droptine894
09-23-2010, 11:01 AM
Hey all, got back Friday from our archery antelope hunt. What a great time. Left on the 10th and started hunting on the 12th. Conditions were a lot tougher than we were expecting. With 4 of us in the group we split up into pairs and were on our way. Two nubies in one unit and myself paired up with a buddy that has taken a couple in the past. Well the nubies started off quick, by 11:00 AM they had an arrow into one, they were a little unsure of the shot so they contacted us to figure out what they should do. We agreed with them that they should let him sit and stiffen up before going in to finish. They got to within 150 yrds and watched him, when they tried to get closer he would get up and move off another 150 yrds and bed again. They could not believe that he was able to do so several times as it only looked like the shot may have been a little low. Around 4:00 PM they got a hold of us again and asked if we could give them a hand. We figured with four of us we could put the squeeze on him and get the final arrow into him. Well after 3 hours and 6 lost arrows we thought we would wait him out and put him to bed. When we came back the next morning we found him exactly where we left him, dead. Unfortunately the yotes found him before we did, and they made short work of him. Thus buddy is in need of a cape. As the day went on, we had many attempts at decoying to little success. We decided to change our strategies to spot and stalks. WOW what a challenge. Finally around 7:00 PM i got my opportunity. We spotted a lone buck working a fenceline, we got a head of him and i set up in some sage, as he approached he started to head back out into the prairies. At about 40 yrds i grunted, stopped him and let fly. Solid hit, he went about 15 yrds and the show was over. What a rush. The third lope was also taken that evening, Dono pretty much had a gimmy, as all he had to do was walk up to his at 30 yards and connect. Done. We are still unsure how some can require so much work and others nil. Regardless we had three down in two days of hunting. The nubies both tagged out decided to head home, very happy mind you. Dean and myself decided to stick around a couple more days to try and fill his tag with his personal best. Two days of countless decoying attempts and stalks we decided to call her a trip. We seen an average of 35 to 40 bucks a day, there were several missed opportunities and the prairies now own a fair number of arrows. All in all it was a trip to remember. Can't wait to come back and do it all over again. Sorry about rambling a bit but i hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.