I had always dreamed of hunting antelope out west, ever since reading Jack O’Connor’s books.  I even purchased a rifle, a .270 of course, in hopes that someday my dream would come true.  Due to the generosity of Cynthia Vannoy of the Women Hunters Club and A Bar V Outfitting, my dream hunt was finally realized.   Cynthia offered a combination mule deer and antelope hunt for a mother/daughter or mother/son at a greatly reduced rate.  My 17 year old son David would accompany me.

Little did I know when I booked that hunt with her in February that we would be hunting in February-like conditions in early October!  When we arrived in Sheridan there was about an inch of snow on the ground and it was supposed to snow all that Friday night, through Saturday finally ending Sunday night.  We loaded up the guns and luggage, had some dinner and then headed out the 30 miles to our accommodations.  The speed limit on the 2 lane highway road was 65 mph but I don’t think I even went over 40, the roads were slick and it was snowing, but the most amazing thing was the number of deer, both mule and whitetail , antelope , and turkeys that were in the fields alongside the roads.  It was truly astonishing to see all that game right along the road.

The next morning dawned late, there was about 5 inches of snow on the ground with more falling and the temperature was in the teens.  We arrived at the Vannoy ranch, met Cynthia’s mother, Lorraine, and had a great breakfast while contemplating our strategy.  With the weather conditions we were limited to driving only on the county road.  In normal October hunting conditions, one is able to drive miles into the back country of the ranch, however this time that was not going to happen.  Visibility was limited due to the falling snow, and even the main ranch road was quite slippery. Our first hike took us off the road and over a few hills.  We found some mule deer, first does and later 2 bucks but neither David nor I could get our guns up in time for a clean shot.  It was a good start to see so many deer on the first hike.  Later that morning we spotted a nice mule deer buck.  I took the shot, but much to my dismay I hit him too far back and had to shoot him again.  He was a nice deer and I was proud to put my tag on him but it was tempered by the fact that I didn’t make a clean kill.  I realize that these things happen when hunting but I still feel badly about it and always will.

We continued hunting, found an antelope herd with 2 nice bucks and decided to stalk them with David in the lead.  He was able to get within 400 yards of them but wisely decided that was a bit too far to shoot.  We left him on that hillside.  He planned to walk along the ridge towards the ranch while Cynthia and I would continue on driving the road looking for more antelope.  We had no sooner left him when a small herd of antelope appeared only 100 yards from the road in one of the pastures.  The last one was a nice buck.  We both bailed out of the truck, I loaded the rifle and hurried up to the fence line where I used one of the wooden  fence posts for a rest.  Of course as soon as I was ready they all took off.  Luckily, the buck stopped before slipping under the fence and I made a good shot and he went down in his tracks.  Not a difficult shot at all, but I’m sure Cynthia was relieved after my previous ineptness. 

After taking care of the antelope, we returned to pick up David.  He had followed the antelope herd but was unable to get close enough for a good shot.  We called it a day and went back to the ranch where we enjoyed Lorraine’s hospitality and had a delicious dinner of elk steaks. 

The next morning conditions had worsened; there was now about 10 inches of snow which made for much more difficult walking in addition to the same visibility problems of the previous day.  We spotted a herd of antelope and David and Cynthia decided to attempt a stalk.  They circled around the herd and came out above them without being detected.  David crawled the last 50 yards through the snow trying to get a good shot at the large buck, finally stopping about 150 yards from the antelope.  He took the shot; the buck took off but appeared to be  moving  slower than the does. Cynthia directed him to search the area where the buck had been standing to see if he could find any blood or hair.  He found neither, and after following the tracks up over a hill he reluctantly admitted that he must have missed. 

Late in the afternoon Cynthia suggested that David take a short but steep hike back to the area we had seen the mule deer on the first day. We would wait in the truck and listen for any shots.  When he got to the top of the hill there were two bucks standing across the large, snow-filled bowl.  He hit the ground, got out his range finder and ranged the larger buck at 325 yards.   The buck turned broadside and David fired.  The buck took a few steps and David shot again, putting the buck down for good.  Darkness was approaching when we walked up the hill to discover David 400 yards away dressing the deer.  It was freezing cold with the snow and wind blowing, so Cynthia made the decision to leave the deer and drag it out the next morning.

The next morning we recovered David’s deer without incident. It took us longer than expected to drag it out due to the additional snow that fell overnight.  The snow finally stopped around noon.  We continued to search for an antelope for David but to no avail.

The last day of hunting was bright and sunny and much warmer.  We had high hopes of finding David a nice antelope buck.  We searched in all the usual places and didn’t see a thing.  Suddenly a doe appeared out of a draw, followed by another and another.  David shouted, "A buck!” just as they all took off.  The fact that antelope are curious creatures saved this hunt, they stopped and looked back when they were about 300 yards off.  David dropped to a prone position and fired.  One shot from the .270 was all it took; the buck folded up and our hunt was over.

Thanks again to Cynthia for a hunt that David and I will always remember.