Well the hunting was tough with all the extra water holes in eastern Colorado from this summer's rains. We never did have an antelope come into our blinds to water. The good news is that my 19 year-old son not only made his first kill with a longbow, but he did something dad has never done--stalked to within 25 yards of a buck antelope.
I had spotted this buck in the middle of a herd of cattle above the blind where my son, Jacob, was hunting. I went to the blind to pick Jacob up and told him about the buck. I had just bought a Montana Decoy Moo Cow for this hunt and told him to try it out and see how it worked. I watched as his stalk began. He spooked off several cows and I didn't think his chances on the pronghorn buck were too good. I was at the truck probably 600-700 yards away from where the buck was feeding. He was over a couple of rises and I lost sight of Jacob as he continued the stalk. I sneaked up to the top of one rise and saw that Jacob had his bow on the ground and the decoy was down as well. I figured he'd been busted and I headed back to the truck to go pick him up. Just as I got to the truck my phone rang. It was Jacob. I asked him if he had spooked the buck and needed me to drive down closer to him. He said, "no dad I got him." I was ecstatic! He said his shot was a little back but that the buck had laid down within eyesight. I headed up and joined Jacob and brought binoculars to watch. The buck took about an hour to expire. I actually headed after another buck on the ridge and after I finished blowing that stalk, I turned around and could see Jacob's buck laying dead.
I am obviously one proud dad. I was certainly happier than if I had killed the buck myself. We took plenty of pictures. As you can see there was not much cover for stalking in this country, but it is certainly a beautiful landscape. I may get a few more days to hunt antelope myself, but elk and bear seasons are coming up soon. This hunt would have been special even with no success, but I was sure happy for Jacob to draw first blood with his bow. It is an antelope hunt we will never forget.
Mike
Topic: I'm Hunting...the rest of the story with picture added (Read 2193 times)
