I got my Antelope with my Hot Rod Hawken it's a book buck

[idahoron]

I have been working on shooting and scouting a lot this year. This is the third antelope tag I have drawn in 30 years.
I went out scouting a couple weeks ago and I took this picture of what I think is my buck.




I got out there on the 22nd and sat in my blind on the 23rd and 24th. I got this picture of him on the water.



I decided that with all the competition this year I was going to get in the blind early. At 8:00 or so a nice little buck came in and I thought about it hard. I passed him and at 9:00 or so in came my buck. He came in from a different way and I was worried that he wouldn't actually give me a shot. After a long wait he came in, but too close. I had my sight set for 100 and he was at 89. At the shot I was slightly above him and straight on. The bullet hit his shoulder and turned and followed the spine and exited the flank. YANK the rug. I reloaded and watched for a minute and all of a sudden he was up. I could not believe my eyes that buck was up and walking (wobbly) I set my sight for 150 yards and put the rifle on the shooting sticks. I then used the range finder and when he got to 150 yards I was going to shoot again. He stopped quartering hard to the left. Then he turned his head and looked back at me. In my haste I didn't think of the wind. I had a solid 15 MPH wind that was a factor and I didn't know it yet. At the shot the buck was DRT. I gathered my stuff and walked out. That is when I realized that the first shot had been turned by the shoulder blade because of the angle. The second shot blew 4" to the left and hit the same shoulder and exited the neck.
I got it to the river and let it cool down in the river for a few hours and took a few more pictures. I used a gun I built from parts, a bullet I made my self, and I skinned it and gutted it with a knife I made last winter.

[Baja_Traveler]

Thats awesome -

One of these days I'll get out there and try.

Gotta find out from Roger what stage my muzzleloader build is at - I'm getting anxious to shoot it looking at these pictures!

[Fly]

Thanks for the Pic,s Ron. That's a dandy.

Fly

[Thumbcocker]

Congratulations on a well earned critter.

[smoked turkey]

Ron that is an awesome antelope. Good write-up and great pictures. Your "parts" gun sure did the job. Nice knife too by the way.

[OnHoPr]

Bravo IR. Did you get any footage for Pontoon Productions? I got a little smile from your thread from a few angles. One, it is a great story as always. Two, the big congrats and envy of your successful for yourself hunt after the long waits for the tags. Finally, even the accomplished seasoned hunters seem to make those tiny mistakes once in a while when the want, wait, work, and pursuit of something grand happens in those few seconds that shows there is still a little excitement in the ole bloodstream.

[idahoron]

I do have some footage for Pontoon Productions. The Wait for these tags is so long, actually my last one was only 5 years ago. He gave me a bit of buck fever when he was coming in. I was thankful for my rifle, but I was bummed at my self a bit for not doping the wind on the second shot. I guess I will have to remember that in 5 or 10 years when I get another tag.

[deep creek]

nice buck ron and good shooting.i love the sound of those p.p.bolits hitting home.havent drawn the antelope muzzy hunt in two years up here.its getting to popular.

[Pumpkinheaver]

Good deal!!!

[koger]

Congrats Ron, maybe I will be as lucky with mule deer hunting with Roger this December! That is a world class buck in my book, especially with an old school ML rifle!!!

[triggerhappy243]

Way to go..... Wonderful.

[El Bango]

We're going for does Oct 3 and I'm taking my 54 GRRW Leman along with my 243 Encore in case I get a 100 yard or closer shot. Took a nice little Muley buck the 14th of September with it.

[MrWolf]

Great story and better still you having a hand in every stage! Nice job.

[johnson1942]

ron, your a maters hunter and thanks for inspireing us all. last muzzleloader deer season my son and i found a buck antelope with the same horn size as yours, shot dead most likely by a rancher because they are hard on new alfalfa. the gamewarden happen to be close so we went and asked him if we could have the head for the horns. he checked it out and said go ahead. they are big enough that some day i want to make powder horns out of them. i let the center rot out and removed the center so they are cureing now. thanks again for you inspireing us all, this paper patching thing is growing.

[crossxsticks]

nice buck Ron, what did his horns measure ?

[DougGuy]

Dang nice hunt and pictures too! You obviously are feeling very vindicated using things YOU made to take such a nice animal, I know I would be too!

[idahoron]

nice buck Ron, what did his horns measure ?

My first quick and dirty was 80" gross. I will be happy if he is over 75 net.

[Good Cheer]

Way to go. And thanks for the pictures.

[RED333]

Best post of a hunt so far IMHO.
Thanks so much for sharing.

[Harleysboss]

Nice speed goat! Gotta love it when a plan comes together. Again nice shooting.