2009 saw me returning to Wyoming to look for another antelope and whitetail deer.
On this hunt, my camp included some very comfortable cabins with a separate cook shack behind the outfitter’s ranch house.
The rut was in full swing and I hoped to find my buck by spot-and-stalk hunting in the foothills of the Big Horn mountains west of camp.
We found several bands of deer in the mountain, but being early in the hunt, I passed on all of them, hoping to find something bigger.
In addition, hundreds of antelope were on the plains below.
One afternoon, while moving to a new area, we spotted a buck worth taking. It was another one of those long shots: 323 yards according to Jays rangefinder.
We hunted hard throughout the week, but failed to find a decent whitetail. On the very last day, we returned to a large ranch where we had found some nice deer earlier in the week.
There was just 15 minutes before the end of legal shooting time when we spotted two bucks chasing a doe in the bottom of a dry wash. With a little luck, I was able to catch up as the larger buck chased off the smaller one. A quick 50 yard shot allowed me to fill my tag in the last minutes of the hunt.
On my way home, I stopped by Adventure Ranch Preserve in Missouri to take a buffalo to fill the freezer.
Accommodations here were great.
I had a cabin to myself just a short walk from the dining room on the other side of the pond.
The preserve is very large, and by afternoon we found a small herd of cows and calves.
As I only wanted meat rather than a trophy, I waited until a 2½ year-old bull was clear of the herd and presented a clear broadside shot.
Finally back from the taxidermist, my antelope was now ready to go up on my wall.
Instead of an expensive shoulder mount for my buffalo, I chose to have a skull mount.
I got the hide made into a rug.
In spite of him being a young buffalo, the rug still covers the studio floor.
