This is my first post here and is a long one, but I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I did.
Myself and 3 of my good friends went on a Mule Deer hunt last year and while we were there during 3rd Rifle we saw a bunch of good goats and asked about doing a bowhunt this year. By the time we were done with our Mule Deer Hunt, we were already booked for a return muley trip and for pronghorn in September with the bow. We got back and finished up our whitetail season on the ranch in Del Rio and started practicing to get ready for this trip. We mostly bowhunt here, but our shots are typically 20-30 yards and we knew there was a possibility of needing to shoot out to 50-60 yards. After months of practice and some mishaps and equipment changes along the way, we were all comfortable at 50+ yards for this trip. Equipment changes included me making a decision I wanted a faster bow, so a month before the hunt I bought an Elite Impulse 31 in Kuiu Vias camo, 27.5" draw length, 70lbs, Elite 11" stabilizer, Montana Black Gold Ascent Single Pin, Easton Da Torch arrows with Blazer vanes, and Wac 'Em 2 blade expandables. I shot a lot in that last month to get the new setup dialed in and to feel comfortable with it. This setup was good for 293fps with the arrows weighing in at 377 grains, plenty of speed and punch for antelope and whitetail here in Texas.
On September 6th, we all hoped on a plane to Denver to then make the 2 hour drive to where we would be hunting for the next 4 days. Pulled into the hotel and got checked in, then the guide showed up to take us to get our licenses, then back to the hotel to shoot the bows. Shot at 20 and 30 and all was good, so we decided to call it a night and the guides would pick us up at 6:30 in the morning to head to the ranch.
The first morning we got on the road and had to setup 2 blinds that morning because there were cows where we would be hunting and they didn't want the blinds to get torn up by setting them out early. This ofcourse caused us to be a little late getting in the blind and settled and I was concerned it would have a serious effect on the hunt. That day I spotted a lot of quality animals, including 2 excellent bucks and 4 other "shooters". All seemed to get hung up around 80-100 yards and never completely make their way in. The last one that showed that evening I felt like I had to try to get close to because he was a solid 15" goat, or so my inexperienced antelope hunter eyes told me, so I snuck out of the stand to try to get within range and got to about 65 yards when I got busted by a doe and a smaller buck. They all trotted off and I climbed back in the blind to wait for the guides to pick me up.
Pics from the blind
The second morning started with a bang. I had been in the blind for maybe 20 minutes and was just getting settled in when a stud of an antelope showed up about 50 yards behind me as I peaked out a small opening to see the back end of the overflow from the stock tank. I quickly got the bow ready and stood before he got to where I could shoot. When he finally cleared the window I ranged him one last time, checked the sight to make sure I was dialed right, drew back, and let the arrow fly.
I held center mass and watched the buck drop to the ground as the arrow sailed inches over his back. I was devastated to say the least. All this practice down the drain due to not holding in the lower 1/3rd. I stayed in the blind the rest of the day and watched some really good bucks, but none as good as that one and nothing but smaller bucks coming into range. The good news that day was that one of the guys with me ran an arrow through a 67" goat, which got us all excited that we were in the right place and that sooner or later they would make some fatal mistakes. Another day in the books with no goat on the ground for me. Here's a pic of the only other buck to come into range the rest of the day.
The third day started with us getting to the blind just after shooting light and a herd of 3 bucks and 4 does headed away from the water hole, one of the bucks was the one I had missed the day before. I quickly got in the stand and the guide headed to a different part of the ranch to try to scout for some elk for a hunter coming in the next week. I had action all morning, including the buck dropping over the knoll that was situated about 350 yards from me. I decided to try and get to the knoll to see what was hanging out on the other side. I made it about 200-250 yards and froze in my tracks when I saw a younger buck staring me down, right at the edge of rise. I was basically in a bowl, the ground rose 5-10 feet between me and 300 yards in front of me, then dropped about 40 ft and to the right did the same about 150 yards out. I crouch behind a cactus until the buck dropped out of sight and decided to head back to the blind before I got busted again.
I crawled back in the blind and got settled in and waited. About 10 a group of antelope came over the rise 150 yards to my right, including a smaller buck and a good buck. They got to about 100 yards out and started going at it. They fought for 2-3 minutes before dropping back out of sight.
About 10:30 I caught movement out the back of the blind again and it was the doe and the smaller buck. A couple minutes later, here he comes right behind them. The doe and smaller buck come around the back of the blind to the far side of the overflow to drink and partake of the nice green grass, then at 10:30 here he comes. I had ranged the doe at 43 yards, so I set my dial at 45 with the intent of not changing it again.
Since they were about my 7 o'clock I was able to move around some and slide my chair out of the way. When the buck was coming into range I drew the bow back. Because of the awkward angle of where they came in I had to hang my elbow out the front window and lean out the side. I was checking to make sure cams were clear of the blind and the arrow would clear the netting I had taken down along that side. All clear, I go to settle the pin and he's directly behind a cactus. I stand there hanging out of the blind at full draw waiting for him to take another step or two. During this time another antelope, I'd assume a doe, comes in behind me and starts blowing. I'm thinking, this is never going to happen, then it does. He takes 3 steps and turns to be quartering towards me, but I felt confident in the shot. I settle the pin in the lower 1/3rd and touch of the release. The shot was true and I see the arrow go in to the fletchings and stick there. As he's running behind the blind I'm able to catch a glimpse of him and blood is streaming out the exit. I know this is a solid hit, then he stumbles and goes behind a cactus.
I send a text to the guide to come and get me that I had a good buck on the ground. I knew it would take him 30+ minutes to get to me from the other side of the ranch, so the antelope would have plenty of time to expire. About 20 minutes after the shot I'm too excited to sit there anymore and get out of the blind to have a look for myself. I go directly to the spot he was standing and look back toward the direction he was running to see the greatest sight in hunting, the white belly.
I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to take such an incredible animal with my bow on what has to be the most mentally challenging hunt I have ever been on, but what an incredible trip with great friends. My dad passed 9/4/15 and I know he was with me, telling me to take my time, as I was granted a shot a redemption.
It was a perfect heart shot and he had run about 80 yards from where he was shot. The Wac 'Em put an incredible hurting on this buck and I am a believer in those heads now. I have always been a fixed blade guy until this trip and don't see myself going back to them anytime soon. Also, we can't wait to do this hunt again next year. It truly was an incredible trip. That evening, 2 more bucks hit the ground, making us 4 for 4 with archery equipment. My buck ended up being shorter than I expected at 11 3/4", mainly because his cutters were so high that his 3rd mass measurement ended up in the middle of the cutter. Final tally was right at 65" and I couldn't be happier with my first antelope, much less with a bow.
By the way, the one I saw the first night that I thought was atleast 15" was indeed 15 3/4" and ended up scoring 75 1/4". He was shot the last afternoon out of the blind I had hunted in and taken mine out of. Kinda cool to double up out of the same blind on 2 animals.
Myself and 3 of my good friends went on a Mule Deer hunt last year and while we were there during 3rd Rifle we saw a bunch of good goats and asked about doing a bowhunt this year. By the time we were done with our Mule Deer Hunt, we were already booked for a return muley trip and for pronghorn in September with the bow. We got back and finished up our whitetail season on the ranch in Del Rio and started practicing to get ready for this trip. We mostly bowhunt here, but our shots are typically 20-30 yards and we knew there was a possibility of needing to shoot out to 50-60 yards. After months of practice and some mishaps and equipment changes along the way, we were all comfortable at 50+ yards for this trip. Equipment changes included me making a decision I wanted a faster bow, so a month before the hunt I bought an Elite Impulse 31 in Kuiu Vias camo, 27.5" draw length, 70lbs, Elite 11" stabilizer, Montana Black Gold Ascent Single Pin, Easton Da Torch arrows with Blazer vanes, and Wac 'Em 2 blade expandables. I shot a lot in that last month to get the new setup dialed in and to feel comfortable with it. This setup was good for 293fps with the arrows weighing in at 377 grains, plenty of speed and punch for antelope and whitetail here in Texas.
On September 6th, we all hoped on a plane to Denver to then make the 2 hour drive to where we would be hunting for the next 4 days. Pulled into the hotel and got checked in, then the guide showed up to take us to get our licenses, then back to the hotel to shoot the bows. Shot at 20 and 30 and all was good, so we decided to call it a night and the guides would pick us up at 6:30 in the morning to head to the ranch.
The first morning we got on the road and had to setup 2 blinds that morning because there were cows where we would be hunting and they didn't want the blinds to get torn up by setting them out early. This ofcourse caused us to be a little late getting in the blind and settled and I was concerned it would have a serious effect on the hunt. That day I spotted a lot of quality animals, including 2 excellent bucks and 4 other "shooters". All seemed to get hung up around 80-100 yards and never completely make their way in. The last one that showed that evening I felt like I had to try to get close to because he was a solid 15" goat, or so my inexperienced antelope hunter eyes told me, so I snuck out of the stand to try to get within range and got to about 65 yards when I got busted by a doe and a smaller buck. They all trotted off and I climbed back in the blind to wait for the guides to pick me up.
Pics from the blind
The second morning started with a bang. I had been in the blind for maybe 20 minutes and was just getting settled in when a stud of an antelope showed up about 50 yards behind me as I peaked out a small opening to see the back end of the overflow from the stock tank. I quickly got the bow ready and stood before he got to where I could shoot. When he finally cleared the window I ranged him one last time, checked the sight to make sure I was dialed right, drew back, and let the arrow fly.
I held center mass and watched the buck drop to the ground as the arrow sailed inches over his back. I was devastated to say the least. All this practice down the drain due to not holding in the lower 1/3rd. I stayed in the blind the rest of the day and watched some really good bucks, but none as good as that one and nothing but smaller bucks coming into range. The good news that day was that one of the guys with me ran an arrow through a 67" goat, which got us all excited that we were in the right place and that sooner or later they would make some fatal mistakes. Another day in the books with no goat on the ground for me. Here's a pic of the only other buck to come into range the rest of the day.
The third day started with us getting to the blind just after shooting light and a herd of 3 bucks and 4 does headed away from the water hole, one of the bucks was the one I had missed the day before. I quickly got in the stand and the guide headed to a different part of the ranch to try to scout for some elk for a hunter coming in the next week. I had action all morning, including the buck dropping over the knoll that was situated about 350 yards from me. I decided to try and get to the knoll to see what was hanging out on the other side. I made it about 200-250 yards and froze in my tracks when I saw a younger buck staring me down, right at the edge of rise. I was basically in a bowl, the ground rose 5-10 feet between me and 300 yards in front of me, then dropped about 40 ft and to the right did the same about 150 yards out. I crouch behind a cactus until the buck dropped out of sight and decided to head back to the blind before I got busted again.
I crawled back in the blind and got settled in and waited. About 10 a group of antelope came over the rise 150 yards to my right, including a smaller buck and a good buck. They got to about 100 yards out and started going at it. They fought for 2-3 minutes before dropping back out of sight.
About 10:30 I caught movement out the back of the blind again and it was the doe and the smaller buck. A couple minutes later, here he comes right behind them. The doe and smaller buck come around the back of the blind to the far side of the overflow to drink and partake of the nice green grass, then at 10:30 here he comes. I had ranged the doe at 43 yards, so I set my dial at 45 with the intent of not changing it again.
Since they were about my 7 o'clock I was able to move around some and slide my chair out of the way. When the buck was coming into range I drew the bow back. Because of the awkward angle of where they came in I had to hang my elbow out the front window and lean out the side. I was checking to make sure cams were clear of the blind and the arrow would clear the netting I had taken down along that side. All clear, I go to settle the pin and he's directly behind a cactus. I stand there hanging out of the blind at full draw waiting for him to take another step or two. During this time another antelope, I'd assume a doe, comes in behind me and starts blowing. I'm thinking, this is never going to happen, then it does. He takes 3 steps and turns to be quartering towards me, but I felt confident in the shot. I settle the pin in the lower 1/3rd and touch of the release. The shot was true and I see the arrow go in to the fletchings and stick there. As he's running behind the blind I'm able to catch a glimpse of him and blood is streaming out the exit. I know this is a solid hit, then he stumbles and goes behind a cactus.
I send a text to the guide to come and get me that I had a good buck on the ground. I knew it would take him 30+ minutes to get to me from the other side of the ranch, so the antelope would have plenty of time to expire. About 20 minutes after the shot I'm too excited to sit there anymore and get out of the blind to have a look for myself. I go directly to the spot he was standing and look back toward the direction he was running to see the greatest sight in hunting, the white belly.
I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to take such an incredible animal with my bow on what has to be the most mentally challenging hunt I have ever been on, but what an incredible trip with great friends. My dad passed 9/4/15 and I know he was with me, telling me to take my time, as I was granted a shot a redemption.
It was a perfect heart shot and he had run about 80 yards from where he was shot. The Wac 'Em put an incredible hurting on this buck and I am a believer in those heads now. I have always been a fixed blade guy until this trip and don't see myself going back to them anytime soon. Also, we can't wait to do this hunt again next year. It truly was an incredible trip. That evening, 2 more bucks hit the ground, making us 4 for 4 with archery equipment. My buck ended up being shorter than I expected at 11 3/4", mainly because his cutters were so high that his 3rd mass measurement ended up in the middle of the cutter. Final tally was right at 65" and I couldn't be happier with my first antelope, much less with a bow.
By the way, the one I saw the first night that I thought was atleast 15" was indeed 15 3/4" and ended up scoring 75 1/4". He was shot the last afternoon out of the blind I had hunted in and taken mine out of. Kinda cool to double up out of the same blind on 2 animals.
