Wyoming Blast and Cast...

Buxndiverdux

Old Mossy Horns
The Blast....

I was fortunate enough to draw a unit 57 tag after 10 years of trying. My guide (Eli) and I decided to split up and scout the unit the day before the season to cover as much of the unit as possible. He had some truck issues on a previous hunt and had to extend that hunt and it crept into his scouting time in my unit. I logged about 190 miles in the unit the day before the opener and saw tons of bucks. I was able to log those miles with the help of my rental Toyota Corolla, with the Z71 package I installed. :rolleyes: Thank goodness it was dry. I looked over at least 50+ bucks, and I had 2 bucks that seemed to be better than the rest. Eli agreed my found bucks were nice, but he insisted his 2 were better. We made a plan to go after the best of the 2 first thing the next morning. He said the hunt could be over pretty quick if the buck was still in the area. I hate shooting on the first day. :p

The next morning, We were glassing the area, still in the "gray light". I noticed a dust cloud off in the distance, several miles (in 15x binoculars) and figured a truck was on the way. Before I could figure out what the dust cloud was, I spotted a bull elk. That was cool, but no tag. Back to the dust cloud... I switched out to the spotter and "it" ended up coming over a rise in the desert and it was a herd of wild horses running their rear ends off at high speed. It was cool to watch for a minute or so. Don't see that everyday. A few minutes later, I spotted what had to be the Buck from the day before as he came out of a depression with a Doe. Definitely the biggest buck I'd laid eyes on. He was closer than the day before and he was indeed a keeper. No other hunters in sight, so we worked to the east towards the sunrise, to get the wind in our favor and the stalk was on. Covered about a 1,000 yards using the undulations of the terrain and some sage for the final crawl up. Ranged at 379 yards and let it fly. Jumped up, mule kicked and I shot again as he was trotting and missed. o_O Then he stopped and I shot again and he piled up DRT. The 25 Creedmoor and the Berger 135 LRHT did the job. The walk up is always like being a kid at Christmas. The anticipation to see what you've got. The walk up didn't disappoint. He was much bigger than my 70" archery antelope from 2011. Definitely worth the 10 year wait to draw.
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appmtnhntr

Twelve Pointer
The Blast....

I was fortunate enough to draw a unit 57 tag after 10 years of trying. My guide (Eli) and I decided to split up and scout the unit the day before the season to cover as much of the unit as possible. He had some truck issues on a previous hunt and had to extend that hunt and it crept into his scouting time in my unit. I logged about 190 miles in the unit the day before the opener and saw tons of bucks. I was able to log those miles with the help of my rental Toyota Corolla, with the Z71 package I installed. :rolleyes: Thank goodness it was dry. I looked over at least 50+ bucks, and I had 2 bucks that seemed to be better than the rest. Eli agreed my found bucks were nice, but he insisted his 2 were better. We made a plan to go after the best of the 2 first thing the next morning. He said the hunt could be over pretty quick if the buck was still in the area. I hate shooting on the first day. :p

The next morning, We were glassing the area, still in the "gray light". I noticed a dust cloud off in the distance, several miles (in 15x binoculars) and figured a truck was on the way. Before I could figure out what the dust cloud was, I spotted a bull elk. That was cool, but no tag. Back to the dust cloud... I switched out to the spotter and "it" ended up coming over a rise in the desert and it was a herd of wild horses running their rear ends off at high speed. It was cool to watch for a minute or so. Don't see that everyday. A few minutes later, I spotted what had to be the Buck from the day before as he came out of a depression with a Doe. Definitely the biggest buck I'd laid eyes on. He was closer than the day before and he was indeed a keeper. No other hunters in sight, so we worked to the east towards the sunrise, to get the wind in our favor and the stalk was on. Covered about a 1,000 yards using the undulations of the terrain and some sage for the final crawl up. Ranged at 379 yards and let it fly. Jumped up, mule kicked and I shot again as he was trotting and missed. o_O Then he stopped and I shot again and he piled up DRT. The 25 Creedmoor and the Berger 135 LRHT did the job. The walk up is always like being a kid at Christmas. The anticipation to see what you've got. The walk up didn't disappoint. He was much bigger than my 70" archery antelope from 2011. Definitely worth the 10 year wait to draw.
ksqGP7I.jpg

VZHwuLU.jpg

9WkaGpi.jpg

i3FPqcl.jpg
Very nice. I’m thinking next year is gonna be a pronghorn year for me…
 

Buxndiverdux

Old Mossy Horns
The Cast....

I had a few extra days to play since I shot opening morning and had to wait a couple days for the processor. So I found a fly fishing guide and set up a float trip. A bucket list kinda deal for me. I would never travel to fish like that, but with a couple days to kill, I figured why not.

In the meantime, I got up with Woodmoose to see if he wanted me to look around and see what was happening in his unit with my Z71 Corolla:ROFLMAO:. Our units are adjoining, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to have a look at it to see what I might be able to find. By the time he would get there, the info would be older, but any information I could gather to help seemed like the thing to do.

So I spent 8 hours in his unit, riding the perimeter, and a few interior roads through the BLM and some checker board stuff trying to find something really big, and or just to get an idea if the antelope were favoring a certain area over others. Anything to get WM a head start on his goat hunt. Long story short, I found several really good bucks and a couple that may have been outstanding, but were just too far to tell for sure. Between the mirage and the wind, it was difficult to determine the specifics without getting closer. At the end of the day, I really didn't have a whole lot to offer WM other than there were bucks in every area of the unit, with plenty of road access, and a couple locations were I found the biggest 2 bucks I saw. It was fun to have a look at his unit, and take pictures and video of bucks all day. These units have so many animals, he will run into something he likes if he looks over enough of them.
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The fly fishing was better than expected. I'm basically a beginner. My fly fishing experience is roll casting crickets under tree limbs catching bream, or popping bugs on farm ponds. All of that was 30 years ago at least.

Paul (the guide) was really good. He often changed technique as the water, cloud cover or rain came and went. Every change he made, produced fish. I felt like a kid learning to fish with a fly rod. It took me a while to get the hang of it again, but by the middle of the trip I could at least cast like I'd done it before. We fished the North Platte River. He said he hadn't been able to fish it all summer due to water levels being low. But a recent rain had it up just enough to float it. It worked.
First Walleye...
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First Rainbow...
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First Brown...
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I caught 22-25 fish. These being the biggest of each species. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad some of you guys here gave me the encouragement to do it.
A great week of Wyoming for sure.
 

Jett

Ten Pointer
Mitch, I always enjoy reading about your trips. Thanks for not posting the fishing pictures in the Catch and Release Friday thread. That would not be good!
 

hawkman

Eight Pointer
Gorgeous pronghorn. Gorgeous fish. What a trip. I'm so envious. I put in for WY pronghorn for the first time this year and did not draw. Better luck next time, I guess. Or the next, or the next... :(

Can you tell me about your camera setup? Phone or DSLR? Tripod or hunting partner? The images are SHARP and well-lit.
 

Buxndiverdux

Old Mossy Horns
Gorgeous pronghorn. Gorgeous fish. What a trip. I'm so envious. I put in for WY pronghorn for the first time this year and did not draw. Better luck next time, I guess. Or the next, or the next... :(

Can you tell me about your camera setup? Phone or DSLR? Tripod or hunting partner? The images are SHARP and well-lit.
Waited for clouds to block the sun. Iphone 13 promax. Took about 250 pictures. Always helps to have a good friend that takes pictures and knows how to do it.

In the past, I’ve had DSLR’s and tripod for kill pictures, but the phones are so good now, I can’t justify a big camera for kill photos.
 
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