Filled all my tags as of today with the doe finalizing my hunts. Only 30 min from home also.
I waited in this spot for 2 hrs as I knew they would feed/& lay along this bowl as they usually do after 7 am or later.
Im set up at 6 am to wait them out.
The safe spot is a fenceline to the ranch who requires payment for antelopes, so if they bust thats where they go.
I parked about 3/4 mile south of my spot (state land) and hiked in.
There are usually ridge hunters, (drive till they see them) out, but I got lucky and no one was driving all over the state land today.
They never see into the back hills/gullies at all....just to lazy IMO to hike out and see them hiding.
730 am I see 7 does pop over a ridge into the bowl feeding and at 800 yards & 34 MPH winds Im not going to shoot cross it.
I lay there and they get about 450 yards out and slow down and 4 lay in the sun out of the wind.
I crawl backwards and onto the low side of the hill, then walk 200 yards up the gully between us, then over the top in line w/them and crawl into the brush. I see them and get on my belly & crawl to a spot in the shrubs and have a nice window on 4 of them.
I closed the range to 244 yards by moving. Stalking is much more fun/testing on the soul IMO.
I have the wind in my face which I like so I dont have to dope it, dial my scope to 250 yd and BOOM goes my Savage .243, handload of a nosler 95g hunting BT bullet at 3010 fps...she drops like a train hit her, its 825 am. Hit her above the shoulder through the neck. The others run off, then come back & mill around for about 4 min. I stay on my belly and think...Man if I had still another doe tag I could be really set.
They then hit full throttle and are gone.
The second picture is a tad fuzzy, but that white spot is her & thats my window I shot through.
I waited in this spot for 2 hrs as I knew they would feed/& lay along this bowl as they usually do after 7 am or later.
Im set up at 6 am to wait them out.
The safe spot is a fenceline to the ranch who requires payment for antelopes, so if they bust thats where they go.
I parked about 3/4 mile south of my spot (state land) and hiked in.
There are usually ridge hunters, (drive till they see them) out, but I got lucky and no one was driving all over the state land today.
They never see into the back hills/gullies at all....just to lazy IMO to hike out and see them hiding.
730 am I see 7 does pop over a ridge into the bowl feeding and at 800 yards & 34 MPH winds Im not going to shoot cross it.
I lay there and they get about 450 yards out and slow down and 4 lay in the sun out of the wind.
I crawl backwards and onto the low side of the hill, then walk 200 yards up the gully between us, then over the top in line w/them and crawl into the brush. I see them and get on my belly & crawl to a spot in the shrubs and have a nice window on 4 of them.
I closed the range to 244 yards by moving. Stalking is much more fun/testing on the soul IMO.
I have the wind in my face which I like so I dont have to dope it, dial my scope to 250 yd and BOOM goes my Savage .243, handload of a nosler 95g hunting BT bullet at 3010 fps...she drops like a train hit her, its 825 am. Hit her above the shoulder through the neck. The others run off, then come back & mill around for about 4 min. I stay on my belly and think...Man if I had still another doe tag I could be really set.
They then hit full throttle and are gone.
The second picture is a tad fuzzy, but that white spot is her & thats my window I shot through.
