I have been hunting antelope in the West for many years due to my fascination with the beauty and capability of these incredible animals. I saw my first herd buck taking care of his ladies back around 1975 near Springer, New Mexico and have never been the same. I hunt elk, moose, mule deer, and whitetails as well but have really enjoyed these prairie speed goats. I hunted several years in New Mexico and then started hunting them in Wyoming as well when drawing luck would permit with my dad and friends. Over the years, all of my closest friends have made trips with me to either New Mexico or Wyoming as a result of hearing me and others talk of the great times we had. It's generally good weather, great trout fishing is normally close by, and the fall colors are incredible either driving up or coming home. Two of my best friends even harvested B and C class goats.
Due to various reasons, I had never taken a trophy in the 82"+ class. I had harvested bucks that measured between 75" and 81" in unit 57 Wyoming, but I had always wanted to be fortunate enough to hang my tag on a real bruiser. I had spent enough time researching and reading Huntin’ Fool to know New Mexico was a great place to hunt them, and I had seen some there myself. In my early days at this, a good friend, guide, and taxidermist, Bill Flagg, had told me that in his taxidermy business, he had mounted the largest bucks from Mora County and pinpointed the Ojo Feliz area. He believed the genetics were top notch, and when conditions were right, they could really produce some headgear. Bill was raised in Lander, Wyoming hunting and guiding antelope hunters. He knew these animals I think better than anyone I ever hunted with or knew. Sadly, Bill passed away a few years back and we really miss him. I owe Bill for his advice on this hunt. I even found the state highway sign for Ojo Feliz close to the ranch I hunted and took a picture of it. After two years of researching, I settled on a hunt with Desert Safaris and Hunter Ross. This put me smack in the right spot but depending on rain for horn growth. I waited and watched very close for snow and rain at the right time. It looked very uncertain at times, but as it turned out, the rain came in 2018 at the right time.
They say an antelope hunt is what you make of it. Hunter assigned me to a very experienced guide named Wayne Alcon. We hit it off very well right away and were hard after them opening morning, making the most of it. We hunted hard all day with barely a break for lunch. Anyone who has trophy hunted these guys knows they are hard to judge in the field. We immediately started to see antelope, I believed to be some of the best I had seen in my hunting life. One or two bucks I would have taken any other time, but my good fortune was having Wayne there to keep from losing control. That's part of why having a good, experienced guide is so important as they have far more days in the field looking and judging.
The second day, we got on a very good antelope and stayed after him for hours trying to get in position for a stalk. He was brilliant. Every move we would make, he would counter correctly to stay out of range while moving his herd. At times, he would actually stand and watch us from afar to see what our next move might be and then he would move accordingly. We had to leave him for the evening standing in a position that was impossible to do a stalk on. Now, we faced day three, which was the last day of the hunt.
Day three, in the morning, had the wind up a bit but fairly clear. We moved to another pasture we had not hunted the first two days. We crawled to overlook a basin rimmed by ridges and mesas. It was full of antelope, which was both good and bad. They had been hunted two days and were now very aware. If you spooked one, you spooked them all. We were going to have to stalk on hands and knees, if not belly crawl, to get in position to judge and hopefully take a shot. Ranges shot by other hunters in our camp had been mostly 500+. We picked one buck by glassing and decided to give it all we had to take him.
On our third change of position to start a stalk, Wayne had used his incredibly good knowledge of how spooked antelope react and directed our stalk. We both knew they would be moving, and our intent was to intercept on their left flank at a range under 400 yards and then hope he would stop to give us a look as they do many times for a brief moment. It worked perfect this time. All the does and young bucks came into view from our right, running to the left at half speed, but did not see us. We were kneeling and almost prone. I got ready with shooting sticks and a round in the chamber. Finally, the larger herd bucks came into view, trailing the herd a bit. The range was about 270 yards. There were three mature bucks together, but the middle buck stood out big time.
Wayne said, “Middle buck, Tom. He is the one we saw this morning. That’s him!”
Miraculously, they all three stopped and the big guy turned and looked right at us. Then, he actually pranced towards us about three or four steps. I was nervous and the wind was blowing about 15-20 mph. I tried to get on him but could not get stable, so I talked to myself quickly about this being the time. Now or never. He stepped broadside. My rifle, in this case, was my .300 WSM with a Leupold variXIII 2.5x8. I love it and have tons of confidence with it. I took a deep breath, let out half, and then got the crosshairs where they needed to be, somehow holding right on heart/lung position and then squeezed as my dad had taught me. The .300 has a light trigger pull, which really helps me. I took the shot. Recoil made me lose the picture, but Wayne hollered mostly due to the muzzle brake blast as well as my connecting. I could see he was down. Wayne said he was down for good and to not shoot again. He jumped up and ran to the buck, which was not moving at all now. I was halfway there when Wayne hollered he was a 16 incher. He in fact was an even 16" with 1/8" ivory tips. The party was on. We then quickly scored him green at 84-85" in the field. We scored him back at camp as well with the same result. After drying time, he grossed 83" and netted 82" official measurement to make the all-time book minimum. He was blessed with great length, great prongs, and very good mass below the cutters. It's very interesting that in my last phone conversation with Hunter Ross before leaving for New Mexico and the hunt we discussed the positive rainfall and great range conditions. In saying, “Goodbye, see you there,” he also said, “You're gonna kill a Boone and Crockett goat, Tom.”
The lodge Hunter gets to do his hunts from is top drawer with a patio view of the distant mountains, great food, and great guides. Wayne Alcon is the example of why when possible we should use guides. Find good ones, pay them well, and listen to them. That's why we hire them. I would gladly hunt with Hunter and Wayne again and hope to someday.
I was there to see every buck taken by the group, and all Green scored 82" or higher, with five scoring 84"+ . Wow! One green scored 90". It's as good an antelope hunt as I can imagine. As I said, these hunts are what we make of them. After two and a half days of hunting all day, I felt I had been on a five-day hunt with all the hours we put in. Special thanks to Bill Flagg of Flagg Group Taxidermy in Dallas, Texas; Hunter Ross; Wayne Alcon; and Albino Martinez of Southwest Taxidermy who took care to ensure he got measured timely for B&C considerations.
New Mexico Antelope Hunting
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