Blades

Story By: Tom Cook

Wyoming Antelope | Blades

It turned out that Travis, my guide, had a history with a big antelope named “Blades.” As we headed south on opening morning deep into Wyoming’s desert, he explained that the buck was a shooter but had survived several seasons because he was so difficult to judge. After glassing thousands of acres, Travis relocated Blades not too far from where his hunter had passed on him the season before. I was eager to take a look, and it didn’t take long to see why other hunters had passed. His horns looked short. From the side, he was a no-brainer with amazing seven-inch prongs and heavy black bases, but from the front, he looked short.

We studied him from a distance, taking photos and videos all morning until he fed out of sight. He was one tough buck to judge. Was he really short, or did his amazing prongs and mass just make him appear that way? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t decide. As it was opening day, I thought it might be a good idea to look over a few other bucks. Travis agreed, but he insisted that Blades was a shooter.

We spent the better part of the afternoon looking at the type of bucks Wyoming is famous for. Some were good. Some were great. All would have been shooters back in my home state of Montana, but none had the “no-brainer” profile of Blades. It was time well spent, and I told Travis I was no longer 100% sure about passing on Blades.

Travis agreed, and as luck would have it, within the hour, we relocated him feeding along the rim of a big plateau. The late afternoon light was perfect for glassing, and as Blades lifted his head, Travis noticed for the first time that his right horn corkscrewed out to the side with three- quarter inches of ivory at the tip. That, combined with the seven-inch prongs and massive bases, tipped the scales for me and we hiked in after him.

After a long, careful stalk, he had somehow given us the slip, disappearing somewhere into the vast basin below. Travis didn’t want to run the risk of pushing him out of the unit, so we returned in the morning, only this time Chance and Kevin Marshall, owners of Extreme Outfitters, joined us. They had tagged out with their hunters on opening day and were coming along to make sure Blades was the buck for me. I was thrilled.

We drove back to where Blades had given us the slip, and Travis glassed him up immediately. After a little back and forth, they decided we should hike in, get as close as possible, and make a final decision. The four of us carefully worked our way along the same plateau where we’d lost Blades the evening before. Suddenly, in the bright morning sunlight, Blades lifted his head. He and a lone doe were casually feeding about 600 yards beneath us, unaware of our presence. I wanted to sneak closer, but Chance held me back. “They don’t know we’re here. Let them come to us.” Good advice.

We got as low as we could in the sage for one more huddle. Travis whispered that Blades was still a shooter. Chance thought he would conservatively score between 80” and 82” B&C, and Kevin was leaning toward shooting because of his “no-brainer” side view. Plus, Blades had fed to within 300 yards. Game on.

As I was preparing to make the shot, it dawned on me that this was going to be a first. Never before had I had to make a long-distance shot in front of three professionals while they watched and wondered if I could close the deal. Kevin’s last words to me were, “Let him stop feeding and turn broadside.” Travis ranged him one last time at 300 yards, and Chance let me know he was shooting video. On the video, we can hear me settle my nerves with deep breaths followed by the report of my 6.5 Creedmoor and then congratulations from my guides. “Great shot! You got him! He’s down!”

As we walked up to Blades, Kevin excitedly turned to us and yelled, “He’s bigger than we thought!” When we got to him, I reached down and was amazed by his mass, giant seven-inch prongs, and corkscrew horn. Travis looked at the great buck with a smile of vindication. He had been right all along. Together, we’d made the right decision. Blades green scored 85 2/8” gross, and after the 60-day drying period, he officially grossed 84 1/8” B&C with a net all-time B&C score of 83 0/8”.

Even more important than the score is the great time I had hunting Blades with Extreme Outfitters. It was the best antelope hunt of my life. I’ve never had so much fun. Thanks, guys!