The Enchanted Rifle

[Capin' Dan]

Well I finally got to live a life long dream in drawing an Antelope tag. I put in for a hair tag in the Riley unit. I could only take one with horns shorter than the ears but what the heck I wanted to go out and give it a try. I had to work all night on Tuesday and after Breakfast on Wednesday morning with the crew I was off to pursue a dream. The drive over was a good one to break up the monotony I decided to follow the crooked river rd. from Prineville to Brothers wow what a beautiful drive that is. I finally arrived in Riley at around 3 ish in the afternoon and started into my unit. I spotted the first herd right off. It was on private land so I marked it on the map in case I wanted to ask the rancher for permission later in the hunt if needed. The second herd that I spotted about 20 minutes later was out in the sage brush with absolutely no way to get up on them. Any way there was this little canyon that I check out every time I hunt this particular area and I had seen a small herd in it for the past three years. Up on arriving at the canyon I wasn’t disappointed as sure enough there was a small herd of animals down there. They were on the far side so I decided to drive around to the other side and then hike to edge and find my way down to the bottom.
This is the type of meadow that has a soft spot in all our hearts. Tree covered ridges all around with a nice creek and meadow running through the middle. After a short hike to the top canyon I noticed that the herd now was back over on the side I originally started at. I decided to go ahead and hike down. I meandered my way about ¾ of the ways down and then found a good spot to sit that had a good rest which to aim from. I then set up and started waiting. You see the rut was in full swing for these guys and the herd buck was really running himself ragged. Trying to keep his does rounded up and the other small bucks at bay. During my wait I started reflecting about just how special this hunt truly was. It has been a goal of mine for most of my life to hunt Antelope. To make it just that much more special this last summer my father handed down to me his rifle. I remember as a kid always begging to go hunting with him in central Texas I don’t know how many deer that I have seen him take with this rifle. He is one of the best shots that I have every seen I can’t ever remember seeing him miss a shot. If he pulled the trigger then it was game down. I felt a little bad when he gave me the rifle he told me that he hadn’t used if for several years any how but at 65 that is way to young to give up hunting. I went to my gun cabinet and took out my new browning a-bolt 30-06 and told him I would trade him even for his rifle. This way it will keep the other brothers off my case hopefully. My dad’s rifle is a 7 MM Mag Remington model 700 BDL about 30 years old if they made them back then. I still think that I got the best end of the trade. We were looking at the old rifle when he gave it to me and discovered the firing pin was stuck and wouldn’t fire. Some WD-40 and break free and we were in business. I did replace the optics with new and a new sling and I am set.
So now back up on the canyon wall the buck stops chasing the satellites long enough to pass on his genes to the next generation he is a real butte had to be all of 14”++ I am watching through my scope hoping that he will drive his heard back over to my side of the canyon. The satellites are all within 200 yds and occasionally the big guy is too. It seems like they are continuing to drift further and further. I figured about a 300 to 350 yd shot not bad for this rifle just not sure about me. Finally I had a great broad side on a nice medium sized animal. I put the cross hairs just behind the shoulders and held a tad high and squeezed the trigger. Down the animal went without a twitch the herd ran in a big circle which took them right back where they started they stood around looking at their fallen comrade for a few minutes that’s when I noticed another big buck coming onto the scene. His horns are even taller than the herd buck. I figure it’s all over for him because of the running that he had been doing the past hour. When the other buck came in the herd buck was ¼ mile away chasing one of the satellites. He turned and saw the new intruder and here he comes running in, now they are only about 200 yds away and they two bucks drop their heads and really go after it for about the next 15 minutes pushing and shoving squealing and grunting. Finally the herd buck once again victorious drove off the other buck. He then gathered up his does and moved them further down the canyon. I then went down to claim my prize. I stepped off the distance and it was 450 paces from the bottom on the floor to where the antelope lay. The 150-grain round did a perfect job and actually caused little damage. I noticed that instead of a doe that I had gotten a small yearling buck about 1 ½ years old. It was slightly after dark when I finally got it packed out. I looked out over the meadow from the canyon wall as I’m leaving and notice that a small herd of elk had just entered at the far end where I last saw the herd buck and his group of does. It was too dark to see any bulls but I did wish that I had a bugle so that I could say high just the same. I got back to my truck and iced down the yearling antelope and was just totally exhausted. I pulled my tarp out and sleeping bag and rolled into it for the night. As I lay there the coyote’s singing me to sleep and I thought about my dads rifle true to its form I had made the perfect shot. It was by far the longest I had ever made and I started to think maybe it is enchanted. I know that it always will be in my heart. Someday I will pass it onto one of my grand children or nephews in maybe another 25 years.

[OneLastCast]

Thanks for the story Cap'n

OneLastCast

[GutshotApe]

Capin' Dan - Good story except for shooting the buck :shocked: . Didn't you read the "Attention Pronghorn Antelope Hunters" box at the bottom of page 29 or look at the pictures at the top of page 30 in the synopsis? The purpose of the "horns shorter than ears" tag you drew was to reduce the herd without shooting bucks. You were supposed to shoot a doe. The wording of the reg is to allow for young, inexperienced hunters who make an honest mistake and accidentally shoot a buck. Hunters can easily distinguish a young buck antelope from a doe, even at 350 yds. Didn't you look at the animal before pulling the trigger? :whazzup:
Next year's Riley tag holders will have one less mature buck to hunt. :depressed:

[MasterCaster]

Great story Capin' Dan! That gun sounds just like my dads .308 the gun just cant miss no matter who shoots it!

GutshotApe..........with your thinking I think you could ruin a wet dream. :shocked:

He said he didnt know it was a buck until he walked up to it so i dont think he did it intentionally.

Jon :smile: :grin: :smile:

[chummer]

Cap'in dan, i'm glad you had an enjoyable hunt. Hope you do better at pickin out the drakes from the susies when we hunt this year :grin: it'll soon be time to plan a duk shoot

[GutshotApe]

Master Caster - Gee, I'm sorry if my thinking ruins your sex life :tongue: .

Not only does the hunting regs synopsis make a big deal about the need to refrain from shooting juvenile buck antelope, everyone who draws one of the "Horns Shorter Than Ears" antelope tags is sent a special letter from ODFW explaining the intent of the hunt, why it is important to distinguish and identify your target, why it is important not to shoot young bucks, and the consequenses of not being careful (or not caring) and shooting a buck instead of the more plentiful does. If you want to shoot a buck antelope then you should apply for one of the hard to get buck tags. If you apply for the easy to get doe or "horns shorter than ears" tags then you should shoot a doe.

If you make a posting about your hunt you should expect thoughtful commentary. [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img]

GSApe [img]graemlins/program.gif[/img]

[MasterCaster]

This quote says it all to me....""horns shorter than ears"

Sounds like he was 100% legal to me :grin:

Jon :smile: :grin: :smile:

[GutshotApe]

MC - I didn't say it was illegal. But it sure isn't desirable to intentionally shoot a juvenile buck antelope. Some would say it is unethical. And if the guy just whacked the first animal he saw without identifying it and "accidentally" shot a buck, shame on him!

Its not as if people holding those tags aren't plainly instructed about the hunt's objective. Its easy to tell a juvenile buck from a doe. And if it was too far away, or too dark to make the distinction then he shouldn't have taken the shot. The purpose of having "horns shorter than ears" tags was to allow for honest mistakes made by young hunters (who are usually the ones who apply for these tags). ODFW staffers wanted the tags to be "doe only" because of fears that many hunters would shoot juvenile bucks even after being asked not to. The commission believed adult hunters would cooperate and authorized the special "short horn" tags. It appears that the commission may have been overly optimistic. :depressed:

GSApe [img]graemlins/program.gif[/img]

[MasterCaster]

To me thats about like saying if I have a "buck with a visable antler" tag and I shoot a spike shame on me for not waiting for a bigger buck. Well Im a meat hunter. I hunt to feed myself and my family. Im not in it for a "rack" or a "wallhanger" Ill shoot the first legal animal I see and then go back to fishing for the rest of the season.

If its legal its dead and in my freezer. No I do not hunt Antelope but if the tag says "horns shorter than the ears" then thats exactly what Ill kill. Ill pick a decent sized animal <just like he did> and squeez the trigger. If the tag is intended to be a Doe tag then it should be just that. If it was intended to be a juvinile tag then is should be just that.

My only point is he had an excelent hunt and one he will remember for the rest of his life. he did everything perfectly legal and has nothing to be ashamed of.

Jon :smile: :grin: :smile:

[GutshotApe]

MC - You're absolutely right, Capin Dan was legal. :grin:

I'm sorry to rain on anybody's parade and Dan's story was well written, etc.

But with the advisory in the synopsis plus the letter each tag holder got explaining why he should pick out and harvest a doe, shooting a young buck from a herd intentionally or unintentionally is not justified absent a reasonable explanation. Shooting juvenile antelope bucks doesn't meet the ODFW biological objective and if very many others do it the commission will likely make those hunts "doe only". The losers, if that happens, will be the young 12 or 14 yr old hunters who do screw up and accidentally shoot a juvenile buck giving OSP no choice but to write a citation. That's no way to start a hunting career and that's what the current rule tries to prevent.

GSApe [img]graemlins/program.gif[/img]

[Capin' Dan]

Yes Gutshotape is correct I did feel bad about the small buck being shot and I actually spent an hour looking at these animals I was quite surprised that it was a buck when I got up to it. One of the things that made me sure it was a doe was that the herd buck made it clear to any other buck around including the small younger bucks that they were not welcome among the herd. I really tried my best to look at the white around the head and try to identify it. I spent a lot of time looking at the regulations to make sure this went smooth like I said I was surprised and a little disappointed that it was a buck even though legal. With that said I have a receipt for all of you guys for antelope that is out of this world.

I'm going to call it Richards Antelope Kabob's he is a chef at one of Intel's cafes.

3 pounds of loin
Worchester sauce (li & perrins) (missed spelled)
Large pineapple chunks
Bell Pepper (any color)
Onion
Whole Garlic Cloves Peeled
Mushrooms
Oil
Terrikey sauce
Black Pepper

Marinade meat chunks in Worchester sauce 4 hours. Meat chunks should be about 1 1/2" squares
Add pepper, terriky, oil, black pepper and some chopped garlic to marinade and mix with meat for 15 minutes.
Soak skewers in water for 15 minutes.
Assemble
Meat, pepper, mushrooms, garlic clove, meat, pineapple, onion garlic clove, meat.
Cook on grill until done.

I can’t wait to try this on duck breast this year also.

It was to die for.

Gutshotape keep up the honesty I really love our game animals here in Oregon and try to do what is right by them. It really was just one of those mistakes.

Dan!

[ 09-15-2002, 11:20 PM: Message edited by: Capin' Dan ]

[GutshotApe]

Capin'Dan - Thanks for the info. I wish you had put that explanation in the original post - I wouldn't have jumped on you so hard. It sounds like you made an honest mistake.

GSApe [img]graemlins/program.gif[/img]