Well lets start off with ladies first. The story with my wife shooting this buck actually begins last hunting season. There was a nontypical antelope that we had found that she really wanted to kill, but as we were stalking it a pickup truck drove through and scattered the herd. We were unable to locate that buck and she didn't want any other one but that one. As luck would have it she drew the tag again this year and relocated the "freak" buck during scouting. Opening day arrives and as we are driving in to where the buck is i stop to glass another herd and notice this buck in the herd and i strongly urge her not to pass on it. Her response was "if its meant to be it will be there later". She was dead set to shoot the freak buck from the year before. We drive on top of a ridge and the freak buck walks right across the road in front of us! So we attempt to put a stalk on him but when we get to where he was going he is nowhere to be found. We kept searching and searching to no avail. Finally we come to an agreement to go after the buck we saw when we came in. We drive to where he was and get out to walk over the ridge that would put him 150 yds away. we peek over the hill and there are no antelope. thinking someone came through and shot him we walk back to the truck, drive down the road a ways and there they are bedded down. We loop around the backside of them and crawl into position. There 200yds downhill the buck sees us and stands up. He walks towards us a little but can only see his horns and top of his head. A few minutes pass and he has had enough and spooks off. CRAP!! After re-grouping and going to where we last saw them run we could only turn up the does that were with him, now where the heck did the buck go? We go back one last time to see if we can find the freak buck but its like he vanished. With both bucks we were after MIA we decide to drive to a different area and look at different bucks. On the way out we stop and hike up a ridge close to where we last saw the does and typical buck. We get to the top and still don't see any antelope when suddenly i hear something running downhill to my right i look over and its him! i throw the binos up just for reassurance and wave Sara over to me and get her set up on him. he stops 250yds and turns broadside to look back at us and after a few long seconds with her struggling to find him in the scope she finally finds him. Boom! she crushes him. what a roller coaster!
I have never seen an antelope buck split off from the does and go bed in an isolated pocket but it makes sense. After getting home my wife sees a nontypical buck on a social media sight that someone shot that day that looks exactly like the one we were after. After a little investigating we learn that it was the same area and it was shot 2 hours before my wife shot hers! we were looking for a ghost!
I have never seen an antelope buck split off from the does and go bed in an isolated pocket but it makes sense. After getting home my wife sees a nontypical buck on a social media sight that someone shot that day that looks exactly like the one we were after. After a little investigating we learn that it was the same area and it was shot 2 hours before my wife shot hers! we were looking for a ghost!
