Back in May of 2021, I won an Arizona Commissioner statewide antelope tag at the ADBSS Banquet. I already knew who to call. The next day, I reached out to Tony Grimmett of Pronghorn Guide Service and booked my hunt.
As the calendar rolled around to late July, we were staying in touch. Between my work schedule, their scouting for elusive trophy animals, and guiding other hunters, we ran out of time to get it done last year. Tony and I agreed to take up the challenge in July as my tag would expire in August.
I arrived late afternoon in Flagstaff on July 15th. Tony picked me up from the airport and asked me if I’d like to hunt right away as his son, Eli, and guide Dave Brown had been scouting all week for two particular bucks, both being great trophies. “Works for me. Let’s go,” I told him.
On the drive out to the Coconino National Forest, Tony explained that the rut starts in July in this part of Arizona and we would probably see some of that activity. He has such knowledge and passion for antelope.
“It’s really all we do all year long. We try to know as much as we can about every antelope in every state we hunt in. Because we do so much of it, we pride ourselves in being able to score bucks accurately. Then we only target the trophies that we believe will score the highest.”
About 90 minutes later, we met with Eli and Dave. Soon after that, we began to close the distance on a really great buck that was with half a dozen does about half a mile out. As Tony had predicted, he was following and pushing does around, nothing crazy, but clearly the rut was beginning. Once we were under 350 yards, they set me up for the shot in sitting position as the cover was high. As much as I tried to get comfortable, I was not able to settle in. The buck moved a bit, and I tried again. The buck moved a little way again, and finally, I shot and missed. I then followed up with two more misses as the buck moved out of sight. Thank goodness we were losing light as I needed time to regain my composure before I wasted any more gunpowder. My team of guides were kind to me and made it easy to get over it.
When I called home that night to explain what had happened, my sons, Matt and Dylan, were not so kind! Both had long distance antelope kills under their belts, and they showed me no mercy. When I told them I would get it done tomorrow, I heard, “You should just stick to bowhunting.”
The next morning began early. It took some time, but we finally found the same group moving along and feeding. This time, the shots were from standing position, and let’s just say I proved to be consistent with my prior performance. Lucky for me, four hours later, Dave and I crept to within 325 yards of the buck who was now bedded with his does. I was nice and relaxed this time, rifle resting on my pack, in the prone position, just waiting it out. An hour later, when the buck got up and stood broadside, I had the confidence and squeezed off the shot. I couldn’t wait to call home.
After the 60-day drying period, I received word that my official B&C score was 90 4/8". What a great hunt with a great team and a great trophy!
Login