Everyone’s got a hunting wish list, and I’m sure that speed goats are on it. Huntin’ Fool cannot only help you realize that wish, but they can also help you see it come to fruition. For my friend, Richard, and me, it all came together this last year. Richard called me and said that he had set up a hunt through Huntin’ Fool, on Memorial Day weekend to be exact. Huntin’ Fool recommended a premier hunt in New Mexico for antelope in unit 42. Two landowner tags were available, and we had to make a quick decision. We did not hesitate. We booked the hunt and made reservations for Santa Rosa, New Mexico. We double checked our licenses, our tags, and the reservations several times with all the anticipation that one expects for a road trip and a long-awaited hunt. We spent several weeks talking about which guns to take. I decided on my custom 6.5 x 47 Lapua, and Richard took his Masterpiece Arms 6mm Creedmore. We were set.
However, as fate would have it, we were in for a big surprise. The week before we were scheduled to leave for New Mexico, my phone rang. It was Richard. He had broken his left kneecap. I immediately thought our hunt was over. How were we going to spot and stalk New Mexico antelope with his broken leg? Amazingly, Richard said that it wouldn’t stop him. He made an appointment with his orthopedic surgeon to schedule surgery after the hunt, put his leg in a brace, and we were off. I picked him up the day before the hunt, drove through the night to New Mexico, crashed at a local hotel in Santa Rosa, and then met our guide the next morning for breakfast. Needless to say, he was not impressed that we were less than ambulatory. However, he had a great attitude and off we went. The plan was to spot from a distance and try to make short stalks to within a reasonable distance. Richard and I had spent plenty of time training and shooting at the FTW Ranch in Barksdale, Texas. We felt confident with our shooting abilities and trusting each other for range and wind calls. After checking the zero on our rifles, we were off.
Then it started to rain. Who would’ve thought that the hunt-of-a-lifetime with two best friends would start off with pouring rain and 20 mph winds? That’s when Richard spotted the first doe, and we waited to see if anything was following it. Sure enough, there was a really nice buck at only 100 yards right behind the doe. The antelope spotted us just about the time we spotted him. With Richard's broken leg, he wasn’t able to maneuver to set up for the shot, so I opted to take it. Neither one of us could believe that 45 minutes into our hunt we already had an antelope on the ground. Maybe fate was going to smile on us after all. Then again, maybe not. It continued to rain off and on, and the wind would go from 0 to 20 in a heartbeat. We saw plenty of antelope, but by the time we could get the truck stopped, get Richard out of the truck and on his crutches, and get into position so that he could make a shot, the antelope were gone.
As it goes with just about every hunt, it’s universal to pass the time with jokes, stories of previous hunts, and just general shenanigans. During a particularly rainy session, I regaled everyone with the story of my family trip during the past summer to Colorado. I was on a trip with my wife, two kids, and my in-laws. The wife and I had decided to play a trick on my father-in-law. After stopping for ice cream and getting it to go, we all piled back into the suburban. The plan was to get my father-in-law in the front passenger seat. Once we were going down the road, everyone in the car but him would know that the secret word was pineapple. If they heard the word pineapple, they would know not to eat their ice cream because I was going to tap the brakes and make him go headfirst into his ice cream cone. Of course, it worked like a charm and he ended up with a face full of ice cream. Well, we thought this would be a good code word to use on this hunt if one of us saw movement. Instead of yelling "Stop, stop, stop!" or "Hey, I see antelope!" the guide would just know to hit the brakes if he heard the word pineapple so we could glass. For the rest of the day, every time someone saw an antelope they would say pineapple. It worked like a charm, and we had a great time laughing about it.
Around mid-afternoon, the bottom fell out of the sky. It was pouring rain, and the wind was howling. We decided to work our way back when out of my window I spotted an antelope and screamed, "Pineapple!" The guide asked me if I was sure because visibility in the downpour was very limited. All I could say to Richard was to get out of the truck. We managed to get Richard out of the truck with his broken kneecap and crutches to help him stalk in the pouring rain. We set up for a 250-yard shot. The antelope was bedded down because it was raining so hard and the wind was blowing off our left shoulders at 20 miles an hour. We checked the wind with the Kestrel, and sure enough, it was 20 miles an hour and gusting. I gave Richard his wind call, and we were set. After being set up for more than 10 minutes in the pouring rain, our guide got out a broken elk call and used it to make enough noise through the howling wind and rain to get the attention of the antelope. He stood up, and we all knew immediately he was a beautiful specimen. Richard took the shot. Believe it or not, as soon as he took the shot, the rain stopped. Once we finally got Richard over to the antelope, all he could say was, “That is one hell of a pineapple.”
What a fantastic hunt and time spent with friends.
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