Sunday, October 1, 2006
5:00 AM and my alarm failed to go off for some reason. But no cause for concern because everyone else is up already and there is
enough noise to easily rouse you from sleep. We had left the window open all night and the 40-degree breeze provided plenty of
encouragement to get dressed quickly. But I still missed the warmth and comfort of my sleeping bag. Mandy, the camp cook, arrives at 5:
45 to start breakfast and we are all feasting by 6:00. Scott, Angie and the guides from Table Mountain Outfitters all pour in shortly after.
Things are leisurely in the camp. Pronghorn are daylight animals and there is no need to be in the field too early. Apparently they are
still asleep then too.
Our hunt unit is a 90-minute drive from camp. We pile into a beat up old Ford F250 pick-up and hit the bumpy gravel road to begin our
journey. This area is so rich with game. We literally see hundreds of pronghorn and dozens of mule deer along the way. There are small
coveys of sage grouse crossing the road in front of us.
We finally turn off into the area we are going to hunt. There are pronghorn everywhere – heard that before? Tom, our guide, wants to
stop in at the rancher’s house before we cut across the pasture to let them know we are out there. It is a 1,200-acre ranch and these
people go to church with Tom. The area hasn’t had a hunter in it for 7-years. Back in the truck now we drive past all the farm buildings
and into a big pasture with a few horses and a lot of pronghorn. In addition to the farm roads there is an underground methane gas
pipeline, an excellent groomed gravel road over it and a number of small pumping stations that we will later use for cover. Tom has his
spotting scope set-up on the window of his truck and we start sizing up the herd. Almost immediately Tom has picked up a non-typical
buck that he had seen during preseason scouting. As John and I glass him we agree that he certainly is interesting and we nickname him
“Screwy” but decide that he lacks mass and would prefer to see a few more bucks. It’s only about 10:00 AM. We have been hunting
about 10 minutes at this point.
We talk more and John is hell-bent on an SCI buck. And wants to also shoot a doe so he can mount the two together. I’m less concerned
about the book but would like a buck with nice mass but can’t get that oddball non-typical out of my head. We get on several more nice
bucks. Tom claims they are both SCI bucks and that they will go 15”. John and I keep talking about Screwy. In thinking through it I
reason that you can come here any year and shoot a typical representative of the pronghorn species but how many chances do you get
at a non-typical? So, the hunt is on. I get to shoot first.
Tom drives us back up towards the ranch house. We will park the truck on the backside of a hill and walk a short distance behind the hill
to a big rock outcropping. Screwy and the herd are bedded down on the far side. These animals are so accustomed to seeing ranchers
and workmen that they don’t even pay attention to the pick-up as we drive by. We pull up beside a fleet of decrepit and rotting old trucks
and park. Tom and I hurry up the hill, only a hundred yards or so, to one of the big rock masses. Peeking over the rocks we can see
Screwy and the herd bedded down. Tom uses his rangefinder and calls 140 yards. The herd has either seen us or sensed that we are
there. I’m hurrying to get my bi-pod set-up for a shot. Screwy is up and nervous. I’m nervous too and am having difficulty keeping the
crosshairs on him. Bam! Tom calls saying my shot was far to the left. As the herd trots off I zing another round and Tom calls for me not
to shoot anymore until they settle. They are not terribly spooked and only walk off a few hundred yards before stopping to look at us
again. Tom gets me set-up in another spot with a better-shot angle and calls 320 yards. It is easier now to keep the crosshairs steady
and I use the holdover reticle to position for 300 yards. Screwy is surrounded by others in the herd and it takes a moment for them to
clear so that I can get off a shot. Bam! He hobbles and his right front leg is dangling free. The shot was on target but low and the big .
300 WSM nearly severs his leg where it joins his body. There is hesitation and then he runs further out. Pronghorn can run amazingly
fast and far on only three legs. We glass him for a few minutes trying to see if maybe the shot was better then we fear but it isn’t and we
are going to have to go after him. Back in the truck now driving down into the meadow. Screwy is spooky and runs a bit further. Tom
pulls up and calls 260 yards. I jump out of the truck, take a rest and careful aim then let fly. He dumps into a pile and the rest of the herd
takes off fast. We drive out and find him lifeless and his horns even screwier then you could have made out using the binocular. There
isn’t much mass and his horns are only a short 12” in length but he certainly is unique and the trophy of a lifetime. It is now about 10:30
AM. The first hour of the first day of my first pronghorn hunt! Screwy’s fur is thick and smells of the dusty sage and grass prevalent in
the area. We get our photos and Tom quickly field dresses him. Then he and John load him in the bed of the truck.
John wants to scan the rest of the herd before deciding on which buck to go after. It doesn’t take long to drive through the rest of the
pasture and size up the animals. 1,200 acres isn’t as big as it sounds when there isn’t a tree in sight! He opts to return to the bigger
buck we saw earlier – the one Tom was certain would go 15” and make SCI. And in a few minutes we are back on him. But he is bedded
down now and in a bad spot for a shot due to the highway and the small town of Wright being in the backdrop. John and Tom will have to
approach from a different angle and hike a bit using a small uprising in the ground as cover. There are several does off to one side and
Tom is worried that the girls may spook and run but they press on. I stay back at the truck and observe the action behind the binocular.
They make really good time but the does have caught up with another smaller buck and are nervous. The action has caught the
attention of the bigger buck and he is up off his bed now. Behind the glass I can see that John is getting his sticks set-up for his Encore
pistol but the does break on a run and take both of the bucks with them. Ironically they run a short distance away from the truck. It would
be an easy shot from here. Tom and John return to the truck and we opt to eat lunch and give the herd time to settle down. We keep
glass on them while we eat. It looks like they have merged with more animals and are headed for water. After about ½ hour we are back
in the truck and cruising looking for the buck. We see a lot of animals, and several good bucks, but not the shooter. Tom is getting more
agitated but John remains calm and we all just keep glassing as we drive. Returning back to the point where I first shot Screwy we find the
shooter buddied up with several does. Tom rolls the truck to a stop and John hops out to get his sticks set-up. The shooter has noticed
a few more does and wants to add them to his harem. By now John is set-up and Tom calls 70 yards. Bam! The .270 Encore pistol hits
the buck in the spine but back too far. He can’t use his hind legs and he certainly isn’t going anywhere but John places a second shot in
the lungs to shorten the suffering. The buck is heavy in mass, has great prongs and good length beyond the prong. But Tom’s estimate
is off and he only tapes at 13”. No regrets though. He was the best buck in the lot and John is very pleased with him. It’s about 11:30
AM.
We run back into Wright where John picks up a doe tag. He wants a double mount for the wall. Hunter Dan from upstate New York is
there too. He had shot a buck with horns that have excessive curve beyond the prong. An excellent buck. Tom’s brother is also a guide
for TMO and he wants to go help him now. One of his hunters has a prosthetic leg and they are having difficulty getting within range to
shoot since he has difficulty walking.
We catch up with them a little ways down the road in another hunt unit. Driving in we see about 10 nice bucks right off. They are all over
and mostly near pipeline roads – which are private roads and okay to shoot from. We connect with Tom’s brother and his hunters way up
on a mesa. They are glassing but are far away from the animals. Tom proposes a plan where they drive down to one of the pipeline
roads and let the hunter get out of the truck to get set-up behind a little cover while the truck drives on slowly. We come off the mesa and
pull off at a vantage point so we can glass and watch the action. There is a nice buck with several does about 80 yards roadside and we
watch the truck slow to a stop, the hunter step out on the far side – using the truck for cover, and he then lays down on his belly using the
edge of the pipeline road for cover while the truck pulls forward slowly. The plan works great and we watch as he shoots, misses,
hesitates, and then shoots again for a kill. We can see the pronghorn go down seconds before the sound of the shot reaches us. It is a
nice 13” class buck and the hunter is very pleased.
On the long drive back to camp I suggest that Tom stop off at a drive-up liquor store so that we can get some beer. In Wyoming the
passengers can drink while the truck is in motion. John is beat and nods off while I talk with Tom and start to polish off the better part of a
twelve pack. He is a local from the town where we have been hunting. We bounce around on a variety of topics before finding common
ground on Western water issues. Ends up he has his degree in water conservation and was employed in the field for years before
growing weary of both the internal agency politics and the frustration of dealing with all the specialty interest groups. It is a fascinating
conversation. We pass a great 4 x 4 mulie on the way. The kind of shooter you dream about with high dark antlers.
Back at camp it has been a big day for everyone and the skinning barn at Table Mountain Outfitters is getting loaded with carcasses for
the meat processor. We skin and quarter Screwy. His fronts are mostly wasted, the bullet having passed completely through his body
and shattering leg bones on both sides. They are very small animals – no bigger than a small Whitetail doe.
In the Bunkhouse we eat a hearty dinner and Angie is busy printing digital photos of everyone’s hunt. Stories of the hunt fly into the
evening until all the sun burnt hunters start to fade and we drift off to bed.
5:00 AM and my alarm failed to go off for some reason. But no cause for concern because everyone else is up already and there is
enough noise to easily rouse you from sleep. We had left the window open all night and the 40-degree breeze provided plenty of
encouragement to get dressed quickly. But I still missed the warmth and comfort of my sleeping bag. Mandy, the camp cook, arrives at 5:
45 to start breakfast and we are all feasting by 6:00. Scott, Angie and the guides from Table Mountain Outfitters all pour in shortly after.
Things are leisurely in the camp. Pronghorn are daylight animals and there is no need to be in the field too early. Apparently they are
still asleep then too.
Our hunt unit is a 90-minute drive from camp. We pile into a beat up old Ford F250 pick-up and hit the bumpy gravel road to begin our
journey. This area is so rich with game. We literally see hundreds of pronghorn and dozens of mule deer along the way. There are small
coveys of sage grouse crossing the road in front of us.
We finally turn off into the area we are going to hunt. There are pronghorn everywhere – heard that before? Tom, our guide, wants to
stop in at the rancher’s house before we cut across the pasture to let them know we are out there. It is a 1,200-acre ranch and these
people go to church with Tom. The area hasn’t had a hunter in it for 7-years. Back in the truck now we drive past all the farm buildings
and into a big pasture with a few horses and a lot of pronghorn. In addition to the farm roads there is an underground methane gas
pipeline, an excellent groomed gravel road over it and a number of small pumping stations that we will later use for cover. Tom has his
spotting scope set-up on the window of his truck and we start sizing up the herd. Almost immediately Tom has picked up a non-typical
buck that he had seen during preseason scouting. As John and I glass him we agree that he certainly is interesting and we nickname him
“Screwy” but decide that he lacks mass and would prefer to see a few more bucks. It’s only about 10:00 AM. We have been hunting
about 10 minutes at this point.
We talk more and John is hell-bent on an SCI buck. And wants to also shoot a doe so he can mount the two together. I’m less concerned
about the book but would like a buck with nice mass but can’t get that oddball non-typical out of my head. We get on several more nice
bucks. Tom claims they are both SCI bucks and that they will go 15”. John and I keep talking about Screwy. In thinking through it I
reason that you can come here any year and shoot a typical representative of the pronghorn species but how many chances do you get
at a non-typical? So, the hunt is on. I get to shoot first.
Tom drives us back up towards the ranch house. We will park the truck on the backside of a hill and walk a short distance behind the hill
to a big rock outcropping. Screwy and the herd are bedded down on the far side. These animals are so accustomed to seeing ranchers
and workmen that they don’t even pay attention to the pick-up as we drive by. We pull up beside a fleet of decrepit and rotting old trucks
and park. Tom and I hurry up the hill, only a hundred yards or so, to one of the big rock masses. Peeking over the rocks we can see
Screwy and the herd bedded down. Tom uses his rangefinder and calls 140 yards. The herd has either seen us or sensed that we are
there. I’m hurrying to get my bi-pod set-up for a shot. Screwy is up and nervous. I’m nervous too and am having difficulty keeping the
crosshairs on him. Bam! Tom calls saying my shot was far to the left. As the herd trots off I zing another round and Tom calls for me not
to shoot anymore until they settle. They are not terribly spooked and only walk off a few hundred yards before stopping to look at us
again. Tom gets me set-up in another spot with a better-shot angle and calls 320 yards. It is easier now to keep the crosshairs steady
and I use the holdover reticle to position for 300 yards. Screwy is surrounded by others in the herd and it takes a moment for them to
clear so that I can get off a shot. Bam! He hobbles and his right front leg is dangling free. The shot was on target but low and the big .
300 WSM nearly severs his leg where it joins his body. There is hesitation and then he runs further out. Pronghorn can run amazingly
fast and far on only three legs. We glass him for a few minutes trying to see if maybe the shot was better then we fear but it isn’t and we
are going to have to go after him. Back in the truck now driving down into the meadow. Screwy is spooky and runs a bit further. Tom
pulls up and calls 260 yards. I jump out of the truck, take a rest and careful aim then let fly. He dumps into a pile and the rest of the herd
takes off fast. We drive out and find him lifeless and his horns even screwier then you could have made out using the binocular. There
isn’t much mass and his horns are only a short 12” in length but he certainly is unique and the trophy of a lifetime. It is now about 10:30
AM. The first hour of the first day of my first pronghorn hunt! Screwy’s fur is thick and smells of the dusty sage and grass prevalent in
the area. We get our photos and Tom quickly field dresses him. Then he and John load him in the bed of the truck.
John wants to scan the rest of the herd before deciding on which buck to go after. It doesn’t take long to drive through the rest of the
pasture and size up the animals. 1,200 acres isn’t as big as it sounds when there isn’t a tree in sight! He opts to return to the bigger
buck we saw earlier – the one Tom was certain would go 15” and make SCI. And in a few minutes we are back on him. But he is bedded
down now and in a bad spot for a shot due to the highway and the small town of Wright being in the backdrop. John and Tom will have to
approach from a different angle and hike a bit using a small uprising in the ground as cover. There are several does off to one side and
Tom is worried that the girls may spook and run but they press on. I stay back at the truck and observe the action behind the binocular.
They make really good time but the does have caught up with another smaller buck and are nervous. The action has caught the
attention of the bigger buck and he is up off his bed now. Behind the glass I can see that John is getting his sticks set-up for his Encore
pistol but the does break on a run and take both of the bucks with them. Ironically they run a short distance away from the truck. It would
be an easy shot from here. Tom and John return to the truck and we opt to eat lunch and give the herd time to settle down. We keep
glass on them while we eat. It looks like they have merged with more animals and are headed for water. After about ½ hour we are back
in the truck and cruising looking for the buck. We see a lot of animals, and several good bucks, but not the shooter. Tom is getting more
agitated but John remains calm and we all just keep glassing as we drive. Returning back to the point where I first shot Screwy we find the
shooter buddied up with several does. Tom rolls the truck to a stop and John hops out to get his sticks set-up. The shooter has noticed
a few more does and wants to add them to his harem. By now John is set-up and Tom calls 70 yards. Bam! The .270 Encore pistol hits
the buck in the spine but back too far. He can’t use his hind legs and he certainly isn’t going anywhere but John places a second shot in
the lungs to shorten the suffering. The buck is heavy in mass, has great prongs and good length beyond the prong. But Tom’s estimate
is off and he only tapes at 13”. No regrets though. He was the best buck in the lot and John is very pleased with him. It’s about 11:30
AM.
We run back into Wright where John picks up a doe tag. He wants a double mount for the wall. Hunter Dan from upstate New York is
there too. He had shot a buck with horns that have excessive curve beyond the prong. An excellent buck. Tom’s brother is also a guide
for TMO and he wants to go help him now. One of his hunters has a prosthetic leg and they are having difficulty getting within range to
shoot since he has difficulty walking.
We catch up with them a little ways down the road in another hunt unit. Driving in we see about 10 nice bucks right off. They are all over
and mostly near pipeline roads – which are private roads and okay to shoot from. We connect with Tom’s brother and his hunters way up
on a mesa. They are glassing but are far away from the animals. Tom proposes a plan where they drive down to one of the pipeline
roads and let the hunter get out of the truck to get set-up behind a little cover while the truck drives on slowly. We come off the mesa and
pull off at a vantage point so we can glass and watch the action. There is a nice buck with several does about 80 yards roadside and we
watch the truck slow to a stop, the hunter step out on the far side – using the truck for cover, and he then lays down on his belly using the
edge of the pipeline road for cover while the truck pulls forward slowly. The plan works great and we watch as he shoots, misses,
hesitates, and then shoots again for a kill. We can see the pronghorn go down seconds before the sound of the shot reaches us. It is a
nice 13” class buck and the hunter is very pleased.
On the long drive back to camp I suggest that Tom stop off at a drive-up liquor store so that we can get some beer. In Wyoming the
passengers can drink while the truck is in motion. John is beat and nods off while I talk with Tom and start to polish off the better part of a
twelve pack. He is a local from the town where we have been hunting. We bounce around on a variety of topics before finding common
ground on Western water issues. Ends up he has his degree in water conservation and was employed in the field for years before
growing weary of both the internal agency politics and the frustration of dealing with all the specialty interest groups. It is a fascinating
conversation. We pass a great 4 x 4 mulie on the way. The kind of shooter you dream about with high dark antlers.
Back at camp it has been a big day for everyone and the skinning barn at Table Mountain Outfitters is getting loaded with carcasses for
the meat processor. We skin and quarter Screwy. His fronts are mostly wasted, the bullet having passed completely through his body
and shattering leg bones on both sides. They are very small animals – no bigger than a small Whitetail doe.
In the Bunkhouse we eat a hearty dinner and Angie is busy printing digital photos of everyone’s hunt. Stories of the hunt fly into the
evening until all the sun burnt hunters start to fade and we drift off to bed.
2006 Wyoming Pronghorn with Table Mountain Outfitters
Unusual non-typical
pronghorn.
pronghorn.
John with his excellent
buck using a .270 Win
Mag TC Encore Pistol!
buck using a .270 Win
Mag TC Encore Pistol!
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