THE ONE

By Sparky Sparkes.

As owner of M2D CAMO Properties it is hard to find the time to actually get out and do some hunting on my own.  This year however I was able to get an antelope tag for our property in Idaho.  A friend of mine had also drawn the same antelope tag, and another friend had drawn a coveted elk tag.  I truly enjoy having the opportunity to help others try to achieve their hunting goals, but it was nice to have a tag in my pocket.

I had been scouting the property for about a month and had seen an antelope I thought would push the 15-inch mark.  I nicknamed him THE ONE. I was truly hoping my friend would be able to put her tag on such an amazing antelope.  Although I had never shot a Boone and Crocket antelope, I knew I would enjoy watching her harvest it, if the opportunity arose.

Opening morning arrived and I found myself sitting next to my friend in a ground blind near a watering hole.  Although there is plenty of water available, the antelope seem to frequent this particular area.  The day before I had seen over 100 antelope in this general area, and THE ONE was amongst them.  As the red glow from the sun started to rise over the beautiful bordering Montana Mountains it became clear that getting set up before daylight had been the right move.  

The area had antelope everywhere, with bucks rutting and chasing each other all over the place.  It was a beautiful sight to see so many bucks marking their territory and fighting for dominance.  THE ONE was amongst them bedded up, but he had a single doe separated from the group and did not look like he would be moving soon.  He chased away every buck that came within 200 yards and never got closer than about 800 yards from our position.    

As the morning sun continued to rise, and the antelope chased around, a group of about 15 were headed our way.  This group had a very nice buck in it and I told my friend if she wanted to wait for THE ONE she could, or she could take this respectable buck.  After about 15 minutes of watching these beautiful animals at less than 75 yards she decided she would be very pleased with such a magnificent first goat.   With the video camera rolling, and the antelope right outside the blind, she was able to drop this great 80-inch goat with one shot to the heart at 11 yards.  Talk about exciting, and the footage was amazing!  I was very pleased to be a part of her first antelope and excited that she had harvested such a great one.

The following few days I was able to see THE ONE, however he had wandered onto the neighbors’ property and it seemed like he would never come back.  As the days went on, I concentrated on helping my buddy get his elk.  Always trying to keep my eyes on THE ONE and hoping he would wander back on to our property.  On the fifth day of my buddy’s elk hunt we were able to put this amazing elk on the ground.  This was his biggest elk to date and I was very happy to be a part of my buddy’s success.  

A week had gone by since I had seen THE ONE on our property.  I knew he was still around as I had seen him on numerous occasions while checking our fields and the neighbors.  I had not seen more than a dozen or so antelope in the field that held over a 100 just a week prior.  Although there was a buck in that group, it was not the buck for me.  I had my heart set on only one and I knew he was still around.  

The following morning about 730 am I was driving into town when I spotted a buck running another buck in the same field where my friend had harvested her antelope.  I pulled over to glass and look and was shocked to find it was THE ONE.  There were only about 6 antelope out there but he was one of them.  I hurried back to the house, grabbed my gear, got dropped off and crawled out to the blind.  I decided one of the does would eventually bring him to the water hole.  9am, nothing, 10 am nothing, 11 am nothing. 1230 a doe and little buck wander within 100 yards.  The big boy decided he did not like that little buck near one of his does and came charging about 700 yards across the field to confront him.   As I was trying to film this hunt by myself it always adds another frustrating element.  The buck came to within 183 yards chasing the other buck.  I had the camera on him and was ready to shoot when he ran out of frame.  This happened 4 different times over a two-minute span.  What I would have gave to have a cameraperson with me in the blind.  After about two minutes with no good film and shot opportunity the buck ran back to his other does about 800 yards away.

1 pm nothing, 2 pm nothing, 3 pm nothing, 4 pm nothing, 5 pm rolled around and I was starting to wish I had just shot the buck and not worried about filming it.  I had been sitting for 9 hours now and decided I would make a move to try and get close.  I was able to crawl with camera equipment in one hand and gun in the other to about 300 yards of where the buck was bedded with his does. As I tried to close the distance one of the does noticed me and got up.  They all decided to get up and started getting nervous.  I set the camera up as fast as possible but was not fast enough as the antelope took off running away.  I do not think any of the others had seen me, but if you have ever hunted antelope you know that if one goes, they all follow.  I decided to sit and sulk in my frustration when one of the other does decided to turn the group around and start heading my way.  As I hit the film button, the buck stopped at 200 yards looking around trying to figure out what was going on. I was able to put him in frame and with one shot drop him in his tracks.  After 8 days of hoping, and 9 hours of sitting that day, THE ONE was finally mine!  He ended up having 15 ½ inches on each side and scores 86.  

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