With the monkey on his back, Justin Zarr made the trip back out west in search of redemption and a punched antelope tag to kick off the 2020 season. He was bowhunting Wyoming antelope with Big Horn Outfitters. It was the same place he visited in 2018 when he was the only archery antelope hunter to not fill a tag.
“I missed twice that week,” says Zarr. “I shot the blind window on the first day and shot right under a big goat on the last day.”
Scott Bakken from HHA Sports made the return trip as well.
The guys spent the first day cruising and glassing for antelope and taking turns on spot-n-stalk efforts.
Zarr went first and got close to a good goat. He had the buck at 45 yards, but right as he was settling his pin, the buck took off.
Scott was up next, and he quickly got to within 70 yards of a nice buck. Unfortunately, his shot fell short and the arrow zipped right under him.
The third stalk of the day found Zarr behind the bow again. He closed the distance to within 40 yards of a buck and came to full draw. Once again, the guys were busted and the goat ran off. It was another reminder that spot-n-stalk antelope hunting is not as easy as it may look.
After several blown stalks, the guys were getting in the groove. Things changed quick on the fourth stalk of the day as Scott slipped up to 54 yards of a buck and made the shot count. The goat ran 100 yards and piled up.
With temperatures in the 90’s, the guys hustled to get Scott’s goat taken care of and the meat cooled down. Afterwards, the crew headed back out to the same ranch to continue their spot-n-stalk efforts.
Justin found several goats moving down a draw and made his move to close the distance. He eased up to 45 yards before getting busted as he came to full draw.
That last stalk would put the wraps on the first day of hunting. The guys headed back to camp for some much needed food and rest.
Justin switched things up on Day 2 and made plans to sit in a blind on a water hole. He had a lot of activity all morning, including a nice buck that he decided to pass on. It was a decision he hoped he wouldn’t soon regret.
Finally, around 11:30, with temps approaching 90 degrees and the ground blind feeling like a sauna, 3 bucks made their way in to the water hole for a drink. Justin decided one of the bucks was good enough.
He sent an arrow towards one of the bucks standing 20 yards away.
The shot was good. The NAP Spitfire XXX did its job, and the buck went just 30 yards before piling up.
Justin had found redemption and a notched Wyoming antelope tag to kick off the fall bowhunting season for the BHOD team.
A big congrats to Zarr on a beautiful antelope buck in Wyoming!
Be sure to give this hunt a watch when it goes live on an upcoming episode of Bowhunt or Die.
