| In 1974 I joined my father and a friend of his on a combination deer and antalope hunt in northern Campbell County, WY near the tiny town of Recluse. I had managed to get my antalope on about the third day and had missed a shot at a big doe . There was a huge 4 point buck I had seen on two ocasions, but haden't gotten a shot. Every morning when I was going up this draw that lead to a school section we could hunt I saw does and fawns on the side of a hill. They would scatter and I never tried a shot at them as they ran. We hunted a total of 10 days and had 3 goats and 2 deer. We got up on Saturday morning and planned to pack up and begin the drive back to Indiana. I decided to take one last spin down the path leading to the school land. Just as before a few does and fawns got up and began to move up the hill. As I was tring to find them in my scope a small spike buck suddenly stood up right where I was lookin. I flicked the safety off put the cross hairs on him and fired. The 180 gr bullet from my 30-06 hit him square in the shoulder and knocked him off his feet at a range of about 75 yards and so steeply up hill, it was more like a 65 yard shot. When I shot I didn't honestly know if he was a buck or doe. I scrambled up the hill to gut him and saw he was a spike with one of his horns still in velvet. I had the horns mounted and still have that mount in my reloading area as a reminder of my first deer. Dad is gone now, as is his friend, but I still chase deer elk, and the occasional antalope around western Colorado. |