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Holding
Out for the Right Buck
The antelopes were about 175 yards away and just bedding down. My guide, Craig Hueter of Trophies West Outfitters, and I had spent the last forty-five minutes running low in the bottom of coulees and belly crawling over rises. The object of our attention was a mature buck antelope. As we glassed him, I noticed his horns were long and an interesting shape but lacked the mass that I was looking for. Craig whispered to me, “It’s your choice.” After looking him over for a few minutes, I decided to pass. We laid in the warmth of the early morning sun and watched them for a while. Craig tapped me on the shoulder and indicated it was time to move on. We made our way back to the truck, and I hoped that I had not made a mistake in passing. We were hunting east of Forsyth, Montana, a rugged country full of coulees and canyons that could hide an army, let alone an antelope of a lifetime. Craig and I did several other stalks that day, but I did not see what I knew I was looking for. Each time I passed, Craig would smile and say, “Let’s look a little more.” Over dinner that night Craig told me, “Tomorrow, we will try an area I haven’t hunted in a few years.” He told me the owner had stopped hunting the land, as he felt the animals needed a rest. The second day produced beautiful country and a stalk on a huge antelope. We spent the better part of two hours looking, planning, and moving in on him. Each time we felt we had him nailed, we looked over a rise, where he had been, and he was gone. At last, he got tired of our game and didn’t appear again. Later that day, as we were getting ready to head back to our motel, we spotted several does and stopped to glass them. They kept looking over their shoulders. They were looking down a draw at something that we could not see. Craig said, “Let’s set up and see what has their attention.” We got out of the truck and set up on a small hill. As we waited, a young buck came out of the draw. An antelope I could not see followed him. Craig whispered excitedly, “The second buck is a keeper. Take him when you can.” The two bucks were sparing and did not know we were there. The buck that Craig told me to take did not look that big, as I observed him in my scope. His horns went up and then stopped. Several years ago, I learned that you listened to your professional hunter. If they said take that animal, then take him. The shot was about one hundred yards. When I took my shot, the antelope spun around once and went down. As Craig and I walked up to my antelope, both of us got excited. My trophy’s horns went up and then hooked back on the same plane, forming an almost complete heart shape. He was an antelope that was a trophy of a lifetime. This antelope was more than I expected. To this day, I have yet to put a tape on him. There was absolutely no need.
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© Copyright: Ronald Machado - 2002
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