After a recent acquisition of a really beautiful Green River Rifle Works .54 Leman trade rifle, I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied until I had the opportunity to take it to the field.
After some load development and practice, the rifle was printing roundballs in nice little groups out to 100 yards. I’m sure the rifle shoots better than I can see, and I realize now how much I have come to rely on optics the older I get.
The Colorado big game draw yielded no results this year but I am fortunate to have a close friend who offered a landowner voucher for muzzleloader Pronghorn.
In mid-late September the rut is in full swing here and the bucks are territorial. Opening day (Wednesday) was mostly rainy and windy. The weather hampered our first afternoon hunt and resulted in a ‘close-but no cigar’ stalk near the end of the day.
The afternoon on Thursday was cool and cloudy but the rain had finally stopped. I ventured out on a solo hunt and spotted a buck and some does in a stubble field about a mile away. With the green light from the landowner, I eased my way up a drainage leading towards the herd. As I reached the stubble, it was apparent the group had moved. I slowly worked my way into the field and discovered the group concealed by a low spot about 200 yards away. The buck was chasing his does and was none the wiser to my presence. After priming the rifle, I presented my decoy to the herd and it wasn’t long before it was spotted. In short order, they began to move my direction to investigate further. Before long, the buck had enough of the intruder and with his ears back and head down, he closed the distance to only 45 yards within a matter of seconds. I was ready and the rifle did its job. With an instant ignition and a cloud of smoke the hunt came to an end. The buck ran 30 yards and hit the dirt. The ball had passed though both lungs and exited the off-side.
I have been blessed with the opportunity to harvest numerous antelope with my high powered rifles. The one I took home Thursday, although not my biggest, was hands-down the most rewarding.
It has renewed my love of muzzleloader hunting and given me an appreciation of a bygone era.
Very well done. Antelope are not easy to begin with but you deserve a big KUDU. Congratulations. I have killed a few deer out on the eastern plains, but never felt up to it or good enough to try for antelope.
Last edited by saddlesore; 09/24/22.
If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
Congrats on that Pronghorn. Just curious, why didn't you deploy the decoy on the the first day?
Thanks everyone. The first day I did use the decoy and had one at 100 yards. It would’ve been a frontal shot in the rain and the light was fading fast. Almost getting too dark to see at that distance with the iron sights. Thought it would be better to try again the following day.
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