Lightning Creek Strikes Twice!

It is estimated that over ninety percent of the nation’s three million bowhunters cut their teeth on the whitetail deer and many of those sportsmen may never try to pursue anything else. That deer are the number one big game animal is quite understandable given the still burgeoning whitetail populations across the country, the challenging nature of the quarry, the fact they can be hunted with the most basic of equipment, and all this can be done without extensive travel or planning. Even so, many hunters eventually long to tag different game and hunt in unique environments just to add some variety to their pursuits and to broaden their horizons and experience base. There is something to be said about “getting out of the back 40” and heading off to a distant hunting ground. With the possible exception of black bear over bait there may be no better “second animal” for such hunters to chase than the pronghorn antelope of the American west.

Pronghorn offer the hunting archer a number of advantages over other species. Tags are generally available even if a draw is required. The hunts are reasonably priced and require little, if any, specialized equipment beyond what people otherwise use for deer. The use of an outfitter or guide is generally a personal choice but not a requirement. The animals themselves are both accessible and exist in large populations across their natural range. The country they call home is diverse and offers the adventurous bowhunter a chance to learn about different types of terrain and habitat. Lastly, the techniques used to take antelope can be very similar to those employed to harvest whitetail deer and therefore one’s learning on deer can be easily transferred to the “speed goats” of the sage covered flats.

My personal quest for antelope eventually took me to the Jim Werner’s Lightning Creek Ranch just north of Douglas, Wyoming. The prairies of the Cowboy State harbor more pronghorn than any other state. The animals coexist nicely on the large cattle and sheep ranches that make up large chunks of the west. The Werners have a nice arrangement in that each September they bring bowhunters onto their forty thousand acre property to hunt both the pronghorn and mule deer that reside there. This is not an uncommon practice among landowners in the region. Using a rustic bunkhouse as a base of operations for up to five hunters a week the outfitter will provide accommodations, food, daily transportation to the hunting area, and field care of game to each guest. The use of a “guide”, per se, is not needed since the hunting is all done in assigned ground blinds or from elevated windmill stands placed strategically over the limited water sources found on the vast ranches.

On this first trip I was looking to use a Bruin recurve bow to claim my initial antelope. With the shots likely to be at close range from the comfort of a pop-up blind I was confident that any animal wandering by within fifteen to twenty yards was in trouble. On the day before the hunt was to start Jim’s son J.J. (short for Jim Jr.) took me around the ranch to glass for game and check out some of the blinds. During this trip we were looking for two things, the first was the presence of a decent goat or two in the pastures that held the blind. Secondly, when game was spotted in proximity to a hunting blind J.J. wanted me to go into the blind to check out the shot set up and distance. Knowing my personal limits on range were shorter than some compound shooters also in camp that week, he wanted to make sure we matched the set up to my needs. This was an especially appreciated attention to detail and one that sets great outfitters aside from the lesser ones.

Finding a good set up on a small natural “seep” that was located just off Lightning Creek itself really got me energized for the next day’s hunt. Adjacent to the seep, placed just twelve yards away, was a burlap blind that would serve as my hiding spot until an unsuspecting, but thirsty, antelope buck sauntered into the area. I really liked this set up in that any animal that came to drink had to do so within bow range. There would be no situation where he would be drinking out of range on the other side of a stock pond or any other such source of frustration. No, an antelope coming here was going to be in my effective range and the rest would be up to me.

Another difference between pronghorns and whitetails is that unlike deer that may just appear out of the brush near a stand and take you by surprise this is not likely to happen in antelope country. From a well positioned blind one can literally see miles and with good optics, be they binoculars or a spotting scope, and that means animals can be readily seen at those ranges also. It is both fun and frustrating to watch the object of your pursuit wander, feed, bed, and breed within your view for hours on end all the while knowing that you can’t do anything about it! The saving grace in this scenario is that you also know that when the feeding and chasing gets them thirsty they just may come into your little corner of the world and offer you the chance you drove two days to get.

At 10:00 am on this first day I had a doe and fawn come into drink at eight yards. I videoed the pair and hoped for a trailing buck that never materialized. Still, seeing my first couple of antelope up close was a thrill. Another nice thing about pronghorn is that they tend to move all day. There is as much a chance in having a visitor to your blind at seven in the morning as there is at seven in the evening. Any time in between could be good as well. This makes staying in your blind all day imperative and it also makes it essential that you be comfortable in the blind. Bringing along a chair or padded seat cushion, a good book, snacks, and plenty of water are all ways to make sure you’re ready for an all day vigil.

Shortly after the pair of antelope left the seep I spotted three animals in the distance, probably three quarters of a mile away. From my ten power Swarovski’s I was able to discern a decent, though not tremendous buck and two does. To make a long story short I watched this threesome do what antelope do from 11:30 am until 5:00 pm at which time they headed my way and dropped out of sight in the rolling swale that was to the south of the blind but directly in front of me. I was optimistic that they were continuing to come to water, to “my water”, even though I could not confirm visually that they were doing so. Within ten minutes I heard the dull soft thuds of small hooves on the hardened sun baked clay of the Wyoming flatlands and up over the rise, still forty yards out, appeared the two does.

Without hesitation they came directly to the water and bobbed their heads up and down in an age old ritual repeated nearly every time antelope come to drink. They pretend to drink, only to quickly lift their heads back up to see if any danger lurks. In the west this danger could be cougar, coyote, in some areas wolf, or even bear. In this instance the danger was an anxious bowhunter hiding in the shadows of a wind blown cloth blind, but these animals were bald and therefore safe. Eventually the does drank their fill of the cool spring water and nonchalantly pulled out of the seep making room for the buck that had just topped the swale and was looking at his females who had safely had their fill. Figuring all was as it should be he came into the seep without a care and lowered his dark muzzle to the puddle. 

Drawing the arrow on a canted bow and releasing an arrow upon my index finger contacting my anchor point in the corner of my mouth I watched the arrow disappear in and through the pronghorn in less time than it takes to type the words “perfect shot”. Wheeling around at the moment of impact the pronghorn tore off across the landscape for sixty yards before tumbling hooves over head in a dust cloud that was soon blown away by the ever present Wyoming winds. Just that quickly, after having watched him in the distance since before noon, the antelope was mine. When I approached him I was pleased with the size of the animal. He was a representative animal for the species, a species where mature bucks normally don’t weigh much more than one hundred and twenty five pounds. His horns were later taped at 12 1/2” and he would make a fine mount given the unique and contrasting coloration that marks the species. Of the greatest satisfaction to me, however, was the manner in which he was harvested. It was a clean, swift kill with a traditional bow. The plan had come together perfectly.

Before pulling out of Douglas and heading home I decided to book a return trip for the next year with J.J and his father. I wanted to try for one of the larger antelope that I knew the ranch held. My trip was confirmed in early May when I was informed by the Wyoming Department of Fish and Game that I had again been successful in drawing a unit 29 antelope tag. September 1st soon arrived and I found myself back in the familiar burlap blind overlooking the same seep that had been so good to me on opening day the year before. 

The day was a perfect one for goat hunting with a high hot sun and no rain on the horizon. More importantly no rain had preceded my arrival and the animals were reportedly using the water sources regularly. My expectations were high and it did not take long for those expectations to be fulfilled because at 8:00 am, just two hours after entering the blind under cover of darkness, I glanced outside and saw six antelope on the ridge to the west of the blind about one hundred yards away. Two bucks, one very nice, two does, and a pair of fawns made up the welcoming party. The sight of the six sentries on the hill reminded me of the old western movies where the Indians would skyline themselves on the ridge overlooking the pioneers in the valley below. It was just my hope that in this case the watchers were thirsty!

Sure enough over the course of the next thirty minutes the small band of antelope meandered into the area around the seep. A dozen eyes and ears milled around and took turns approaching the water source. The biggest buck, the type of animal I had committed to hold out for, was the most tentative of the group. I guess in some ways these animals are like the deer back home! He let the others all drink first while he hung on the periphery of the activity and just out of my range. A couple of times he ventured close enough to give me a shot, but on those occasions there were other members of his group either in front of him or behind him. This effectively left me no ethical option but to be patient and hope he would let his desire for a drink outweigh his caution about the potential of danger at the waterhole. Suddenly a doe looked directly into the blind and must have caught something she did not like. With a snort and a wheeze she whirled and was gone, taking the other five animals with her out to about fifty yards where they all looked back at my hiding spot in a confused trance. None of them were sure what had happened or why the matriarch doe had blown out of there. While shuffling around in their group the biggest buck began to come back in. Of course! He was the only one that had not quenched his thirst before the sudden retreat from the waterhole. Though spooked, his desire to drink outweighed his cautious nature. After all, the other five had not run into any problems as they drank right?

In he came, closer and closer until he was facing me straight on at ten yards. Close enough for sure, but not an angle for a responsible bow shot. He drank noisily and I could hear the slurping of the water and even see his throat move as he swallowed. In no time he raised his head up and turned to leave. In an instinctive unplanned motion I drew and released the arrow just as his body position was transitioning from facing towards me to heading directly away from me. In that second or two in between coming and going he was broadside and that was the time when the arrow was released. The arrow hit a bit far back, but the angle was such that it penetrated up to the chartreuse fletching and transversed a significant portion of his internal anatomy. He actually was knocked off his feet, but quickly regained his footing and raced across the sage covered flat for a hundred and ten yards before he stopped and collapsed. I waited a moment and then raised my binoculars to look for any sign of movement from the buck. There was none. Lightning Creek has struck twice on opening day exactly one year apart.

The buck was a fine one. With horns measuring 14” and sporting wide bases and a nice pair of prongs he was no doubt a record book contender. This was born out with a later measurement that totaled 72 5/8 inches. Both of my Wyoming antelope, though the result of short hunts, remain among my most memorable bowhunting accomplishments because they were taken in a unique land with traditional equipment and excellent shots.