First trips for any animal always hold a certain
magic.The anticipation seems longer,
the excitement level higher, and the conquest sweeter.Having never killed one of the west’s
abundant antelope before, I was one excitable boy when my unit 73 antelope tag
from Wyoming
came in the mail.
This was the third year in a row I’d put in for the coveted
tag with 11% draw odds, and a quick call to my friend Bill Gauger from Flying B
Outfitters set in motion an August 15th opening day rendezvous with
the fastest land animal in North America.Bill runs archery antelope hunts in units 73 and 25, 7 miles north of Casper, Wyoming.Unit 25 is a 100% draw (usually) as it is
almost entirely private ground, while unit 73 runs the tough draw because of
the public opportunities available.Both
units hold tremendous potential, but because of the difficulty in pulling a
tag, Bill’s private ranches in 73 rarely get hunted.A quick tour of the ground confirmed what I
had hoped for – big goats and lots of them.Early season bachelor groups of 12 bucks with 2 to 3 P & Y
qualifiers were not uncommon.
Prairie Goat from blind
Back at camp that night as I filled my belly full of Bud,
Bill went over how to field judge a good goat, and the next morning I was in
the Matrix blind looking for goats twice the length of their ears, with good
mass and cutters ¾ the way up the horn.Our blind was placed 17 yards off a cattle tank kept constantly full by
a wind powered water pump and the sightings of group after group of goats kept
us on at the edge of our seats.2 hours
into our opening day set we spotted a shooter buck coming from over 500 yards
away, and the closer he came the better he looked.As he approached our set it was nothing but
head on the last 100 yards.He watered
facing us from the far side of the tank, and I sat poised, ACS longbow in hand,
arrow nocked and waiting for the shot.It was all like a dream until a 2000 pound bull trampled in and spooked
the buck from the hole, taking up his spot and ruining my chances.(So I thought).Apparently when this goat came to drink he
came to drink.When he showed up again
broadside at 17 yards, my Mangus Stinger
equipped shaft was on its way, and 60 yards later I was standing over a 74 inch
speed goat.Time to play camera boy.
Brooks with WY trophy
The rest of the day was fairly tame, thanks in part to
mother nature’s gift of 3 inches of rain the week before we showed and no shots
were fired from the other 3 in our merry gang.When our ride arrived that night, we had Stan drive us to the top of a
valley Tod Graham and I had been watching that had consistent goat traffic all
day long.A quick peek over the edge of
and old cattle dam showed us why.Water.A mature antelope will
walk past 4 windmills to drink up what they can find on the ground.Tire ruts, cattle dams and natural seeps are
all magnets for the goats of the west and we had struck gold.
Bill Gauger Staking Blind
We set up at first light the next morning, and it was less
than 30 minutes before our first visitors came to drink.The whole day was a nonstop parade and before
we called it quits for the day, Tod had passed on 8 goats that would score in
the 70’s while holding out for Mr. Big.Day 3 he passed on 6 more.Turned
out to be a big mistake as far as video went because 2 days later Tod flew home
chewing on his tag the whole way.It was
Scotts Keikow’s turn.
With a seating now available at the Goat Hole, I found
myself filming fellow stick bow shooter Scotty Ralph.It wasn’t 2 hours into our sit when a 72
incher followed a doe and her yearling in to water.When the opportunity presented, Scott slipped
an arrow past the yearling and stuffed a perfect arrow into his goat at 18
yards.Made it look easy, and I was
elated to see an arrow finally fly from the spot we had successfully scouted
and set up on for 3 days.
Scott Keikow with WY goat
Back at camp, only one of us had a tag left.Keith ‘Black Cat’ Beam.His luck was nothing shy of terrible this
week, and he was due.Bill decided to
take a detour on the way to a preset blind on a windmill to check another old
cattle dam for water.Sure enough we
found a pond not more than 15 yards in diameter with barely enough water to
drown my ex mother-in-law.Since she
wasn’t around, we grabbed a spare blind from the back of the truck, and 10
minutes later, the last nail was driven to anchor us off before Bill drove
away.Less than 10 pages in my book had
been flipped when the first buck came to water.At barely 10 inches he wasn’t big enough to take an arrow, even with the
extreme itch Keith had in his release finger.We were rolling some filler video of a group of 9 does and yearlings
drinking 10 yards away when Keith grabbed his bow and shot me the ‘I’m gonna
fill my tag’ look.A good buck had just
crested the hill to our left and was on his way.
As the does finished watering, he took his spot 17 yards
broadside at the water.Keith picked a
spot half way up tight behind the front leg, and squeezed an arrow through both
lungs causing an 80 yard death run and the 3rd goat of the
trip.The gods had thrown him a bone and
he made good.
Keith Beam with WY goat
I learned a lot about chasing antelope with a bow from a
blind on this trip.
Number one holds
true no matter what the specie.To kill
a good animal they need to be there in good numbers and you need to find a way
to hunt them where they want to be.Sitting all day by a windmill when the goats were sucking water off the
ground 400 yards away would have stretched our trip out considerably.Being able to pop a blind up in the middle of
nowhere 10 feet from the small hole they drank at made a dream goat the
reality, even for this distance challenged stick shooter.Wind is the real consideration when hunting
antelope, not for the scent, but the gusts that shake the blind.Your odds drop considerably when she’s
blowing and shaking your hide.Bring a
hammer and stake your blind off at all 8 points to keep it from moving.A piece of burlap won’t work on same day set
even if the wind is only whispering 5 miles per hour.Good goats in good numbers, preferred water
pinpointed, a sturdy hide and confidence in your ability come go time make
antelope with a bow the reality.
We had enough time left to swing up to Montana and hunt
with pro-staffer Levi Johnson, where we put what we had learned in Wyoming to
work, and with in an hour my second goat of the trip was on the ground.
A MT goat for Brooks
Another first was history in my battle with the big game
animals of North America.Scratch the speedgoat.
