Day 7 - Mule Deer / Antelope Hunting

I had planned on hunting antelope the last two days of my hunt but an inch of rain poured down overnight which changed our plans. Parker and I went back to the area where we last saw our big 3x3. I was focused on shooting this deer. For most of the morning we spotted deer here and there but nothing large enough for me to shoot. We moved a few miles down the road when I spotted a deer on a distant hillside. Parker put the spotting scope on it and confirmed it as our 4x4, the one I passed up yesterday. He then yelled out "there he is" as my big 3x3 headed down the hill. I wasted no time getting on this deer. I climbed up a hill and watched the two bucks, but the setup was blown by a doe that caught me on the hillside.

On the way down the road we spotted a nice antelope buck bedded in a cut bank. I decided to stalk him. I moved downwind along the bank until I saw the horns of the bedded pronghorn. I wanted a close shot since I knew the buck was going to explode out of that bed. I stalked to within 8 yards of the bedded antelope, drew my bow, then leaned over the edge and shot. My arrow went exactly where I was looking. The only problem was the antelope was no longer there. He had jumped up so fast that I missed him clean - my arrow was sticking up in the middle of his bed.

Parker shot these photos of me stalking and shooting at the antelope

We went back to the draw where we lost our big 3x3 and I still-hunted through each twist and turn. I found 3 small bucks, and one shooter, but blew the stalk by rushing it. I returned to the Hummer (we used this because of the muddy roads) and Parker was grinning. He had found my 3x3 along with a trophy 6x6 which nobody had seen since hunting season began. The stalk would be tricky, the two deer were laying in the sage, out in the open. I was confident I could get close, but I knew that getting a shot would be a challenge. Parker stayed behind as I closed in for the stalk. I ran out 3 antelope on the way to the ridge but luckily they did not spook the two bucks. After a half hour of trying to figure out the best route to them, I spotted a lone pronghorn moving up the ridge - a crash course right for me. I waited till his head went below a dip then I laid down flat with my face in the dirt. I could hear the buck walk up to me, just a foot or so away. After a few moments of silence I thought he had moved off, then he grunted. I jumped and the buck took off. Parker shot these pictures of the ordeal.

The pronghorn is next to me, a foot or so away. Look at my position between the two clumps of sage in relation to where the pronghorn is. I am laying face down in the dirt at the foot of that buck.

Thankfully, the buck never spooked the mule deer below me. It was now time to stalk. I needed move out in the open to get closer to the deer. It took me two hours to go 50 yards but it worked and I was now just 30 yards from the bedded bucks. The wind was perfect and the bucks never knew I was there. The only dilemma I had was there was no cover in that sage brush. I would have to hope the deer would feed down and give me enough cover to get an arrow out. After a very long wait, the deer got up and fed, in my direction. I was only ten yards from my 3 point and 20 yards from the big six. They fed out of sight. I made my move. I eased up a bank and could see them feeding 30 yards away. Then three antelope moved in and spooked the deer. If it weren't for those pronghorn, I may have gotten a shot. The stalk took five hours.

Parker and I headed up to the ridge to see if we could find some bucks. We turned a corner and I spotted the largest mule deer I had ever seen. It was at least a 4 point, probably better, nearly 30" wide and that same high. His horns were all mass. I jumped out of the hummer and moved quietly towards him. We played cat and mouse for a half hour. He would let me get forty yards, then casually look back and move a little further. On three different times I found him again before he would check me out, then disappear. This boy was old and knew just what to do. Eventually daylight ran out and I headed back to the truck.

The pressure is really on now with just a day left but we are getting really close. We'll be hunting deer again tomorrow due to the weather. My apologies for not bringing you a live antelope hunt as planned.