From the day I knew that I was drawn for the muzzleloader antelope tag in New Mexico, I always had it pictured that I would take my two sons, Ryder and Ridge, with me on the adventure. They were ages six and four and had definitely caught the hunting bug. I had taken them on many hunts before, from antelope hunts with my dad and father-in-law to bear and lion hunts, but I had yet to be able to take them on a hunt of my own. Well, August of 2022, we were able to make that trip over to New Mexico for my muzzleloader antelope hunt.
We started our trip from our home in Mesa, Arizona to El Paso, Texas where we were staying in a hotel. We had a 45-minute drive to where we would cross back into New Mexico to the unit I had drawn in the New Mexico big game draw. We arrived a full day before the opener to get in some scouting time. In addition to my two young boys, I had two of my best friends along to help out. Hunter McGaughey and Jake Richardson were in one truck, and the boys and I were in another.
We started the first morning in the same location where we had a great buck located not long into daybreak. He was solo, so we figured he would be moving about as the rut was beginning to kick in. We marked his location and continued on to start looking at some other bucks we had seen. We just needed to close the distance to get a better look and get good film. Hunter and Jake went one way, and the boys and I went another. We got to look over 15+ different bucks that day. It was a great way for me to spend the full day with my boys and teach them how important it is to work hard and how to judge antelope. I got to show them exactly what to look for when it comes to finding a mature buck and, at the same time, enjoy the country and see a lot of antelope. They had a lot of questions throughout the day, like, “What kind of snacks do we have to eat?” “How much longer are we going to be out here?” and “Can I look through the spotting scope at the antelope?” We were able to see easily over 100+ antelope in this unit in just a single day. It was amazing how high the density was, which came in handy for keeping the boys entertained. They weren’t interested in taking a nap in the back seat.
We met up with Jake and Hunter to eat lunch and shoot my Arrowhead muzzleloader to make sure we were dialed in and ready for opening day. The gun was dead on and ready to go, as usual. My good buddy, Luke Horak, who is the owner and founder of Arrowhead Rifles, builds an incredible unit and it shoots lights out! We went our separate ways again for the evening and decided we would meet back up in town for dinner. The boys and I drove some new country and found several more great bucks, but we were still lacking a shooter buck for day one.
As the sun set, we headed back into town to meet up with Jake and Hunter for dinner at a taco joint near the hotel. We sat down to eat and started to look over the film of the bucks we had found that day. Hunter showed me a heavy buck they had seen that we thought would be in the 80-82" range. Then, he showed me a video of a different buck he and Jake had found right at dark, and he was a giant! It definitely was not unusual for Hunter and Jake to pull through and turn up a giant buck. I said, “Yep, that’s the buck I want to hunt in the morning on opening day!” With all the excitement of finding a giant buck, it was a night of little to no sleep for me, but luckily, Ryder and Ridge fell right asleep after a full day in the sun.
The next morning, 4 a.m. came early, but I had been up since 2:30 a.m. and was ready to go. We made a bed in the back seat of the truck for the boys to be comfortable as we headed out to the unit. At sunup, we started in the same spot where they had last seen the big buck. Right away, Hunter found a buck way out that looked like our big buck. With the boys still fast asleep, Jake hopped in with us and we started to close the distance as Hunter stayed backed on the glass. The buck we were on had moved a long way from where he was the night before, but that is not unusual for the rut. Jake mentioned we should head to the corrals where they had last seen the buck, so we headed that way in search of turning up the big buck. We got to where Hunter had last seen the buck that morning, and Jake and I started to glass in that direction. For some reason, I decided to glass just under us at what I thought was a goat, and there he was, the big buck we were after. He was 720 yards from us feeding in the bottom. With some luck, he decided to bed in the wide open, looking away from us. Ryder had woken up at this point and jumped out to see what we were looking at. Ridge was still fast asleep, so Ryder stayed at the truck with Ridge as Jake and I started to close the distance. We got to 417 yards, and I decided it was good enough and laid down to set up for the shot. Jake ranged the buck with the Revic rangefinder and told me what to turn the turret to. I was laying prone and had a solid setup. Boom! The first shot went off and looked perfect as the buck was laid out, kicking its feet. Jake was on the spotter and said, “Great shot! He’s dead!” These animals are incredibly tough, and this buck was able to get to his feet and take off. My heart sank, and Jake was speechless.
We headed back to the truck as Hunter tried to get a different angle to pick him back up. Ryder and Ridge were anxiously waiting in the truck, excitedly asking what had happened and if we got him. We headed up the road to meet up with Hunter. We made a plan and decided Hunter and the boys would go up the road and glass while Jake and I would walk into where we had last seen the buck.
As we walked in, Jake spotted the buck in the bottom of the drainage. He was sick, just standing there with his head down. We were able to crawl in a few hundred yards and make two more great shots to put the buck down. We walked up on him and were speechless. We knew he was big but didn’t fully understand how big he was. There was zero ground shrinkage on this dude. We were on Cloud 9! Hunter and the boys came driving up shortly after, and the boys jumped out with the same excitement I was feeling. It was a good lesson for my boys to see that no matter what happens, you never give up. You keep pushing even when the going gets tough, and if you work hard, you will succeed.
This was a dream hunt for me, and I couldn’t be happier at the way it turned out. I was going to shoot a buck no matter what. My goal was 80", but most importantly, I wanted to succeed on a great buck because my two sons were with me. My buck ended up going 86", and that score was just icing on the cake! This will be a hunt I will never forget with my boys and a couple of good buddies. Never miss or pass an opportunity to take your kids and show them that hard work is OK and anything is achievable when you put your mind to it. Life is short and can be gone in the blink of an eye. I have seen that first-hand. Get out and make those memories that will last a lifetime!
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