The Early Years
Wyoming Hunting 1975
First posted December 1, 2009 Last updated December 1, 2009

Mary & Joe,

     In all triteness, hello.
     I thought you might want to be clued in on the antelope trip.  You may nickname me “Michener” after this, but...
     Fri, 13, 5:00 - Mike, Tom and I leave in the blue Jeep, back seat rolled up and gear stacked alongside stretched out sleeping bags for off-driving sleep.  The plan was to rotate drivers every two hours or so, one person behind the wheel, the next driver awake for company while the exhausted man sleeps rearside.  We had strip maps showing our course, hwy 80 starting in Walnut Crk., or so, all the way ‘till our turnoff in mid-Wyo. for Paul.  We stopped at the Nugget for dinner, pitted in Lovelock for battery work, slept in the car for two hours beginning at 4:00 am., wherever that puts us, and continued across Utah.  We ate breakfast somewhere that morning and drove into Paul’s A-A Ranch at 8:30 pm, at which time Paul fed us some costomer’s meal, bringing anger upon himself.  Sleep, wake, leave by 9:00, right?  Wrong!  The manager wouldn’t let us fire at the ranch range until 9:00 and we had trouble with the Zweng rifles.  Paul’s shot wildly all over and took us about an hour & 15 shots to find an acceptable average.  Tom’s ammo, which I had loaded, fired only once in every three shots, though always on the second run thru.  We finally decided to buy ammo and have his firing pin checked in Laramie.
     We left the ranch late & made Laramie after about two hours.  We found a motel with two beds and a roll-out plus kitchen for only $20.00/day. -Great!  We got settled and still had time to check out one rancher.
     Dave Andrews and his wife are very nice, he even took us out to show our hunting area.  He has a lot of oil wells and many, many acres of land.  He’s probably worth a lot.  All of the ranchers own miles & miles.  Well, he showed us where to hunt and we gave him the $10.00 each, refundable, and went home.  Home made tacos & beer that night.
     Mon. morning- 1st day of season.  We got up at 4:00, ate, & took off.  We waited at the dirt road for light, then started hunting.  The land is gently rolling with short grass, cacti, and, on the ridges, low mountain mahogany.
     The antelope are everywhere!  All day!  They travel in herds of from 10-50, usually 20-30.  They stay out all day, just slowly grazing along or sitting out in the fields.  Since their defense is seeing & running they stay away from bushes & trees.  There were always a lot of bucks, but only 9-11 inchers.  We were for 12- .  Antelope are just white dots in the field (so are rocks!), not brown animal shapes.  After only 1/4 mile of driving we saw a herd about 1 mile away and decided to attempt a stalk as practice and to check it out for a buck.  We had seen probably 100 antelope already in that 1/4 mile, but nothing large.  So we got out of the Jeep, trotted 45* from them till we got behind a hill, then ran up on the hill to look at them.  You must trot because they wander around pretty quickly.  They were 300-500 yards away, mixed in with cattle.  Cows and antelope will graze together as if there is no difference.  We crawled thru the mt. mah. until we could see them well.
     Flashback- we had drawn straws to see who would shoot first.  Order- Mike, Paul, Tom, then me.  Side note- I also drew last for beds!
     Anyway- the main buck was only 11” so Mike didn’t want him.  Tom & Paul were going for 13” at the smallest.  I would have tried for him if: we were closer, we were the closest possible, they were in the middle of a large, flat valley, if: the wind wasn’t so strong, it was always blowing, and if: they were away from the cows.
     So we turned to go back and I saw, I was the only one who could see antelope, a herd about 1 mile away on a ridge on the other side of the valley.  The spotting scope showed a good buck, so we decided to go over.  They could see us from that distance, it was just ridge to ridge and we couldn’t walk straight across the valley, so we angled away from them until we were at the base of one of the ridges below them.  From there we were to look from the mt. mah. at the crest of the ridge.  But they weren’t in sight when we got there.  We were on a ridgey plateau so we started checking behind each ridge.  After about an hour of crawling or running hunched up, Paul spotted a herd about 300 yards away, some lying down, others grazing.  We couldn’t do anything with all of the mah. around, and certainly couldn’t stand up, so we belly-crawled to the edge of said mah.  Just before we got there the antelope spooked and started trotting away.  There was a good buck, but Mike wasn’t sure whether he wanted it or not.  It was too small for the Zwengs, so I was next.  If we had stood for a shot they would have added steam, leaving us with no shot, and gone far away.  Antelope don’t just go a few hundred yards.  I saw one herd go at least a mile after we spooked them.
     This herd was going back towards the valley we crossed to get here and we let them go down out of sight.  Then we ran!  They could get beyond range very fast and that was pure valley; no stalk possible.  We were hunting at about 7500 ft., and running half-bent for 200 yards thru mt. mah. is no easy chore.  We had to crawl the last bit.  We could see the antelope in the valley, moving slowly.  Mike & the Zwengs were on the right, with me left, of a 50 yd. wide bare strip in the mt. mah.  Mike still wasn’t sure about shooting it and I was too far away to discuss it.  He was bellying forward to get a clear shot and I was having fits watching what might be my buck walking away.  Finally he decided to shoot.
     He figured the distance at 3-400 yards and the wind strong.  So he put the scope almost at the top of the back and about a whole foot back to compensate for windage.  He fired and the antelope fell right down.  We waited a minute to make sure it was dead, then I went back to pick up some equipment while the others headed for the buck.  Mike had to shoot it close up to finish it.  They paced the distance at 225 yards!  That put Mike’s guess over a hundred yds. off!  Judging distances in the plains is almost impossible.  -more later.
     I forget whether we hunted any more that day or just went back to the motel, but the next morning we went to another rancher’s land.  It was next door to Andrews, giving us two large ranches together to hunt on.
     I guess we had travelled this man’s land after Mike’s buck because we tried to find an area again but got lost.  We ended up in a marshy valley with almost no exit.  The rancher had scaped 2-foot ditches all along the pasture at 25 yd. intervals & piled the dirt right alongside.  From the car we saw 2 herds moving into the foothills about a mile away.  Off we go!  They had moved up the mountain by the time we were in position and there was no good buck.  But then I saw a 12-14 incher farther up the hill, not with them, but lost it while trying to show the others.  The main herds started moving across the hill and out of sight so we had a chance to cross unseen.  While doing this we saw a small herd with an 11” buck come over a far mountain towards the others.  We had to stop to avoid being seen until they too were out of sight.  When we topped the ridge we could see them all still moving towards a bowl at the far end of the mountains.  There was a good size herd already in the bowl and another coming from below!  Antelopesville!  We could see at least 100 animals, all converging in one place.  We had to gain elevation but the mountain was covered with mt. mah. too small to hide in and very sparse conifers.  We went along the bottom of the mountain until we were behind a small ridge, then started up the hill hidden there.
     We were still 6-700 yards away and had to get closer.  Paul had first choice and would take anything Tom would, so Tom didn’t move forward, (we needed the fewest possible bodies) and Mike had already filled out, so Paul & I did a little hunched running, trying to have a tree between us and the antelope.  They had split into two groups so we really couldn’t sneak up on them.  Paul and I were 3-400 yards away when I saw a large buck, but Paul couldn’t locate it.  By the time he did all of the antelope were skittish and moving away.  We were in a desperate spot.
     Finally we decided to send Tom & Mike to the very top of the mountain where they would then walk behind it until they were right above the antelope.  Paul & I would give them 15 min., then go around to the bottom, hoping the animals would scare towards either party.  After about 16 min., just as Paul & I were crossing, we heard a shot.  We didn’t see any bodies fall, and the antelope were trotting over the ridge & downhill.  When they were out of sight Paul & I hauled for the crest, hoping they wouldn’t add steam.  There was nothing there for Paul, but I was going to try for the 12-13” in the herd.
     It looked like a little over 300 yards so I aimed just under the back.  The buck stopped for a second so I let go.  Dust hit right above him & they took off around the ridge base then back up the valley to the left.  We ran down towards them for another shot and they stopped & milled.  It looked like 400 this time so I put the crosshairs right on top and shot as soon as the fawn moved from in front of the buck.  Again dust flew right above his shoulder and the antelope took off for sunset.
     Judging the distances later, the first shot was under 200 yards, the second less than 300!  Don’t laugh!  The only lengths any of us could identify were 100 or less.
     As Paul & I walked back up the ridge Mike & Tom were coming down.  Then Mike sat down and Tom angled off with rifle ready.  We stopped, not understanding anything, then I saw an antelope lurch to its feet near Tom, saw it flop down, then heard the shot that had put it down.  We got up there and Tom had a nice trophy 10 incher!  He says that their back-breaking stalk needed a finishing touch so he took that small one.  We think he just got the fever.  The Jeep was almost 2 miles away, just a dot in the field, so Mike was to get it as close to us as possible while we cleaned the antelope.  We gutted it and sat down to wait but the Jeep just stayed where it was, one door open, and no sign of Mike.  He had left over an hour before, so we figured on car trouble.  We found out later that he had dropped his keys down the defroster vents!
     While we were sitting a band of antelope came over a ridge about 200 yards away.  We were still so they didn’t know we were there, but it surprised me to see them & I jumped up, ran to the binocs & off they went!
     Anyway, we started to drag the carcass toward the Jeep, over mt. mah. & all.  After 700 yards or so Mike comes hauling thru the trees in the Jeep, not seeing us, up to the place Tom shot his buck.  My rifle was slung on my back like a bow and I ran after him, trying to get my gun off.  I shot but he didn’t stop, dummy, and I had to run in front of the car before he saw me.  We skinned the corpse and piled in and took off for the road.  Just as we got to the valley we saw a small herd with a buck I would want trying to run away from us.  But...
     Antelope do not like fences.  They very rarely jump them, even though they could very easily.  They have a difficult time going thru the wires and so usually run alongside fences.
     Finally, most of the animals got thru, including my buck, but one 10” buck didn’t want to.  He would try to go thru, turn back, wander along, then charge it.  (here I drew an explanatory picture)
     One animal we saw later was really spooked & really tried to bust thru!  Its first charge shook the whole fence, sent 3 posts swinging, pushed the wire several feet, and bounced him back wildly!  Then it tried again 25 yds. farther down, but not so hard.  After two more attempts it took off across the field and away.  But it didn’t get thru the fence.
     Getting on... We were driving cross-field, straight for the highway, to get to a dirt road that paralleled the hiway that would take us back towards Andrews’.  Just as we were ready to turn onto it we saw some antelope and stopped the car to check them.  When we tried to go again, the car wouldn’t start.  Lights, blinkers, wipers, ... nothing would work!  We tried to find the trouble but after 1/2 hour gave up.  There was a strong wind & it started to sprinkle but Paul & I headed for the hiway to hitch the 30 miles back to town.  After walking a mile a car with two 21 (or so) year olds picked us up.  I was wearing my hunting pants- soaked with antelope blood.  I was the only hunter that knew exactly how to clean an animal & swiftly, so I took care of most of it & didn’t mind diving into the blood.  My hands & arms were still caked from Tom’s buck.  Fortunatelty the driver was a sometimes hunter.  He asked, “What did you do, kill it with a knife?” and, “Well, you didn’t have to swim in it!”  Oh, boy!
     He dropped us off at a gas station on the shirttail of town where we called the AAA emergency towing # that we found in the phone book.  Someone answered and said they’d be right out.  After 1/2 hour we called again but- no answer.  We tried several times during the next 30 min. but- the same.  So we called a gas station with AAA & they came out.  They had never heard of a AAA rep!
     The driver was nice, told of wild hunting experiences & strange things that happened with the tow truck in times past.  He had called the hiway patrol, found that no cops were on that stretch of road, so went 80 mph.  He took the dirt roads at 55!  His truck had lots of weight & good springs.
     AAA can’t take off-road jobs, so we should have paid for the whole trip, but the guy hates AAA & promised not to tell.
     He towed us to his station and found out that the battery was bone-dry & wouldn’t accept a charge.  They didn’t have any in stock so we walked across the street to another gas station, put Mike there as security, put the battery in the Jeep, drove to the motel where Tom’s traveller’s checks were & came back.  Then we went to the motel, bushed!  From stall to finish this took about 6 hours.
     Wednesday had heavy winds all morning and we saw very few antelope, so we quit early.  There was stuff to do in town so that covered that day.
     Thursday dawned fine.  We had called Andrews to double-check on refund of our money & he had told us that Wed. they had seen a group of 400 antelope in one valley!  He told us where, and it was a place we hadn’t been because there was a no-hunting sign on the fence.  You can bet we went there!
     The antelope had finally figured out that the hunting season had started and so stayed hidden.  Another thing they do- the big bucks split the herd & hide in gullies or stay far up the mountainsides.
     So this day we got on a primitive road that took us to a backcountry valley among remote barren hillsides. Just the place for wary bucks.  We saw few, just a couple hiding in a ditch & two more running across a hill.  Then we took another branch road up into the mountains & then went cross-country for awhile.  As we were coming back we saw a very large valley with a herd of 40 antelope or so.  We stopped the Jeep & checked them.  There was a good buck, though we couldn’t see well enough for Paul to decide if it was that good.  We didn’t dare drive any more, even though they were about 1000 yards away.
     There was a creek bed a few hundred yards away with the steep bank on the other side.  We left Mike at the car & took off.  We couldn’t see the animals from the top of the bank like we thought, so had to belly crawl 200 yards more to even see them.  Paul wanted it.  He was deciding that we weren’t going to see any 14”, so he was willing to take this 12-13”.
     The antelope were getting nervous watching these 3 butts waving around the prairie, and the buck started to wander away.  We still had to crawl 200 yards before we had a good distance & a rest.  There was an old cabin-like building ahead so we went sideways until it blocked our view, then ran.  The animals were starting to move so it was now or never.  We clocked the d. at 400-500 and Paul shot.  Dust flew way before the buck & they were off.  The distance was closer to 600.  Way too far.
     The antelope were on a very distant ridge & still moving so we just took the road heading over there, not going after them, but hoping to catch them later somewhere.  We crossed that ridge they had been on, but they weren’t in the valley, then we went over the next, but no success.
     (you should do this much writing & watch how bad your printing gets)
     But when we crossed the next ridge we saw them at the base of the even next.  Paul jumped out and I took off along our ridge towards them, but they were running up the hill and were too far away.  We hurried back to the Jeep and up to the next ridge.  Below the crest we got out & peeked over.  We could only see three antelope, about 150 yards away on the top of the hill to our left, but one was a big guy.  Paul couldn’t shoot and they trotted out of sight, blocked by our ridge.  We scurried for a nearby eroded ditch that put us closer & higher.  The three were only 100 yards away now, slowly walking, not quite sure what to make of us.  Last year Paul had shot his at twice the distance running full out and now he didn’t want to fire at a barely walking buck!  The antelope could have taken off any time, but we were lucky.  Paul was prone with Mike’s rucksack as a rest.  He would follow the buck, then lift his rifle to shift the sack!  Mike had taken too much time for his and now Paul was dragging us over the coals.  Then the buck stopped & Paul fired after a moment of hesitation.
     The animal fell right down and stayed.
     I wanted to go up onto the plateau after the rest of that herd, so Tom & I left M & P to gut it out.  I knew that the antelope wouldn’t wait around, so we rushed.  We spent about 45 min. peeking into valleys and such and finally sighted them far out in a valley, still moving, about 3/4 mile away.
     We returned to Paul’s buck where I had to show them how to clean animals, then drove away.  We headed down hi-way for a new ranch, paid $10.00 and started to hunt.
     We had decided that we had hunted out Andrews’ & the other man’s ranches, so a change of scenery was in order.
     This was Thursday and Friday was for sure our last day to hunt, because Mike & I had to get back to school and Paul had to be at UCLA on Monday.  He didn’t yet have a place to live!  So- (the reason for all that info)- I was willing to shoot 10” until late, then accept even a doe.  It would be nice to leave one day early, and the chances weren’t great to find a large buck in the fields this late in the season (4 days).
     So off we go on Miller’s land.  We didn’t see much all day.  Near the end we were watching a small herd close by, looking for a big buck.  There wasn’t one, but a couple of 7” walked towards us.  They were within 100 yards, looking at us, and I was going to get a clean, easy neck shot; I’d pull one now for meat.  The guys persuaded me not to, so we left.
     We planned Friday thusly: we’d go to the valley Paul first shot in, then thru the other ranch, the one Tom shot up, lastly we’d hit Miller’s.  I’d shoot only 11” until 10:00, a 9” ‘til 11:00, and anything after that so we could get back to town by noon.
     Fri. morn- start hunting at daybreak.  We saw little or nothing until we made Paul’s valley.  We did see a 10” but once again I was talked out of it.  Looking from Paul’s valley to the hills we saw a band of about 10.  We had seen it also Thurs.  It contained an 11”, two smaller bucks, and a few does.
     Sidelight- the two younger bucks gave us our only rut-fighting exhibition.  Same as deer.
     We decided to drive the 1/4 mile to the base of the hills and attack by crossing the ridges, out of sight, until we got in range.
     We started driving and I called to stop.  I had seen two white specks way up on the face in front of us.  We got out the spotting scope again and saw what looked like two 12-13” walking along.  The bucks do leave the herds and take for the lonely places.
     Game plan: drive into mountains on same road as yesterday, leave car, walk over top of mountain and be in front of antelope as they make their way along on the side of mt.  I was sick of chasing antelope from behind, having them run ahead, chase again, etc.  I wanted to get in front & let them come to us unaware.
     The antelope were watching us, even from that 1/2 mile distance.  Fortunately the road didn’t lead exactly for them.  We drove over the creek, (remember the creek?), went up into the hills, left the road and drove as far as we could up that mountain, on the opp. side, not where the animals were.  This was about 8:00 in the morning.  The sky was overcast, the wind was high, and the temp. was BRRRRRRRRRR.  We were all bundled up, wool, gloves, and all.
     We ran up the hill to the top and across the mesa-like top (twice in the same sent.?), then slowed down because we were near enemy territory.  We were at about 8,000’ elevation and cold!
     I was wearing my buckskin gloves, but loosened my right hand for a quick cast-off in case of antelope.  Tom was next to me and Paul & Mike were behind by 15 yards.  Just as we were heading downhill the bucks ran into sight, trotting cross-hill.  We didn’t expect them this high, nor this far on the hill.
     Several things happened at once.  Tom & I saw the animals, I threw off my glove & sighted for a running shot (125 yds), Tom started yelling & running back to Mike & Paul, telling them that the bucks were here, Mike started running & fell flat on his face.  Tom’s antics should have sent the antelope off full speed, but they were too curious- “What are these ugly things doing way up on our hill in this weather?”
     A ridge got between me and the bucks so I ran forward for a better & closer view & sat down in all readiness.  The others stayed higher on the hill, in plain sight to try to scare my prize, I guess.  They came out from the ridge & actually stopped(!) to look at us.  All I could see was a chin & higher of one and a few inches of horn on the other.  The guys called out the larger one, though they were pretty equal, as the leftist.  They could see the animals clearly and didn’t know that my sight was blocked by the hill & grass.  I had complained about the eons Mike & Paul had spent aiming, and now “Mr. Quick” was taking the same route.
     I couldn’t move forward because I would scare the bucks, so had to sit and wait with my crosshairs ready for the dash of escape.  Amazingly the antelope took a few steps and stopped again in sight, though switching left & right places.  All this time the guys are yelling catcalls & telling me to shoot, shoot.
     It took but a second to fire, once the bucks moved, and my animal dropped right down with a hole in the neck.  This was at less than 100 yds.  He died at 8:30.
     We took our pics and then the fun began.  The other guys were too cold so weren’t about to strip down to gut the antelope!  So they sat down and watched me take off my jacket, roll up my sleeves & dive in.  I got the job done in double-time for two reasons: I’m normally quick and I wanted to get back to my warm clothes!  But of course my arms were soaked and I couldn’t put my jacket over wet blood.
     We had to drag the carcass up to the top then all the way down to the Jeep, so Tom & Paul took that, Mike carried the rifle & scope & stuff & I carried my jacket & the heart.  The heart kept my fingers, which were in the holes, warm until it cooled off & finally kept them cold!  We got to the car and all four of us skinned him, I cut the horns off, and loaded him into the Jeep.  This whole operation, death - go, took only 1 hour!  Mike spends more than that just gutting.
     I bought malts that day.  We took this, our last corpse, to the meat locker and went to the motel.  The rest of the day was spent sleeping.  Going to bed at 11:00-12:00 and waking at 4:30 for a day of hunting all week just doesn’t make it.
     We had our only eat-out dinner that evening as celebration.  We went to a pizza parlor and listened to the jukebox as we crammed down 3 large pizzas.  The workers couldn’t believe their eyes as all that food disappeared.
     We left Sat. morn., and took 24 hours to get home, me doing the most driving.  The trip was made without mishap and adventure.
     The meat is fantastic!  Almost like beef.  Most antelope meat tastes lousy, but we handled ours well & didn’t make the animals run much.
     The trip cost us each, in toto, only about $180.00.  That’s #3.00/lb for antelope meat.

Bill


     P.S.- Tom’s horns- 10 1/2”, Mike- 12 1/2”, Bill- 12 3/4”, Paul- just under 13”.