2025 SPEEDGOAT MEATPOLE

[voltage]

Such a fun family adventure in Wyoming! My wife shot her first pronghorn at 379 yards, with our 14 month old along for the ride!

We got back to Missouri this afternoon, and our son did so awesome on both drives

 

[houghton_hunter]

Wide load! Opening day for the unit I had in WY. Love going solo!

 

[shooter7]

His and Hers opening days bucks in Idaho.

 

[TurkeyReaper69]

Hunted an "opportunity" unit in Wyoming with limited public access. Zoo of hunters, I found comic relief in keeping track of the state license plates I spotted in the unit (posted below). Thankful I had 2 scouting days and was able to seal the deal pretty quickly on opening day. I'd have to imagine many who didn't fill their tags opening morning left disappointed. As I was driving out I didn't see a single boat on public land, while hunters continued to glass into sagebrush from the road. It was evident there were more hunters than pronghorn on public after 11 am opening morning.

 

[DiabeticKripple]

Got my Archery Antelope after 8 days and 28 blown stalks. My buddy was instrumental on this hunt. He was my spotter and decoy guy. I would stalk the goats and he would post up a few hundred yards away with the pickup and glass and text me as to what was going on.

There was some rut action but the bucks weren’t aggressive and not running the satellite bucks off, just keeping them at bay. We saw only 2 goats take off with afterburners engaged.

We tried a decoy but it didn’t work and never had a buck come in, he would just round up the does and push them away.

We managed to find this guy with 4 does. I got out of the truck and tucked in behind a hill while my buddy went back across the river valley and started walking me in. I had to crawl on my hands and knees, and slide on my belly for a portion of the stalk. The does were wanting to feed uphill towards a big bush where I had crawled to, but the buck would cut them off and push them back down the hill. At one point, unbeknownst to me, they were only about 20yds away but this small ridge I had between me and them kept them from seeing me.

After about 30 mins of cat and mouse they finally bedded down right in the bottom of the valley, and I worked around the bush to get on top of them. I popped my head up to get eyes on them and found the 4 does all bedded together, all looking different ways. I never saw the buck but my buddy texted me he was bedded about 5yds away to the east.

I couldn’t get a range on the does through the grass, I kept getting 6.7yds. I looked at my rangefinder and realized the laser was on the bottom so I flipped it upside down and I was able to instantly get a range of 70 yards. Still no sight of the buck.

I set my 2 pin slider to 60 and 71yds. I then took some time to compose myself, especially after so many missed shots throughout the week. I drew back on my knees, got anchored and then stood up. I instantly had the does in my sight, and now I could finally see the buck to the left. He was bedded quartering away from me. I settled my 60pin on the top of him, second pin was right on his bottom side. The wind gust died down and I slowly put pressure on the release until it let go.

I watched the arrow sail perfectly through the air and hammer the buck. All the goats took off and I could see my arrow hanging out of the close side of him and it fell out. I could see blood on his far front leg so I knew I made a good shot. He ran about 80yds and got the wobbles and tipped over. A few minutes later, all signs of life had left and I had my very first archery kill and first antelope.

All my buddy saw was them scatter and he lost sight of the buck. He texted me a couple times thinking I blew another stalk and I just replied “he’s dead”. I waited for him to come back across and we walked up together to him. The shot was near perfect, coming in through one of the last ribs, and exiting right into his front shoulder knuckle. Ended up cutting right through the liver and cut the bottom of the heart.

We took a few grip and grins and gutted him, loaded him into my Exo pack whole and I packed him about 200yds to a 2-track road we could drive up to.