My annual trek to the 55 Ranch in Glenrock, Wyoming, is over. My favorite trip of the year did not disappoint.
The weather can make or break a hunt. Next year will have to be horrible, because this year’s weather was perfect.
The trip itself was a whirlwind. I flew into Denver on Sunday, October 3. I arrived around noon and started my drive up to Glenrock.
Hunt #1
My first hunt was with Stefan Leimer from Browning. He arrived in town just an hour or so before me. Later that evening, we did some initial scouting and checked zero on his X-Bolt 6.8 Western.
Hunting at 55 Ranch started early Monday morning. Stefan was after his first antelope. My friend Casey Tillard did not let us down. He put Stefan on a great animal and the shot was made. If I remember right, it was about 380 yards.
I was up next on the gun. It took a few hours of looking at animals for me to make up my mind to shoot. They accuse me of being picky, but I just like to hear them complain.
I made a clean shot with a suppressed 6 Creed and my tag was punched, and that was Hunt #1 ended.
Hunt #2
Up next was a hunt with Josh Cluff from HS Precision and Travis Ishida from the National Rifle League. Now this is an unlikely pair. Travis is a gentleman and Josh…well, let’s just say he’s Josh.
Just kidding.
He’s my brother, and this guy can shoot. Travis was also chasing his first antelope. They both got their antelope on the same day using the HS rifle in 6.5 PRC.
Now the fun could begin. We all had the opportunity to shoot steel at distance. This type of shooting has made me a much better shot at close range. The two most impressive shots that we all made were: 1763 yards prone and 1620 yards from a standing position on a tripod.
We did engage in a “friendly” competition. Needless to say, I had to drink some bad whisky for my loss. But not as much as others.
Hunt #3
Next, we were joined by Chuck Paddock from Open Season TV and Rock Bordelon from On The Road. Rock also brought his father Glenn with him.
This was a wild morning. We started about 7:30 a.m. and had Glenn’s antelope back and hanging by 8:30 a.m.
We ran over to Short Supply, had a breakfast burrito, and headed back out. We had all three antelope on the ground and back by noon. Helluva morning!
We then took this crew out to shoot some steel too. We should have taken Chuck before the hunt, but that’s another story.
Heading Home
My favorite part of this trip was Stefan and Travis. They were both new to hunting, but let me tell you, they have the bug now!
We all took the time to help them with their journey. With a little coaching, they both processed their animals and packaged them for the ride home. I look forward to hearing from them in time about this experience. They both had a few hours of windshield time on the way home. Those are the thoughts that I want to hear.
I want to say thank you again to the Tillard family…my family. You always make my annual 55 Ranch hunt so special.
