Bowhunt For ‘Lope
Few moments in life could top that of a first father and son archery hunt together. I have read about others experiences, but I can finally attest to that firsthand as of a few weeks ago.
The
day started off like many other previous opening day hunts. I had spent
the greater part of the summer practicing, going over scenarios in my head,
working on my form, and mentally preparing myself for the decisive moment.
I had spent a fair chunk of money keeping my equipment up to date, trying
out some of the latest gadgets, tools, tricks and wizardry guaranteed to
make my hunt a success.
I spent any spare moment I had reading many of the latest articles, from all of the best sources, both digital and paper based, just to make sure I had not missed out on the latest information the hunting world had to offer. And I had carefully laid out my gear, categorized it all into necessity and nicety. Decided exactly what I would take along and leave behind, and double checked everything several times to make sure it would all work together.
Heck, I was even able to squeeze in enough time to carefully and strategically locate my fall’s stand and blind sites. I think it would be safe to say that I did as much as I humanly could to do my part to insure my success this fall. Yah, it is safe to say that I did it all, everything I could do to prepare myself for the hunt.
None of this however, that I accomplished in advance. Not the preparation, the research, the scouting, or the latest equipment could have guaranteed that, whether I was successful or not, this would be the most memorable hunt I would ever participate in.
It was a moment I had daydreamt about, off and on, for the better part of 12 years and 6 months, the time it took my son Tyler to mature to the point where he would be heading out into the field, not just to enjoy my hunt, but to fill a tag or two for himself. On this particular morning however, he would be just a spectator. And a bond would be formed that would mark the beginning of a long line of future trips and hunts.
It started at about 4 o’clock in the morning on that memorable day. As the light switch tripped on, shattering the darkness, the expected growls and groans began emanating from somewhere beneath the pile of covers. It did not take long, however, for the excitement to kick in and before we knew it we were on the road for about an hour trip to our chosen spot.
Upon arriving we could just barely make out a herd of goats on a distant hillside as just barely visible sky lined silhouettes through the binoculars. This helped to peak Tyler’s excitement level, and made the long morning in the blind a bit more bearable for a 12 year old kids first archery experience with dad. For anyone planning a first father and son hunt together I would highly recommend an antelope hunt, and my reason is that you’re likely to see animals all day long. This is a sharp contrast to some deer hunts I have been on where I have gone the entire day without seeing a deer. The excitement level is quite a bit higher when you have goats coming in all day long to a waterhole blind.
Shortly after daybreak we started getting some does in for a quick drink. I had chosen this blind sight during several pre season scouting trips and noticed that this particular water hole was by far the hardest hit of 3 on the property. It seamed to be the favorite due to the rolling hills around it offering some vantage points for the animals and a sense of security. The second reason for the choice was the really tall grass containing several low area’s that made for the perfect blind site for concealment purposes. I was able to tie some bundles of grass at each corner of my blind and not one time did I have an antelope react to the sight of the blind. After about an hour of nothing but doe’s we had one of the most interesting events of the trip happen.
Several animals had just left the pond when all of a sudden a very young, and almost fully white antelope buck had come in for a drink. This was one of the nicest looking animals I had ever seen. There was just a slight difference in color between the white patches and what should be deep golden yellow that in this case was a milky cream color. It was obvious this was his only his second year in the world with slightly less than ear length horns. With any luck, however, he will survive the next few years and mature to an animal that my son, wife or I can harvest. I think at one point I was daydreaming of him standing proudly in my trophy room with his odd coloration being the talk of many future campfire ponderings.
The ‘white ghost’ as my son refers to him now stayed around the pond for almost a half an hour, providing us with a variety of behaviors to witness and then disappearing faster than he appeared. This is the reason my son chose to name him appropriately.
After several other sightings at the pond I think I was starting to fade out in my chair when my son took a look out the window behind me. He was visibly excited without really saying a word.
The point of his finger and the facial expressions were enough to let me know that a decent buck was coming in. I was in a very awkward position at that time and just for me to turn around and see him I had to have my son get out of his chair, slide out of my own and move them both out of the way to get a look. At that point the buck, was at the pond and enjoying what would soon be his last long drink of water. Luckily I was able to position both Tyler and I after folding both chairs up and putting them in the corner without making a sound.
After what seemed like an eternity of silently positioning and setting up for the shot I had my bow in hand and the arrow nocked. I was as slow and silent as I could be bringing my bow to full draw.
At that point he had shifted his front leg back slightly, and with his quartering towards me position I decided to hold of for a better shot. Luckily my wish was granted almost instantly when he turned his entire body almost perfectly broadside putting both front legs forward to get a little lower in the water.
That was all I needed to see as I chose a spot right behind the shoulder to focus on. One last breath and a slight squeeze tripped the release, sending that Rocky Mountain Extreme XP tipped arrow clean through his chest for a perfect double lung shot. The bottom blade barely took out the top of his heart as well.
I truly don’t think he even felt it as the sound of the arrow plowing into the dirt bank behind sent him fleeing on less than a 20 yard run at which point he turned back towards us, stood for a few seconds looking back at the water and collapsed. The Extreme XP’s performed flawlessly covering the 21 yards to its mark, hitting exactly where I was aiming, and dispatching the animal as quickly and cleanly as any I have ever taken!
The look in my sons eyes and the minute of hugs and high fives will
very likely linger in my head until the next season, when he will the one
drawing back on his very first antelope, filling his own tag and creating
memories he will have with him until he can be in the blind with his son.
Cory Kittle of Box Elder, SD is the newest addition to our cracker jack staff of Field Evaluators. Cory is an avid bowhunter with 18 years experience and currently is a Tech. Sergeant in the Air Force. When not working he is a freelance photographer and writer. |
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