In 2010, my wife Joanne and I were lucky enough to draw Trophy Antelope tags for southern Alberta. This would be her first antelope hunt. I had previously drawn a trophy tag in 2003 and then an archery tag in 2007, of which both times I was successful. We are fortunate to have relatives that live down in the short-grass prairie, so a hunt along with a good visit we were looking forward to.
Now, my cousin Cliff and his understanding wife Melanie, have a couple of kids, Amanda and Dylan that always tag along when hunting or any other outdoor activity is going on. After an evening of “count them as they fall”, they would literally pull the lone goose from the back of the truck and have it plucked and drug into the kitchen for final cleaning. Very impressive!
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| Joanne Walde with her first antelope buck. |
As Dylan neared legal hunting age, I purchased the Hunter Training take-home kits from AHEIA in Edmonton and brought them down during our annual spring gopher hunt. They had all summer to study the manuals and in the fall, I brought down the test. All must have gone okay because they received their certificates a short while later.
Fast forward to the 2010 antelope season, Joanne was looking for a respectable buck while I was going to wait for a bigger-than-average version.
The first morning, after spotting a couple of smaller bucks, we came upon a herd of antelope running across the road. A pickup followed from an oil lease trail and when we stopped to talk, the driver informed us that there was a good buck with the group but it was a bit too small for him. We were welcome to go after it if we wanted. After a quick, “Thanks!” we were on our way.
We ended up stalking the small herd around for over an hour before Joanne got her shot. She made it count and her antelope tag was filled.
Now it was my turn. Over the next few days, we put on more than a couple of miles by truck and by foot, trying to find a 14-inch class buck. Although we found a pile of animals, none were what I was looking for.
It is now Thursday evening and with just one hunting day left, I decided that after waiting seven years for a tag, it would be a shame to let it go to waste. So after checking with his mom, Dylan was allowed to skip school Friday afternoon. We then logged on to the Alberta RELM site and purchased a Youth Partner Licence for my Antelope Special Draw tag. Once the licence printed, we were ready to go.
Guess who got up a little earlier the next morning? After getting him on the bus for school, Joanne and I went for a drive to try to find “Dylan’s” buck. We spotted a couple of decent antelope and gradually made our way over to the school. On goes the camo and off we go.
We get out to the first herd and after a quick look, all we see is a young buck. Although Dylan is game, we convince him to keep looking. We head down to where we saw the buck in the morning but he is now gone. It is still early but we start to feel a little pressure.
Then, after pulling on to the main road, we looked across the prairie and there he stood, “My Buck”! The big one that I had been looking for, standing way out in the middle with a lone doe. I looked in the back seat and a certain young hunter suddenly had a worried look on his face.
I stopped the truck and before I had a chance to get out, Dylan was out, under the fence and belly crawling toward the buck. When I got my gear together and caught up to him, we agreed that once we got close enough, we would decide who would do the shooting. At a couple hundred yards out, the antelope had caught movement and were getting nervous.
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| Dylan and Darrell with Dylan’s buck. |
As I lined up the buck in my scope, I suddenly felt a hard shove, and as I fell over on to my side, Dylan shot and killed the buck. Just kidding, he took his time, had a solid rest, and made a great shot. Tag filled!
After we had tagged and field dressed the animal, I asked Dylan if he was glad that he had waited and didn’t shoot the small one. His reply was that it didn’t matter which one, he would have been happy with either one.
Jump forward a couple months and it’s now late November. My son Chris had drawn an Antlered Mule Deer tag for the same south country zone. Chris is not a hardcore hunter, but he does enjoy getting out and trying to give his parents a run for their money.
Chris had the only mule deer tag so we all piled into the truck and headed out. I’m sure he was dreading the idea of the rest of us giving him advice, telling him to get out quick, hurry up, and all the rest of the normal conversation between excited hunter/parents. As luck would have it, we met up with a local hunter who gave us a great tip on a buck he had seen earlier in the morning. The tip was so good it was a matter of following his footprints in the snow for 200-yards and then peeking over the edge of a coulee at him. And that is exactly what we did. I like to think it was the timing that was the critical factor.
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| Chris Walde with his unique mulie buck. |
Anyway, we got to the edge and when I peeked over, there was a mule deer doe with a nice buck right behind her. I turned back to Chris and said, “They are right down there. Get ready! They will probably start to go up the other side of the coulee.” He was more than a little excited. I remember turning to him and saying, “Calm down, rest your gun on your knee.”
A few seconds later, the deer moved up the bank and into view. I ranged the buck and told Chris, “117 yards.”
He squeezed the trigger and down went the buck. Great job! Other than forgetting the video camera, nothing could have gone smoother. A big thanks to Than for the great tip.
As the years tick by, the best memories are ones that involve family and friends. It’s funny how each person remembers the story a little differently. Outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing and trapping, facilitate an excuse for us to get together, breathe some fresh air, and have some fun.
Just remember, if you have waited seven years for an antelope tag, you might not want to “Take a Kid Hunting”. ■
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