king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated April/May 2008 - Index

58
Three great antelope from Colorado for Jimmy, Brian and Kameal
pretty disappointed at this point, but
not for long. I hadn’t noticed, but
Brian was looking in the opposite
direction of the herd. What Jimmy
and I missed were two antelope - a
buck and a doe, that had peeled off
from the main group. In looking at
them we knew that buck was the
shooter of the bunch. We also knew
that because he had a doe with him
and the rut was on, we had little
time. We fi gured that the doe was
taking the buck straight away from
us. The way they were going, Brian
and I fi gured we could head back
the way we came and head them off.
Jim headed back to the truck to pick
us up in case things didn’t work out.
The area where we were hunting
was fl at and sparsely covered
with small sagebrush. There was
nowhere to hide. Brian and I began
sneaking toward where we thought
the two antelope would top out, but
we didn’t realize that they had beat
us there and were standing there
watching us. We were busted. The
pair took off back down the ridge and
we watched as the doe headed over
the next ridge. Interestingly, the buck
didn’t follow. We had no idea where he
went since antelope blend in so well.
When we made it back to the
truck, Jim told us that he had seen the
buck split off from the doe and lay
down. That was good to know, but I
didn’t think that it was likely that we
would get another crack at him. How
often does that happen? So, Jim pointed
us in the direction of the buck and, with
Brian in the lead, one in front of the
other, we headed off for a second try at
the buck. As we drew closer, we spotted
one sage brush that was bigger than the
rest and put it in between him and us.
When we got to within 180 yards, we
quietly sat down and set up my snipe
pods. One minor detail, the sagebrush
we had used as cover was now in the
way and all I could see was horns. At
this point, I was stuck, but I took my
chances and slowly moved over. Now
I just had to wait until he got up, right?
I was like a little kid waiting to open
Hunter: Kameal Clark • Location: Northern Colorado • Guide: Self • Date:
October 2006 • Terrain: Sparse sage brush • Camoufl age: King’s Desert Shadow
• Gun: Winchester • Caliber: .25-06 • Bullets: 100 grain Barnes Triple Shock •
Scope: Leupold 6.5-20x50 • Optics: Swarovski
HUNTING ILLUSTRATED.com
Christmas packages. I looked at
Brian and said, “I can see his back,
I’ll just take him.” Of course Brian,
being the level-headed one of us said,
“No way.” However, Brian suddenly
had and idea and said, “I’ll whistle
and get him up, but you need to be
ready.” Brian had no more gotten
those words out of his mouth when
the buck stood up on his own. Since
I was already all set up and dialed
onto him, all I had to do was look in
my scope and pull the trigger. One
shot with my 25.06 and 100-grain
Barnes Triple Shot bullet and I had
myself one dandy of an antelope - I
just couldn’t believe it.
One of my dreams had
just come true; I had fi nally gotten
my antelope. He offi cially scored
80 6/8 Boone & Crockett and was
absolutely a great accomplishment
for me.
Brian and Jimmy went on
to take exceptional antelope as well
and we had a wonderful time out
there together. My husband kept
telling me how proud he was of
me and I just couldn’t have done it
without him. He never fails to come
through for me and will always be
my biggest fan, as I will be his. He
made me the hunter I am today and
for that I am grateful. Now on to the
next adventure! Did someone say
mountain goat hunting?