Hunting Update

If you haven't had a chance to read my previous post in which I explain where I've been for the past 3 weeks, start there and come back to this one.

Last week I was given the opportunity to hunt pronghorn out east with Pack String Ranch Outfitters (see link in the sidebar at right) which is owned by my boss' husband. Marshall and I (http://partlows.blogspot.com/) were asked to run boarder patrol in exchange for the chance to shoot does during our free-time. Both of us were successful in this endeavour for the most part.

Marshall got his doe (on the far left of the photo) on Sunday morning with a solid shot just inside of 200 yards. She was a good sized animal and he was pleased to have gotten her down. Mine was a little more complex. I didn't get a chance until Monday morning and I missed my first shot from well inside 100 yards. Truly an embarrassment. After an unsuccessful stalk and a good deal more walking we stumbled upon an animal no more than 80 yards away. Before I could get a shot, it ran down into a draw and stopped on the other side. Marshall ranged it at around 370 yards from where I was standing but I felt like it was a doable shot. I was right and dropped her on the spot with one shot. Unfortunately when we got to her we discovered "she" was in fact a small "he". After much debate we recalled that the regulations allow for this common mistake for bucks with horns/antlers under 5 inches and breathed a sigh of relief that we wouldn't have to explain ourselves to a DOW officer. As a consolation, my pathetically small animal had been shot previously through his left front leg and would have fallen to the myriad coyotes within the next few weeks anyway.

In all, everyone that came with a tag left with an animal and a good time was had by all. Thanks to Patrick and the rest of the regular staff at Pack String.