Live Hunts - Wyoming Archery Antelope Hunt - September 17

Live Hunts - Wyoming Archery Antelope Hunt - September 17 - Day 1

September 17 - Day 1
Wyoming Archery Antelope Hunt

Hunt Introduction
This hunt takes place about 60 miles northeast of Douglas, Wyoming. I'll be hunting public land on the Thunder Basin National Grasslands. This is a self-guided hunt. When looking for an area to hunt, my criteria were: lots of public land, good numbers of antelope, and broken terrain for stalking. I don't have the patience to sit all day every day at a water hole, so I'm starting this hunt out as a spot and stalk hunt. I have my ICE blind and may resort to using it at the end of the hunt if I've not had much success stalking and decoying. I believe they should be in the rut right now and hopefully responsive to a decoy. I'm not holding out for a trophy, just an average buck would make me happy. Like each of the last 3 Live Hunts, in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, this is new country that I've not previously hunted. I've hunted antelope in Wyoming, but nowhere near here. As always, it's very exciting to hunt new areas.

Monday P.M.
This evening was spent mostly scouting, and most of the photos are taken from the side of the road while scouting. However, I did take my hunting stuff and while glassing an area I had seen a few animals earlier in the day, I spotted a bedded buck. He was actually bedded in a rather good place for a stalk. He was about halfway down a very small ridge, and from my vantage over 1/2 mile away, I thought if I could come over the top side in the right place, I'd be in range without having to go down at all.

I pulled out of sight of him to come from behind the bank, checked the wind, noting that it was pretty good, but not perfect. I would have to come from straight on top of him, to come from one side he would see me, the other side he would smell me. I would have to guess just right on where to come over the bank. As you can probably guess, thinks looked a tad bit different from the back side than they did on the front side. I made my best educated guess of where he was when I was coming up the back side, got down on my hands and knees and started crawling, and just when I was getting close to the edge and starting to doubt that I was in the right place, he busted out of his bed almost under my nose. I had indeed guessed right, but had not played it careful enough. The wind was good, so I'm guessing he happened to be looking my way and saw the tip of my hat or something. I was less than 20 yards from him when he busted away. That's good news! My first stalk put me in range of a buck, I just blew it by not paying close enough attention.

Upon arrival here and talking to the Grasslands officials about how dry it has been here this summer, I decided to try and find a water hole this evening with antelope sign, although I had initially decided to start this hunt out by spot and stalk. I found several water holes that did not have noticeable antelope sign, but 2 that did. There was a big group of antelope hanging out in the vicinity of the first one. I didn't actually know there was water there, but from how they were acting, I figured there had to be. Sure enough, there were 3 little areas holding water in a creek. However, placement of my blind to cover all three would be very difficult, so I decided to look for another spot for the time being. I found a second hole that some antelope, including a very nice buck, were actually watering at when I spotted it. So, I know they're using that one. It's pretty big, but I think I can cover it. I'm going to put my ICE blind up in the dark of tomorrow morning, get settled in, and hope they don't notice me. I admit I'm a bit skeptical of them walking right by a big blind right beside the water hole without paying any attention to it. The wind was also swirling a bit, so I'm not sure what it will be like tomorrow. We'll just give it a go and see.

On an interesting side note, as I was coming back to camp right before dark, I rounded a corner in the winding road to see a cow elk and a huge bull watering at a small tank beside the road. I was dumbfounded. This isn't exactly elk country, but there are a few timbered ridges a mile or more away, so I guess that's where they came from. I snuck up the bank of the pond and got some close-up pictures for your enjoyment. I hope you're sitting down, he's a toad of a bull!

- Go to Day 2 of the Hunt -

Trip Notes
This hunt takes place about 60 miles northeast of Douglas, Wyoming. I'll be hunting public land on the Thunder Basin National Grasslands. This is a self-guided hunt. When looking for an area to hunt, my criteria were: lots of public land, good numbers of antelope, and broken terrain for stalking. I don't have the patience to sit all day every day at a water hole, so I'm starting this hunt out as a spot and stalk hunt. I have my ICE blind and may resort to using it at the end of the hunt if I've not had much success stalking and decoying. I believe they should be in the rut right now and hopefully responsive to a decoy. I'm not holding out for a trophy, just an average buck would make me happy. Like each of the last 3 Live Hunts, in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, this is new country that I've not previously hunted. I've hunted antelope in Wyoming, but nowhere near here. As always, it's very exciting to hunt new areas.

Equipment
I'm shooting a Martin Jaguar bow, set at 72 lbs. Arrows are 29-inch Easton 3-60 ACC's, with Wasp 125 gr. 3-blade SST Hammer broadheads. Depending on the terrain, I'm wearing almost exclusively Predator camoflauge. I have Fall Gray, Spring Green, Fall Brown, and Evolution with me on the trip, and will probably use all of them. Predator is awesome, and particularly in the Rocky Mountain West. I've also got a new Master Guide backpack made by Crooked Horn Outfitters that I'm eager to try out.

Equipment
This section is to tell you about some equipment that I've used extensively and highly recommend. I'm not a paid representative of any hunting product manufacturer, so these are honest-to-goodness reviews of quality equipment. In case you're interested in trying out some of this equipment for yourself, I've made links to places on the Internet where you can buy them at good prices. Just click on the photo or the name of the product.

Bausch & Lomb® 7x42 Binoculars	I've had a pair of B&L 7x42 Discoverer's for 5 years and have given them a real beating in a large variety of climates and conditions. I am very impressed with the overall quality. Compared side by side with Swarovski Binoculars in the field, the only noticeable difference was the price. They will cost you about $500 less than Swarovski's.
Garmin® GPS 12	Buying a Garmin GPS 12 was one of the best purchases I ever made. It has so many uses, and is so easy to use. In unfamiliar hunting areas, just mark your vehicle, hunt anywhere you want, and at the end of the day, get back to your vehicle with no problem. It's also great for marking downed animals to return to later. My GPS goes with me on EVERY hunting outing.
Wasp Hammer SST 125 Gr. Broadheads	I've used probably 10 different makes and models of broadheads in the last 10 years. The Wasp SST Hammer is the best Fixed, Replaceable blade broadhead I've ever used. I used to use Thunderheads, and took several animals with them. On a friends recommendation, however, I tried the Wasp. That was 2 years and a dozen or so animals ago, and I haven't tried another broadhead since. The Wasp has given me better blood trails, by far, than any of the other heads I've tried. They are tough, penetrate well (complete pass-throughs on all but one animal) and fly great. What more could you ask?
Double Bull Titan I.C.E. Blind	There is no question that hunting from my Titan blind has made my success rate as a bowhunter much higher. The Predator Deception pattern fairly melts into the brush. I've shot animals less than 5 yards from the blind. Also the best thing for Turkey Bowhunters since the Box Call. Light, very portable, strong, and conceals movement very well. Great for increasing the amount of time you spend in the woods.
Olympus D-450 Zoom Digital Camera	If you're interested in getting a very high-quality Digital Camera, the Olympus D-450 or one of it's successors is a great choice. I've had my D-450 for about 3 years now, and have taken all of the photos for all my Live Hunts with this camera. It's not cheap, but this is one instance where you definitely get what you pay for. I highly recommend this camera.

e-mail Joshua Flournoy

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