gbear
09-30-2012, 05:47 PM
I had a chance to go hunting Pronghorn near Brooks Alberta with Silver Sage Outfitters earlier this week. What a blast that was.
Rolled in on the Sunday, and had dinner with Billy and the rest of the hunters. Part way through dinner, the guides rolled in and I had the chance to talk to my guide. They all just got back from putting our bucks to bed. A very knowledgeable guy that has lived in the area for over 15 years. His passion is definitely pronghorn antelope.
The guides all had great knowledge and had our bucks all picked out and named. I was apparently going after a buck they named “3 balls”. Apparently he liked to hang around where a pipeling crossed a road and from the wires were hanging 3 big balls to highlight the wire.
So, I was to meet my guide at 5:30 am as it was over a 45 minute drive out to where I was going. Legal time was 6:45am, but he wanted to be there early.
We got to the spot before legal time, and sat a BS’d a bit over a coffee. Even as legal time rolled around, it was pretty low light. But, we started looking.
Just before 7:15, we rolled over a hill, and there in the bottom was a buck and 3 does. The terrain in this area was pretty rolley, and when we came up on him, I will never forget the sight of my first up close experience with a pronghorn I was going to try to get. It was a terrific sight and I was in a bit of aww. But, because of the terrain, when we spotted him, we were only about 110 yards away. My guide quickly looked him over and said that is the one you want.
I got all ready and was starting to line up on him. Even though we were so close on him, the buck actually didn’t care that we were there. As I was starting to take aim, he walked up behind one of the does, and started sniffing the air. He was close enough to the doe that there wasn’t really a shot there yet, so I held tight. Then, he mounted the doe. I was amazed, never seen that before, and now I know why he didn’t really care about us there. His mind was elsewhere.
I figured that after he was done, he should pause and then I would have my shot.
Well, I couldn’t believe what happened next. He bailed off her, and almost fell backwards, but there was no pause at all. Within a couple steps, he was running at a fast pace after another one of the does that was walking away. I couldn’t believe the speed, and was getting worried he would go over the hill and be out of sight.
Luckily, he caught up to the doe before the top of the hill, and corralled her around to come back. Then he stopped and was looking at us head on. My guide whispered to me 231 yards, take him when he turns.
A few seconds later, the doe was walking back down the hill slowly, and he turned and gave me a shot. It was a perfect heart shot and he never took a step!
What a cool feeling to get an animal like this. It truly was a remarkable experience and such a cool looking animal that we don’t get to hunt here in BC. I felt blessed. I didn’t know much about pronghorn, but was told this was a good buck with longer cutters and very symmetrical.
I am thinking a wall mount pedestal would look nice with this one.
I had prepared myself for long distance shots before going, but didn’t have to do that, which was fine by me. I had bought a Huskemaw earlier in the summer.
We took care of my animal, and then started calling the other guides on the radio or cell phones. A couple needed help in locating their bucks, so we headed out to help others tag one.
There were 6 hunters there while I was there, and all 6 tagged out the first day.
What a great outfit and group of guys. Got to meet a couple other fellow BC hunters, including BCHunterFSJ.
I will be back there some day in the not too distant future.
Here are a few pictures:
Enjoy
Rolled in on the Sunday, and had dinner with Billy and the rest of the hunters. Part way through dinner, the guides rolled in and I had the chance to talk to my guide. They all just got back from putting our bucks to bed. A very knowledgeable guy that has lived in the area for over 15 years. His passion is definitely pronghorn antelope.
The guides all had great knowledge and had our bucks all picked out and named. I was apparently going after a buck they named “3 balls”. Apparently he liked to hang around where a pipeling crossed a road and from the wires were hanging 3 big balls to highlight the wire.
So, I was to meet my guide at 5:30 am as it was over a 45 minute drive out to where I was going. Legal time was 6:45am, but he wanted to be there early.
We got to the spot before legal time, and sat a BS’d a bit over a coffee. Even as legal time rolled around, it was pretty low light. But, we started looking.
Just before 7:15, we rolled over a hill, and there in the bottom was a buck and 3 does. The terrain in this area was pretty rolley, and when we came up on him, I will never forget the sight of my first up close experience with a pronghorn I was going to try to get. It was a terrific sight and I was in a bit of aww. But, because of the terrain, when we spotted him, we were only about 110 yards away. My guide quickly looked him over and said that is the one you want.
I got all ready and was starting to line up on him. Even though we were so close on him, the buck actually didn’t care that we were there. As I was starting to take aim, he walked up behind one of the does, and started sniffing the air. He was close enough to the doe that there wasn’t really a shot there yet, so I held tight. Then, he mounted the doe. I was amazed, never seen that before, and now I know why he didn’t really care about us there. His mind was elsewhere.
I figured that after he was done, he should pause and then I would have my shot.
Well, I couldn’t believe what happened next. He bailed off her, and almost fell backwards, but there was no pause at all. Within a couple steps, he was running at a fast pace after another one of the does that was walking away. I couldn’t believe the speed, and was getting worried he would go over the hill and be out of sight.
Luckily, he caught up to the doe before the top of the hill, and corralled her around to come back. Then he stopped and was looking at us head on. My guide whispered to me 231 yards, take him when he turns.
A few seconds later, the doe was walking back down the hill slowly, and he turned and gave me a shot. It was a perfect heart shot and he never took a step!
What a cool feeling to get an animal like this. It truly was a remarkable experience and such a cool looking animal that we don’t get to hunt here in BC. I felt blessed. I didn’t know much about pronghorn, but was told this was a good buck with longer cutters and very symmetrical.
I am thinking a wall mount pedestal would look nice with this one.
I had prepared myself for long distance shots before going, but didn’t have to do that, which was fine by me. I had bought a Huskemaw earlier in the summer.
We took care of my animal, and then started calling the other guides on the radio or cell phones. A couple needed help in locating their bucks, so we headed out to help others tag one.
There were 6 hunters there while I was there, and all 6 tagged out the first day.
What a great outfit and group of guys. Got to meet a couple other fellow BC hunters, including BCHunterFSJ.
I will be back there some day in the not too distant future.
Here are a few pictures:
Enjoy