couldn’t use the rig I brought that mounts on my chair, we’d have to improvise. We decided to use a thin piece of nylon rope, a small plastic tie, a velcro strap and a silver clip. They tied the plastic tie and nylon rope to the trigger, slid the silver clip onto the velcro strap and created a bracelet that went around my wrist. Once in place, I could hook on to the trigger and fire by just pulling back with my wrist. I felt really good about our invention and decided to give it a test run at the range ... Bingo! It worked perfectly.
Story continues below
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From there, we loaded up and headed to a skeet shoot hosted by Helluva Hunt, which is where I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Jim Zumbo from the Outdoor Channel. Jim wanted to film some of our hunt for his show and he was just as humble and nice in person as he appears to be on TV. After meeting him and taking a few photos, we went over to the trap range where I actually shot a couple of skeet with the help of a volunteer named Jerry. Then, it was off to dinner and to bed for the early wake-up call the next morning.
Jim Zumbo and Devia
I anxiously awoke at 3:30 a.m., an hour early, to begin getting ready for the day. When dad stepped out to check the temperature outside, I could tell it was cold and windy. He said it was a brisk 30° with 15 mph winds. I was suddenly really glad we were going to be hunting from the truck. Mom and dad both helped me into my camouflage and layered it heavily so I’d stay warm. Then, it was off to breakfast where Paul, Tami, Terry and Jason were waiting there for me. Shortly after, they loaded me up and we were off to the prairie. My first antelope hunt was finally about to happen.
We drove a short few miles out of town before reaching the ranch that we’d be hunting on that day. The sun was barely starting to clear the horizon when we got out there. Paul slowed down, rolling down the windows so my other guides could start scanning for goats. As the morning got brighter, herds of antelope started popping up all over the prairie. And I got totally excited when I saw my first buck. He looked good to me, but I waited to see what Paul thought of him. I’m from North Carolina. They pretty much all looked the same to me. Paul suggested we pass because he knew there were bigger bucks on the ranch, which was fine with me. I was having a great time just being out.
So down the road we went … my guides Paul, Terry and Jason, my dad and I. About ten miles later, we came upon some does grazing fairly close to the road we were traveling on. While my guides glassed the field, they spotted a buck that they thought looked good enough to take. He stood 300 yards away, which didn’t look that far to me at the time. After a quick ‘should we’ or ‘shouldn't we’ discussion, Paul suggested that I try for him. Terry slowly lowered my window while Paul helped me get my rifle out. Dad lent me his 243 Super Rock Chucker for the hunt. Both Paul and Terry tried to hold my gun steady but it was still too shaky to shoot. (This is the first time they had assisted a hunter whose injury level was as high up as mine. I’m a C-4 level quad.)
The camera mounted on top of the scope is
called
a Trophy Shot designed by Wildlife Optics
After a short time, Jason, who was now in the drivers seat, started to wonder why I hadn't taken a shot and looked away from the buck to see what was going on with me. We quickly repositioned, and Terry decided to hold onto the handgrip under the barrel at the window while Paul slid in behind me and held the butt of the gun tight to my shoulder. After that, I could clearly see the buck through my Trophy Shot (see pic). We quickly settled the crosshairs on the antelope’s shoulder and ... he moved! My buck started to walk away, turning his butt toward me as he did. I was afraid we’d spooked him, afraid I’d missed my chance, when all of a sudden he stopped again and turned broadside. Once again, we lined him up and this time I pulled the trigger ... Bang!
Devia with her 14" Pronghorn Antelope
He never moved! I remember asking, "Did I miss him?" while we all sat there watching. I couldn’t believe he was still standing there like nothing happened. That’s when he tried to take a few steps and down he went! We celebrated in the truck a couple of minutes and then headed over to my first pronghorn buck to get a closer look. He was a beautiful 14-inch goat with good prongs and even had kicker on one side. It was the perfect ending to one of the best trips I’ve ever been on, thanks to all my great new friends from Helluva Hunt.
Jason, Paul, Tami, Mike, Terry, myself and my
pronghorn
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Community Feedback
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wheelz99
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5 Stars
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Re: Helluva Hunt- Devia Eller
"Great going Queen D! You are a huntress now what can I say. keep it up!"
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Seekatree
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Re: Helluva Hunt- Devia Eller
"Way to go Devia, Great Antelope, great story, enjoyed it immensely, thanks so much for sharing. I'm new to the Hunting Net but so glad I was able to view this story, thanks again,
Regards,
Jim in Ct."
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