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Every year I put in everyone in my family old enough to hunt for antelope tags in eastern Montana. This year we had five eligible hunters. I usually single party the doe tags and split up the either sex permits into a couple parties. With the drought FWP cut permits way back it seems and we were lucky to get five doe tags.

Here is a write up of our 2020 hunt.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt.../re-2020-mt-antelope-opener#Post15334304

We made it to the area in time to find a herd of goats right before dark and had a good place to start in the morning.

At 3 a.m. I woke up to fairly steady rain on the camper roof. This was the first rain the area had seen in months so I was grateful they were getting the moisture but knew it could make for a long day with extra walking and pack out jobs.

We held to tradition for a morning stop at the gas station for hot cocoa.



This was my 12 year old daughters first trip and it was great to have her along. Her older sister Bailey is a college freshman so it was fun to see them get to spend some time together.

We got rolling and to the ranch just after daylight.

Luckily my ten year old decided to stay at our friends house to entertain their little boys because it was a full pickup with five tag holders and enough hardware to start a pretty decent insurrection.



Visibility was poor but we quickly found the herd within a half mile of where we left them the night before. The main herd was in way too open of ground to make a play but there were a few stragglers on the edges so we decided to make a move…

We got to the rise where we should have seen antelope within range but all we saw were white butts in the distance heading toward the main group.

The herd was still not settled so we decided to leave them alone and see where they ended up later in the morning. We loaded back in the truck and headed to find some fresh faces.

It didn’t take long and we found a lone doe maybe 250 yards off the county road. We kept rolling till we could park the truck out of sight and make our move. When we parked we looked in front of us and found another small batch of antelope mixed in with some angus cows.

My wife and I took Kenna to try to get a shot at the lone doe and we sent Bailey and Carsten after the other group. Bailey has killed a ton of game but still prefers to be “guided” and likes when someone can call the range and tell her when to shoot. I could tell Carsten liked the idea of a little independence and it was fun watching the two of them take off together.

We quickly made our move toward the doe and found she had fed off to the south a few yards. When we got as far as the terrain would allow she was 250 yards. Too far for Kenna but well within Amy’s capabilities. She couldn’t see the vitals if she laid prone and couldn’t get set up quick enough when she moved to sit and the goat moved off and just out of sight.

We hopped up and repositioned ourselves again getting within 300 yards. I nearly shot her myself but held off hoping to get Amy a shot. The goat knew the game was up and headed off.

At this point we were getting considerably closer to where the main herd should have been so we decided to keep hiking and see if they had settled into somewhere killable. While we were hiking a young buck tops the rise and we have a Mexican standoff for a full minute before he decided to amble off. He didn’t realize how lucky he was we weren’t packing buck tags.

We finally crest a rise in the stubble field and find the main herd bedded in the open. Too far to shoot from our position but we think we can get closer if we make a sweeping arc to the northeast behind a small rise. We make the move and had maybe gone 200 yards when we see antelope heading our way. We lay down and it turns out to be a doe and two bucks.

They are curious and seem to intentionally head directly toward us. Amy and Kenna are both in position and we just keep letting them come.



At 200 yards they cross the line into “Kenna’s World” and I start coaching her on where to hold and what to do when the doe finally stops.

The doe keeps coming…

Finally at about 150 yards she gets nervous and starts to move off. I yell “hey” a couple times and she stops, quartering toward us for another look.

“Kill her” I whisper.

Kenna’s little .243 cracks and I see the hit. The doe took the 85 TSX though the right shoulder, made a 50 yard dash and piled up within sight.





The shot destroyed the heart then exited the offside rib. Perfect shooting and a beautiful mature doe.

It was too muddy to drive so we gutted it and headed back for a report from the other two.

Awesome! Congratulations to everyone involved.

The other two had there share of action but no shooting. They had snuck within range but when Bailey tried to shoot her bipod was too short and she would lose visibility.

Carsten had a tall bipod and offered her his rifle. Bailey said she was more comfortable with her 7mm-08 and they decided to switch bipods. I was pretty impressed that Carsten didn’t just shoot one himself.

While they we’re screwing around with that the antelope moved off. They headed for a small drainage in the middle of the field. Carsten said he figured it was better to let them get settled and try later.

Good call.

We gave them some time and came back an hour later after striking out at a few other places we thought might hold some antelope.

Apparently antelope hunting is exhausting.



Sure enough they were settled right where Carsten and Bailey left them and in a great position for a stalk. After a long trudge through muddy stubble we make it into position and get set up.



There is a small portion of the herd visible and one doe in full view. Amy’s blistering heal (muck boots kinda suck) was bugging her and I don’t know how many more stalks she has left in her so the shot is hers. The doe is facing nearly straight on and when her 6mm-06 barks I see a giant cloud of white hair as the doe absorbs the full impact from the 95 LRX at around 200 yards.

The herd takes off and Carsten tries a running shot but doesn’t connect.

We get to Amy’s doe and look up to see another group about 1/2 mile away to the East.

Carsten and Bailey again take off on their own while we take a few photos and gut out Amy’s doe.



Those two fought like crazy when Bailey was still living at home. It was sure nice to see them hunting as a team.



The LRX had driven from stem to stern and managed to mess up a lot of stuff in between. Amazingly the paunch was not ruptured and it was a pretty clean clean-out job.

While we were wrapping things up we hear a shot…then another…silence…then another…


To be continued…

Great story, thanks for sharing!

Nice work, Dad!

We head toward the sound of the shots and see Bailey out in the open standing next to a dead antelope. A text comes through from her. “Two Down”. We keep walking which gives her time to take some selfies



When we get there we get the full story. They had stalked into position and Carsten gave her the green light. She missed clean at about 300 and the group milled briefly. Carsten lined up and hammered the one Bailey missed with his .25-06.

They ran off but ended up swinging closer and stopped broadside at 250 yards. Bailey didn’t miss that time and sent a 120 Ballistic Tip through both lungs.



While we were gutting Bailey’s I was already dreading the thought of hauling three antelope across a muddy stubble field. Our rancher friend Tate must have read my mind as he decided it wasn’t too wet and came to our rescue. Sweet!



We loaded hers then went to Carstens. He had done a great job as the guide and had managed to pull off a double. This was a big moment for him…me too.



His shot was excellent and the 120 Speer BTSP did a number on its heart.



He did all the dressing then we went and grabbed Amy’s. Three in an F350 beats three trips in a backpack any day!

Antelope hunting is still exhausting apparently.



Only one tag left…

Very well done and well told!

What a great thread! Appreciate you sharing your family hunt with us

We find a group on a neighbor's place. Tate knows the neighbor who happened to be working at his bin site. We ask for permission and get the standard eastern Montana answer…”go ahead but you have to shoot two for every tag”. I can hear Rodney Dangerfield “no respect. I tell ya...I get no respect”.

Carsten and I make our move and I can tell right off it isn’t going to work. The field is too open and there is not enough contour to get within range. We spook them and start heading back to the truck.

We hadn’t made it ten steps when we see a group trot over the rise from the northeast. They are 500 plus yards out but on a line that will take them within 400 if they stay on the same path. We run to cut them off and I lay down with my bipod extended.

They follow the script and stop right where we hoped. One doe stands out slightly quartering to me. Carsten gives me the range…”360”. I guess the hold and touch off my .25-06. I can tell the little 100 grain Speer connected and as the herd takes off she slows and drops.

We walk toward her and her head is still up. At around 75 I drop to a knee for a finisher but she decides to stand up and run. I swing and pull and she hits the deck. Hard.



While gutting her out we found that my first shot was low. I check my drop chart (kinda late for that) and the shot landed where the chart says it should (10-12 inches low) but I simply should have aimed higher. The second shot was way far back and shattered her femur (swing through the shot dumb ass!). The bullet performed well it just needed a better driver.

While gutting we hear a UTV heading our way. The landowner had watched the whole thing and enjoyed the show. He told Tate to take his Gator out and get the antelope for us. No complaints!



We are all tagged out so we head to the ranch and find a suitable meat pole. Adequate horsepower is essential.



Luckily it is cool and getting cooler so we can leave them hang with the hide on. Much cleaner and less trim work later. We will head back the next day and process at home…

MedRiver;
Top of the morning to you sir, I'm going to skip my usual greetings as I can see you're doing pretty fair this morning!

Thanks kindly for sharing the wonderful photos and hunt story with us, I so much appreciate you taking us along and allowing folks like me who likely will never hunt pronghorn to get a glimpse of what it's like.

It is posts such as these that you've shared that keep me coming back to our cyber Fire sir.

If you are able to, please send hearty congratulations to all the hunters from an old guy north of the medicine line.

I'll send you sincere kudos as well, as it takes a lot of time and effort on your part to ensure these hunts happen. Well done to you sir!

Thanks again, all the best to you and yours and good luck on your remaining hunts this year.

Dwayne

Really a fine post and congrats to everyone. Just shows antelope hunting is always a fun time - thanks for taking us along!!

Great story and photos. Congrats to the family

It is cool at home so I am able to hang them outside and process the next day. Monday is a holiday so I am off work and can take my time. I prefer to process immediately after skinning to avoid getting a rind on the meat.

After taking off legs they get moved into the shop.



I have a skinning setup for coyotes that works great on deer and antelope. A small chain around the neck. Slit from the top of the front legs to the neck, peel down a few inches and hook to the pivoting base.





Once hooked up let the winch do the hard work till it hangs up some around the front legs. A little hand work to get it free from the arm pit.



After that it is mostly the winch unless they have some structural damage. Within a few seconds they are at the top and out of their jammies.





Lower them enough to get a trolley hook into the legs. Finish lowering them and remove the head and any loose hair (minimal doing it this way).



Rinse. Repeat.



I break everything hanging and in assembly line fashion.

The true prize…



Hinds go in the cooler while the fronts get processed.



Almost done…



Now I just had to wait for the slaves to get home to help with grinding and wrapping.





100+ pounds of burger plus steaks and roasts and the 2021 antelope season is a wrap!

Love it! Congrats

Wow, great setup, post and pictures. Congrats to all the hunters and too you as Dad.

Awesome !

Lovin all of it !

Congratulations to you and your family. Awesome pics and write up. I’m a little jealous your processing station…

You can say that again! Love it, and love your 'helpers"! Congrats!

Love it! Quite the operation. Antelope is a favorite especially with kids along. My 12 year old daughter and I didn't draw this year, but we'll keep trying. She did draw a cow elk so I hope we can find them.

Outstanding! Thanks for sharing!!

Awesome!!! Really enjoyed this post!!!

Will be a lot of sad faces if we fail to draw one year. I may not party any of the buck tags next year so that hopefully at least someone will get one. Good luck on the cow elk!

Outstanding thread! You have got this operation totally wired. Very impressive. Thanks for posting.


RS

What a great family hunt story. Congrats.

You guys have raised some mass murderers there, wow! Great production facility too!

Very cool!

Nice meat room set-up.

And it gets better than this? How? GREAT post!!!

Great write up and cool set up. How long did it take to get all of them cut up and packaged? Thats quite a bit of work!

I am not sure as I would do some then get distracted or have to run an errand. I know the skinning took well under an hour and then I had the fronts and backstraps all processed before I had to run to the school at 11 something for a lunch date with some cute kids and a 4th grade teacher I sleep with. I am guessing a couple hours on the fronts/backstraps.

The hinds probably took 1.5 hours to break and trim. Weighing up the trim and adding frozen beef fat (I like 20%), which is a PITA to cut up, takes longer then actually grinding it with that commercial grinder. Then packaging and clean up. Probably had 6-7 hours of actual processing time in it from skinning to clean up. Not exactly setting the world on fire for speed.

Quality Family Time in my book!

Outstanding write up, thanks for taking me along.

Great pics and your processing facility is awesome !

Great writeup, I always enjoy your hunts and reports. Sweet butchering setup too!

Very nice.. You use your antelope like deer or elk venison?? My first wife and I did in the early years, but for the last 50 or so, we just use it for jerky..

AGREE ! ! !

We use it like elk which is mainly steaks and burgers on the grill with an occasional pot roast.

Deer we use only for taco meat, jerky, snack sticks, etc.

Some of my kids put antelope above elk but for me it comes down to the individual animal. Either way elk and antelope are contenders for #1 and #2 in our house and deer are a distant 3rd.

Interesting.. Just the opposite here, deer elk, antelope... We usually kill our deer in early to mid Oct...

That's a great weekend!!!

Outstanding

I love the taste of antelope, and have been given a fair amount over the years have others that hunted it didn't care for the taste of the meat on my wish list one day to go out west somewhere and shoot a nice buck even just a mediocre one I'd be happy. Congrads to you and your family!

Damn! You got that down man congrats!

First time?

great write up . good deal for all ya"ll

Fantastic,
Looks like a great family outing,and a freezer full of meat.
Well done and congrats to everybody.

Doesn’t get any better than that. Congrats on some quality time done right.

Medriver thanks for taking the effort and bringing us along on the hunt.

Nice! Antelope is delicious. Good job making it a family affair. I am impressed with your butchering setup 👍

I appreciate all the comments guys. I sent this to the kids and they are enjoying as well.

I think Mule Deer posted a while back about antelope having an enzyme that some folks find unpalatable. Similar to some folks swearing cilantro tastes like soap. Would explain why folks like you and I love it and others can’t stomach it.

I have never had that experience. Most antelope I have eaten were either standing in, next to, or within a mile of a grain field. Could make a difference also.

Looks like a fun trip. Your butchering setup is very slick.

Morning Med....

Just about everything has been said; Great, Cool, etc.

It's so great to me to see a FAMILY involved in hunting and shooting. Way to raise em! ! ! ! ! ! !

Congratulate ALL for me please.

Thanks for the photo essay.


Jerry

I LIKE IT. GOOD SHOOTING !


Dirty Harry

Medriver, thanks for sharing. What a great hunting story you've lived.

Great hunt!! Congratulations to all.....

I’ve read some mountain hunt stories on here that have made me want to travel, other adventures that make me think about the possibility of me doing the same, but I am honestly jealous of this whole story. Great time with kids and the entire family, like you said from field to table. I love the shots of the kids sleeping and seriously envious of all the good eats. You are very blessed.

MM

What a great post!

That's great stuff right their!

All the way around!

Thanks for sharing, great hunt and processing job .

Quite the operation ya got there!
As others have said, thank you so much for sharing your trip with us. Is awesome seeing a family together enjoying the outdoors.
Congrats on the freezer full and all those extra memories.

Awesome job! Antelope meat has got to be one of my favorite game meats. Gets a bad wrap sometimes. Congratulations on a freezer full of meat!

This is a great thread. Love it. Congrats!

Great hunt and precious memories for the family.

Best thread I’ve read in a long time!

Impressive all the way from the field to your butchering set up.

Jealous, here.

🦫

Some threads you finish up with a smile....This was one of them!!!!

Great post!