It was a last minute decision to head to Colorado to hunt for antelope, but my sporting clays shooting buddy, Erich Rauh, was “all-in” since he had wanted to hunt antelope for years. We laid out a travel plan that would get us to Pueblo, Colorado for the opening of the season, with a few days enroute to shoot some sporting clays along the way, and perhaps stay for some trout fishing after we succeeded in getting our antelopes.

Our game plan for the antelope was me using a Mossberg 20-gauge pump slug gun topped with a 3-9 power scope and Erich planned on using his HS Precision rifle in the .28 Nosler caliber that had a Leopold variable scope, making his setup ideal for hunting antelope. I had chosen to use a slug gun, well aware that my shot would have to be under 150 yards, and preferably even closer than that. Erich, on the other hand, was into long range shooting, and was looking forward to a long distance shot, which is usually the case when hunting antelope.

We began the escapade on a Tuesday evening, traveling in Erich’s new Mercedes Benz 4WD Sprinter camper van, which turned out to be the ideal way to travel on a trip such as this. We were in no rush, and arrived northeast of Denver on Friday morning in time to shoot a relaxing round of sporting clays for practice, and then drive to a club due east of Denver for a registered shoot the next morning. It was a setup we were not used to. All of the traps were out in the open plains and there were no trees or vegetation of any kind to aid in judging distances. Couple that with a strong gusty wind that is common to the area, which made the targets dance, and it was a challenging course. We finished up the day by driving three hours south and met up with our guide in Pueblo for dinner and to lay out the plan for the next morning’s hunt.

Before daylight on Sunday morning, I set up in a log structure as a blind, where I would wait for a passing shot on animals that frequently traveled by as they grazed in the open prairie. Our guide, Forrest Gielenz, took Erich for a day of spotting and stalking on the 12,000-acre ranch we were hunting. An hour passed, as the darkness turned to daylight, revealing several small groups of antelope feeding over 1,000 yards away. For several hours, more groups appeared, but all at a far distance and none wondered close to my position. Suddenly, at 7:45, a distant shot broke the silence. It was Erich, and he had taken his buck at 883 yards! It was the long distance shot he had hoped for, and with that, his hunt was over. He and Forrest came to check on me at mid-morning and relocate me to a blind that was set up next to a water tank — the only source of water for miles.

The daytime temperature reached the mid-70s and the blind remained cool, aided by the constant strong and often gusty winds that howled across the open plains. I could see for miles, and the Rocky Mountains were quite visible, some 50 miles to the west. Throughout the afternoon, until sunset, I was entertained by a group of 18 doe and 1 buck antelopes, as they fed back and forth, remaining over 1,000 yards away. One lone coyote passed by, stopping from time to time as he tilted his head back and forth, trying to hear a mouse that he could turn into an afternoon snack.

Monday morning, from the same blind at the water tank, I watched the same group of antelope as they arose from their beds and began feeding at daybreak. At 6:50, a lone antelope buck appeared on the horizon, about 400 yards to the west. It was a beautiful sight, as the ever-brightening light from the sunrise gave a yellowish cast to the prairie grass and highlighted him like a neon sign! As he stood like a statue on the skyline, the Rocky Mountains displayed a grayish blue outline in the distance. Then, very slowly and deliberately, he turned and began walking directly toward me. At 107 yards, he came no further, as a single shot of the Hornady 250 grain SST slug ended my quest for an antelope buck. It was the shot I had hoped for, and with it, suddenly the hunt was over.

Meanwhile, Erich was on a nearby ranch, helping the owner by eliminating a few of the prairie dogs that were all-too-abundant there. Because they can carry a plague and because they dig holes and tunnels that can mean broken legs for livestock, the rancher was very happy to have Erich’s help.

Erich, our guide Forrest and I met up for dinner and planned to do some small stream trout fishing the next morning. But Mother Nature forced us to change our plans. We awoke to strong gusty winds that would not have allowed a fun day of fly-fishing, so we packed up and headed east and homeward. That very same day, the temperature dropped from a high of 80 to 2 degrees, and snow blanketed the area! “Timing is everything,” we thought as the miles clicked away on our journey home.