Opening day Antelope.

Sendero_Man

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2007
Messages
1,707
Location
Buffalo, Wyoming
Well, opening day of this season finally rolled around here in Wyoming. I have been excited about taking a Goat with the .243 AI that I got from LiteTac, who is a member here. I have been tuning it in and shooting out to 700 yards the past month or so. It is a shooter ! That is no doubt. Here is a 200 yard target off of bags at the range. This is shooting 115 DTACS at 3178 fps at 4800 asl.

520580-big.JPG


Anyways, back to hunting. It was opening day, Oct. 1st 2007. I have 2 buck tags for this area, so the first one, I just want to see how the .243 with the DTACS will perform. Not hunting horns, just a good shot around 400 to 500 yards.

6:30 am, load up the Dodge and head out to my area about 9 miles from my house. Grab my hunting buddy Kirk, who is spotting and running the video camera possibly, and head out.

We get to the area, and drive down the draw, park the truck and head out. We head east to the closest ridge and peer over. Right in the bottom, off to the south about a 1/2 mile are 4 coyotes passing through a herd of black angus cows on the neighbors land. Bummer ! Have to remember this spot and come back in a month and call !

Drag out the bino's and start looking around. To our left is a small herd of speed goats. One small buck working a hot doe, and some other does and fawns. There are cuts and little draws in the main draw we are scanning over with our glasses. Out of a draw about 550 yards pops 2 better bucks, one bigger buck and a hot doe.... This one will work. I guess him at 14 or so inches and close to the range I was hoping for. I range him at 537 yards and closing in as they are working the doe and sparring with each other.

Well, I tell Kirk to set up and we will try to take this buck. I get the steady-stix set up and a round chambered and range find him one more time. He is now broadside at 423 yards. Little side wind out of 9 0' clock, so I hold 3 inches for wind, dial in the NF 3.5-15x56 3.5 MOA and settle in. Squeeze the Jewell trigger and send one perfect through the lungs. He staggers down hill about 12 yards and tips over.

The 115 DTAC makes a good hit and a clean kill. Exit hole is about 2 1/2 inches on the off side. Here is a pic of the goat. One tag down, one to go.

520579-big.JPG
 
Good looking goat, nice pic and writeup. That .243 looks like it's a shooter. Now you can go out and find a 17" goat to hang on the wall.:);):)
 
Thanks alot Dick. That is my son, Tyler, who turns 9 on the 10th of Oct.

He lives for hunting. He so wants to shoot his own critters, but will have to stick to Coyotes and PD's until he is of legal age..... :)
 
Thanks alot Dick. That is my son, Tyler, who turns 9 on the 10th of Oct.

He lives for hunting. He so wants to shoot his own critters, but will have to stick to Coyotes and PD's until he is of legal age..... :)

What you mean legal? I understand the age on hunting acompanied by an adult and hunter education but didnt know he had to be a legal age to hunt!
 
Bring that boy to MS! He doesnt even have to have a license here...but must be with an adult...not a problem! Get him here we will handle it!

Thats a shame kids cant big game hunt till they are 12....CRAZY if you ask me!

and needs no hunter education till he's 15 and hunts alone.
 
Thats a shame kids cant big game hunt till they are 12....CRAZY if you ask me!

It's the same up here in Alberta. It was only this year that they changed the law to allow rifle hunting at 12.

Used to be that they could bow hunt at 12 then when 13 they could rifle hunt. I always thought it was weird that the law made them hunt the first year with a more difficult tool. I always thought it would be better to give them rifle hunting at 12, even if only to take a doe. It would at least get them excited having taken an animal, rather than have them bow hunt and possibly get a bit discouraged.

Anyway I'm happy it's changed.
 
I pulled a few stills off the video. I think a little small, but you get the idea. If you look over the back of the Antelope, you can see the dust cloud from the bullet impact after it exited him.

520590.jpg


520591-big.jpg
 
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