Pronghorn! Advice? Must have gear? Outfitters? Will be a rifle hunt

charlieB12345

charlieB12345

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Pronghorn! Advice? Must have gear? Outfitters? Will be a rifle hunt. recommendations properties? States? Will be my first time hunting them
 
Any rifle .223 and up with good optics.
Don't get excited, you should see a lot of them.
Biggest horns are in AZ and NM. Biggest numbers in WY. Easiest hunt is WY as there are many targets.
It is a social hunt, no camo needed, just patience and some time glassing.
Easy and fun hunt. I have done it 25 times or more.
 
dogcat1 said:
Any rifle .223 and up with good optics.
Don't get excited, you should see a lot of them.
Biggest horns are in AZ and NM. Biggest numbers in WY. Easiest hunt is WY as there are many targets.
It is a social hunt, no camo needed, just patience and some time glassing.
Easy and fun hunt. I have done it 25 times or more.
Click to expand...
Dam thank you so much!!! Great info!
 
If you want to hunt this year, your best bet would be to apply for the special draw in Wyoming ($1200). It is way more than the normal tag, but you get better draw odds. I would personally apply for unit 62, 63, or 69 for good odds and public access. If you fail, you are refunded.

Failing that, there are private land hunts in states like TX or NM that will run you the same. You could also look at returned tags in CO, but those aren’t released until August, and they are very hard to get.

Otherwise, I would start looking for next year.
 
A good range finder. Watch for cactus if any part of you is to touch the ground other than your boots. I made a set of sticks for going prone, about 9". They came in handy many times. Or shoot off a pack, Gatorade bottles work in a pinch. I prefer prone hence the cactus experience. Quality game bags to keep debris and flys off the meat. Don't overlook the heart. We had to save them for the land owner, it was the only thing he wanted off them. Best of luck
 
I agree with the above jnformation. Wyoming draw is open until the end of the month but it takes years of points to draw the good units. The odds are against you but good luck!
I anticipate my oldest daughter will draw Wyo and I am looking forward to a casual hunt with my “kids”
 
The hard part will be drawing a tag unless you're a resident (at least in Wyoming). The hunt is easy. I use a 6.5 CM but have used 243, 270, and 30-06... they all work. Alpha glass isn't needed, Vortex Diamondbacks will work just fine. Bipods are pretty helpful -- shots range from 100-400 yards. I've never used game bags, as I've never quartered one and like to leave the meat on the bone to hang for a few days. I have always just hunted public land so I have no outfitter recommendations. If you want to book an outfitter, I would pick one in an area that is easy to draw, which will be an area with little public land. Not much else to it.
 
Pronghorn are very easy to hunt with a rifle (archery very hard). 223+ with nod to something that has minimal wind drift.
I’d skip the outfitter because there’s not an easier DIY animal. Buy onX to look for public /private land boundaries. They’re usually quite easy to spot but you’ll want good glass to assess size. 15s on tripod are great. Spotter if you have it but don’t sweat it if you don’t.
Agree on special option for WY being best shot. Montana and ID have some easier draws too. Feel free to PM me if you want a second opinion on a plan. Good luck and have fun
 
I had never hunted Pronghorn, so I brought two large coolers. The entire animal easily would have fit into one and left me room for a 24 pack of drinks. I hunted in New Mexico and it was pretty straight forward- find a shootable one and stalk it. That wasn't hard but it took forever. Over 4 hours later I finally shot it at 100 yards with my .243 as it made its way to the watering hole that was right in front of me, while I was leaning against the truck getting a drink of water myself. I'd just bring a rifle you're comfortable with and a good set of binos.
 
There are lots of outfitters and lots of agents.
WTA has a ton of choices. There are probably cheaper outfitters out there.

For a rifle you have 3 kinds of options:
Easy odds draw on private land, and either pay a trespass fee or hunt with an outfitter, contact outfitters first.
Wyoming
Idaho
Montana
North Dakota
South Dakota
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Nevada
Oregon
Alberta

OTC landowner or tribal vouchers
Texas
New Mexico
Colorado
Utah
California
Montana
Alberta

Very hard draw public land:
Montana
Wyoming
Idaho
Colorado
New Mexico, there is only a couple of non-resident tags in the state
Texas super low odds, as it is a lottery
Arizona lowest odds
Nevada

Wyoming has the most antelope, Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Idaho, Texas, Utah, Oregon and Nevada are all in some kind of order after them.

Wyoming's antelope are accessible as a DIY hunt, but you need a ton of points.
 
Mountain bike. Almost all mine (6-8?) were taken in Wyoming via mt. bike. It does require varied terrain though. Ride around, find goats, sneek, shoot, dress, and then drag it back to your bike for the ride out. And you can ride back to camp with a buck trussed up on your rear rack (beware of wheelies). It's a good feeling riding back to camp with a .44 pistol across your chest and a speed goat on your rack.
 
I finally put my oldest daughter in for Wyoming. She had a pile of points and I hope this is her year. Would love to spend a day or two on an easy ish hunt with my girls. She has a good deer tag in utah and I feel like this will be “her” year.
 
I've hunted antelope most of the last 50 years in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. All DIY or DIY solo.

My longest shot was 351 yards, and on most of my antelope hunts I've had my Golden Retriever with me.
hko2Egpl.jpg

Much of antelope country has prickly pear cactus so leather gloves and knee pads are helpful when crawling for a shot.

Gut your animal where it dies, and hang the carcass in a cool and shade as soon as you can. If it's too hot, skin and quarter your animal and put it in a cooler with ice.

Some sort of game carrier is often helpful for retrieving your animal.
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My longest shot on a speed goat was 340 yards. They can be difficult to get once spooked. 28 nosler worked well enough
IMG_3042.jpeg
 
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