The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) kicked off the 14th season of its Brotherhood Outdoors video series—now exclusively on YouTube—with Sean Gale, an Army veteran and 3rd year UA apprentice, heading into Wyoming’s wide-open country on his first-ever antelope hunt.
Gale grew up duck hunting in Michigan’s Saginaw Bay area with his grandfather and father. He then taught himself to bow hunt and began fly fishing for salmon, steelhead, and “anything that would take to a fly.”
Growing up in a working-class family, Gale worked hard in school and put himself through college where he served as vice president of the first collegiate Trout Unlimited chapter in the U.S. While serving four years in the Army after graduating, he met his wife and started a family.
“I have two awesome kids who I’m trying to get involved in hunting and fishing,” Gale said. “After the Army, I was accepted into the UA Pipefitters Local 636 apprenticeship program, and I’m currently learning a new trade and career that I’m really excited about.”
Gale hasn’t spent as much time outdoors over the past seven years as he’d like, so he was thrilled to be selected for a Brotherhood Outdoors hunt.
“I looked forward to the chance to go hunting out of state, in some place I wouldn’t have gone otherwise,” Gale said. “I remember arriving at the airport and thinking to myself, ‘This is really happening. I’m really getting to do this.’”
An avid bow hunter who loves the challenge and intimacy of hunting with a bow, Gale had never hunted with a crossbow before heading West in August to meet up with the USA’s Forrest Parker and Big Horn Outfitters in Buffalo, Wyoming.
“I was surprised how loud they are on the release of the bolt, but I was even more surprised with how accurate and just how fast they are,” Gale said of the crossbow.
Ever considered hunting with a crossbow? Check out A Case for Crossbows
Upon arriving at the ranch, Gale discovered that the sight on his new bow got messed up during his flight; he couldn’t get it dialed in for long distances. Luckily, the outfitter had several crossbows on hand, and the hiccup didn’t interfere with Gale’s hunt.
The next day, Gale and the crew headed to the field and watched numerous antelope pass out of range. On day two, they shifted to a new location. That’s when Gale experienced an unforgettable stare down with a mature buck.
“I’ll always remember how long the antelope stared at us trying to figure out what we were,” Gale said. “That was pretty intense and got the adrenaline going.”
Watch how the stare down ends and catch all the excitement of Gale’s Wyoming adventure.
New episodes of Brotherhood Outdoors will be posted every other Monday at 4 p.m. ET on the USA’s YouTube channel in 2022 with bonus videos—including Gale’s first prairie dog hunt—posted in between.
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Presented by ULLICO, Brotherhood Outdoors is also sponsored by the following unions, contractors and corporate partners: Carhartt; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; National Electrical Contractors Association; Thorogood; and United Association/International Training Fund’s Veterans in Piping Program.