Ray Howell's Bowhunting Adventures

As I peered around the side of our antelope decoy on a warm Wyoming afternoon, the buck we were trying to "lure" into us, headed off in the opposite direction. This was the 11th "stalk" we had attempted in the last two days and I thought we had blown it again. My guide and husband, Ray, decided that we should "camp" there for a while to see if anything else might head our way as there were small herds of antelope in every direction.

In the distance we could see a fairly good sized herd of antelope does running back and forth, being "herded" by a very controlling, dominant buck. The buck we had first seen headed in that direction and was now attempting to steal some of the does. However, in an instant, the larger buck charged at the smaller one and chased him back over to where we were situated. We slowly rose to our feet from a kneeling position, and proceeded to move forward hiding behind our decoy, hoping to get the attention of the larger buck. We were actually thinking the he might spot our decoy and want to "kick" its butt too! Of course, this would be the perfect scenario.

Then the smaller buck looked our way, and then started walking in our direction. We sat very still trying not to show ourselves as the buck made his way ever so slowly towards us. Ray motioned to me to draw my bow. I was at full draw waiting for the buck to get within range. When the buck had wandered a little closer, Ray checked his range finder and told me that he was approximately 32 yards away. At this point, the buck picked up his pace to a fast walk and I told myself it was now or never. I released the arrow, which struck the buck just behind the front leg. It was slightly back from where I had aimed, as I hadn't allowed enough for "leading" him. The antelope charged off at a lightening pace and Ray assured me it was a "perfect" shot. We tracked the buck a short ways over a few small hills and found him lying on his side with my arrow still intact. Although he wasn't the P&Y buck we had hoped would come in, I was totally thrilled, as this was the first time I had harvested an antelope with my bow!

Ray and I hadn't actually hunted antelope in Wyoming for almost five years so we decided to try and get drawn and visit with some old friends. As soon as we were notified that we had been successful, we called our friends Darrell and Audrey who live near Rozet, WY. They had previously given us the names of some friends of theirs who would allow us to hunt on their property. Darrell and Audrey made the necessary contacts for us before our arrival in Wyoming, so all we had to do was to introduce ourselves to these people before we could actually start hunting.

We talked to other hunters who grumbled and complained about the lack of availability to access public land in Wyoming. According to facts and figures put out by the Wyoming DNR, this is a sad fact. More and more Wyoming property owners are either allowing hunters in for an "access" fee of $500 or more plus an additional amount for a trophy fee. Some of them are now only allowing outfitters in. However, we found that there are many friendly and helpful ranchers who welcome hunters on their property.

Our experiences were, for the most part, exceptional, and we made new friends in the process. We were invited to share their homes and even their meals! Some of the people we met were glad to see us hunt their property because of all the damage the antelope were doing to their shrubs, flowers, and other vegetation. Probably the only bad experience we encountered was having a landowner refuse to allow bow hunters on his property. He either didn't know that bows can be just as accurate as guns or he just didn't care for bow hunters.

After harvesting my antelope, it was Ray's turn to "be the hunter". He said it was actually more thrilling for him to see me get my antelope than for him to take one. Our plan was to go back after some of the larger bucks we had seen while on my hunt.

On the second day of Ray's hunt, we got uncomfortably close to a large, heavy-based buck's harem. It was very different being that close to so many animals and not being detected while just using our decoy for cover. We could tell by the buck's reactions that he was becoming unnerved by the presence of our decoy. He must have thought our "buck" was going to steal his "girls".

The pronghorn had finally had enough-he was going to run our decoy off! The large, charging buck came in fast and then stopped with a startled look on his face. Ray was already at full draw and then said, "move the decoy". I quickly slid the decoy from my right to my left, which opened up the shooting lane for Ray and just that quick he released his arrow. The "lofer" then spun around, ran back towards his harem and expired within 40 yards of where the arrow passed through him. The thrill and excitement of this hunt left my heart pounding so loud that I thought Ray was going to hear it! What a great hunt!

If you've never tried "decoying" antelope, you're really missing out on a fun hunt!