Now this is one grandmother you don’t want to mess with. Dotty Judy didn’t grow up hunting and had never shot an animal before her 70th birthday when she took down a pronghorn antelope with her husband outside Pendleton, Oregon, according to the Eastern Oregonian newspaper.
The couple were hunting in the beautiful Steen Mountains in Eastern Oregon. Dotty’s husband Cliff had been a hunter all his life, but Dotty had never been. After about 15 years bowhunting, without much success, and coming along with Cliff on his rifle hunts to take photographs, she decided to put in for a hunting tag of her own.
Just getting your name pulled out of a drawing did not prove easy. It took nine years before her opportunity arrived. Cliff hadn’t gotten anything this year, but Dotty pulled a deer and an antelope tag. So it was time to start learning to shoot.
She told the Eastern Oregonian it was difficult to get used to the kickback of the gun, but once she conquered her fears she was able to take aim at 200 yards. When it came time for the big hunt, the pair set up in a blind near a watering hole known to be used by antelope.
The animals have incredible vision so it was important to stay hidden. One visitor got spooked before she could take a shot. It would involve a whole other day of waiting before she would finally get to take a shot at a prized antelope. One shot below the shoulder blade and the animal was down.
“I wasn’t out to prove anything,” she told the newspaper. “I was just out to do my best.”
Photo credit: Dreamstime
