The NMTA recently received the following letter from the winner of our raffle:

> An unexpected hunt is like Christmas to any hunter. My name is Adrian Vigil from Farmington, NM and an avid hunter, angler and lover of all things outdoors. I just want to start off by thanking everyone who made this hunt possible.
>
> As an outdoors man I have always had a love for the outdoors and God’s creations. I was never expecting to win this antelope hunt. My intentions were to contribute to the cause, hoping to help reinstate public land trapping here in New Mexico. Little did I know, I would win a tag and get to hunt my first pronghorn antelope.
> When I received the call, I was in disbelief. Excited and smiling from ear to ear, I knew the hunting dates would come fast. As a sole proprietor it’s not easy to get away from my small business. With my busy season quickly approaching I had to get my rifle dialed in. With tons of unforeseen circumstances, this hunt was eventful and made a memorable hunting story for years to come.
>
> I decided to shoot my 6mm Creedmore paired with a Hornady 103gr ELD-X round. The scope I had on it was more for long range target shooting. After talking to the ranch trapper Travis Chilson. I decided I should swap scopes to something adjustable for shorter shots just in case. I had a nice Nikon scope around that was perfect. I set it up and bore sighted it, I begin to sight it in. After shooting a box of bullets it would not sight into MOA adjustments. With only a week before the hunt I had to buy another new scope. I went with a Vortex this time. Luckily a friend helped me get it dialed in. Hitting 500–600-yard shots consistently. Feeling good about my set up, it was GAME ON!
>
> The week of the hunt I scrambled to get everything ready to go. Two days before I left, I get a call from Travis letting me know that the landowner gave him a tag. He continued with excitement in his voice “I know your bringing your son and I would like him to have my tag.” I was blown away by his generosity! I couldn't wait to tell my 16-year-old son Kaden. That evening my son and I were on cloud 9! So excited to both have an opportunity to hunt side by side. With a change of plans, it was a scramble to get us both ready. The day before we leave for the hunt Travis calls in a panic. “I gave you the wrong hunt code!” It was 2pm and I had a few hours to try and contact Game And Fish to try and get it changed. I called every number I could find and left a message with everyone. Finally, 30 min before they closed, I get a call. I was able to get it switched! What a stress relief. I spent the rest of the evening getting packed to hit the road, on a 7hr drive. We met Travis at the ranch, and he was glassing some bucks. We found three solid bucks. He had seen one giant while scouting earlier in the week. Talk about being excited! With no time for my son to shoot before the hunt we got him on the sticks and got him some shooting time just before dark. He was dialed in hitting consistently.
>
> The morning of the hunt came early. We ended up getting to bed around 11pm and back up at 2:45 am. We hit the road at 3:15 in the morning to be set up before the public land hunters showed up. The big boy was my target buck, and the number 2 buck had my sons name on it. Midway there we had an intoxicated driver swerving all over the road and driving under the speed limit. Talk about anxiety unable to pass and diving under the speed limit. He finally pulled over and we were able to pass him. Upon arriving to the property, we were actually made it early. As the moon went down, we walked a cattle trail to the edge of a dry lake bed and set up on a power line pole to give us some cover. My son and I both set up ready to sling some lead. Glassing as the sky started to light up, we saw a smaller buck and two doe’s. Travis said, “that big boy has to be around here.” As he turns around on the direction we walked in from, “Dang! There he is!” We had walked right passed him in the dark! With about 15 min until legal shooting light, I watched him through my crosshairs. Looking down every so often as time couldn’t have moved slower. With about 10 min until shooting light two trucks pull up on the dirt road on the opposite side of the buck. Needless to say, right in my shooting lane. We wait patiently as the buck is just feeding. To my relief the guys pull forward and move on. With about five minutes left another truck pulls in with a UTV! He stops hops out of his truck and walks back to unload. Bang the trailer ramps hit the ground. The buck looks up and starts to move. We have to relocate over a bit with the buck walking instead of feeding. The UTV starts and the buck is gone! We watch as the buck never stops with just minutes before shooting light.
>
> We regroup and plan to get Kaden a buck first. As we head across the property, I see something shiny in the two-track road. We stop to investigate and see that it’s two rattlesnakes mating. Flopping around and twisted up rolling around and then upright in the dirt. It was a sight to see! We locate number 2 buck and made a plan for my son to get a shot. Travis drops us off about 250 yards from the lip of a dry lake bed where we saw the buck headed. We stalk in with next to nothing for cover. As we get close to the lake bed, we see a doe bedded in the middle. We find one bush and keep between us and her. As we get within 40 yards of the edge my son looks over and whispers “Dad I need the shooting sticks he’s right there.” I move up from behind him to his side and set up the shooting sticks. Both of us on our hands and knees, Kaden sets up for the shot as I slowly rise up, I can see it's a nice set of horns, and he was close. Kaden whispers "Dad I have a shot." The safety clicks off as I plug my left ear and push record. Boom! The buck runs out about 150 yards and stops. Kaden chambers another round. Then suddenly the buck beds down. I look over at Kaden and he says to me "I can't stop shaking." I work to calm him down and let him know we have time. I range the buck at 231 yards and dial the turrets. He takes a breath and squeezes the trigger, hitting just inches below the bedded buck. The buck stays bedded. By this time Travis had been watching from about 800 yards away and saw blood coming out of the shoulder and watched the buck go down. Reasonably assumed he begins to drive over to us thinking it's a done deal. As Kaden is reloading the buck jumps up and runs directly over a swell. We watch for him to come out but never did. We expected him to be laying just over the hill dead, but instead he was nowhere to be found. We never saw him come out. We ended up gridding the entire area for several hours, with no sign. We continued to search other areas of the ranch with no luck.
>
> It was around 1:30 in the afternoon and it was hot. As we come around, we see the number two buck feeding with some doe's. Travis asks, "do you want to take him?" After watching the big buck run off the face of the earth and being down one tag with Kaden's buck, I decided to take the opportunity. He was a nice buck with good mass, cutters and some awesome prongs. We close the distance as all three of us army crawl to a fence line with tumbleweeds to use as cover. I set up to reach for my rangefinder and it's missing. The buck is out feeding as I set my crosshairs. With his back to me I didn't have a shot. I had to adjust to get the weeds out of my sights. He finally turned and a doe stood in front of him. Several times he would move, and I would have to readjust. Finally, he presented a shot. I squeezed the trigger and herd the smack and he spun around. I immediately reloaded. After what had happened to Kaden's buck, I sent another shot which dropped him! We all turn around to each other and begin to celebrate. As I say Game On Game Over! We made quick work of taking pictures and getting the meat on ice. Shout out to Travis for caping him out in no time! We decided to make one more attempt to find Kaden's buck, and possibly find my rangefinder. After searching until late afternoon, I was lucky enough to find my rangefinder but no signs of the buck. To eliminate all possibilities, we crossed the highway and looked, with no luck. As I pull out on to the highway, I notice my front left tire is going flat. I pull over and long story short, a 20 min tire change turned into an hour or more with the jack being too short. Before getting on the road, I decided to take a look at the other tires. Both back tires had mesquite thorns sticking out of them. I had some wire cutters and trimmed them as close to the tire as possible. Back on the road we were able to make it to Travis's house. The next morning was a Sunday. With no other options, we headed to town to try and fix the flats and punctures. The only tire center open was Walmart. An hour and a half later. They would only fix my flat. The punctures were not allowed to be fixed according to them. Unfortunately, they didn't have my tire size either. With no other options I bought some plugs and several cans of fix-a-flat. We still had to meet the taxidermist 45 minutes away, which we did. With one plugged tire and two with thorns in them we decided to try to make it home. Thankfully we drove seven hours with no issues and made it safely home.
>
> The next morning, I get a text from Travis "found him, he's a nice goat." I couldn't wait to tell Kaden! He had died that night in the same area. He was laying out in the open near where Kaden had shot him. Somehow, he survived two days with a shot that went into his shoulder and exited out his rear quarter. As hunters we try to make a good shot in hopes the animal expires quickly. In this case my son felt it was an ethical shot as we went over shot placement several times on the trip there. The shot placement looked good but the willingness to survive was strong. Every hunt is a learning experience, as we grow as hunters. I enjoyed every moment of this hunt, even with its ups and downs. Travis was an outstanding guy, and I learned a lot from him. We had a blast cracking jokes and laughing. We discussed trapping and how it is part of his lifestyle and the importance of it. The quality of antelope on the property was awesome, due to his predator control. I can't thank Travis and his family enough for the hospitality. The best part of this hunt was spending time with my son and making memories that will last a lifetime.
>
> Special thanks to Travis Chilson, New Mexico Trappers, Fur Takers of America, and the National Trapper's association. Also, thank you to Chad with Crooked Mouth Creations for the taxidermy and Wyatt for meeting with me. Also, I am excited to get with artist Adrian Romero for some artwork of the buck. I definitely can't forget about L-J Caprock Ranch for donating the tags! I'm excited to share my hunting experiences through a brand I have called, Game On outdoors. Being an artist by trade I started this brand with intentions of using designs for outdoors men and women and hopefully attract others into the outdoors. It is more important than ever to get the next generation into hunting, trapping, and fishing. After learning more about trapping I definitely want to incorporate a trapping design into the mix. If you like hunting Hats, shirts and decals, they can be found at www.gameonoutdoors.store. I hope to be able to help our local trappers in the battle. I will be working on a design that I can donate a portion of the proceeds to the cause. Thank you to everyone involved, this was a hunt I will never forget!
>
> Sincerely,
> Adrian Vigil
>
>

Nice.

Great story! Glad he and his son had a great hunt. Thanks to all of the folks that made this happen.

great!!!!!! where's the pic

Will see if we can get a couple pictures, hunts are starting here now so it's hard to get ahold of people.

Here are a few pics of the happy hunters:

Awesome write up and great pics!! Huge congrats!!!

Excellent

Great story/buck.

NICE buck. Got any length measurements on those horns? Some of the best wild game that I have ever had to eat was a great New Mexico antelope.