I just returned from a pronghorn antelope hunt on the Durham Buffalo Ranch near Wright Wyoming.This is the same ranch where my old friend Gregg Richter has coordinated the HHI Antelope hunts over the last 24 years.
This past spring, aerial game surveys by the ranch staff showed antelope numbers to have fallen significantly due to winter kills and perhaps other reasons. As a result, the ranch limited pronghorn hunting access this year to only 5 hunters, as opposed to 20 -25 in past years.
In turn, rather than curtailing it so sharply, Gregg wisely decided to postpone the next very, very popular HHI hunt until the population improved, and decided to schedule these 5 openings as the "First Little Gun Invitational Antelope Hunt". I was joined on the ranch by our old friends Fred and Anita, and a father / son team from North Dakota, Kent and Jared.
The weather was cold, windy and rainy. After an unsuccessful stalk late the first day, I was able to make a 350 yard stalk on this buck the second morning, after a long period of watching and glassing. After stalking to the top of a rock - topped hill, I was able to make a surprisingly close 125 yard shot with my 14" Contender in .257 JDJ. At the shot, the pronghorn trotted just a few yards, and collapsed, dead:
Gregg was able to get the stalk and the shot on video. The other 4 hunters were also successful in taking bucks.
