|
 |
On December 25, 2011, I opened my Christmas present from my boyfriend Brad. It turned out to be a trip to Wyoming for an antelope hunt. I’m not going to lie; I was a bit skeptical about the whole idea but thought I would go along with it. As I have only hunted in Alberta, I thought this would be a good experience for both of us. I found out that Brad had the whole thing already set up; he went on Google, read some reviews and found the perfect outfitter for us, Ken Metzler. He is the owner and operator of Wyoming Trophy Hunts. He was great to deal with and helped us put in our draws. Since there were two of us, we applied as a group. Meaning we either both get drawn or we don’t.
Our Draws were entered in January. The waiting game was nerve racking, as we had to wait until May to hear the results. That would decide whether we were going for a week to Grand Prairie elk hunting or going to Wyoming for antelope in September.
As May came around, we continually checked to see if we had received our letters from Wyoming telling us whether we had been drawn or not. Finally it came, one addressed to me and one addressed to Brad. I decided to sneak a peek on my way home from work and I was ecstatic, I had been drawn, which meant Brad had too. I had to call him and spoil the good news.
We showed up at the Lodge of Wyoming Trophy Hunts on September 18 where we met Ken and Anne Metzler along with our personal guide Charlie Marshall. They already had two antelope on the ground by the time we arrived at 2:45 pm. Things were starting to look up. I was dressed in my comfy clothes from the drive, flip-flops and all when Ken said, “Those shoes aren’t going to be very comfortable hunting.” And I said, “I thought we weren’t hunting until tomorrow?” That’s when he said, “You guys should get at it.”
We quickly changed into our camo and I grabbed Anne’s Pink 30-06. We drove three miles to where they had seen a good buck on opening day but were unable to harvest him. We parked the truck, got our rifles in hand, and began the walk. We only had to walk about 300 yards to the top of the hill where we peered over the top to see a herd of about 30 antelope. We started to glass the field, as they were about 200 yards away. I spotted a very beautiful heart-shaped buck. I honestly had no idea what I was looking for. I told Charlie I wanted the heart shaped one. Neither he nor Brad had spotted this buck yet. Charlie said, “That must be the giant they had seen... if you want him, take him.” I found a spot where I felt comfortable and we ranged him at 187 yards. The buck then decided to lie down. We waited until he got up, which seemed to be forever. At 3:30 pm, I put my sight behind his front shoulder and pulled the trigger. Brad said, “YOU MISSED!” and I said, “I’m sure I hit him.” The heart-shaped buck ran about 40 yards and then dropped. He was down. I shot my very first antelope.
We got him back to the lodge, hung up and skinned by 4:00 pm. Not bad for my first day. Ken is an official scorer for Safari Club International. He green scored my buck at 85 inches. WOW! Not only was it a record buck, but it was the biggest buck shot this year so far at the lodge! I was pumped.
We decided to go out and see if we couldn’t get both bucks on the first day. We had seen a ton of antelope and many of the bucks would have scored decent, but we used the night to learn more about what characteristics make a high-scoring antelope. By now, Brad was becoming picky. Everybody was telling him that my buck was going to be hard to beat and Brad had his work cut out for him. We definitely had to celebrate the day with a few cold ones.
September 19 came early. We were out in the field before daylight. We saw quite a few decent bucks that morning and at least a hundred smaller bucks and does. We couldn’t believe how many antelope were in this country; it was crazy! We sat and looked at a buck for a good hour that would have scored decent but it just wasn’t what Brad was after, he wanted a heavier buck. It was hard to find the whole package, a heavy, tall buck with big prongs. We decided to head back to the lodge for lunch and give our eyes a rest.
We ate and got back out in the field to do some more scouting. We found a herd of about 50 antelope and Brad saw the one he wanted; this buck was tall and heavy. He had to stalk the antelope to get within shooting range. Once he got within range, he got down and used the bipod on Charlie’s 300 Short Mag to get a good, steady shot. He hurried a shot, as the does were making it hard to get a clear shot and he missed. The buck then decided to run and that’s when we learned why they are called “speed goats.”
The herd ran into another field, met up with a different herd and the buck Brad wanted got into a fight with another buck. At this point, we couldn’t tell the bucks apart so we waited for them to quit. Brad followed the bigger buck along the east - west fence with his scope. Charlie said, “He’s the one in the front.” BANG! Brad shot and the goat was down. Charlie said, “I don’t think you got him.” I said, “He is down.” Charlie scanned to the right to see that a different buck was down, not the one he was watching. As we got up to the buck, which was about 200 yards away, we realized this buck was bigger than the one Brad was really after. He was pumped!
We got back to camp and played a joke on Ken. Charlie told him that Brad was very upset that he shot the wrong buck, and when we opened the tailgate to the truck, Ken was pleasantly surprised to see this monster buck. Ken green scored Brad’s buck at 83 inches. WOW!
Not many times does something like this happen. At this point, we’d shot the two biggest antelope from the lodge. We had so much to celebrate. We ate antelope steaks for supper and reminisced about the great hunt we’d had. Ken and Anne were great hosts; they made our stay and time in Wyoming the perfect holiday. Charlie was definitely a great guide who obviously knows his stuff and the area. We greatly appreciate everything he did and we will definitely be back.
We were fortunate enough to get our antelope officially scored for the Boone and Crockett Club. Brad’s antelope scored 80 6/8 inches and mine 81 7/8 inches.
Good Luck to all, and shoot straight! ■
For previous Reader Stories click here.
|
|
|
|
