After 21 years of applying for California antelope, my son, Brian, and I were finally drawn for a once-in-a-lifetime hunt. We live within a few hours of the area and had hunted deer there a few times in the past, giving us a pretty good idea of where to start looking. Our first scouting trip turned up a lot of antelope. We were able to locate several decent bucks, but none were really shooters.
After some advice from a good friend, Ed, and a local Game Warden, we checked out a couple different areas. We spent many hours behind the spotting scope, and again, we saw a lot of bucks, but none of them stood out above the rest. We also noticed that most of the bucks were still in bachelor groups, indicating they were not in rut.
Fast forward to the day before the season, and neither of us really had a target buck in mind on opening day. Late that afternoon, we finally found a buck that was not tall but had agreat deal of horn mass. Like on our scouting trips, this buck was all by himself. We had hoped the bucks would be in rut by opening day. The next morning, Brian decided to go after that buck we had seen last. The area was a couple of miles from the road, so I dropped Brian and Ed off well before daylight to start tracking. I hunted a different location, hoping a new buck would move in with the does. I continued to see a lot of bucks, but not the one I was looking for.
Brian and Ed looked over a lot of antelope all morning and finally located the target buck at about 9 in the morning. The buck was a little over a mile away and still by himself. Brian and Ed watched him go to water and then walk back up a little ridge where he bedded down. Knowing they were in for a lengthy stalk, Brian and Ed planned a route, picking out landmarks and cover. Ed stayed behind to keep an eye on the buck while Brian embarked on his trek.
About an hour later, Brian had closed the distance to about a quarter mile. The buck’s location was tucked back against a ridge, and the terrain worked against him. Brian lost sight of his target, and he decided to walk up a parallel ridge, hoping to locate the buck again. Brian carefully progressed up the ridge, glassing the area he last saw the buck, when he finally spotted the tips of his horns just above the ridgeline. At the same time, another antelope buck popped over a distant ridge, startling Brian’s target. The startled buck jumped up and trotted towards Brian unexpectedly. His path took him through a little swale, dropping him back out of Brian’s sight. Brian readied his .270 and ranged the area he hoped the buck would reappear at 300 yards. After a few anxious moments, Brian watched the buck crest the ridge, and with one well- placed shot, he was down.
Brian approached his buck and was immediately surprised at his size. The buck was much bigger than originally estimated. None of us realized how big he truly was until we arrived back in camp. One of the other hunters in the camp rough scored him at well over 80".
The next morning, we went back to the same area with my tag still to fill. Not long after daylight on the second morning, Ed spotted a worthy buck. I made a short stalk on him and successfully filled my tag.
This hunt was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and took 21 years to draw. After the two-month drying period, we had Brian’s buck officially scored at 85 4/8". After some research, we realized his buck was tied for the 10th largest of all-time in California. We never dreamed of landing a record-making buck our first day out, we were just happy to fill our tags. I would like to give special thanks to Ed for all his help and the local Game Warden for his advice.
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