Oct. 1, opening day of deer and antelope rifle season in our area of Wyoming, no time for a big breakfast just coffee and some toast. We loaded up into the truck that my son in law rented in Denver, no sense beating up my son's truck. We made a decision to go after the two nice antelope bucks that we spotted the evening before, knowing full well that most of the other hunters will focus on getting their deer first we figured that we'd at least beat them to the antelope. We drove 8 miles back the dirt road then about a half a mile on the stone road that the oil and gas companies maintain, them turned down another dirt road that runs past the largest stock pond in the area. We were headed to a large wide open section of grass beyond the pond where we located the antelope the evening before. Much to our surprise one of the bucks and several does came running up out of the large ditch that parallels the road going down to the pond. I stopped the truck rather abruptly and the buck walked across the road right behind the truck, he continued on for about 100 yards stopping in a grassy patch near a gas well. I think that my son in law may have been in shock or maybe not quite awake yet, his reaction time was a little slow. We finally got him out of the truck with his rifle and shooting sticks, he sneaked along the road and crossed ditch that runs along side the road, he set up his sticks and boom! The buck fell at the shot, he hit him right through the neck. It was a nice buck with 13" horns, he was very happy both with the buck and his shot. It was about 7:40 AM so not wanting to lose any time we made sure that he had everything that he needed, knife, tag, etc. and we told him that we would be back for him shortly. We continued down the dirt road past the pond and stopped for a little glassing, the buck that I was after was not there in the grass, only some does and young bucks. So on a hunch I took the road to the left, after more then 25 years hunting on a ranch you develop hunch's, we went several hundred yards and there across the small canyon was the buck and about 10 does. They were down in the bottom of a small saddle feeding up and away from us, I still haven't figured out why the antelope were down in such small confined spaces, it wasn't windy or cold, but there they were. I asked my son to range them, he whispered 330 yards, I got out of the truck and crawled into the ditch with my Ruger Target/Varmint rifle in 25-06, I dropped the bipod legs and got comfy. He was feeding away from us and all could see was his butt, my son kept me updated on the range, not being known for my patience I surprised myself and just waited for my shot. Finally he gave me a bit of a quartering shot, my son says 378 yards, some quick figuring and I settled the crosshairs just behind the shoulder and slightly above his back. I honestly don't remember squeezing the trigger, but the gun cracked, the antelope took a few steps and collapsed, so all was good. We couldn't get to him very easily from this side of the canyon so we decided to back track, pick up my son in law and his buck then drive down the road and retrieve mine. My buck turned out to be pretty nice too, with horns just over 13 1/2" and a big body, probably one of the biggest bodied antelope bucks that I've ever taken. I was using Berger VLD hunting bullets for the first time and was anxious to see how they would work. I was very impressed with the results, it looked like he was hit with a very high speed broadhead, a pass through so no bullet recovery. We got the pictures all taken and got him loaded up, the boys wanted to check out the surrounding draws for deer before we left the area so we hung around for a few minutes glassing. It turned out to be a wise decision, I spotted two muley bucks working their way over top of the hill and into the draw about a half mile away and in the direction that we had just come from. So back in the truck and make a big circle back around close to where we started. By the time we got there they were feeding their way up and out of the draw, no way to get closer. One of the bucks was a nice big fat 3x3, my son wasn't interested in him, he was holding out for something bigger, my son in law on the other hand had no such intentions and announced that he wouldn't mind shooting him. He asked if he could try my target rifle, I said by all means, so he and my son took off in hot pursuit. When the deer finally gave him a shot he was at 330 yards, the gun cracked the buck walked in a little circle and fell over. We had my son in law stay put while my son and I drove back around to the other side of the draw, the idea being that he could direct us from there. It worked out pretty well but we have to work on his hand signals for next time. It wasn't 10:00 yet on opening day and here we were half tagged out already. I suggested heading for camp and get these critters hung up before it gets too warm and that was the plan until we ran into a group of antelope on the way back. My son had an antelope doe/fawn tag and I think that he was tired of watching us shoot and wanted to join in the fun. The two boys took off after the antelope and I decided to let them have some fun on their own, so I stayed in the truck alongside the road. They were gone for a few minutes when a couple of hunters pulled up alongside of me, we chatted for a minute or two and I asked them what they were after. Turns out that they had shot their deer and were now headed into the grassland after antelope that they had seen earlier. Me being about as subtle as a train wreck, pointed to the back of the truck and said you mean like these two. They said that they would have to change their plans now, I wished them luck and off they went. My son took my target rifle with him for his antelope and wound up blowing half the back off of one at 159 yards, he hit the spine and that Berger bullet just made a mess at that distance and velocity.
Well I have to take my lab to the vet now, but I'll write more in a bit.
. Looking forward to the report
