Antelope Hunt 07
We were 3 miles from the Saskatchewan border in a place called Walsh on Highway #1 just north of the Cypruss Hills .I got there on the 7th on Friday night and was shown and directed to this spot from fellow Huntingchat member Fred from the Hat. He went out of his way to take me and place mein a location that isbar none. I was tucked back 4 miles of off the highway on a point between 2 coulies in the only greenery on the these plains.
Set up camp and made freinds with Fred and got up early Saturday at 10:30
.As I was setting up camp for my patrner to arrive onSunday I noticed acrross the coulie movement,I glanced up to see 4 mulie bucks looking me over. I got the spotting scope set up and looked them over to notice a good 170ish 4x4 with them. I came out with my coffee at 11 and across the field in front of me walk out 11 consecutive bucks and the lead buck was a monster with velvet hanging from both sides and bleeding bad. Well not bad but they were red all over and looked sore.
They crossed the coulie and 2 started to spar that were 2x2's and then I noticed thesmaller one was a whitetail. I crossed path's with these bucks on a regular bases with in the next 5 days.We had30 degree weather for the most part but then it snowed in Saskatchewan and the Hat and that morning was the encounterwith a4x4 with the shedded velvet. I was aloft in my stand and these deer were funeling everday from the alphafafeilds in front of my stand. It was 8am and it was a cold 1 degree c.I just about had it and called it a morning as I wasn't dressed to stay out long in the cold. As I stood to lower my bow I saw an ear flick 200 yards away and outfrom behind the trees came ole velvet.
My bodyheat was getting warm and all of a sudden I was toasty,I drew my bow 2 times to loosen up when he was at 100 yards and still coming.At 65 yards I decided I was going to take him ,as I field scored him at 180 ish and still comin. As I stood to get ready, all of a suddeen over the hill comes my partner in his dang trucktrying to be nice and give me a ride back to camp[:@].Forgiveness[:'(]is a hard thing to do ,but I did
. I was back in the saddle the next am and passed on theother 3 4x4's as they filtered by at 9:30am.
In the mid mornings we would drive and spot n stock antelope till supper and do the mulie thing again till dark.Well let me tell ya it's not as hard as they say it is to stalk an antelope but, to get him into shooting range is another story as I think they need to be in full rut to get them to come in close.
On the 46th try we finally did it,he came into 51 yards and I shot and he travelled maybe 20 yards and turned to look back and see what had just happened and he faltered. My buddy said alright he's falling and we gave each other the high five,things we tend to do when we've been succesful in a harvest .[8D]
We traveled a short distance to a place called Donovan which was about 10 minutes from Medicine Hat to a freind of a freinds.Well we each had shot's at monster mulie buck's. My friends place as u walked into his front porch holds a gorgoues mount of a 185 1/8 4x5 mulie,just short of the Boone n Crocket mark for them. Well on a trip back to the ranch we drove by a big buck my buddy asked if I noticed,which I didn't. As we approached the gully I looked for him and didn't see anything so I threw a rock down the side and out of the shrubs comes this pig ,man what a body and he was a 5x4 to boot. Up the other side of the gully he bounds and stand broadside to me at 70 yards,my mind couldn't take in the mass that was on each beam and the body I guessed at over 400lbs[:-].
My partner drove along side of him and just kept going after a 1/4 mile,I noticed he slowed up a bit and I did the same till he dissapered into 2 rows of round bales. I glassed him till I didn't see movement after the 7th bale out of 12. I got out and parked the truck and decided to try n stalk him. I was behind him with the wind blowing to him,it was all wrong for a stalk[:'(].I decided to come in from the side and did it to the end of the bales.Now I was at I guess15 yards and drew my bow back and took a side step to see if he was still there
.He was and was looking right at me as he layed between the7th and 8th bales.He stood and stepped out as I let go at his quartering too me shoulder so that it would take out the back of his vitals and go into his rear hind quarter,hopefully I would sever a major artery in the rump.
He bounded away after the hit to about 40 yards and looked back and what looked like he was faltering and walkedaway over a ridge.I went back and had lunch and came back at 3:30 and drove right to the ridge,he was laying their and my buddy said he's down.Well we opened the doors and closed them and he woke up and got up and walked out of oursite into a monster coulie.No blood in the bed and my bud said he looked alright as he walked.
I went over those bales tooth and coomb to find blood and my arrow ,but not untill I walked the other side of the bales did I notice my arrow sticking into the bale that was in front of him.It was out past the other 3 bales about a foot and I must have pulled to the left as I released.[
]In a way I was happy that I missed completly
but am puzzeled as I shot back at the ranch and was still dead on. The only thing I could think I did was pull as I released. Bowhunting,dang what a rush.[8D]My partner flung arrows at a couple but in all we had a trip that will forever stay with us as long as it takes to score on a booner mulie. So yes we'll be their next year come September.Talk to ya's soon.
Rocky.
PS sorry for being a little longon the story