Andre the Giant

ait for them to clear”, I thought to myself. Screened by three does, if they move, I’ll have a shot opportunity. Hard to believe it was really happening. I might take my biggest pronghorn antelope to date! One doe walked away... then the second. The third, well, she wasn’t in any hurry. Moving only a couple of steps, she stopped, still blocking my shot. Chambered with a 140-grain Accubond bullet, I settled my 280 Ackley Improved, on the giant buck’s chest, and prepared to squeeze. Then it happened. She glanced back at him. Her patience had worn thin, and she bolted, instantly followed by the buck. At that moment, I went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Scrambling to find them again in my scope, I honestly thought my opportunity had just vaporized. Back in July, our good friend Jesse Van Maarion and I discussed getting an antelope tag for my fiancé. He and his wife Ashley own and operate Wild West Outfitters in southern Alberta. A few conversations, a commitment from us, and the tag was ours. We were set to be in Alberta for the antelope opener on September 26th, 2022! This was a fun hunt that Kelsey and I had really been looking forward to. By comparison, pronghorn hunts are relatively low impact, so we had planned to bring our 10-month-old son, Gatlin, along. To prepare, Kelsey spent many summer days at the range, shooting her 6.5 Creedmoor. She’s always been a great shot, but knowing this was a hunt of a lifetime, she wanted to be as ready as she could be. For the last three years she’s dedicated herself to raising our two youngest children, so she hadn’t been out hunting as much as she had in previous years. As a hunter you dream of the perfect hunting partner. Not only did I find this in her, but I also put a ring on her finger. The best part – our family loves hunting and spending time together outdoors. Fast forward a month. One day while I was servicing a tractor at work my phone rang. It was Jesse. The call began as most calls with Jess do. How’s things?” he says. “You guys ready for your antelope hunt?” A few years back, I’d won an antelope hunt at a local Rod and Gun Club auction. I had the good fortune of hunting with one of Jesse’s top guides, Kerry Meyer. We bow hunted antelope for a week. With many close calls, blown stalks, and a missed opportunity at an 80-incher, the hunt ended with an open tag. Returning opening day of the rifle season, Kerry had put a great buck to bed the night before. The following morning, we relocated him, and put the hammer down. And so went my first Alberta pronghorn hunt. With a green score of 80 2/8 inches I was elated. That same year Jesse had a cancelation on his last hunt of the year for mule deer. I jumped on that opportunity, even though I only had two days to hunt because of work. On the first day we woke up to cold weather and snow. Jesse put us onto a beautiful 190-class non-typical and I wasted zero time putting him down. So not knowing where this phone call was headed, I said, ,”hey, just a random call to chat, or what’s up?” He casually said,” I have another tag in the same zone as Kelsey, are you interested?” Initially I wasn’t sure I wanted to go again, but the thought of hunting with her and our son, was compelling. In turn, I jumped on the opportunity quick, as you never know what life is going throw at you. On September 24, we loaded the truck and made our way to Jesse’s place in southern Alberta. The next morning, after an amazing breakfast, we spent the day scouting, traveling through various grazing lease lands and private ground where we had secured permission to hunt. We did find a giant buck with 10 does but, unfortunately, he was on ground we couldn’t hunt; so, our search continued. That afternoon we found an impressive, tall buck that Jesse figured would score in the high 70s. Target buck acquired. Jesse had to return to the ranch to pick up a horse for a sheep hunt the next week, so we met up with Kerry for the evening cruise. On the way to meet Kerry we passed through some new country. Almost simultaneously we all yelled, “big buck!”. In no time, the spotting scopes were on him and we were capturing photos. After careful evaluation, we had a number. He was big, real big!

Quick and dirty we came up with an estimate of 83-inches. New target buck acquired. This one was worth putting to bed, so we stayed and watched him and his six does until dark. The 90-minute drive back was filled with laughter and high hopes for the next morning. Gatlin was a champ all day. Zero fuss. He just loves being out with us cruising around looking for animals. Before we knew it, we were back at Jesse’s enjoying another awesome meal prepared by Ashley. A quick visit, a couple whiskeys, and we made our way to bed - full of anticipation for the next day. 4:45 a.m. came quick. Coffee and lunches were made. Kelsey quickly got Gatlin up, and we were outside waiting for Kerry and our 5:30 a.m. pick up. We took two trucks. Jesse would sit where we left the buck only hours earlier, and we would cruise around making sure he didn’t sneak out a different way. At 8:00 a.m. my phone rang. It was Jesse. He found the six does, but the buck was nowhere to be seen. Rejoining Jesse, we questioned whether that buck had actually left his does or was maybe nearby but not visible. Gatlin was sleeping, so we left him with Jesse. Kelsey, Kerry, and I went and did a stalk to see if that buck was maybe still in there. Twenty-five minutes later, we were in position. Peeking over a rise, we saw the does, but no buck. Then, moments later, his unmistakable big black horns emerged from behind one of the does. They knew we were there, but he didn’t. All he cared about was his girls. Broadside at 150 yards, all six does began moving away. He had us pinned. Kelsey was trying so hard to stay calm, but Buck Fever had set in. To say she was excited would be an understatement! We decided to let them walk out past 500 yards and move over to another small knoll. Crawling to the next ridge we found them again. A few does were feeding and some were looking back at us. The buck was so preoccupied with his does, that he had no idea what we were up to. I hit him with my rangefinder – 278 yards. I looked back and Kelsey was already on the bipod laying down just about ready to send this buck a lead pill for breakfast. I quickly tweaked the turret on her rifle and turned on the video camera. “When you’re ready, I’m on him”, I said. He turned and quartered slightly toward us. On the shot, he dropped instantly. I turned to look at Kelsey. Between the hooting and hollering, the raw emotion in her face said it all. Laughter, crying and hugs. We did it! She had just knocked another animal off her North America 10 slam list. The walk over was surreal. He just kept getting bigger! Jesse made his way over with Gatlin, so they could celebrate with us. After we tagged him, we took some video and a ton of photos. We then carefully skinned him, loaded the meat in our packs, and headed back to Jesse’s. It had been a great morning indeed! Later that afternoon, Jesse called and said, “are you sitting down?” “Yup in the truck”, I replied. “This thing goes over 85-inches!”. Hard to believe, her first antelope was a ‘Booner’! We spent the next day cruising to find a buck that would either match or break that 85-inch mark. Passing up lots of respectable bucks, we just couldn’t cross paths with one that made me want to pull the trigger. I was beginning to question if I’d made the right decision passing up some of those bucks. Kerry and Kelsey

reassured me I was doing the right thing. One of the bucks had a horn that actually grew like the shape of an “S”. Unique for sure, he was young, so I opted to pass on him. I wanted a mature antelope. The drive home that night was quiet... I couldn’t help question whether I’d made a mistake. The final morning of our hunt was now upon us. Fortuitous, Kerry commented that he felt like it was going to be a great morning. He wasn’t wrong. He wanted to head back to where we had seen the giant buck to see if he’d left the property we couldn’t hunt. The eastern sunrise danced above the prairie floor. Right then I had a feeling it was going to be a special day. Kerry made the turn east and we made our way up the gravel trail to our destination. Rolling up to a vantage point, the sun was coming fast, but it was still too dark to shoot. The view was breathtaking. Alberta’s prairie sunrises can warm the soul. Now legal shooting light, we slowly rolled down the road. In the distance I noticed some antelope in a shallow valley. It was a buck we’d seen previously. He was nice; low 70’s for sure. And so our search continued. As we crested another small rise, Kelsey yelled from the backseat to stop! Kerry piled on the brakes and immediately saw a giant buck off to his left. In fact, there was one off to our right as well. Kerry noticed right away that it was the big guy on the left! At the same time, I stared through my Swarovski EL Range binoculars at the buck on the right. Honestly, he looked massive! He had serious bases. “I want to kill this buck,” I said to Kerry. “He’s the one.” Kerry wasn’t convinced, until he put his spotting scope on him. All he said, was “wow!” One quick call to Jesse, and we confirmed access. The hunt was on. Unfortunately, the buck had different plans. He ran his does over into the next section of land. Working the does the giant from earlier in week had with him, it was apparent that at least one was in heat. He wouldn’t leave her alone.

Now he was on a grazing lease with foot access only and no contact for permission. This was going to happen. Every now and then, he’d run his does from close to what felt like a mile away. It was time. I grabbed my Kimber and began to move in. Rolling under the fence, I belly-crawled to a spot that would offer a 400-yard shot opportunity. The massive buck was completely unaware of my presence, allowing me to attach my bipod and quietly load three rounds. Ranging him, I got 389 yards. Antelope, especially during the rut, are constantly moving about. I got myself comfortable and settled the crosshairs on him. Screened by does, I had to wait for a clear shot opportunity. It felt like a 15-minute stand-off. One doe walked away, then another. A third had other plans. She took two steps and stopped. She looked back at him and decided she’d had enough. Taking off on a dead run, the giant buck went with her. My heart sank. Did my opportunity just disappear before me? I scrambled to find them again in my scope. “This can’t be happening”, I thought to myself. Ultimately, he pushed the doe in my direction. Once they stopped running, the three does and the buck were inside 300 yards, but they were again standing in front of this giant buck! As soon as the does cleared, I saw that he had his head down. I quicky looked back at Kelsey and got the thumbs up that the camera was rolling. I took three calming breaths and held. Slowly squeezing the trigger, it was like time stood still. All the planning and time that had gone into this hunt replayed through my mind. I watched the buck jump followed by a familiar ‘thump’ zoomed out my rifle scope, just in time to watch him rear up and fall over. Andre had fallen. I glanced back at the truck, and the looks on Kerry’s and Kelsey’ faces said it all. We set out to harvest another buck in the 85inch range and, by the looks of it, we blew it out of the water. A huge round of hugs and high fives and we were ready to make our way over to the fallen giant. Notably, Gatlin was still sleeping. We chuckled and proceeded to wake him up and get him dressed for the walk in. With packs on our back, and Gatlin riding in a backpack, we made our way across the open prairie towards Andre. This was the longest 300-yards I’ve ever had to walk. Zero ground shrinkage on him. I was first to get to him, I laid my rifle down beside him and the excitement set in. I grabbed one horn and was completely in shock. He had well over seven-inch bases with matching cutters and each horn was easily 16-inches long. Emotion is a real thing. I laughed and then I cried. We had just accomplished something pretty cool, especially with a 10-month-old boy in tow. I called Jesse and told him we’d just taken a giant. He wanted us to hurry back so he could see it before going on his sheep hunt. We took some awesome photos of my buck, then I threw him over my shoulder, and we headed back to the truck. The drive back was surreal. Numbers were crunched. When we got back to Jesse’s he was waiting by the horse trailer with a horse he was trying to load. As soon as we stopped, he came running over with that horse in tow. He dropped the tailgate and, all he said was “Oh my God”. It was starting to sink in, slowly. Out came the tape measure. Fifteen inches turned into sixteen then it was seventeen. He was bigger than we thought. I’d taken an absolute giant. 92 1/8 inches of antelope lay in front of us for the world to see. My emotions went nuts. I called a few buddies, and we chatted quickly about the hunt, it was a dream come true. A dream that I wouldn’t change for the world.