The Wyoming doe/fawn hunt has become a fixture on the hunting calendar for my friend Doug and me. We have been fortunate each of the last four years in drawing two tags each for our first choice unit and we've had excellent success utilizing the Wyoming Hunter Management Area (HMA) program. We've actually gotten to know the landowner himself and even though the property is open to the public hunter through the HMA program we still enjoy our interaction with him.
This year we would be adding my 12 year old niece to the application and hopefully getting her a couple pronghorn and some excellent meat for the table. But her hunt and mine will have to wait until the UEA weekend so that we can take the kids with us and not worry about them missing school. True to form, in spite of talking about finally hunting doe pronghorn together all summer, Doug found a free weekend and decided to make the long drive from his home for a quick day trip. The funny thing is that for four years now Doug & I have said, "This will be the year that we actually hunt together," and each year we aren't able to make our schedules line up... maybe next year! Here is Doug's hunt this year:
As soon as I pulled off of the freeway and entered into the unit I envisioned pronghorn in their usual locations. I imagined having to hike out to distant white and tan dots way out in the sage brush. I was almost disappointed to spot a herd of approximately 12 pronghorn right off of the road in the river bottom parallel to the road. Normally upon spotting my quarry, I hunker down and go into stealth mode filled with excitement.
"There they are! This is actually going to happen." I casually pulled off the road into a designated parking area and proceeded to calmly remove my boots and replace them with my hunting boots. I pulled my rifle from its case and prepped by backpack for packing out a couple of pronghorn. I strapped on my binoculars and started to make my first steps towards the vulnerable pronghorn standing 217 yards from the parking spot.
I dipped into the river bottom and was concealed completely by overgrown sagebrush several feet taller than me. Several deer burst and jumped out of the sagebrush as I headed toward the pronghorn... even if the deer had alerted the pronghorn of my presence they would still be within range. I cleared the tall sage brush and spotted the alert pronghorn headed up a shelf. They were looking back at me from 171 yards as if questioning whether I was really a threat. I pulled the rifle to my shoulder and centered the crosshairs on one of the does. After a short time of contemplation, I lowered my rifle and raised my binoculars to look over the rest of the herd. I had plenty of time to be picky as they stood there in observation. I was unsure of what I was looking for, holding out for a specific doe pronghorn seemed silly or pointless, but I had just driven 6 hours and I did not want to end my hunt not 2 minutes after stepping foot out of the car and into fresh air. After what seemed like 10 minutes the small herd walked over the crest of the small shelf, so I slung my rifle over my should and casually headed in pursuit.
As I crested the top of the shelf I immediately spotted a buck pronghorn that was running towards the herd of ladies. All the does were focused on his approach and they had absolutely neglected me as a threat. I walked towards them to a small hill where I could lay my back pack down and get a steady rest. As I took the rifle off my shoulder and laid it down over my pack the herd suddenly burst into running speed. They didn't run away from me, instead they ran across a wide opening. As they slowed I ranged them at 288 yards. One doe stood broadside so I chambered a round and settled the cross hairs on her vitals. As I pulled the trigger I heard the familiar "thump" of a solid hit. I watched the herd run off and searched through my binoculars for the one that had been hit. The herd ran about 100 yards and all of them looked back at their previous location. I was confident from their behavior they had left a doe behind. Since I had 2 tags on me I ejected the empty shell, chambered a new shell, and centered the cross hairs on another doe. After the shot I heard the same familiar "thump." The herd ran off back toward the river bottom where they had been originally when I first spotted them. As I raised my binoculars I could see the second pronghorn on the ground. I scanned the location again where the first doe was shot and memorized the landmarks to begin my search for her. As I walked toward the 2nd pronghorn and the angles changed through the sagebrush I spotted the first pronghorn on the ground.
The next 30 minutes were spent boning out both animals and packing them to my minivan. I drove 6 hrs to hunt for 16 minutes.
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