Belle River Outfitters
Fifteen years ago I got lucky when, while looking for antelope in South Dakota, I ran into the Kudlock family. Terry was just starting a bow-only antelope and deer outfitting service. Since that day, I have returned numerous times for both antelope and deer. The Kudlock family is a hardworking ranching family that treats you like one of their own. Once you have experienced the ranch - the hunting, the cooking and the hospitality - you will continue to go back also.

This year, Eric Pearson (college football teammate, friend and hunting buddy), four of our friends and I made the journey. Eric and I have been there together six times but for the others, this would be their first Belle River experience. In addition to Eric and I, the other hunters were John and David Morton (hometown neighbors), Derek Cherne (college football teammate of mine and Eric's) and Mitch Gebheim (high school classmate and friend of Eric's). The hunt was scheduled for four days but was quickly reduced to three.

Day 1:  We did not hunt because the day was hampered by 60+ mph winds. We all decided it was best and ethical to not shoot in those winds so we toured the ranch and scouted for antelope and deer. 

Day 2: The day was forecasted to be cool but dry so Terry,Tim and Brandon decided to mix things up and put some of us on waterholes and some in blinds on alfalfa fields. The day was productive and text messages were coming in steady on who was seeing what. Everyone was seeing antelope, just nothing close. At approx 2 pm, the first text of success came in:  Mitch had taken his first antelope.  The next success text came from Eric around 5:30 pm. This was Eric's best antelope to date with beautiful cutters and a tight curl. (No ,it did not rain- Eric's antelope expired in a creek.)  The day came to an end with two successful hunters and the four others all seeing antelope,  including one swing and a miss and other bucks being passed.

Day 3: The weather was starting to warm up and the day looked promising. The two successful hunters got to sleep in the rest of us headed to our blinds. The antelope started to water around noon and we were all sitting water. I had a really good buck water but too far out, so opted to pass on the shot. At 1:40,the first text of success came from John, who had just taken his first antelope, and to say he was excited would be an understatement. David was having a slow day but the day was getting warmer by the minute. Derek, however, had been seeing antelope all day and was just waiting for the right opportunity. That came at around 6:45 pm and Derek made good on his shot. His first antelope and two more very happy hunters.The day came to an end with David and I knowing we would not be sleeping in on the last day but would be in the blinds for the long haul on the hottest day yet.

Last Day:  David and I headed to our blinds with high hopes as the day was predicted to be warm. David was sitting in a blind called The Seep. He could see for miles and had been watching antelope all morning. He just needed one to water. I was sitting a blind that you must stay attentive in as you can only see a few hundred yards and when antelope are thirsty, they can cover that distance very quickly. At 9 am I had a doe and two fawns water; by noon it was getting hot. I checked in on David with a text and he said he was doing good and was watching some bucks bedded at around 600 yards. Around 12:30, I looked out the window and saw a set of horns just over the dam. I waited patiently but after 5 minutes was not sure where he had gone. I leaned forward to check the backside and saw a doe and fawn run over the hill to the water. Hoping he was not far behind, I nocked my NAP Killzone- tipped Easton. When he appeared at the edge of the waterhole, I drew and anchored my Hoyt Carbon Spyder, placed my pin behind his shoulder and squeezed the trigger. My arrow found its mark and I watched him run a short 30 yards and expire. The time was 12:40 and we were now 5 of 6. After taking care of my antelope and checking on David, we all loaded up in Derek's truck with Vortex optics and headed to a vantage point approx one mile from David to hopefully watch him take his first antelope. Within 30 minutes of setting up we watched three bucks leave their beds and slowly make their way toward The Seep. After some time, one buck broke away and headed on a bee line toward David. You should have seen us - four adult men acting like little kids hoping and praying that the last man standing would get his opportunity.(David is only 17).  I cranked my Razor spotting scope up to 60 power and gave a play by play as the other guys watched patiently through their binos. As the buck got within range, I saw him snap his head to the left and look right at the blind. My first thought was uh-oh. (Later I found out David lip smacked to stop him) The next moments were some of the best of my hunting career. I caught a glimpse of the arrow through the sunlight and watched the antelope spin. The entire time telling everyone in the truck, "He shot! He shot! The antelope is done!  He's done!"  We all started high-fiving, hooting and hollering. We called Tim and 
Terry and they were soon on their way. We all headed up to see David and his first antelope. The time was 3 pm and all 6 tags were filled. 
I can't say 'Thank You' enough to the Kudlocks for 15 years of great times, great food and memories that will last forever. Tim, Terry and Brandon - you know your animals. Lisa and Sharon - you prepare the best food in the West. To Mitch, Eric, John, Derek and David - Congrats again and Thank You for the new memories.

The trip to Utah was a success in many ways.  First and foremost, we all made it up the mountain and back down alive with everything intact. This hunt was the most physically demanding hunt I have been on to date. As you know, I had been working out daily and posting my progress, however even doing what I did, this hunt was grueling but well worth it. I can honestly say that if I hadn't worked out like I did,  I wouldn’t have been able to physically complete this hunt and truly wish I would have prepared more. Now that I am in this routine, I do plan on staying on track and staying more physically fit.

The Hunt

 Day 1: We basically got fogged out and had to leave the hunt early but did come up with a game plan for the morning.

Day 2: We hiked the top of the mountain and out to the peak at just below 10,000 ft. We worked our way through the shale banks and cliffs, which weren’t too bad. Up top, Brad passed a couple small nannies. Once to the peak, Brad had three billies in the cross hairs, however, with only a nannie tag we had to just watch and admire these amazing animals. We made our way back to the truck seeing lots of other goats but they were either impossible to get to or not what we were looking for.

Day 3: Our plan was to start low and glass for goats up high while making plans to go around the top and drop in on them or to hike up from the bottom. Once daylight broke, we found the nannie we were looking for and made our game plan. Unfortunately, there was no way to come in from the top which meant we had to hike up from the bottom and try and get around them to drop in on them from the backside.  We all loaded our packs for the long trek and headed up the mountain. Approximately two hours later, we had made it through the cliffs, up the shale banks and back through the cliffs.  We were now sitting approximately 3000 vertical ft. from where we started and 2.5 miles from the truck, but only 100 yards and closing from the goats. As I readied the camera, we slowly made our way to within 30 yards of the goats. Unfortunately, we didn’t know exactly where they were and they saw us as we saw them. I told Brad "30 yards to the left - she’s right there through the sage brush."  I snapped a couple photos as she started to hike higher. Soon she was back in view and Brad dropped the hammer making a great shot  ensuring she didn’t go far. We celebrated briefly, then started to plan  how to get her off this treacherous mountain. We radioed down to our spotter Craig who was also videoing the entire thing from down low. We talked a bit, then went to work on photos,  caping and cutting up the meat for the trip down the mountain. In the meantime, our spotter Craig so wanted to join in the celebration on the mountain that he made the long trek up to help us out. We waited, took a breather and did what we could before he arrived. Once he made it, we finished up with photos and took care of the rest of the caping and meat work. Once done we all loaded up our packs and headed back down the mountain.

I want to say a few last things:

First, congrats to Brad on an awesome goat and also thank you for inviting me and letting me be a part of this entire adventure.

Second, I want to say thank you to some new friends: Stefan and Jennie. Stefan, your help and work through this entire thing from scouting to helping to packing was just incredible. You are a very unselfish person who took time off from work and your daily life just to help with no other gains except to be part of a hunt with some guys your barely knew. You had only met Brad once and we had never even talked personally before except through Brad. My hat is off to you, sir. You are one of few - a truly a great guy.

Jennie what can I say about you? You brought us into your home like we had all been friends forever. The day Brad shot his goat, you were right there with us on top of that mountain. You also are truly a great person. As I told you, I have seen many men and women talk the talk but couldn’t walk the walk in the end. But you, “Princess”, can definitely walk the walk.

Last but not least Craig:

I left Craig as the last person to talk about for a reason. Craig, like Brad and I, had never been on a mountain goat hunt but was a good friend of Stefan’s and really wanted to go along to help out.  Getting to know Craig on that mountain made me realize I was on this mountain with my new hero- an American hero. Craig had done his time across seas serving with the 204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade with the Utah National Guard. He is now retired at the young age of 60. If any of you have ever mountain goat hunted before, you know this is a very grueling hunt on your body at any age and although 60 is not old by any means it is starting to push the limits on a hunt like this. Craig hung in there on days 1 and 2. Once back to the truck he told us he would go along and spot on day three but he was worn out, tired and his feet were not doing so good. We all agreed it would be great to have a spotter anyway. Craig had already earned my respect from serving our country and what he/we had already done on this hunt but on day 3 he became the man and my new hero. Craig wanted to be part of this celebration. He really wanted to be more than just the spotter down below (which actually was a big help in the success of this hunt).  After this goat was on the ground, through all his pain, sore feet and tiredness, Craig made the long trek up that mountain to be with us and celebrate. To this day and forever I will respect the drive, courage and will of this man. You deserved to be on top of that mountain with us and I am glad you made it, my friend.

Again, Brad, congrats to you, my friend, on a well-deserved goat after a hard long hunt.  Thank you to Stefan, Jennie and Craig for everything you did to make us feel at home and for all the help on the mountain.

Brad submitted his Utah Mountain Goat story to Huntin' Fool magazine (photos by Art).  It was selected as the October 2014 Member's Choice Winner.