In pursuit of Nebraska pronghorns
Cold, wet weather hampers antelope hunt near Chadron
By Larry Myhrelfentfish@msn.com | Posted: Thursday, October 16, 2008
Gary Howey dropped this antelope buck at about 350 yards on a hunt southwest of Chadron, Neb. (Staff photo by Larry Myhre)
It was one of those days when the clouds come down and wrap themselves around the landscape like a damp blanket.
Fog and mist filled the air as Boone Huffman guided his pickup through the huge native grass pasture. We were a few miles outside of Chadron, Neb.
Gary Howey, Hartington, Neb., had an antelope tag in his possession and I was clutching my camera.
Boone, who operates Ash Creek Outfitters, had taken us to his grandfather’s ranch where several groups of antelope could be found. We had scouted here the night before and found a good buck residing near a bunch of does and a smaller buck.
Question is, would we be able to find them this morning.
Boone put the brakes on the pickup and grabbed for his binoculars.
“There he is,” he said. “And the does are right there with him.
We backed the pickup out of sight and then began the stalk. Our path took us around the outside of a large butte and while staying low we peeked over a high spot which should have us within 200 yards of the resting antelope.
And sure enough, they were there.
But the old buck was suspicious and started the herd running away.
Curiosity has been the downfall of many an antelope and this group stopped again after running about 50 yards.
By then Gary had the rifle on the Bogg Pod bipod, and peered through the scope.
“This thing is really fogged over,” he said.
But there was no time to clear the lenses. The buck was prancing and about to run again.
Howey squeezed the trigger of the .25/06 and sent a 115 grain ballistic tip on its way.
“Just over the top of him,” Boone said as the antelope charged away.
Our hearts fell as we watched the herd dart under the neighbor’s fence and disappear over the ridgeline. There would not be another chance at that buck.
Howey had applied for a resident firearm antelope tag, last April and had been drawn. He contacted Boone with whom he had hunted antelope four years ago and set up the trip. I came along to do photography.
But keeping the cameras dry proved to be the biggest challenge. We had driven right into a big cold front which sent temperatures into the 30s and rain into the Nebraska panhandle.
The wet weather meant that we had to stay out of the gumbo soils region north of Chadron where Huffman has a lot of good antelope territory leased.
But it didn’t take long to locate another group of antelope on the same property. There was a buck with them, but nothing close to the size of the one we had just missed.
We tried a couple of stalks but just couldn’t get close enough.
We left this ranch and headed north. This was gumbo country and we knew we would have to chase the goats on foot.
We saw a good herd from the road so parked and walked in. For the next two hours, we hiked and tried to connect with three different groups of antelope.
We never even came close. It was tough walking on the slippery clay soils and the dirk caked on our boots and built up in heavy gobs which could hardly be scrapped off.
We arrived back at the truck exhausted and more than ready for lunch.
Back in Chadron we decided to take some time off and return to the ranch in the late afternoon and hope that we could encounter the antelope again.
However, as Boone, Gary and I drove onto the ranch we were not real confident of finding another group of antelop on the property.
They were. Boone spotted a small group of goats and put the binoculars on them.
“There’s a buck,” he said.
With snow in the next morning’s forecast, we were anxious to bring this hunt to a one-day end.
Our stalk began in a draw about 400 yards below a small earthen dam. It was good cover and we proceeded quickly.
When there, we peeked over the top and saw the antelope about 300 yards away.
The buck was standing broadside and Gary, having kept the scope dry this time, leveled his rifle.
The buck jerked upright and ran a few steps at the sound of the shot and then dropped into the grass.
This hunt was over.
If you go
WHO: Boone Huffman
WHAT: Ash Creek Outfitters
Website: ashcreekoutfitters.com
Phone: (308) 432-3885
WHERE: Chadron, Neb.
Licenses: Firearm (residents only), $28. Nonresident archery, $133. Habitat Stamp $16
Fog and mist filled the air as Boone Huffman guided his pickup through the huge native grass pasture. We were a few miles outside of Chadron, Neb.
Gary Howey, Hartington, Neb., had an antelope tag in his possession and I was clutching my camera.
Boone, who operates Ash Creek Outfitters, had taken us to his grandfather’s ranch where several groups of antelope could be found. We had scouted here the night before and found a good buck residing near a bunch of does and a smaller buck.
Question is, would we be able to find them this morning.
Boone put the brakes on the pickup and grabbed for his binoculars.
“There he is,” he said. “And the does are right there with him.
We backed the pickup out of sight and then began the stalk. Our path took us around the outside of a large butte and while staying low we peeked over a high spot which should have us within 200 yards of the resting antelope.
And sure enough, they were there.
But the old buck was suspicious and started the herd running away.
Curiosity has been the downfall of many an antelope and this group stopped again after running about 50 yards.
By then Gary had the rifle on the Bogg Pod bipod, and peered through the scope.
“This thing is really fogged over,” he said.
But there was no time to clear the lenses. The buck was prancing and about to run again.
Howey squeezed the trigger of the .25/06 and sent a 115 grain ballistic tip on its way.
“Just over the top of him,” Boone said as the antelope charged away.
Our hearts fell as we watched the herd dart under the neighbor’s fence and disappear over the ridgeline. There would not be another chance at that buck.
Howey had applied for a resident firearm antelope tag, last April and had been drawn. He contacted Boone with whom he had hunted antelope four years ago and set up the trip. I came along to do photography.
But keeping the cameras dry proved to be the biggest challenge. We had driven right into a big cold front which sent temperatures into the 30s and rain into the Nebraska panhandle.
The wet weather meant that we had to stay out of the gumbo soils region north of Chadron where Huffman has a lot of good antelope territory leased.
But it didn’t take long to locate another group of antelope on the same property. There was a buck with them, but nothing close to the size of the one we had just missed.
We tried a couple of stalks but just couldn’t get close enough.
We left this ranch and headed north. This was gumbo country and we knew we would have to chase the goats on foot.
We saw a good herd from the road so parked and walked in. For the next two hours, we hiked and tried to connect with three different groups of antelope.
We never even came close. It was tough walking on the slippery clay soils and the dirk caked on our boots and built up in heavy gobs which could hardly be scrapped off.
We arrived back at the truck exhausted and more than ready for lunch.
Back in Chadron we decided to take some time off and return to the ranch in the late afternoon and hope that we could encounter the antelope again.
However, as Boone, Gary and I drove onto the ranch we were not real confident of finding another group of antelop on the property.
They were. Boone spotted a small group of goats and put the binoculars on them.
“There’s a buck,” he said.
With snow in the next morning’s forecast, we were anxious to bring this hunt to a one-day end.
Our stalk began in a draw about 400 yards below a small earthen dam. It was good cover and we proceeded quickly.
When there, we peeked over the top and saw the antelope about 300 yards away.
The buck was standing broadside and Gary, having kept the scope dry this time, leveled his rifle.
The buck jerked upright and ran a few steps at the sound of the shot and then dropped into the grass.
This hunt was over.
If you go
WHO: Boone Huffman
WHAT: Ash Creek Outfitters
Website: ashcreekoutfitters.com
Phone: (308) 432-3885
WHERE: Chadron, Neb.
Licenses: Firearm (residents only), $28. Nonresident archery, $133. Habitat Stamp $16
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