2013 WY antelope/ deer hunt

[EricM]

I hunted a mix of BLM and private land in WY a few weeks ago. I drove 18 hours from CA, my brother Alex drove from MN and my buddy Joe drove from OR.

We arrived just after a big snowstorm, and heard another storm was due to hit later on in the week. We had antelope and deer tags, and hoped a few days of warm weather would melt the snow off.

Joe and I knocked down 4 antelope does (2 each) on a BLM oilfield the first day out. We saw them at 300 yards, took 2 and the herd, confused at where the shots came from, ran right towards us. We took another 2 at 150 yards. I was using a 1951 Winchester M70 standard grade 30-06, shooting 150 gr TTSX.

55 degree weather started to melt that snow off. Mud was everywhere.

We decided to change tactics and hunt private land at a lower elevation, along a riverbank. It was lush and teeming with wildlife... antelope, whitetails and mule deer.

See the antelope along the fence-line...?

Joe executed a fast, 300 yard shot at a 10-point whitetail buck at twilight, near a marshy area. Hell of a shot, and a real dandy buck!! Joe picked up a doe from the herd immediately after the shot.

 

[EricM]

Joe also got a real nice buck antelope at under 100 yards. He was close to 15"!

The same day, my brother Alex got his first big game kill, a doe antelope at 202 yards shooting his Savage 270 Win. Shot placement was right behind the shoulder using 130 grain Hornady SSTs. Nice job, Alex!

Earlier in the day I was within 50' of a buck 2x3 mule deer whose head was poking out of a bedding area. I was looking right over him. He bounded off before I could get any shot. This was actually good since that evening I hunted a marshy area nearby and got a nice 8-point whitetail. He came out of elephant grass just before sunset, approaching a number of does. I shot him at 295 yards with a Tikka T3 Lite .243 Win using 95 grain Fusions. The does scattered and then settled down, and Alex and I each took a mule deer doe at 185 yards to fill our doe tags. They were field dressed just in time for a cold brew and beautiful sunset.

We also met up with some new friends, Don and his wife Terry, from OR, who were also hunting some of the same land as us. Terry pulled off a crack shot at over 600 yards to get this buck!

 

[EricM]

Last, I really wanted to use a BRNO 602 375 H&H...

I've shot this rifle extensively on the bench obtaining nice little groups. This wasn't a tough shot, at about 100 yards, but I rushed it and got into a kneeling position, creeping forward on the scope. I gut shot him with a 260 grain Accubond, and got scoped. He ran a short distance, I missed a few shots, clearing blood from my face, until I connected with a high shoulder shot. He dropped like a stone, with a big puff of hair exploding out behind him. The exit wound was massive.

I should have done things differently in retrospect... I could have gotten into a much more stable position before I fired (laying prone setting the rifle over my pack), which would have upped the odds of putting him down cleanly without getting scoped. There was also no need for this kind of firepower, obviously.

He was a beautiful buck with nice color and symmetry.

It took 19 hours to drive back, with 10 hours in hard rain. This was my 2nd big game hunt ever, and I loved every moment of it.

Eric

 

[Derek M.]

Wow, what a great post! Thank you and congratulations to all of you!

 

[HighKnob]

Nice bunch of game and a great story. What's the tape on the rifles for?

 

[EricM]

Thanks fellas. Hunting antelope is addicting!!

The blue painter's tape is to keep s#!$^! out of the bore. I blast right through it. Rumor has it that it will also add 100 fps to your load.

Eric

 

[HighKnob]

Thought that might have been it but the extra pieces fooled me.

 

[HARPERC]

I love seeing folks still using the old model 70's, especially the 30-06's.

I think it's great you experimented with the .375. I've shot a few with mine, and haven't seen the damage collectively that you seem to have achieved with the 260 Accubond. Interesting, it's not what I expected, i have a few but have yet to shoot anything with them.

 

[EricM]

That pre-64 30-06 is a real shooter, too!

I was also surprised by the amount of damage the 260 AB created.

Eric

 

[jkupper]

Good gravy man, you guys got some killing done! gun)gun)gun)

Great pictures, and a great story. I am the guy who does not take nearly enough pictures when I am hunting, so it was good to look through yours! Thanks for the post!!!

 

[EricM]

My pleasure, Jkupper! I wish I could go back for another few weeks!! gun)

Eric