SEPTEMBER9 – 10
Morning temperatures were cool
andcrisp,anddusttrailsweregrowing
increasinglynumerousontheplains.
The rutwasrocking,andbuckswere
chasingdoesandotherbuckslikemad.
Ithadbeendryforweeks,andmidday
te mpsrose intothelow80s. Mytrail
camswereshowinggreatwaterholeac-
tivitythroughouttheday.Thirstybucks
anddoeswere regularvisitors,andaf-
terspendingjustfivehoursina Primos
DoubleBullblind,my Oklahomabud-
dy,ScottSanderford,scoredona great
P&Y-classbuck.
Until September 7, action at tanks
and ponds hadbeensuperrandom.
Therewerestilla lotof puddlesandde-
pressions holding water. We were pa-
tient,andwhenthetimewasright,we
movedinforthekill.Whenwateris in
pl ay,thereis nota bettermethodforsuc-
cess,regardlessof thetimeof year.
WithScott’sbuckinthecooler,Jason
was lookingforredemption.Jasonisn’ta
ground-blindguy,andwiththerutgoingat
full tilt,we putourfaithin ourclothdecoy.
Thebuckwasn’ta monster,butJason
li kedhispositionandwaskeenonthe
fact thathe wasaloneandbedded.The
terrainwaspancake-f lat,butthegrass
was tallandwe wereableto inchtoward
the buckonourhandsandknees.Be-
causeI wasalongfortheadventureand
the windwasrocking,we optednotto
mountthedecoyto Jason’sbow.
Oncewe gottowhatI figuredtobe
about 150 yardsfromthebuck,I tossed
upthedecoyandpeeked.He wasgone.
Then I lookedto ourright.Standingat 31
yardswasthebuck.He couldseeus plain
asday,buthiscuriositywaspiqued,and
whenI turnedthedecoytowardhim,he
walkedcloser.Jason’sshotwas10-ring
perfect,andthebuckexpiredquickly.For
a seasonthatstartedoutso rocky,things
sure heatedup ina hurry.Overthespan
offivedays,threebuckshit thedirt.
Beingableto chasepronghornsfrom
seasonopento closewasa gift.Remem-
ber,thetacticsyouplantouseonyour
huntmaynotalwayspanout.Remain
f l exibleandadapt.If onetechnique
doesn’twork,tryanother.Thiswillboost
yoursuccessrateandyouron-the-prai-
rieenjoyment.Theauthoris an accomplishedbowhunterand
outdoorwriterfromLa Junta,Colorado.AUTHOR’SNOTE:Myequipmentincludeda Prime
Centergybow,Easton 5 mmFMJarrows,G 5 Deadmeat
broadheads,BohningBlazerVanes,SpotHoggHogg
Fatherdouble-pinsight,QADHTXrest,Mavenoptics,
Nikonrangefinder,andSitkaSubalpineclothing.Withtherutrockingandthewetweatherover,
myfriendScottSanderfordwasabletoslip
inandkillthisbuckafterjustfivehoursof
ground-blindsitting.
Even though my buddy Jason and I were
standing in plain sight of this buck, his
curiosity over our decoy proved too much
and gave Jason time to make a good shot.
Spray Down & Forget The Wind
Sure, pronghorns have a sense of
smell, but they just don’t shy away from
human scent like elk or mule deer. I’ve
successfully decoyed and spot and stalked
lots of goats with the wind blowing right
to them. Have I been busted? Yep. But
more often than not, I get away with it.
This is especially true if you take the time
to spray down and wipe high-sweat zones
with quality scent-eliminating wipes.
If you’re sitting in a ground blind, heed
the same advice. Of course, try to play
the wind, but stock tanks and ponds often
reek of cow urine. This stench seems
to jam a goat’s sense of smell. I use my
Ozonics unit and don’t worry if the wind is
a little sketchy.XPEDITIONARCHERY.COM
With IBO speeds reaching 364 fps,you’regoing
to need a bigger trophy room! The Mako X has a
fl uid shot cycle, from draw to release it redefi nes
shootability in a speed bow. This is the bow you
are going to want to tell your friends about.