Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 2014 Wyoming - my first antelope hunt report

Super cool! Great write up and really nice goat.

When it gets really cold like this, they will bed down and are damn hard to spot. Once you find them though, they are a little easier to stalk because they don't have their sentries out looking for threats. Good luck on your does!

Canoetrpr: Congratulations on the fine Buck Antelope - good for you.
I have Hunted out of the Buffalo, Wyoming area for Antelope I think about 7 or 8 times over the years.
It is grand country - sorry the weather turned punky just when you started to Hunt!
That heart/lung shot you made often will allow the creature to run off a bit - it usually takes about 5 to 6 seconds for them to "black-out" from the destruction of the heart/lungs.
This is a humane death and does a very important thing to improve the quality of the meat.
It drains much of the blood from the creature onto the ground or into the chest cavity.
I always shoot my game through the heart/lungs and try to avoid the "shoulders".
This policy greatly improves the quality and some quantity of meat.
I began Hunting Antelope in 1969 and have Hunted them virtually every year since then.
Sometimes Hunting both Montana and Wyoming in the same year.
Best of luck on the rest of your Hunt and drive careful on the way home.
If you get a few minutes be sure and stop in to the "rope store" in Sheridan, Wyoming (ask anyone where its at).
Its VERY interesting and entertaining.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
P.S.: Great pictures by the way - it was great to see my beloved Bighorn Mountains in the background of one of your photos.

Day 3 and, surprisingly 4 (outfitter tacked on an extra hunt day!) were more productive. My partner and I each took two does.

Disappointingly, my doe kills were not as clean as my buck. On the second doe, at 220 yards, my first shot was too far ahead and spined her in the neck. She dropped immediately and was completely paralyzed but still breathing when we got to her.

I was a bit shaken up with my hair placement being too far ahead on both previous antelopes and on day 4 had a 325 yard shot on a doe and purposely held a bit further back than I would otherwise. Dropped her immediately. Few seconds later saw she lifted her head and finished off with a second shot.

Upon inspection the first shot was just slightly behind where it should have been and into the liver. The second was direct heart / lung.

I feel quite bad about these having heard about the 10s of one shot kills folks have had on here and elsewhere. and this is a good lesson that things in the field are not quite as they are on the range. A lesson for me to always treat each shot as brand new. Had I done that, the second doe would have been a clean kill.

It could have been much much worse. The first shot dropped each doe in its tracks and I never had to track an animal. Each was dispatched very quickly after the first shot.

I spent a lot of time at the range from prone and learned I need to spend a lot more time over the next year from a number of field positions.

I suspect that using perhaps too much caliber for this particular animal likely helped me keeping them down even though first shots were not quite right and I'm rethinking what the best caliber would be for moose and elk in the future. Yes my 280AI is adequate for elk and moose but if I can shoot a bigger caliber well I'm tempted to go with it for a bit more margin of error. Not sure how accurate my thinking is on this. Certainly would not rely on a larger caliber on its own and I understand the importance of shot placement and that is primary. Just thinking aloud.

Overall a successful trip and large learning experience. I'll do a writeup on some of my gear and what worked and what didn't.

Excellent hunter who tells it like it is, and not how he( or we) would have liked it to be.

Thanks for the update and the share in your hunt.

Steve

I'd just keep on shooting that 280AI, maybe step up in bullet weight, and you'll be just fine on anything in NAmerica.

Congrats on a fun hunt!

Nice job, congrats. You'll be eating good this winter. I think you are fine with the 280, shot placement is everything.

Big Horn does a great job butchering deer and antelope, they even have a trade program to trade your antelope for summer sausage.

Trophys Unlimited there at Big Horn did my antelope from last year. Took about a year but it turned out awesome.

Know what you mean about hunting antelope in the snow around Buffalo. Here's mine from last year!



And a trip to Buffalo is not complete without a stop in the Occidental...

First I respect your concern for a humane kill.

I wouldn't worry about more power than what you've got; you were on the right track when you said you'd practice more from a wider variety of field positions. That's the key; a poorly placed shot from a 300 Mag (for example) won't do any better for you than one from your 280 AI. A well placed shot from your 280 AI is certain to do better than a poorly placed one from the 300 Mag.

Also don't believe the DRT hype. Everyone should strive for humane kills but expect anomalies along the way.

Practice hard and know your limits; maintain respect for your query and you're doing your part.

Nice write up keep up the good work!

Bad shot placement happens to everyone. If they say it don't either they haven't killed many animals or their lying. Bad shot placement is perfect motivation to practice more. Your .280 is plenty of rifle heck it may even over penetrate...

Congrats on some fine antelope...

Did you get a chance to go to the Winchester restaurant when you were in Buffalo WY?

And if so, how did you like it.

Steve

Details please.