Brad Armstrong
(left) and
Colt Carpenter
pose with
the pronghorn
Armstong killed
in the Juniper
Unit.
A PRONGHORN BRAD ARMSTRONG
TAGS JUNIPER UNIT
HUNT 17 YEARS ANTELOPE
IN THE MAKING
Brad Armstrong ventured out into the Juniper Unit, south of
Burns and north of the Hart Mountain Wildlife Refuge, the
morning of Aug. 18 with his .338 Lapua and a long-awaited
antelope tag.
Accompanied by his cousin, Ben Holiday, and their good
friend, Colt Carpenter, they spotted a herd of antelope with the
buck Armstrong knew he wanted near a watering hole.
However, a herd of cattle was also at the hole, and
Armstrong knew there were too many eyes on him to move in
and line up a shot.
The antelope left the hole abruptly and vanished over the
open hills. After some time, they were able to spot the herd
again but could only get within 800 yards. Thinking this might
be the best they would get, the trio set up the shot.
Carpenter manned the range finder while Holiday peered
through the spotting scope. It was nearly noon, and the heat
waves coming off the ground made it difficult to see through
the optics on Armstrong’s scope.
10 • GRANT COUNTY HUNTING JOURNAL 2016
BY RYLAN BOGGS
Armstrong got the shot lined up at 811 yards, took a breath
and squeezed the trigger.
The antelope dropped.
The three had to hurry to keep the meat from spoiling in the
heat of the day and were able to have the animal completely
field dressed with the meat on ice and the cape removed in two
hours.
“It was a great trip with lifetime memories made,”
Armstrong said.
The trip was over 17 years in the making. Armstrong had
put in for an antelope tag for nearly two decades and was finally
successful.
A hunter his whole life, Armstrong drew one of the 84
antelope tags available in the Juniper Unit, according to the
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
There were 2,091 applicants for these tags, but Armstrong
was confident he would get it. Through the ODFW’s
preference points system, Armstrong had accrued 17 points
towards a pronghorn tag.
“With 17 you’re pretty much guaranteed to get it,” he said.
He knows of at least four others in the area who got the
same tag.
Armstrong spent the weekend of Aug. 6 scouting with his
wife, Mary, in the Juniper Unit, putting as much as 80 miles on
his Ranger in just one day. Armstrong says most of the
preparation for the hunt is scouting.
“Finding the one you want and tracking it, seeing where he
goes, finding the watering holes,” he said. “It’s a lot of scope
time and patience.”
The lack of trees in the high desert unit — 1.8 million acres
of sagebrush, Armstrong said — coupled with the pronghorn’s
excellent vision and incredible speed, made for a challenging
hunt.
Though Armstrong doesn’t describe himself as a trophy
hunter, he said this tag was an exception.
“You’re not just shooting anything,” Armstrong said.
MyEagleNews.com