Wyoming Antelope Hunt

After months of waiting and weeks of planning, our first ever Wyoming Antelope Hunt arrived. We loaded the 4-Wheelers, packed the trucks and headed out for what turned out to be a near 12-hour drive. We drove through some beatiful landscapes. (This shot isn't the best because it is through a tinted window, while driving.)

We finally arrived at the "Van Patten" ranch and set up camp. Setting up a tent at 1:00 in the morning doesn't give you much opportunity to see what was around you. We could see some lights in the distance, but it wasn't until morning that you could see the oil rig with the American Flag perched on top.

We awoke opening morning and excitement quickly filled the tents. The smack-talking and bragging soon followed. The brothers we talking about who was going to get the first buck, the biggest buck, and who was the best shot. Of course it was bravado as they all know who was truly the best hunter in the family.

We only made it about 15 minutes into the hunt when Chase settled the cross-hairs of his rifle on a great buck. I sat next to him with my trusted rifle cradled on my shooting sticks. I quickly found the antelope in my scope and whispered to Chase: "if you miss him I will back you up." In an instant I heard the cannon-like boom as Chase tapped his trigger. Looking through my scope I watched as the buck quickly dropped out of sight. I knew Chase had made a great shot and could not have been more excited for him. We raced to the downed antelope and a smile stretched across Chase (and his father's) faces. When it was that quick, I was certain we would have all of our tags filled and be on our way back home before the week was over. (This was the last time that thought crossed my mind.)

We soon learned that being snobs and "passing over" some decent bucks might not have been the smartest idea. As time wore on the animals we getting smarter and more aware of the hunters in the field. I also learned that an antelope has two-speeds. Turbo and Mach 2. Just as you had figured our they were in turbo and would judge your shot accordingly, they would change to Mach 2 and would leave you in the smoke, I mean dust. Throughout the course of the next two days, we managed to fill all of our tags, Paul was next, then Chris, Clint, Mike and lastly (after all his boys were done) dad filled his tag. What a great time we had. As always, I enjoyed the company of my brothers, father, and nephew. I am not going to lie, I do enjoy the getting out on the mountain looking for animals and finding an animal in the scope is great. But, my favorite part of the hunt is the camradery with my family and building those friendships. Even if we hadn't have come back with filled tags, I still would have called the hunt a roaring success!