2020 had its challenges and surprises for everyone. For me, the first surprise was when my account was missing $293 from the Utah Department of Fish and Game. Since I am new to applying for multiple states and had not drawn a tag outside of my home state of Idaho before, I had to look up which tag I had drawn as I wasn’t familiar with the costs yet. To my surprise, I had drawn a muzzleloader antelope tag! Grabbing my Huntin’ Fool magazine and rewinding back to the application season, I had basically read the magazine, highlighted hunts that interested me, and used that as a tool to apply. I had never been to this area in Utah and didn’t even know where it was. I simply relied on the information in the magazine to take a chance and apply for a hunt.
To my surprise, I drew that tag with only 2 points on chance. There were only 11 hunters on that hunt in a large unit. In fact, I was the only non-resident to get the tag. I was shocked and grateful to have the opportunity to go. I called all of my hunting buddies and began the process of preparing for the hunt. After completely rebuilding my muzzleloader to make it Utah legal and spending hours upon hours at the range, I religiously studied maps at night in preparation.
Fast forward to September when my best friend, Ryan Rightmeier, and I headed out for the nine-hour drive to set up a base camp and start a new adventure. We showed up after dark, and I had chosen an area on the map that I thought would be a good central location. As the sun came up on opening morning and we loaded up our gear, I caught a glimpse of an antelope in the sage only 400 yards from camp right at first light. Little did I know that this would be par for the course for the hunt. We saw so many antelope as we hammered trails up and down the unit. I used onXmaps to cross trails off the list and marked spots where we saw decent bucks. With no real expectations of what this hunt had to offer, Ryan and I showed up with gear and the only plan was to find a buck to be proud of. Because of the mindset, we didn’t put on a single stalk the first day. We simply admired the contrast in terrain from what we were used to and enjoyed our time.
The first day, I had spotted a good buck feeding in a draw below us. He had extra prongs on the inside of his horns, good curls, and wasn’t broomed off at all. He was a good- looking buck. I grabbed my muzzleloader and headed in to get to a good spot. To my amazement, he walked towards us and then bedded down, facing away. I never have this sort of luck! First day, first stalk, first good buck, and everything just panned out. I had snuck in to 50 yards and was lying prone with a perfect bedded shot. As I lay there, I studied him and contemplated what I wanted to do. Something just wasn’t right. I wasn’t ready to harvest on day one. I wasn’t done exploring the unit and seeing other bucks. I wasn’t ready. After about 20 minutes, I marked his location on the map as “#1” and we moved on. I am glad we did. From sunup until sundown, we hit it hard, covered a ton of ground, saw a lot of animals, and even found another buck that was a bit better.
That night, Ryan and I discussed our plan and what we may do on day two. We decided to go back to the same area as “#1” as there were does in the area and it appeared the bucks were coming in and out, so we thought there may be new bucks that would move in or I would decide to take the buck from the day before. As we pulled up to the ridge where the #1 buck was, there was a truck in the draw on a trail. We quickly spotted the buck 150 yards away, and boom! A shot rang out, and the buck ran. Looking at the trails, we could see that there was a trail on top of the ridge where the off to get a different look and see what else might have been down there. As we got there, #1 popped up on top of the ridge. I grabbed my muzzleloader and got into position, thinking they had missed and I may smack him. A quick look showed they had hit low on one of the front legs. We also saw them drive off, assuming they had missed and he was gone. I decided that instead of shooting the buck, I wanted to help them. I had Ryan stay and watch the buck, and I tore off after the hunters. As I started back down the trail, those guys turned around and headed back. At the same time, the buck saw me and was going to make a run for it. In a split-second decision, I decided if I kept up the trail, it would turn the buck and he would go back towards the other hunters and maybe they could get another chance. Sure enough, the plan worked and another shot rang out. This time, it was the right shot. We decided to go talk to them. It was a kid’s first antelope hunt, and he was jacked! They were locals to the area and grateful for the help. The feeling I didn’t have the first day on this buck was there on the second day after helping them harvest. That’s what was missing.
Ryan and I said our congrats and goodbyes and headed for the other buck from the day before. On the way, we caught movement up a draw. It was a good buck that was heavy, had good prongs, and good curl. He looked a lot like the buck we were after, but I had to decide right then if I was going to catch him. I decided he was the one, and I tore off once again in pursuit. I made it to the top of the hill and slowly crunched my way over the top. He was standing at the top and saw me as I saw him. I also realized it was the same buck and he had been chasing off another buck from his does. He ran down the hill and stopped at 85 yards. I took a shot offhand and heard a smack. He ran to the bottom of the hill and was clearly hurt. At about the same time, Ryan met me at the top of the hill and I prepared for another shot. We could see a good shot right behind the shoulder, but it looked a little low. We decided to add another to finish him. A 150-yard shot knocked him right over and center punched the heart.
Everything happened so fast and unplanned that we really were not sure if he was the one. I thought it was him but wasn’t certain. It was a pleasant surprise to walk up on him and see that he met my goals. He was a good buck for the area, non-broomed, and had a good look. This hunt was a stark contrast to the rest of my hunts this year in the sense that we just had fun and there was no real pressure. No physical exhaustion, no snow, no overloaded packs, no slow days, just good times and great weather. We even made some friends along theway.Iwashappytobea good example of what Idaho hunters are all about as well as represent the only non- resident in a way that doesn’t discourage residents.
I am very fortunate to have gone on this hunt and spend time with a great friend. I know that I’m that guy who some people don’t like because I sort of jumped the line in a sense and also drew a tag I knew nothing about. I know that struggle and frustration all too well myself. My only goal was to make it a memory I won’t forget. Thanks to the Huntin’ Fool magazine and Hunt Advisors, Utah Fish & Game biologists, my friends’ support, and, of course, my beautiful wife, Kellye, for putting up with my passion. This was one for the books and one I won’t soon forget.
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