Trip to South Fork Outfitters in Wyoming - wife can hunt!
10-14-2016, 01:05 PM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,358
Trip to South Fork Outfitters in Wyoming - wife can hunt!
A while back I asked for help picking a rifle caliber for my wife, we had booked a mule deer/antelope combo with South Fork Lodge and Outfitters in BUffalo Wyoming.
Here's her results with her 7mm-08 TC Venture (I also tagged out and can't say enough good about this outfitter)
Mulie Buck was taken on the second stalk of the day, after a long stalk and twice almost getting shots, we were bagged by does and they took 2 decent bucks off with them. We then found this one at 300 yards, to far for us New Hampshire hunter!. We got to 176 and she took him down
Next up was antelope, this one at 121:
To say we had a blast would be an understatement, man was it fun and man can a group of pronghorn put some distance between you and them when they decide to, that was impressive.
Here's her results with her 7mm-08 TC Venture (I also tagged out and can't say enough good about this outfitter)
Mulie Buck was taken on the second stalk of the day, after a long stalk and twice almost getting shots, we were bagged by does and they took 2 decent bucks off with them. We then found this one at 300 yards, to far for us New Hampshire hunter!. We got to 176 and she took him down
Next up was antelope, this one at 121:
To say we had a blast would be an understatement, man was it fun and man can a group of pronghorn put some distance between you and them when they decide to, that was impressive.
Last edited by Bob H in NH; 10-14-2016 at 01:44 PM.
10-24-2016, 10:42 AM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,358
The hunts/shots were great! We were on a 50,000 acre private ranch, there was one other hunting pair and guide on the same ranch, to say "not crowded" was an understatement. Hunting went pretty much by 4WD truck, drive/glass/repeat. Find something to go after, get out and go! Was a blast. Other hunters we on other private ranches.
Her deer fell out like this.
We found a group of 6 deer, 4 does/2 bucks about 700 yards away. Couldn't get a good look at the bigger buck because he was bedded in the sage and all we could tell was he was "pretty nice". So off we went. Dropped into a ravine between hills, got the angle with wind and moved in. I have to say my wife flat out LOVES to see animals, no matter what type, likes to see tracks, droppings, animals. So here we are guide leading the way and jack rabbits are running left and right, tracks/droppings EVERYWHERE, and there's my loving bride, stopping to point out tracks, giggling at the jackrabbits, flat out having a blast! Oh yeah, but not keeping up with the guide! I pushed her on, we caught up to the guide with one last hill to go over and we should be about 100 yards from the deer.
We crawl up the hill and BAGGED. The does had us pegged and took off, taking the bucks. But we got a good look. Guide didn't seem all the impressed, but my wife and I were amazed at the size! Now we had told him before we started his biggest challenge would be keeping us from shooting the first legal thing we see, as in NH, seeing 2-3 deer a year makes for a good year!
The group of deer ran about 300 yards, then around a hill to the right. We took off after them, around the hill to the left. As we were circling the end of the hill, the does bagged us again, but the bucks were no where to be seen. We kept going around the hill, when the guide froze and waved my wife up. The bucks were out around 200 yards feeding. She got up, got prone, got settled on her backpack. She was about to shoot when the does came across in front of the buck, and then all took off. NO SHOT.
I had hung about 20 yards back, I could see, but stayed back. I could hear some noise I didn't know what it was. Turned out that a group of 4 antelope also where there and were snorting at us.
We are now about 90 minutes into our hunt and having a complete BLAST.
We headed back towards the truck. Guide said he was going to take a shortcut over the sage to the truck, but wanted us to head up about 200 yards and glass down the other side of that hill. He said he wasn't bummed about the stalk not working cause "we can do better". When we said "he looked nice" he simply said, when you see a big one you will KNOW it, not think it.
Off we went up the hill, chatting about how fun that was, neither of us bummed about it falling apart. As we start to crest the hill I look over (wife not as tall so can't see) and all I see is ANTLERS! I dropped down and we got a sage bush between us and worked up the hill. Now she can see! There are two bucks and a doe feeding 301 yards down the hill. To far for us! Well guide said if we found something, to go after it!
We dropped back down the hill, circled about 150-200 yards to the left to get a hill between us and them and started to parallel the ridge, them at the bottom on the other side, us on this side. Guide caught up and we filled him in and he took over in the lead.
We made our way down, slowly. The doe went running up the other side and away, I was figuring we're done now, but also no idea what happened, she hadn't seen us and was already going full tilt "pogo-stick" style way before we could see her. No bucks followed. So we continued to ease down draw.
The guide, wife and me all saw him at the same time, he was feeding, both of them. Guide set the sticks, wife moved up, I knelt down. Now buck is looking at us. I heard the guide tell her "176 yards, the one on the left". She settled in and BANG, down he went!
Well that was that, my wife lost it, started giggling, laughing and in general being very excited. She's shot a turkey with a shotgun, a doe with a bow, but this was her first rifle kill. We got her to settle down, gave the buck a few minutes and then eased on up. When he fell, he went out of sight.
As we got closer he tried to get up. The shot seemed to have been a bit high/back and I think broke his back. He wasn't going anywhere, but was up on his front feet trying. So my wife circled above and got broadside and put another one in his chest. Case closed!
That was the best "story" for the hunt. We also had some amazingly fun antelope stalks that didn't work, including me ending up laying on a cactus 300 yards from a big antelope which I missed (really need to get a range that is longer than 100 yards!), a 2.5 hour stalk on what the guide said is the biggest buck antelope he's seen on the property, another "close but no shot". Guide felt bad, but we kept telling him this is a blast and we are having TONS of fun trying these stalks. Got my wife into position to take a bedded antelope buck, he then turned his head giving a better view and we both shouted "don't shoot", one of his horns was busted.
We both tagged out by end of day 2 of a 4 day hunt. Entire camp was tagged out during day 3.
We are already trying to figure out when we can go back!
10-24-2016, 03:07 PM
#9
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Illinois
Posts: 3,695
See, now THAT was some info!!! Sounds like you two had a fantastic time. Keep at it every year you can. You will live longer! Those trips may cost a little money but hell, you can't take it with ya and ya kids should make their own money 
That's what I tell mine!!
That's what I tell mine!!
