It’s not the biggest pronghorn I’ve ever bowkilled, but it was one of the more memorable. The weekend before school started I was busy trying to decide whether to scout for deer, scout for elk or simply stay home and prepare gear for the hunting crusade about to begin. I then remembered I had a pronghorn tag still open and it would likely be the last window I had for one more try.
I want to go to this summer camp next year, not Camp Lake Winnebago.
Knowing that my son loves to camp and had never seen a bowkill firsthand, our weekend was set. The gals had plans of their own and were more than happy to have us out of their hair. Arriving late on Friday we skipped setting up camp and instead rushed out to put up a blind at a nearby water hole. With a couple hours of light left, we crawled in and waited for the show to begin. Before dark, seven pronghorn watered, but no bucks. Our hopes were high though since we watched several bucks wander around in the distance.
That evening was one of the best campouts ever. The stars were blazing as we set up our camp on Bureau of Land Management property. As we ate our dehydrated Mountain House meals we watched satellites speed along and meteorites blaze across the sky. You just can’t buy that type of entertainment.
The Garmin GPS awoke us at 4:30 a.m. and we drank coffee and ate oatmeal, again with the stars providing a magnificent backdrop. After breakfast we rode off in the dark on my Yamaha Grizzly to get in the blind before shooting light. Shortly after sunrise a buck bedded 200 yards from the water hole, but wasn’t ready to water and instead watched cattle come and go from the water. At midmorning the rumble of a truck broke the stillness of the prairie. Cowboys were dumping out of a trailer and rounding up cattle. The pronghorn were now on the alert. As a cowboy rode near the water hole a buck and several does dashed in for a quick drink. He wasn’t huge, but he provided me the perfect shot and with the cowboys busy moving cattle I wasn’t sure how many more opportunities I might get.
As the buck settled in, I released the Beman shaft tipped with a Rage broadhead. It sliced through the quartering pronghorn and he tipped over less than 80 yards from the blind.
Cole was pumped and I was happy with the clean kill. Sharing the moment with him will likely be one of the best memories from this fall and it just started. There might be one moment that could top it. He has an elk tag to fill. I’m hoping this time I get to watch him squeeze the trigger. Let the games begin!
Mark Kayser
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