| Posted: Tue Apr 26th, 2005 02:15 AM |
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1st Post |
Fiftydriver
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| Joined: | Thu Feb 10th, 2005 |
| Location: | Fort Shaw, Montana USA |
| Posts: | 152 |
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Well, you have all read Koreys post on his two trophies on our Colorado hunt. It was a heck of a good time. I have gone on many of these exotic hunts and all have been challanging hunts but this one was the best so far as it was the first time us Allen guys went on an exotic hunt together.
My hunt started out Tuesday morning with the owner of the ranch telling me the Fallow deer were dropping their horns as we spoke, kind of made me a little nervous. He then said that he had the perfect Fallow buck for me to try to hunt if we could find him with his antlers still on his head!!
They nicknamed the buck the Phantom Fallow because there had been 4 or 5 hunters there to specifically hunt this buck over the last season and while some had seen him there had never been a shot fired at this buck.
He was an all white buck with good front points and good wide palms they told us. We headed up on the mountain with our guide to try to find this buck and see if we could get a shot at him. After 3 hours or so of hiking all over the mountain we had only spotted a few younger bucks and a heard of fallow does, no mature bucks and certainly not the Phantom.
We decided to head back and eat lunch and then give the fallow a break and head across the basin to hunt sheep. This is where Korey shot his heavy corsican.
After that hunt we were heading back to the ranch when I looked across the canyon and saw a white dot in teh oak brush where we had been hiking earlier that morning. I stopped the quad and glassed the spot and sure enough it was the Phantom. His heavy palms were really shining in the sun.
I was hoping for some long range shooting but as we were hunting sheep and goats, My dad had my 257 Allen Mag to use and I had left my 270 Allen Mag back at the ranch. I ranged the ram and he was just over 900 yards where we spotted him. Had I had the 270 AM I would have taken the shot but not with the 257 Allen as it was wearing a Pac-Nor barrel which was actually a defect from the factory and will be replaced soon. The bore is to loose. IT shoots well out to 500-600 yards but not consistant enough for much past that.
We caught up to Korey and Richard(our guide) and discussed what we should do. We decided to try to make it back to the ranch to get the 270 Allen Mag and hope he would still be where we spotted him.
As we winded around an irrigation canal road I was beginning to get a bad feeling about letting the big fallow get out of sight. I invisioned never seeing the Phantom again as he had done with so many hunters before.
I got Koreys attention and we pulled the quads over. I grabbed the 257 Allen Mag and set up on a small flat off the road. I took a range and the buck was right at 480 yards now. I was very confident with this range as I had just tuned the rifle in the day before we left at 450 yards and it was shooting very well at that range.
I looked up on the drop chart taped to the Weaver Tactical scope and the hold for this range was listed as -3/4 mil, which ment to hold 3/4 the way down between the main crosshair and the first mil dot down.
The wind was stronger then I like for shooting at this range but it was quartering from behind us going from our right to left but mainly at our back. still at 500 yards I held 5" into the wind.
The buck was standing with his head directly toward us and then began walking toward the brush. I though to myself the instant I see shoulder and he stops the trigger will break.
I was beginning to think he would walk directly into the brush without allowing a shot but then just feet before the brush line he took one step to his right exposing a relatively severe quartering angle on the point of his left shoulder.
The big 257 barked and almost instantly the buck dropped. The impact "smack" carried very loudly back to us even though it was far down wind.
The shot had landed about 4" higher then I wanted and exactly where I had held so the wind drift was not needed. Still the big 156 gr Wildcat ULD landed on the top of the left shoulder, penetrated nearly 6" of spine and finally coming to rest under the hide on the rear right ham.
Though the spine was broken the buck could still use his front legs and was thrashing around in a pile of rocks. I decided to try to slip another shot into the buck and now knew exactly where to hold for the wind and the second shot landed on the crook of his neck instantly ending the fight. I think Richard our guide was more impressed with the second shot then the first.
Score wise, he is not a huge buck. He simply does not have the large number of points coming off his palms to score a high score but he is no less of a trophy in my opinion. The legend of the Phantom adds tremendously to the trophy factor in my mind.
While I wanted to get some longer range shooting I was also very happy to have been able to use the 257 Allen Mag which was my first of the family and she performed exceptionally well.
Next up was my dad. He was going to use the 270 Allen Mag for his ram. The area Richard took us to was more suited for handgun hunting then long range rifle shooting. It was very thickly covered with oak brush. We hiked for nearly an hour until we came to a small opening where there was a watering pond. We spotted a group of rams entering the opening and they walked one by one in front of the small gap in the brush. We could only really see one or two at a time so it was difficult to tell which was the best of the group.
The rams winded us and turned and trotted back to where they had come from. I told dad which two I though were the biggest. One of which passed behind a small ram and the other was the last in the group. Taking an offhand shot at a trotting ram he hammered the ram absolutely perfectly just behind the shoulder and the ram dropped instantly to the shot.
He was not a huge ram but the hunt was very exciting and very close in and fast! I was very impressed with the shot my father made with a rifle designed for extreme range shooting. The big 169.5 gr Wildcat ULD performed beautifully even at the 3300 fps impact velocity. 1/2" entrance hole, 1" exit, perfect.
After this we headed back to the area we had hunted the first day and Korey was able to slip that accubond though the big Catalina goat on a very difficult dead on shot at 270 yards.
By the time we got the ram and billy packed back to the ranch a snow storm moved in and dropped several inches of snow before we even got things packed up to head home.
It was a great time all around. Great owner, great guide, great food, nice clean warm cabin and good hunts. Best of all with family.
We will certainly be headed back to the Little Creek Ranch, hopefully sooner then later!!
Good Shooting!!
Kirby Allen (50)
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"If it ain't accurate, lets make it that way!"
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26th, 2005 03:18 PM |
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2nd Post |
Gunrunner
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| Joined: | Thu Feb 3rd, 2005 |
| Location: | Burkina Faso |
| Posts: | 1470 |
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That was a great hunt you guys had Fifty. Good job getting the Phantom when so many before hardly even saw it. And your Dad sounds like one heck of a good shot.  Next time though don't let your 270 AM sit at the ranch while you're out where the game are.  Keep up the good work. GR
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| Posted: Wed Apr 27th, 2005 12:52 AM |
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3rd Post |
Timberghozt
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| Joined: | Fri Feb 11th, 2005 |
| Location: | Texas USA |
| Posts: | 6796 |
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Fifty,that is awesome bud.Congratulations on a splendid shot,twice at long range.Great pics of all you guys and great story.
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"He who fights with monsters might take care, lest he thereby become a monster; For if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - F.Nietzche
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| Posted: Wed Apr 27th, 2005 01:20 AM |
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4th Post |
Texasdoc
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| Joined: | Tue Apr 5th, 2005 |
| Location: | LaGrange, Texas USA |
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Great Job and Gongrads. Thanks for sharing the story and Pictures .
Doc
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Guard your wallet when I`m around.I steal from everyone I can and lie at every word I speak..I am the ultimate scumbag lying piece of crap.
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