J
Spent multiple days playing hide and seek with him and the 4 does he was running with. He must have been chased before because he was incredibly skittish. Just the sound of a vehicle sent him running. We were watching him from about 1000 yards (we had walked in and glassed him up on a hillside) and a pickup drove down the road we walked in on. It was impossible for the antelope to see the pickup as there was a ridge between them and the road. But the sound of the pickup sent the group straight up and over some very nasty terrain.
We figured the group wasn't leaving a specific basin that held the only watering hole for miles around but it is a big, challenging basin with sheer cliffs and lots of trees to hide in and open areas where they could see us coming from miles away.
Nearing the end of the season, we made an educated guess as to where the group might be one afternoon and set out on a hike up a steep face. We got lucky and found them in a deep draw but we spotted each other at the same time. Diving into the shade of a tall tree, we remained motionless and hoped for the best. Luckily for us, there was a stiff cross wind that prevented them from smelling or hearing us. I believe this saved us.
Eventually the group calmed down enough to resume eating and after some time the buck stood up and presented a shot. My wife got into shooting position (very, very slowly when they weren't looking our way) and waited for a break in the wind. A momentary lull provided the opportunity and my wife took the first shot. I heard it hit and the does took off. Surprisingly, the buck was still on his feet but I couldn't see where he was hit and he didn't run. She shot again and missed, likely due to the wind. A third shot connected and the buck went down. When we found him in the brush, I used my rangefinder to find the distance back to the tree from where she shot: 150ish yards. Not far, but my wife said she was leading him about a foot due to the wind and the shots still hit further back than intended. The good news is there was no meat damaged. The gut shot wasn't too bad to clean out as both rounds passed right through.
The rest of the story is pretty trivial but the Pioneer saved us a very long pack out and has once again proven it's worth on hunting trips.
I have a bull elk tag coming up in November that will likely be very difficult. The weather and the terrain will really put me and the machine to the test.
