OH NO......IT'S SNOWING/TradGanger adventures and the hunt for old Crooked Horn.

[bowhunterfrompast]

     Sitting in my easy chair by the fire waiting for the rest of the story.

bhfp

[Charlie Lamb]

Well, I went up to my "honey hole" today but got there a little late.

This place is literally a hole. You drop off the plateau into a kind of pasture that's maybe 150 yards long and 75 yards wide. If you didn't know it was there you'd never see it.
That and the fact that it's way off the main road and on private property helps a lot.

There's also a small group of cabins there with a lot of in and out traffic which has conditioned the antelope to ignore vehicular traffic.

So this morning I drove down there around 10 A.M. thinking that the owner and his "group" would be gone for the day (didn't want to disturb anyone). Well, he and his wife were still there and so were the antelope... bedded about 75 yards from the main cabin.

I drove past the goats and up to the cabin where I visited a while before baling off into the willows which bordered the pasture and would take me unseen within 20 yards of the bedded antelope.

Half way through the approach, the owner and wife (two trucks) drove off with music blaring. I figured that would provide a short distraction at the least.

It was pretty thick and slow going, but I had nothing but time... I thought. The wind was super and I had kicked off my boots for a quieter approach.
A couple of years ago I discovered that I wasn't the quiet stalker I thought I was... hearing aids will do that for you!
Bare feet or just socks is dead quiet!

All went according to plan and I drew up behind a clump of willows that I knew lay within shooting distance of the goats.

As had happened earlier in the hunt, the antelope had finished their ruminating and were up feeding.
They had drifted away from the willows and were now at least 30 yards and some were 35 yards plus.

That's not what I'd come for so I backed off and watched. If I treat this herd with respect I WILL get the shot I want and fill my final tag.

When they'd drifted back up onto the plateau I backed off to think the situation over.

Since I needed do a little gift shopping in town anyway, I decided that I'd get that out of the way and pick up makings for a nice supper for Vance and his wife Sandy. It took most of the rest of the day, but I had a nice relaxing afternoon and an early supper.

My plan is to get up before daylight and be in the willows waiting when the sun comes up.

One thing that I've noticed about the antelope around these rivers is that they tend to vacate the low ground at night and move up into the sagebrush. Early in the morning they return to the bottoms to feed and rest while chewing their cud.

I need to be in place before they come down and be ready to strike as they feed or bed close to the willows.
I can count on them bedding down for at least an hour so with some luck and patience it should work.

Vance and I drove up to let the owner know I'd be coming in early in the morning and to not shoot me...only half joking about that!

We took no bows with us, so it was just a social call with no chicken hunting on the way in or out.

As a matter of fact, we arrived just before dark and the antelope were moving up onto the plateau for the night.

Can't wait for daylight.

[Shaun]

Good Hunting Charlie.

[Killdeer]

Charlie....Charrrrr-lie...
You awake yet?

 

[Charlie Lamb]

5:25A.M. and I've been up for a while. Finishing my coffee as I type.
I'm out the door in a few.

If you all can type with fingers crossed I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!!!
     

[Danny Rowan]

Go get em Charlie. I am rooting for ya.

Danny

[Guru]

[Randy Morin]

Well I just caught up on this story from page 8. (been gone Elk hunt'n for the last few err...8 days).  I'm lookin forward to this mornings hunt Charlie and thanks for all the stories, it's been a great thread.  Now for a hero's ending! Fingers are crossed for you if you cross yours for me (in regards to my few days of Elk hunting left).      

[Talondale]

......and?

[beachbowhunter]

go get 'er!

[Budog56]

Boy I sure hope I can shoot my bow with crossed fingers cuz after this long they might be stuck that way...haha

[Charlie Lamb]

Ok gang, uncross your finger, uncross your arms, uncross your eyes... it's over.

Been going full speed ahead trying to pull this one out of the fire.

Started yesterday morning before daylight. I knew that the antelope liked to bed and chew cud in a particular section of the meadow near the willows.

All I had to do was set up my blind, apply brush, wait for first light and collect my antelope doe. Yeah sure!!

It was 7 A.M. when I noticed silouettes on the plateau above me. The local herd was heading back their hideout.

They didn't didn't mess around at all about getting off that hill and down into my little part of the world.
The group dropped into the irrigation ditch at the bottom of the hill and out of sight for just a minute and then swarmed up and out of it coming on the run.

The first to come was a doe and fawn. Either would have been fine with me, but the willows I set my blind by are a thin strip that divides the meadow in half. I was facing the wrong direction with the wall of willow behind and between me and the goats.
 
A

[Charlie Lamb]

The rest of the group followed like sheep and I figured they'd nibble and graze until they were ready to bed and then filter past me.

It's what I expected so I wasn't upset. They were out of my sight for most of the time, but I sat patiently.
Finally, a doe and fawn broke through the willows to my side.

Go time!!

I guess they'd made it within 50 yards when the buck showed up. Apparently he didn't want them going the way they were and in a heart beat they were headed away from me on the run.
Still I waited patiently.

After a little bit I heard the crunching of little hooves in the gravel close by and a yearling doe squirted out of the brush within 15 yards of my hide.

Hot on her tail was the buck and they were moving at light speed as they circled around and back to the herd, the buck making that funny half grunt, half wheeze, half bark that they do.

Try as they might, the does just couldn't shake the buck and get over my way. It's where they wanted to go, it's where I wanted them to go, it just wasn't where the buck wanted them to go.

I sat until noon and had to pull stakes and get back to Vance's ranch.

The afternoon was uneventful.

[Charlie Lamb]

This morning started much like yesterday. Up early, coffee up and head out. It's only a fifteen minute run up the road to the other ranch and in no time I was setting up the blind.

This time I had a different plan.

I'd noticed that the antelope had watered in the irrigation ditch where it widened out and got shallow.
Sign indicated that it was a favored spot for water and the rancher had indicated that he saw them there every day. The missing ingredient!

There was a fence corner right there which would break up the outline of the blind a little and provide me with a 10 to 15 yard shot to the waters edge while keeping the steady breeze in my favor.

I watched the glow spreading above the eastern mountains as the sun struggled to peek over their tops.
Slowly a rosey blush tinted the face of the western mountains. Day was breaking in the Rocky Mountains. It's worth the price of admission for sure.

Keeping an eye on my watch, 7 A.M. came and went with no distant antelope topping the ridge.
Oh sure, I had one lone buck come cruising through the meadow before good light came on.

There were also single bucks running the edge of plateau looking down for the antelope does they figured would be there, but they wouldn't fill the bill.

Along about 10 A.M. I spotted a small group of antelope (my group had at least 20 animals in it) coming through the hills from the west.
They were moving fast and I was sure they'd be in front of me in no time. It wasn't to be.

I watched them fiddle around up there until well after 1 P.M. when they finally found their way to the bottom, but some 500 yards distant.

I'd had it with sitting, so donning my ghillie, I slipped off into the willows to make something happen.

They were crowding the willow cover and I knew I'd get my chance if I was patient.

In short order I'd swung wide of them, crossing the creek as I went.
Moving through dense willows I found the edge and the whole herd within easy shooting distance.

I removed my boots for the final assault and eased toward my unsuspecting prey.

[Charlie Lamb]

I could see antelope moving just ahead through the brush. A clear lane of travel would take me right up to the edge of the meadow if I cared to go that far.

A prospective target grazed across the end of the opening, but I still had a thin screen of willow to clear before I could shoot.
That was negotiated with no problem, but then another goat stepped into the lane.

I don't know what she saw, but she saw something. That was for sure. She stopped dead and stared in my direction. POOP!!

All I could do was wait and hope she would lose interest. It didn't happen.
When I could stand it no longer, I ever so slowly move to one side and out of her vision. I thought.
It actually appeared she was looking right through me since she didn't flinch as I moved. But I was moving VERY slowly.

I had an angle on the first doe from this position and prepared for the shot. At half draw the suspicious doe blew the alarm and that was that.

Almost as quick as thought they were all standing on the hill a hundred yards away looking down on me... and I mean contemptuosly!

When they left they didn't even run, but instead just walked away.

And that is the finale of this month long adventure in the west.

Even though I failed to fill my last doe tag, the hunt was anything but a failure. I'd gotten my game in spades and witnessed more sunrises in the awesome land than a man should be allowed. I'd spent time with good friends old and new, laughed and cried.
I'd been rained on, snowed on, chilled to the bone and worked up a sweat or two. I'd watched summer leaves lose there emerald hue and take on the golden glow of autumn.

I guess I don't think I could have filled my plate any fuller.

Now I'm off for my home in the midwest where the season for whitetails is underway and a whole nuther fall is waiting to be witnessed.

I'll see ya then.
 

[Toecutter]

Awesome Charlie    

Thanks whole bunch for taking us along  

[Doc Nock]

Awesome, Charlie, to get to go on hunts with folks here that tell tales so well...and it costs nothing but an internet connection.

Thanks to all that make these shared adventures possible.  

Vicarious is as good as it gets when the chips are down.  

Hunt well...

[BMN]

Thanks Charlie! It's been a wonderful ride.  

[lt-m-grow]

Thanks for the Story.  It was wonderful.  And what a cool sign-off of this adventure.

[Charlie Lamb]

Hey guys!    Made it home yesterday afternoon. Long trip with a layover near Kearney, Nebraska (made it away from the motel with all my gear    ).

While it's always good to get back home, I already miss sharing a desk with my brother Vance.
His wife Sandra is an angel for putting up with me for over a month... very special lady for sure.

On the drive home I, of course, saw a lot of antelope (at first). I was constantly reminded of how intensely I'd gotten into the hunt, as with each herd I'd spot I'd quite automatically be planning approaches or ambushes. Guess I was having a little trouble getting out of hunt mode.

Heck, I even saw two herds of elk along the highway while crossing the red desert. It's just not a place where you'd expect to see the majestic wapiti.
The bull in the second herd (a big old boy) was rubbing his antlers on some kind of sign post. There wasn't a tree to be seen for miles. Odd!

Anyway, I'm here safe and sound and should have my deer permit in my pocket by this afternoon.

Later.