After 8 years of trying, I got drawn for a Zone 5 California antelope tag - I just got back on Tuesday and here is my story:
Location: 9 miles west of Adin,CA
Rifle - Win M70 270 WSM
140 gr Nolser Accubond 3150 fps
Scope - Leupold Mk 2 4x12 T2
Worked hard for 2 days of scouting and 3 days of hunting. If you've hunted antelope before, you know that one day of antelope hunting is like 4 days deer hunting.
I drove and hiked all over zone 5 for 3 days and did not see a single antelope! That's 3 tanks of gas.
Finally on Sunday morning I was glassing down from a side of a mountain (national forest) onto some BLM flat land (the other side was locked up with private land that did not allow access). Spotted a nice buck and thought about going after it, but I had no water, my cell phone was dead and I bashed my rifle scope the night before.
I pulled back and went to sight in my rifle - off 4 inches at 100 yards! I decided to gear up for the same location the next morning.
First light Monday morning, I spotted him in the same area and went for it - that is to say, I hiked down about 1000 verticle feet to get close!
After some cat and mouse, I spotted him bedding down under a tree at the edge of a bluff. 675 yards! I tried to get closer but the lower angle hid him from sight.
After setting up and waitng an hour - something caused him to stand up and move off - (might have been a bullet) He was confused and he circled around and stopped at 503 yards - bang - right through the shoulder. (Zero wind at 8:30am)
I was using my 270 WSM sending 140 grain Nosler Accubonds at around 3150 fps. The rifle shoots .75 MOA all day. The Leupold Mk 2 scope was dialed into the dope I practiced a few weeks ago.
This was about 9 miles east of Adin, CA at the base of Fox Mountain. If you look carefully at the skyline to the right, you can see Mt. Shasta.
One trip back to the truck with the head and hunting gear, rested 4 hours and one trip with the meat quartered out. GPS says 1100 feet elevation change.
Check out my photo album:
Antelope Photos
Location: 9 miles west of Adin,CA
Rifle - Win M70 270 WSM
140 gr Nolser Accubond 3150 fps
Scope - Leupold Mk 2 4x12 T2
Worked hard for 2 days of scouting and 3 days of hunting. If you've hunted antelope before, you know that one day of antelope hunting is like 4 days deer hunting.
I drove and hiked all over zone 5 for 3 days and did not see a single antelope! That's 3 tanks of gas.
Finally on Sunday morning I was glassing down from a side of a mountain (national forest) onto some BLM flat land (the other side was locked up with private land that did not allow access). Spotted a nice buck and thought about going after it, but I had no water, my cell phone was dead and I bashed my rifle scope the night before.
I pulled back and went to sight in my rifle - off 4 inches at 100 yards! I decided to gear up for the same location the next morning.
First light Monday morning, I spotted him in the same area and went for it - that is to say, I hiked down about 1000 verticle feet to get close!
After some cat and mouse, I spotted him bedding down under a tree at the edge of a bluff. 675 yards! I tried to get closer but the lower angle hid him from sight.
After setting up and waitng an hour - something caused him to stand up and move off - (might have been a bullet) He was confused and he circled around and stopped at 503 yards - bang - right through the shoulder. (Zero wind at 8:30am)
I was using my 270 WSM sending 140 grain Nosler Accubonds at around 3150 fps. The rifle shoots .75 MOA all day. The Leupold Mk 2 scope was dialed into the dope I practiced a few weeks ago.
This was about 9 miles east of Adin, CA at the base of Fox Mountain. If you look carefully at the skyline to the right, you can see Mt. Shasta.
One trip back to the truck with the head and hunting gear, rested 4 hours and one trip with the meat quartered out. GPS says 1100 feet elevation change.
Check out my photo album:
Antelope Photos
