Not only is an antelope hunt a fraction of what you’d pay for most other big game hunts, you’re virtually assured the opportunity of seeing lots of game. We offer great pronghorn antelope hunts, but for true trophies, you need to hunt certain areas. If you’re wanting a trophy buck (who isn’t?), your best chance is in Arizona, New Mexico or Wyoming. Just be sure to contact us so we can steer you towards a good, vetted outfitter.
We’ve been on these hunts ourselves and they have our stamp of approval. OUTDOORS INTERNATIONAL can help you stack the odds in your favor for a more successful pronghorn antelope hunt.
The Pronghorn Antelope
The pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) is a species of artiodactyl mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the American antelope, prong buck, pronghorn antelope, prairie antelope, or simply antelope because it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and fills a similar ecological niche due to parallel evolution. They’ve got great vision and hearing, and can run miles when spooked. Being the fastest land animal in North America, they can get out of the country in a hurry.
It’s not very hard to spook them either, then they’re off at speeds reaching over 53 miles per hour. They’re also one of the smaller big game animals in the West, so getting close is pretty important. Pronghorn antelope are also herd or “band” animals, which means where there is one there is almost always more. Hunting them after they’ve started to experience weather, causes them to herd up and gather into groups that can be in the hundreds and be more difficult to hunt. When you combine that with their having been shot at during the season opener and ready to run to the next county at the sight of you driving down a country road three miles away, you’re going to have to work for it.
Field Judging Pronghorn Antelope
We know that with many hunters, the key to writing us a good hunt report is the quality of animal they harvest. So, that said, we like to do our best to prepare you prior to your hunt.
Antelope can be extremely difficult to judge on the hoof. There are sometimes exceptions to the rule, of course. If you see a buck that is between 80-90 inches, there will be no doubt that he is a shooter. There are four things to look for when field judging pronghorns. You need to look at the height (or length) of the horn, the mass (above and below the prong), the prongs and amount of curl at the tips.
Things you need to look at to judge an antelope in the field:
- Height, or length of the horns.
- Mass above and below the prongs.
- Prongs
- Amount of curl at the tips.
The Best Places to Hunt Antelope
Choosing where to hunt can be daunting, but here are the best places to hunt pronghorn antelope in our opinion.
In total, there have been 3,859 entries into the all time records book, 33% of those coming from Wyoming, 18% from New Mexico, 10% from Arizona and 8% from Nevada.
- Over 26% of those entries have occurred in the last 10 years.
- Of the 100 best pronghorns taken in the last 10 years, 20% came from Arizona, 15% from Nevada, 26% from New Mexico and 23% from Wyoming. That’s a whopping 84% from just four states!
Wyoming
Hunters from 12 year old kids, to 75 year old grandparents have an incredible amount of fun, and are very successful antelope hunts. This is especially true in Wyoming, where there are more goats than you can shake a stick at. In fact, 33% of bucks in the record book have come from Wyoming, making it the title holder. Pronghorn antelope outnumber people in Wyoming.
New Mexico
18% of Boone and Crockett antelope have come from New Mexico, and our hunters have had 100% success rate on trophy class bucks scoring 70-85″ B&C in New Mexico.
Arizona
Arizona has some tremendous antelope hunting…if you can draw a tag. Arizona holds 10% of the record book bucks.
Nevada
8% of the record book bucks have come from Nevada, making it the #4 state to take a Booner buck.
Colorado
Colorado is famous for its quantity AND quality of pronghorn antelope. This state is consistently producing record-class animals. Our Colorado ranches are managed for amazing hunting, and our antelope hunters have had an incredible 100% opportunity rate on trophy bucks!I hope this helps.
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