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New Castle - Wyoming Antelope
~ Matt Johnson (10/12/2006 @ 11:06 AM)
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Me with my Antelope



Our Wyoming 2006 hunting group



The Wyoming prairie









Well, my much anticipated trip has finally come to an end but it was very successful.

I left Stewartville, Minnesota at 10:30 pm Friday with Heath and his dad Bill to begin the 10 hour drive to NewCastle. We arived in Custer, South Dakota and had breakfast at the Wrangler. If anyone crosses I-90 through South Dakota, make the stop.

After checking in to the Fountain Inn motel in New Castle, Wyoming early Saturday morning, we headed out into the prarie to do some scouting. We had permission from a private land owner with around 14,000 acres of land. About 7,000 of these acres were within the zone that we were licensed to hunt in. The land was very dry with rolling hills and more antelope than you could imagine. The landscape was full of dry grass, sand, and sage bush. We saw around 200 antelope while scouting making us very excited for opening day on Sunday.

Sunday morning. Sunrise was at 6:50 and after warming up with a coffee and a breakfast buritto, we were walking in the prairie as the sun rose over the black hills. After spotting a few goats in the distance by glassing for long intervals we decided to pursue one group. After climbing long bluffs we spotted the goat that Heath had pointed out. We quickly made it to the top of a bluff and dropped down to crawl into position for a shot. Heath decided to continue to crawl towards the herd while his dad and I watched from a high cliff. After crawling through cactus for about 600 yards on his hands and knees he finally got into position for a shot. He dropped an antelope from 260 yards with his 270.

After taking care of Heaths kill we looked for another area to glass. Quickly we spotted another goat herding his does. We again found high ground as close as possible to the antelope group. The lookout doe was very curious and started walking up the other side of the hill to see what we were doing. She walked within 50 yards so we sat like statues for a short while. I took off my backpack and laid down to get a shot. The grass was around 10 inches in this area of the prairie so I had to crawl a little further to get a shot. Heath checked the distance with his lazer range finder. 205 yards. . . a long shot for a 30-06 with 125 grain bullets. I took a deep breath, squeezed, and listened for the bullet to strike the antelope. Before I could get a chance to see the goat drop, I heard Heath and his dad yell "NICE SHOT!" I knew I had hit him well.

We stopped hunting for the day and retired to the motel to skin them out and process the meat. The Fountain Inn had a garage to hang the harvested animals with tools and hoses to process the animals.

Monday morning we headed back to the property for Bill to get his antelope. He quickly spotted a large group about 1000 yards away. We covered ground quickly trying to stay behind hills and hidden from view. When we got closer we noticed the herd contained 5 bucks and multiple does. They were being harased by a coyote and didn't pay much attention to us. We waited for an opportunity for a shot and Bill took it at 265 yards. It dropped on the spot. As we stood up the goat rose as well. He stood in one position for about 20 minutes wobbling back and forth. We decided to get closer for a finishing shot. I noticed blood on his belly and told Bill that he shot the antelope in the stomach. There was a cross wind that had put his shot further back in the goat than he had planned. As we got closer the antelope stared to bound away. After getting to the top of a hill Bill was able to take a finishing shot and dropped the antelope on the spot.

If you are ever looking for a good hunt, head to Wyoming. As an avid white tail hunter in northern Wisconsin, I have never taken a shot over 60 yards. An average shot of 200+ yards is quite a challange. A non-resident license was $226.00 but well worth it. There is a lottery system but there are many antelope that need to be harvested to maintain good numbers. They are very curious animals and react much different to seeing a hunter than a white tail does. There are mule deer in Wyoming, and nonresidents can apply for the chance to hunt them as well. The open country allows you to see many animals but adds the challange of having no place to hide. The hills are hard to judge and the antelope know them well. They know how to keep thier distance.

The hunt was very successful. Heath and I shot pronghorns with 11.5 in horns and Bill shot a 12 incher. Everyone in Wyoming was very friendly and we talked with a lot of Wisconsin and Minnesota hunters.

Although the antelope only provide about 25 pounds of meat the hunt and the stalk are well worth the work it takes to organize the hunt. I have to thank Bill Schoeder for putting together a great hunt. He had made this trip a few times and was very prepared.

Matt



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sunrise day 1
sunrise
getting ready
Heath and I

The Black Hills
The prairie landscape
Sunrise day 2
Bills with his goat

Heath with his antelope
Me with my antelope
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