browtine
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Collin sent us this antelope picture with the following story.. I couldnt fit the whole story in the gallery but thought a few of you would like reading it.
"Growing up in the southeastern part of the country, antelopes were not a big part of the hunting camp conversation. Big whitetails being taken in deep thick swamp-brush or in a nice pine thicket bordering a lush food plot were all we dreamed about. It wasn't until I was relocated to Billings, Montana and had to make that lengthy drive across the Wyoming and Montana country side did my dreams change. Not knowing a thing about antelope, it was stunning to see how many of these animals were out in the flats. As I continued down I-90 I was amazed by the large herds lining the fence line along the highway. I thought to myself as I stopped to take a picture of a couple of bucks, "These things ought to be pretty easy to hunt... There are hundreds of them and they don't seem to be timid at all!"
Not yet having established residency with the State of Montana, I had a lot of time to study the local speed-goats. I went on a lot of hunts armed with only a spotting scope and a camera waiting for the next season to roll around. My favorite place to glass was at the local golf course in the Heights, a community that sits on top of the Rims. Obviously the green grass was an attractant to these guys and the came in droves. So in between 9 irons shots and countless ball searches, I would often find myself feet from what seemed to be very tame animals. Once again I thought to myself, "What an easy game to hunt!"
Well finally the day came and my residency was established and with 6 months to go before antelope season, I began to prepare. At this time I am really starting to get pumped up and whitetails, mule deer and elk were on the back burner of my mind... I wanted an antelope. Well, the countless searches for land to hunt on was a big challenge and not being a native Montanan wasn't a golden key to any great access. So as I politic and pleaded with many of co-workers and friends, finally someone felt sorry enough for me to take me with them.
We arrived at a family ranch in Powderville, Montana and right through the gate there they were... everywhere. Once again I thought to myself, "This will be short and sweet." I packed my 30-06 and some sage camo and off we went. Finding the herds were easy, getting a shot at a buck soon was a realization that I did not expect. We must have hunted 5 different herds of antelope and every herd I was able to get a great look at their running backside through my scope. Hours and hours passed with the same results. Sneaking (what I considered sneaking) up behind ridges, belly crawling across sage and cactus only to be spotted about a half mile... and then a cloud of dust! Frustration was soon setting in. Even more frustrating was the countless number of great looking mule deer that we stirred up. Mule deer anyone would gladly take a shot at... except for me, I had one goal in mind. Well, that goal quickly changed when an enormous non-typical muley was spotted on a ridge with his bachelor group. Off we went after this buck only to experience the same results: up the ridge, down the ridge, belly crawl and cactus... At this point I am offering a great deal on my semi-used 30-06 to anyone who will take it. At this point the sun is starting to set and the truck is calling our names. I give one more glass of the ridge behind me and start my way back to the truck. As I made my way over a small hill I froze... there they were.
A small herd of about 10 goats were grazing 40 yards away with two big bucks leading the way. After getting over the shock, I dropped to my stomach immediately only to land in a large patch of that aforementioned cactus. Desperately trying not to scream, I pulled my gun from my shoulder and took aim at the lead goat. Trying to get a steady shot and knowing that the second buck was soon to be in the line of fire, I pulled the trigger and see the goat drop to the ground. I quickly brought my rifle down only to be shocked at what I saw, an antelope buck standing and starring right at me. "Did I miss?" I quickly chambered another shell and took aim only to be tackled by my friend who was screaming not to shoot. That second buck was standing directly over the dead antelope that I had just taken. Not sure what to do, we began make our way towards the kill ... hoping the younger buck would run away. Eventually he did and we were able to check out my first Montana antelope.
Well it turns out all that trouble was well worth all the frustrations and cactus...my first antelope measured at 84 6/8 and I can't wait till next year."
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[TR][TD]http://www.monstermuleys.net/photos/users2007/collinsherick020207.jpg
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Later, Brandon
"Growing up in the southeastern part of the country, antelopes were not a big part of the hunting camp conversation. Big whitetails being taken in deep thick swamp-brush or in a nice pine thicket bordering a lush food plot were all we dreamed about. It wasn't until I was relocated to Billings, Montana and had to make that lengthy drive across the Wyoming and Montana country side did my dreams change. Not knowing a thing about antelope, it was stunning to see how many of these animals were out in the flats. As I continued down I-90 I was amazed by the large herds lining the fence line along the highway. I thought to myself as I stopped to take a picture of a couple of bucks, "These things ought to be pretty easy to hunt... There are hundreds of them and they don't seem to be timid at all!"
Not yet having established residency with the State of Montana, I had a lot of time to study the local speed-goats. I went on a lot of hunts armed with only a spotting scope and a camera waiting for the next season to roll around. My favorite place to glass was at the local golf course in the Heights, a community that sits on top of the Rims. Obviously the green grass was an attractant to these guys and the came in droves. So in between 9 irons shots and countless ball searches, I would often find myself feet from what seemed to be very tame animals. Once again I thought to myself, "What an easy game to hunt!"
Well finally the day came and my residency was established and with 6 months to go before antelope season, I began to prepare. At this time I am really starting to get pumped up and whitetails, mule deer and elk were on the back burner of my mind... I wanted an antelope. Well, the countless searches for land to hunt on was a big challenge and not being a native Montanan wasn't a golden key to any great access. So as I politic and pleaded with many of co-workers and friends, finally someone felt sorry enough for me to take me with them.
We arrived at a family ranch in Powderville, Montana and right through the gate there they were... everywhere. Once again I thought to myself, "This will be short and sweet." I packed my 30-06 and some sage camo and off we went. Finding the herds were easy, getting a shot at a buck soon was a realization that I did not expect. We must have hunted 5 different herds of antelope and every herd I was able to get a great look at their running backside through my scope. Hours and hours passed with the same results. Sneaking (what I considered sneaking) up behind ridges, belly crawling across sage and cactus only to be spotted about a half mile... and then a cloud of dust! Frustration was soon setting in. Even more frustrating was the countless number of great looking mule deer that we stirred up. Mule deer anyone would gladly take a shot at... except for me, I had one goal in mind. Well, that goal quickly changed when an enormous non-typical muley was spotted on a ridge with his bachelor group. Off we went after this buck only to experience the same results: up the ridge, down the ridge, belly crawl and cactus... At this point I am offering a great deal on my semi-used 30-06 to anyone who will take it. At this point the sun is starting to set and the truck is calling our names. I give one more glass of the ridge behind me and start my way back to the truck. As I made my way over a small hill I froze... there they were.
A small herd of about 10 goats were grazing 40 yards away with two big bucks leading the way. After getting over the shock, I dropped to my stomach immediately only to land in a large patch of that aforementioned cactus. Desperately trying not to scream, I pulled my gun from my shoulder and took aim at the lead goat. Trying to get a steady shot and knowing that the second buck was soon to be in the line of fire, I pulled the trigger and see the goat drop to the ground. I quickly brought my rifle down only to be shocked at what I saw, an antelope buck standing and starring right at me. "Did I miss?" I quickly chambered another shell and took aim only to be tackled by my friend who was screaming not to shoot. That second buck was standing directly over the dead antelope that I had just taken. Not sure what to do, we began make our way towards the kill ... hoping the younger buck would run away. Eventually he did and we were able to check out my first Montana antelope.
Well it turns out all that trouble was well worth all the frustrations and cactus...my first antelope measured at 84 6/8 and I can't wait till next year."
[TABLE BORDER=1 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER CELLSPACING=0 BORDERCOLOR=BLACK]
[TR][TD]http://www.monstermuleys.net/photos/users2007/collinsherick020207.jpg
[/td][/tr][/table]
Later, Brandon
