4:45am came early for the Rivera Boys today! By sun-up we were glassing a group of antelope on cloud creek. However the buck we were looking for had apparently been taken yesterday or possibly pushed into another area. So we headed to our backup spot on alkali creek. We had seen a nice freak and some heavy beamed bucks in an out of the way spot only a week earlier. With Dawson being sick yesterday, we missed opening day and were hoping that our "backup" bucks were still hangin' tight. I parked the truck behind a ridge and walked to the top to see what I could see. There were antelope everywhere in our little honey hole. The bucks were all fired up and rutting heavy. They were chasing does and keeping smaller bucks at bay. In the very bottom of the drainage I spotted a thick horned buck herding four does in our direction. I scrambled off the ridge to the truck and grabbed the boys to plan a sneak. We closed a lot of distance behind a rimrock before peeking over to see the buck at only 200 yards. No sooner had we seen him, and he fed down into a small draw out of sight. We tucked Mason under a small overhang on the rimrock and told him to stay put.
Dawson and I then scurried to the top of the rise to wait for the buck to re-appear. We hadn't quite made the crest when I spotted the does feeding up the opposite ridge. Dawson instinctively kicked out the bi pod and assumed a shooting position. Within seconds of getting ready the buck came into view. "Two twelve" I whispered to Dawson as I lowered the rangefinder. "When he stops let him have it" I instructed in a low voice. The buck took another three steps and as if willed to do so stopped quartering slightly away facing right. "Take him Smallz" I said. Dawson must have been well into his trigger slack, because the rifle barked instantly. The buck hunched and hopped about three times and stood again. "Reload kid!" I shouted. Mostly because my ears were ringing so bad. I heard the bolt cycle and waited for the report of the rifle again. At the second shot the buck stumbled and lunged forward collapsing within ten yards.
Mason had already covered the twenty or so little steps between us and him, and had begun his usual litany of questions. We assured him that Dawson had gotten the buck, and the three of us went to confirm the hits. Dawson's buck is a magnificent first buck. With great mass, good length and decent cutters he has everything you could want in an antelope.
Dawson and I then scurried to the top of the rise to wait for the buck to re-appear. We hadn't quite made the crest when I spotted the does feeding up the opposite ridge. Dawson instinctively kicked out the bi pod and assumed a shooting position. Within seconds of getting ready the buck came into view. "Two twelve" I whispered to Dawson as I lowered the rangefinder. "When he stops let him have it" I instructed in a low voice. The buck took another three steps and as if willed to do so stopped quartering slightly away facing right. "Take him Smallz" I said. Dawson must have been well into his trigger slack, because the rifle barked instantly. The buck hunched and hopped about three times and stood again. "Reload kid!" I shouted. Mostly because my ears were ringing so bad. I heard the bolt cycle and waited for the report of the rifle again. At the second shot the buck stumbled and lunged forward collapsing within ten yards.
Mason had already covered the twenty or so little steps between us and him, and had begun his usual litany of questions. We assured him that Dawson had gotten the buck, and the three of us went to confirm the hits. Dawson's buck is a magnificent first buck. With great mass, good length and decent cutters he has everything you could want in an antelope.
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