Operation Antelope Quest: back on the prarie

Back from Chicago, I managed to sneak out after work and do a little antelope hunting. Fighting the urge to feel like I'm wasting my time trying to spot and stalk all the time, maybe sweating my ass of in a camouflage tent by some water would be worth it?  Not nearly enough stimulation for this guy I guess. I got a few more looks at the big buck I saw just before I flew out. He is running the show now.  Last night, I managed my best stalk yet on a very small buck, only to let doubt get the best of me. 
I practiced a great deal of patience on the little guy, cutting the distance from more than half a mile to 300 yards, only moving when he was feeding and never trying to go too far.  I was then stuck at  that distance for more than 20 minutes before he fed into a small crease in the landscape.  Once out of sight I hustled up to try and cut him off.  Taking longer than I thought I got toward the end of the crease I glassed to see if he had gotten out.  I had for the most part convinced myself, that he had moved on, caught my scent or   Maybe he was just right there still in that little fold, nah  Its so small.  I must have been 25-30 ft from him, I let my gaurd down, because I have been dooped so many times before.  Lesson learned. 

On the way out I managed to have 3 does walk by at about 30 yards.  The bucks got held up with hot does, one crossed the fence and was headed in, only to have his doe break, and go back under the fence.  The big buck, I'm going to call "Babe", was on the horizon the whole time, watching the scene below. I watched he and "Jerry" make four or five chases on smaller bucks.  As far as the rut, its on.   I managed a few pictures of "Babe" through the scope, He is definatly the boss on this particular piece of property.  And he is my home run ball.

Operation Antelope Quest: Spotting, Spooking, and Montana Decoys

  Over the last few days I have seen some changes.  I have been hunting the same spot almost exclusively and been able to keep track of things a little better.  Yesterday was 29 degrees when I left the buggy, I immediately after about 300 yards had some regret about clothing choice, especially after battling a 24 hour food poisoning bug.  The landscape looked more like fall.  The prarie's over all color has changed, its hard to explain but its more golden and fallish in the morning than late summer brown.   "Softer" looking maybe?  Other changes include some bucks taking on the roll of cutting horse and actively chasing does,  And I saw a group of three "dinks" that definatly looked displaced.
   As far as the hunting goes, I put on a sneak that made me proud, getting within just over 70 yards of a group of 10 or so antelope.  I was on the uphill side with the buck closest to me when I thought that maybe the montana decoy would help. Maybe he would cut the distance the necessary 20-30 more yards for a shot.  But instead after a readjustment and some wiggling in the wind, the Montana Decoy blew em out fast, real fast not even a peep or a hint of foot fall.  I might be done using it, I might stick with the Dutton when I hunt solo.The downfall of the Montana Decoy is that rarely is there a  good chunck of ground to anchor the stakes properly, and it loves to wiggle and shake in the breeze.
    "Jerry" that same buck was being the cutting horse yesterday, he was down to three does, and it was taking alot of energy for him to keep them together.  Yesterday, I also saw a true gem, a buck I may have seen before at a distance, but got within about 110 yards of yesterday.  He is a 14+ inch buck with great diggers and a beautiful curl.  He was cruising, high atop a knob at first light, watching, checking out the status of things.  I might even be underestimating him, he could look shorter because of his mass.  Anyway, never could get close enough, he was always one step ahead.  For now, its off to Chicago.  I am hoping things will be in full swing by the time I get back

operation antelope quest: over the weekend

Got out three or four times over the weekend and still no luck.  Not for lack of effort, lack of skill? maybe.  I messed with and stalked  the same buck on three different occasions.  We have been calling this particular buck "mouthpiece" because of how vocal he has been. Two weeks ago he was with 30 does, and now...nada, flying solo. The first occasion we stumbled upon each other at probably 45 yards.  He was quicker to run than I was to do just about anything other than think to myself, whoa he is right there.  That was about a 3 second ordeal untill he bailed......quickly.  As far as other happenings I watched 3 bucks on a ridge about 2/3 of a mile away, evenly spaced out, talking back and forth.  One was a brute, the other two good bucks.  I saw two big boys with does, one that resembled a bulldog,  he was significantly stouter than the other 3 dozen pronghorn in the field.  He was the only buck i saw chase another buck, only a 100 yards or so, and he tolerated him feeding fairly close.  I also may have seen a buck we called "noodles'' 3 years ago.  I guess that there is a chance he was young and his unique architecture is a giveaway. I hope to get another glance at him.  The rut is probably grinding between 1st and second gear if it was a five speed. Starting to get a little down, but hopefully the decoy will be a good tool in the weeks to come.