I got into a good sitting position, scoped the buck (horns about two times longer than his ears), put the crosshairs on the recommended kill zone, and squeezed the trigger.  The buck went down, but got back up and stood broadside to me.  Jim said to me, “He hit, he’s not going anywhere.”  I waited a long 15 seconds and worked the bolt for another shot.  Once again, a good position, squeeze, and boom the buck went down.  Jim ran back to the Bronco, while I ran toward the buck, attempting to count my paces to range the shot—about 250.  When I got to the antelope, he was still breathing and trying to get up.  This was a strong, healthy animal.  When Jim got out of the Bronco, we waited for the buck to die so we could begin the skinning and gutting operation.  To me, this time before the buck died seemed to be very long.  I had a lock-blade knife with me, but I left my 9mm handgun in my truck back in Alturas.  I asked Jim where to cut with the knife, to make this less suffering for the antelope.  Finally, the buck died and we began to skin it.

 

         We saw that the first bullet struck just above his backbone, in line up from his front leg.  The second bullet was a “6 ring” hit just behind the kill zone.  His heart and liver were not hit.  The bullet penetrated his body and almost exited from the buttocks.  Most of the meat was in great shape, his head and mounting area were untouched.  We gutted the animal quickly and iced the meat.  Within an hour, we had the meat in cold storage at a local market.

 

         The good news was that the animal did not run away wounded for a great distance and die wasting away.  The bad news to me was the buck was in pain too long.

 

         Jim told me that per DFG rules, guides are not allowed to carry a sidearm in the field.  I was unsure of the rules in carrying a handgun in a backpack (which I had on) unloaded, but with ammo available in the event an animal was wounded.  I did not want to carry my handgun exposed while crawling through sage and lava rock, so I just had the rifle.  I believe that if I had a large bore handgun with a slow moving slug, such as a 45 ACP or 45 Long-Colt, the antelope could have been dispatched with less suffering.  Obviously, I did not want to take a close-up shot with a .30-06 to do this job.  The shock effect of a big slow slug of a large-bore handgun, I feel would have been a welcome tool to this hunting trip.

The Die-Hard Antelope:

An Argument for carrying a Big-Bore Handgun on

Big Game Hunts.

By Chuck R(Edit)

 

         I bought my 2004 CA Hunting License in late May.  This was just in time to send out the lottery paperwork to draw tags for Antelope, Elk, and Big Horn Sheep.  It was my third year of attempting, so I submitted the form and the $7.00 fee with the usual ho-hum thought of just accumulating points toward the day in which I would somehow get lucky.  On June 20th, I got a “Congratulations” letter from the DFG!  An opportunity to purchase a tag for $99.75 (send money by 7/12); Likely Tables (near Alturas), Zone 3, Buck, Period 1, August 21 through 29th.  I knew this meant opportunity not success.

 

         I went through the excitement of buying maps and doing internet research.  I started shooting Cal Smith’s Sporting Rifle matches, using the Remington Model 700, 30-06 and ammo with the similar loads which I would be hunting with.  I did cheat a couple of times and used reduced loads for a couple of matches in an attempt to get a higher score with less recoil.  But, for the last two prior to the season opening, I used full power ammo.  This match gives a shooter the opportunity to shoot in all positions, which would approximate hunting situations, not just firing off a bench.  So, with 64 shots of practice using three positions, I felt comfortable.  I took advantage of a sale at Wild Sports and bought two boxes of Federal Premium factory ammo, loaded with 165 grain Sierra soft point (Spitzer) boat tailed bullets at 2800 f.p.s.  To me, this load was more than enough “palooka” than some hunting magazine recommendation to use a .243 Winchester on antelope.

 

         About a month prior to opening day, I drove up to the Modoc National Forest and scouted.  I did see a few antelope while hiking and driving on lava 4WD paths that I would have yelled at my son for driving a shiny Chevy Avalanche on.  My hunt area was 900 square miles.  I came to the conclusion that because it was a once in a lifetime hunt, an investment in a local guide who knows the area would be wise.  I asked around (even a game warden) for who was knowledgeable and ethical as a guide.  I found Jim Miller of Bucks, Birds, and Bruins out of Alturas.  I would recommend him to anyone who hunts in that area.

 

         All of the experienced hunters, I talked to said an antelope is easy to bring down.  “If they’re hit, they go down.”  I was comfortable that with my chosen ammo, the animal would go down quick and painlessly, a trophy head would be preserved and the meat tender.  All the warm and fuzzies would come true.

 

         On my hunt day, Sunday 8/22, we drove out of Alturas in Jim’s Bronco, just before daylight, got on a 4WD path and onto BLM land.  After about an hour, Jim spotted a herd a little more than a quarter of a mile away, just over a rise.  Through binoculars we saw what looked like a nice buck.  Time for the real hunt experience!  I put on my leather gloves and knee pads for the low profile crawl to a range for better identification and hopefully a better shot.  This area is covered with lava rock, sage grass, and mosquitoes.  We crawled on all fours, occasionally peeking up to see if the antelope were still there.  We got to a point where we could see them and they sensed something was amiss.  They ran toward us, but at a slight angle, then stopped to look around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remington Firearms

 

         Has revised their website and now include the use of a Ballistic Calculator (Similar to some software packages available.), comparison of up to 3 different rounds and other tables of information.  Additionally, you can join the Remington Club for some additional benefits.

 

Winchester Firearms

 

         Has revised their website and you can join the Red W Club for some additional benefits.