Tines Report post Posted September 28, 2010 Since drawing a tag in AZ is difficult enough, I decided to take up an offer by a good friend to go to Wyoming and chase some public land goats around with his family. I've turned him down for the past 3 yrs but decided that I just needed to go. VERY glad I did. Amanda asked if I'd give a report on how the hunt went. It was FANTASTIC! Those who have been to Wyoming will agree that there's no shortage of antelope. About an hour into Wyoming I'm sure I surpassed the number of goats seen in AZ in my lifetime. It's just not right! Share the wealth, Wyoming! We got to camp, set up and my buddy, Luke and I went out for an afternoon scout before the hunt started the next day. We found PLENTY of antelope and two pretty nice bucks that I'd definitely shoot given how short our trip was going to be. I figured one for 75+" with awesome prongs and the other coming in a close second. Later, after a traditional German meal (pork chops, homemade sour kraut and potatoes) prepared by my buddy's dad, we slept hard! Opening morning Luke and I were dropped off and we started the hike. It didn't take long for us to find antelope after first light. I found what looked like a good buck and we stalked in closer. It was still early and it was hard to tell which buck he was. Regardless, he was nice enough to lay prone and shoot. He kept moving but finally came to a stop. I squeezed the trigger and the bullet went right under his chest! I couldn't believe I missed! It's difficult to range those animals in the flats so I think he was a tad further than I ranged him at. That's my excuse anyway.... He ran about 200yds and stopped against a hillside to give me one more shot. I didn't have time to dial the scope so I put the crosshairs a little high.......right over his back. He took off. "I suck!", I thought to myself.... We then moved over a few more hills to find some does and some small bucks feeding. We both were just about to shoot a couple of does when I glanced over and saw a coyote staring at us at about 200yds. I decided that controlling the predator population was much more pressing at the moment so I sent an Accubond through his chest. The antelope never moved so we both lined up on a couple of does and before we knew it, we had 2 does down. Keep in mind, I had a buck tag and 3 doe tags. Luke had a buck tag and 4 doe tags. As we walked up to our does we noticed some antelope running about 500 yds away down into a small basin. We ran over to check them out. There he was with about 20 does, the buck I originally wanted to shoot with big prongs! Obviously the first one I shot at wasn't him but at this point it didn't matter. We got about 150yds closer and I laid down. The buck was standing in the middle of the herd on a hillside. He quartered himself to me and I hit him perfect through the front of one shoulder and out just behind the other. He went about as far as the coyote did. Antelope ran everywhere and so Luke shot one of his does right after. At this point, there's no use holding back, right??? So with 3 more shots, I filled my other 2 doe tags and Luke filled one more of his. That's right, between the two of us, we had 7 antelope laying on the ground within 500yds of us. It was pretty dang cool, if you ask me! A little more than three hrs later we had all 7 antelope completely boned out, in our packs and off to the truck. Yeah, they were HEAVY packs but luckily we got to a road about 3/4 mile away. With ice chests waiting in the truck, we managed to have them all on ice pretty fast. The next day and a half was spent helping others fill their tags. Several people who were first time hunters and many that were just meat hunters all got to shoot antelope. Some of them I made hold out for better bucks since they were so used to shooting the first legal animal they found. I wondered if I was doing the right thing but the look on their faces after shooting "dinks" (compared to AZ bucks) was priceless. So it was a GREAT time. It was a blast. All together in camp there were I think 15 tag-holders with a combined 49 tags :blink: We managed to fill 47 of those tags and other than my own, I got to help people fill about a dozen of those. It was sooooo much fun!! I'm only going to post one of the doe pictures because, well, its obvious why. Once again, this is Wyoming, so remember it's all relative in size, guys. This is not a trophy hunt although I feel like I shot a great buck for any state! If any of you are contemplating a fun hunting trip for you and your buddies, the family, or maybe great opportunities for first time hunters (I think the minimum age in Wyoming is 12), it's perfect for all of that! My first doe My buck. Right at 77" with 6"+ prongs!!!! Woohoo! Another buddy in camp, Hugh, that I helped him with his first buck in the last 10min of our hunt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted September 28, 2010 Buddy of ours just got back from Wyoming whacking five antelope as well. Looks like an absolute blast! Especially giving you multiple opportunities and a lot of game. Loved reading about your adventure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted September 28, 2010 Wow that sounds like a fun trip! Congrats on a nice buck and I am jealous of all that good eating you have to look forward to! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heat Report post Posted September 28, 2010 Wow Jake, Looks like you had a very successful pronghorn rodeo! Nice Pronghorn! Love those cutters on your buck! Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your pics and story. Makes me want to go to Wyoming...soon! Nick Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weatherby1 Report post Posted September 29, 2010 Great write up!! My family and I have been going up there for 3 years now. It is a blast. We leave in a week or two. Next time if you get a chance go a little bit later and you can turn it into a combo hunt Deer/Antelope. I have 3 goat tags and two deer tags this year and where we hunt you have a good chance at mule deer or whitetail its great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tines Report post Posted September 29, 2010 Great write up!! My family and I have been going up there for 3 years now. It is a blast. We leave in a week or two. Next time if you get a chance go a little bit later and you can turn it into a combo hunt Deer/Antelope. I have 3 goat tags and two deer tags this year and where we hunt you have a good chance at mule deer or whitetail its great. Now THAT sounds like a great time! I'll definitely look into it..... Here's my buddy Luke's buck that I helped him with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psebowhunter Report post Posted September 30, 2010 Congrats to you Jake, good to see you had a good trip. I would like more info on your trip, call me if you get a spare minute. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted October 4, 2010 Jake, Nice Wyoming dink Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
incysor Report post Posted October 6, 2010 That sounds like an awesome trip. Congrats. What does a nonresident Wyoming license and tags cost? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lacouesniper Report post Posted November 5, 2010 Nice antelope guys. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tines Report post Posted November 8, 2010 That sounds like an awesome trip. Congrats. What does a nonresident Wyoming license and tags cost? Sorry for not getting back to you until now. If you haven't found it out on your own, the buck tag is like $270 or something and doe tags are like $30. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CRAZYBUCK Report post Posted November 8, 2010 nice speed goats congrats to all involved Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
