It's Tuesday night and we are back in smoky Lake Almanor. My last post was on Friday when I was in the field watching Heart Buck feed about 350 yards just south of my position. A lot has happened since Friday and I just didn't have time to post on Saturday and Sunday. This was my best hunt ever and it wasn't because of my success but the many aspects of hunting that I have never experienced before. One unique experience was the ability to Blog from my iPhone while in the field waiting, watching and anticipating the movements of different herds of Antelope. I don’t think there was fifteen minutes that I couldn’t see Antelope from my position, whether it be in the blind, a ditch or just sitting under the pivot. Antelope hunting in itself is very unique since the animals are visible almost every minute of the day and a hunter needs to be careful not to exhaust himself in the chase. I just spent a few minutes reviewing some of earlier posts and let me make the excuse that posting on an iPhone in the field without my reading glasses was very challenging and you can tell by the many spelling errors. Thank God for spell checkers but you need to be able to see the little red line before you can correct the errors. With that excuse made, I will continue the story:
So on Friday when I was watching Heart Buck feed in the triangle between the three pivots, I made the decision I had to make the next move because, unless disturbed, Heart Buck would just feed until dark and then bed down in the safety of the triangle. I called Michele and asked her to drive the pickup to the field and then along the edge of the first pivot and maybe Heart Buck and his small herd would exit the field along the pivot and come within bow range. What happened when Michele entered the scene was hilarious. The stud, Heart Buck was the first to come to attention and then immediately sprinted 75 yards across the field to hide behind the old dominate doe and look over her back as those he was hiding from danger behind mommy's back. He was one tough cookie when it came to smaller bucks but was the first to run when real danger arrives. When the herd decided to make their move, Coward Buck surrounded himself with girls and exited the field almost last so he could watch the leading Does and be alerted of any danger. Unfortunately their path wasn't as I expected, so I gave the Antelope another point on the score board. It was getting late and I knew it would take another two hours for the herd to come back down the hill so I marched across the field and we headed back to camp.
Saturday: Since Heart Buck and family didn't cross the fence line and just circled behind the lake I decided to enter the field before daylight and hide under the pivot hoping the herd would re-enter the field sometime the next morning. Carl had turned the water off on the pivot and the arm was positioned straight towards the western fence and in the path that the herd usually used to enter the field. I came up with the idea that if I placed an object in their normal path along with the pivot arm that it may divert them in a path that came closer to my position under the pivot. Michele dropped me off on the edge of the field about 4:30am and I crossed the field in darkness and placed a five gallon bucket in their path and then positioned myself under the pivot. At first light a few Does entered the field and started feeding towards the bucket. They came within 150 yards of the bucket and came to a halt staring at the unfamiliar object and for a second I thought my plan just might work. The rest of the herd was still milling around just north of the ditch on the north end of the field when all of a sudden everyone came to attention. I faintly heard the putt putt of a four wheeler coming up the north fence line on the Fox Mountain Ranch. Next thing I knew, the herd was on the move, through the fence and up the mountain. The Fox Mountain ranch hand was repairing fences (on Saturday??) and made several stops spooking the entire herd to never never land. My next move was a phone call to Michele for a ride back to camp for lunch and a nap.
It was down to Saturday evening and Sunday morning to close the deal and giving up was not an option. During our early dinner I made the decision not to focus on the herd but look for a small group or a single buck to single out that evening. I had noticed that the main herd which number almost 50 during our scouting period had dwindled to about 30 so there must be smaller groups and single bucks floating around somewhere and if I had patience and stayed in position until dark I might have a chance to ambush one of these smaller groups. To make a long story short, it didn't work Saturday night. Heart Buck and family entered the field in the north east corner of the field for the first time and never ventured more than thirty yards from the north fence line. Just before dark it was a kick watching a group of about 6 fawns play follow the leader, zipping around the field at amazing speeds building the skills needed to outrun predators and maybe someday cornering a girl friend. After dark I slipped out of the field and head for camp to plan the final day of my dream hunt.
When we got back to camp and sitting at the table re-hydrating, I looked at Michele and made the statement: “I’m going to kill a buck tomorrow and I’ll be back by 10:30, we’ll pack up and head home to get ready for deer season.” For some reason, after thirteen days of watching Antelope I had this feeling of confidence that was almost eerie. I did a little extra preparation which included using a different type of scent protection, completely saturating all of my camo, hat and boots. (Which really didn’t matter)
Last day of the hunt: The alarm went off at 4:00am, again, and I was up and out the door without coffee. The wind was out of the east and it seemed like it was darker because of the smoke from the two fires burning south in the Lassen and Plumas National Forests. I decided to enter the field from the southeast and try to make it to ditch on the north end of the pivot without spooking any animals in the field. I removed the bucket from the field as I passed and hid it behind a clump of grass. I wanted the herd to enter the field like normal and my position would be perfect for a final ambush. At first light I peaked over the ditch and to my surprise I could only see one yearling buck bedded about 200 yards just north. The wind was perfect but no bucks in sight. My confidence was starting to fade when I notice movement in the northeast corner of the field. There he was, Heart buck and family feeding along the fence line headed straight at me. The roller coaster of emotions took another turn and then the herd did a 180 turn and left the field heading east and my hopes headed south. Remember how I said that this hunt was unique? What happened next wasn’t the event that I was hoping for but after fourteen days of non stop hunting I was up for anything. My phone vibrated and I couldn’t get it out of my pocket fast enough. It was a text message from James, the son of a local hay farmer and boyfriend of the daughter of my friend in Adin. James previously had told me that a decent buck had been hanging around their property and he could call me if he showed up.
Text Quote:
James: Damn he’s a 100 yards from the shop.
Me: Put a rope around his neck
James: Just drove 20 yards past that buck.
Me: Where is he?
James: N one of our pivots fields. Along a road.
Me: Do you have time to show me this morning.
James: Either dad or I can.
It was time to move. I called James and made the arrangement to meet him at the main barn in fifteen minutes. Now all I had to do was walk or run a thousand yards and drive about four miles to the ranch. I was shaking like a leaf, I finally had a single buck that hadn’t been chased for fourteen days and was accustom to tractors and trucks driving around his fields. I made tracks for the truck and by the time I was driving into the barnyard my nerves and confidence had settled. Johnnie and his wife drove up alongside of me and I blurted out. “The Antelope Exterminator has arrived” (many farmers look at Antelope just as ground squirrels, they just eat up profits). Johnnie said James was over refueling a tractor and he would show me where the buck was located.
James jumped in my truck and directed me back to the main road and south to the two hay barns and to our surprise the darn buck was standing in the parking lot just north of an old mobile home. He had crossed the ditch and was headed through the parking lot and across the road to an adjoining field. We pulled into one of the barns and when I peaked around the corner he has headed across the main road for the safety of the pivot field on the west. It was pretty funny watching an Antelope in high gear crossing a paved road. It looked like he was on ice skates for a moment and then out in the field just out of range. So much for the perfect stock and now he had the safety of a 100 acre hay field. I was immune to the disappointment of a failed stock so I told James I would take him back to the shop so he could get back to work. When we got back to the fuel tanks I glassed across the field and it looked like he was close to the south road, so we decided to take a drive around the field and range his position. When we got into position he was still at 102 yards and feeding back towards the center of the field. We circled the field and back to the shop and when James got out he immediately saw that the buck had crossed the field. He was standing on the road right under the pivot arm. Here we go again, this time James was driving and I was riding shotgun. (I mean Bow) As we got near, the buck left the road and headed slowly towards the river. As we passed I slipped out and entered the field just under the pivot. The buck was broad side at 26 yards and by the time I nocked an arrow and drew I figured he was about 30 yards and walking straight away. I knew that he was on the move and a broad side shot was not in the picture so the next best shot in this position was the old “Texas heart shot”. I put the 30 yard pin where it counts and released. The solid thump indicated a good hit and he sprinted across the field and headed up the south road. At 135 yards he slowed to a stop, his legs spread apart slightly and then the lights went out.
After a high five with James, we drove down to the south road and approached the culmination of fourteen days of jam packed excitement, depression, sweat and determination. It wasn’t the perfect stock on my belly, down ditches and across rocky fields but it was backstrap, a trophy I will cherish forever and the end to one of the greatest hunts in memory. (At 10:00am, a half hour before I promised the hunt would end.)
