Where to start? First off I know I'm a little late, but wanted to post this anyways. And if yall followed our hunt..you have seen most of these pics.
I met Brett last year during a scouting trip to Hagerman. Long story short,we was swapping hunting stories in no time and our passion for bowhunting was obviously a shared interest. When the word "antelope" was mentioned my ears perked up. For some reason,and dont ask me why, I have been intrigued with the thought of taking one of these critters with stick and string. Read all I could about them and and was fascinated by them. Over the course of the next year I had plans laid to go on my first hunt for these dudes! Throughout the summer I consulted with Brett,as he is obviously a top notch shooter, on ways to tweak my setup as far as longer shots,being more consistent, and the thought of trying to take an animal at extended ranges.
Before I knew it,all the prep work was done and I was on my way to Colorado
With the seaon opening on Monday August 15th...I pulled out of my driveway early on the 13th. Brett and Jayde were already in camp and I couldnt get there fast enough! Traveling through the panhandle of Texas and the NE corner of New Mexico, I was just taking in all the scenery I hadnt seen in a few years. Heading North over Raton pass...you knew you had met a different world! We have deer crossing signs where I live
Not long afterwards, Brett was meeting me on I25 and it was off to the goat pastures for a little scouting and blind adjustment. Brett had fashioned the blinds in place just a day or so before I arrived, so all of this stuff was new to the goats. While checking on some of the blinds we noticed we had a visitor at one of the setups
This is out in the open! What in the world is HE doing here? As I would soon learn..this place was rich with all sorts of game. I mean..you can SEE the mountains to the west, but I thought this was just supposed to be goat country!
After we were satisfied with the setups...it was off to check out Bretts stomping grounds. "AMAZING" would be doing it no justice!! Check out the view from the driveway. Thats the Greenhorn Mountains in the background with an elevation of over 12K feet! It was hard to leave these lush meadows in the darkness of the morning to go hunt goats...as they were teeming with elk and muleys at sunrise(as you can tell by Bretts most recent hunt...but thats his update
)
We also had two more hunters show up,Ron and Ryan,who were eager to take their first speedgoat as well! On to the hunting....Day one yielded no kills but everyone seen game. I seen a STUD pushing 9 does,but he stayed so far out of range I dont think I could have killed him with a rifle! On a sidenote I did have an interesting encounter. About an hour after daylight I seen what I thought was a tip of a horn go through a gap in some trees. After waching for a inute I realized I wasnt seeing things. Turned out to be 4 bull elk. This was the best of the group. He was a very nice 5x5! They ambled off towards Ryan's setup, but he never seen them.
Day 2 found new hope and new sightings. A couple hours after daylight I passed on this small buck...and took some ribbing from the other guys as well I am not strictly a trophy hunter,but I was willing to go home empty handed if I couldnt take one I would mount...and he wasnt it!
Being a whitetail hunter I thought I could handle sitting for long periods of time. Boy was I mistaken. An antelope blind will wear on ya! Sweltering heat...no living creature within sight...its a b***h!! Hint..temps in the mountains have no relevance to temps in the plains!
Through texting I found out Jayde..."the man"... was first on the board with a spot and stalk goat! Awesome Jayde..thanks for the backstrap dinner Later that evening I got a text from Ron saying he had shot a "good" one! I used this as my personal invitation to get the heck out of the blind and go help a fellow hunter out on his recovery. And what a recovery it was! Pretty sure this one is going in the books. Congrats again Ron
OK..Day 3..Ryan and I feeling a little pressure. He goes and sits where Ron killed the good one, as he had alot of activity the prior day. I crawl back into my blind which I have learned every rock,tree,grain of sand,weeds and have successfully named every resident magpie! Not too long after daylight I have a doe and fawn try to water. They are acting real spooky of the blind...and all of a sudden they high tail it out of the area. WTH?? I know I didnt move! About that time two bucks come trotting into water. One is a nice one and the other just average. They stare at the blind a bit and decide water is worth the risk! As they water..I range the good buck at 41 yards,but facing almost head on. I decide to wait until he is finished and decide im gonna get him when he is through drinking. UMM...WRONG!!! Let me tell you something...when they are done..they are done! Up they come and get the heck away from the water! Now out of range I am frustrated. I know this blind is making them nervous!
After some consultation with Brett,I convince him the blind needs moving. During the middle of the day we move it straight across the pond onto the dam. There is a few cedars there and we brush it in the best we can and hope for the best. It seems like the antelope were trying to come to a specific spot, so I opt to sacrifice the rest of the pond to be able to see this one spot and have some concealment.
I climb in as soon as we finish for my long day of staring at heat waves,a bag cooler with a few waters, and TBH on my phone as my battery dont last long up there! As the evening progresses I spot a lone buck on the hill behind me bedded under a tree. He is probably 3/4 mile away, but that aint nothing for an antelope to cover. He aint the biggest buck on the ranch, but I will take him if he comes in! After an hour of up...down..up...down..I know hes headed to this water eventually. If I can only hold out. As he finally starts making his move my way...I catch something out of the corner of my eye alot closer! Holy s**t...where did he come from? I swear I can see for a long ways! Right behind me just over the tank dam is a buck..and he is a shooter to me! He aint got a clue Im around. I watch him for a few minutes as he feeds and then he makes his way around the dam, towards the water. I grab my bow,nock an arrow and fix my eyes on where he should appear. About that time 2 does show up and I KNOW if they stroll in he will follow! Very methodically they work their way in. Constantly they are staring where the blind was previously! They never even glance to where I am at now! At that moment a smile comes upon my face and I know I have fooled some of the best eyes a man will look upon. I had all my yardages ranges..I knew ever weed and rock. The does never broke stride after they seen the blind was "gone"! They settled in and watered at a little over 40 yards. He kinda sat back and watched for a minute and then made his move....never even looking up. I was hoping he didnt go to the other side of them,presenting a furthur shot......and he didnt...35 yards!!
Thank you Brett!!
I met Brett last year during a scouting trip to Hagerman. Long story short,we was swapping hunting stories in no time and our passion for bowhunting was obviously a shared interest. When the word "antelope" was mentioned my ears perked up. For some reason,and dont ask me why, I have been intrigued with the thought of taking one of these critters with stick and string. Read all I could about them and and was fascinated by them. Over the course of the next year I had plans laid to go on my first hunt for these dudes! Throughout the summer I consulted with Brett,as he is obviously a top notch shooter, on ways to tweak my setup as far as longer shots,being more consistent, and the thought of trying to take an animal at extended ranges.
Before I knew it,all the prep work was done and I was on my way to Colorado
With the seaon opening on Monday August 15th...I pulled out of my driveway early on the 13th. Brett and Jayde were already in camp and I couldnt get there fast enough! Traveling through the panhandle of Texas and the NE corner of New Mexico, I was just taking in all the scenery I hadnt seen in a few years. Heading North over Raton pass...you knew you had met a different world! We have deer crossing signs where I liveNot long afterwards, Brett was meeting me on I25 and it was off to the goat pastures for a little scouting and blind adjustment. Brett had fashioned the blinds in place just a day or so before I arrived, so all of this stuff was new to the goats. While checking on some of the blinds we noticed we had a visitor at one of the setups
This is out in the open! What in the world is HE doing here? As I would soon learn..this place was rich with all sorts of game. I mean..you can SEE the mountains to the west, but I thought this was just supposed to be goat country!
After we were satisfied with the setups...it was off to check out Bretts stomping grounds. "AMAZING" would be doing it no justice!! Check out the view from the driveway. Thats the Greenhorn Mountains in the background with an elevation of over 12K feet! It was hard to leave these lush meadows in the darkness of the morning to go hunt goats...as they were teeming with elk and muleys at sunrise(as you can tell by Bretts most recent hunt...but thats his update
)Day 2 found new hope and new sightings. A couple hours after daylight I passed on this small buck...and took some ribbing from the other guys as well
I am not strictly a trophy hunter,but I was willing to go home empty handed if I couldnt take one I would mount...and he wasnt it!Being a whitetail hunter I thought I could handle sitting for long periods of time. Boy was I mistaken. An antelope blind will wear on ya! Sweltering heat...no living creature within sight...its a b***h!! Hint..temps in the mountains have no relevance to temps in the plains!
Through texting I found out Jayde..."the man"... was first on the board with a spot and stalk goat! Awesome Jayde..thanks for the backstrap dinner
Later that evening I got a text from Ron saying he had shot a "good" one! I used this as my personal invitation to get the heck out of the blind and go help a fellow hunter out on his recovery. And what a recovery it was! Pretty sure this one is going in the books. Congrats again RonOK..Day 3..Ryan and I feeling a little pressure. He goes and sits where Ron killed the good one, as he had alot of activity the prior day. I crawl back into my blind which I have learned every rock,tree,grain of sand,weeds and have successfully named every resident magpie! Not too long after daylight I have a doe and fawn try to water. They are acting real spooky of the blind...and all of a sudden they high tail it out of the area. WTH?? I know I didnt move! About that time two bucks come trotting into water. One is a nice one and the other just average. They stare at the blind a bit and decide water is worth the risk! As they water..I range the good buck at 41 yards,but facing almost head on. I decide to wait until he is finished and decide im gonna get him when he is through drinking. UMM...WRONG!!! Let me tell you something...when they are done..they are done! Up they come and get the heck away from the water! Now out of range I am frustrated. I know this blind is making them nervous!
After some consultation with Brett,I convince him the blind needs moving. During the middle of the day we move it straight across the pond onto the dam. There is a few cedars there and we brush it in the best we can and hope for the best. It seems like the antelope were trying to come to a specific spot, so I opt to sacrifice the rest of the pond to be able to see this one spot and have some concealment.
I climb in as soon as we finish for my long day of staring at heat waves,a bag cooler with a few waters, and TBH on my phone as my battery dont last long up there! As the evening progresses I spot a lone buck on the hill behind me bedded under a tree. He is probably 3/4 mile away, but that aint nothing for an antelope to cover. He aint the biggest buck on the ranch, but I will take him if he comes in! After an hour of up...down..up...down..I know hes headed to this water eventually. If I can only hold out. As he finally starts making his move my way...I catch something out of the corner of my eye alot closer! Holy s**t...where did he come from? I swear I can see for a long ways! Right behind me just over the tank dam is a buck..and he is a shooter to me! He aint got a clue Im around. I watch him for a few minutes as he feeds and then he makes his way around the dam, towards the water. I grab my bow,nock an arrow and fix my eyes on where he should appear. About that time 2 does show up and I KNOW if they stroll in he will follow! Very methodically they work their way in. Constantly they are staring where the blind was previously! They never even glance to where I am at now! At that moment a smile comes upon my face and I know I have fooled some of the best eyes a man will look upon. I had all my yardages ranges..I knew ever weed and rock. The does never broke stride after they seen the blind was "gone"! They settled in and watered at a little over 40 yards. He kinda sat back and watched for a minute and then made his move....never even looking up. I was hoping he didnt go to the other side of them,presenting a furthur shot......and he didnt...35 yards!!
Thank you Brett!!
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