gcamp54
Well-Known Member
This was my first antelope hunt and it was a solo DIY on public land in Eastern Wyoming. I drove from my home in Florida camping in my vehicle along the way and while hunting. My only real expense were the tags, taxidermist, and gas. It was worth every mile and I can't wait to do this again next year. I woke up to snow and rain the first day which resulted in lots of mud for the scouting day. The following next 2 days were beautiful hunting with sun and cool temps. I shot the buck on day 2 at 395 yds after a stalk and low crawl. I know this isn't that far but it's the longest shot I've attempted. The horns measured 13 ¾ on one side and 13 ¼ on the other. The unofficial score by the taxidermist was 73. It seemed to be a good representation for that area. I'm real happy with it. I shot the doe on day 3 at 300 yards, again, after a stalk and low crawl. I deboned both animals at the site of kill and packed out the meat and buck head/cape. I put the meat in zip-lock bags and all the meat did fit into my soft cooler and took only 4-5 bags of ice to get the meat home. I then butchered and packaged the meat when I got home. Of course I cooked some small steak strips for my wife and I that night. This is the first wild game she has liked. The meat was excellent. I decided to leave the head with a local taxidermist in Douglas, Wy. I hunted from Monday until Wednesday and started my drive home Wednesday evening. The winter storm was due to hit on Wednesday night and I was concerned I may get stuck in place, not able to make it to my next hunting destination for mule deer. I think I made the right call. I already had a great hunt that went according to all my planning. This was some of the best hunting I've ever done and I'm already excited about planning next year's hunt. Next year I plan to stay out there for about a month and try to add mule deer and elk to my plan. I used .30cal Berger 175 VLD hunting bullets on both animals which left a considerable exit wound. The load I used was Fed cases, Fed 210m primers, 44.5grs of IMR 4064 at 2680fps. The rifle was an old Rem 700 Police Special that I had the action and bolt trued, barrel crowned, oversized recoil lug installed, and I installed a Basix trigger recently. It's all pillar bedded in a McMillan A-2 stock. The scope is a Leupold 4.5-14x40 Vari-X III with Mk4 rings and base. I developed a "drop chart" using the Nightforce ballistics software and shooting on a local 200 yd range. I was unable to check actual zero's at longer ranges because of a lack of more than 200 yds at this range. I've shot this rifle at 1,000 yds before during conventional long range High Power matches but this is the first time I've tried it hunting and using this load. I didn't want to push the distant too much for this reason. Needless to say I'm hooked on using long range equipment for long range hunting. I'm looking forward to trying some real long shots in the future. My new 7WSM from LSR should be arriving any day now. I cooked most of my meals on my small backpack stove or I just got a sandwich at the gas station while I was getting gas. It took me 33 hours to get there and a little longer to get back due to the heavy rain and traffic. Again, it was worth every mile. Thanks to all the folks on this site who helped me get this hunt accomplished.
Gordon
Niceville, FL
Day 1 and it's still drizzling when I took this picture.
Day 2 and I have my first Antelope down.
The position I shot the doe at 300 yds. She is a small white dot on the hillside and the other antelope are exiting to the right.
I finished deboning this doe, packed up, and headed home.
Gordon
Niceville, FL
Day 1 and it's still drizzling when I took this picture.
Day 2 and I have my first Antelope down.
The position I shot the doe at 300 yds. She is a small white dot on the hillside and the other antelope are exiting to the right.
I finished deboning this doe, packed up, and headed home.
