Judging Pronghorn Antelope

sheephunterab · Mar 24, 2017

Here's a brief clip I did on judging antelope.

CAustin · Mar 27, 2017

Good info. I hope to hunt these one day!

BobT · Mar 30, 2017

One of my favorite hunts!

BRICKBURN · Aug 5, 2017

I got my elusive Trophy Antelope tag, after only 11 years of waiting.
It's hard to remember all those little details for judging a good trophy.

Here's a couple of methods I just ran in to while doing some review. Some aspects are new to me:

- Use the pronghorns eye as a measuring tool. This requires that you watch the antelope as it is broadside and not staring you down. With some practice, patience, and good glass, this is not as difficult as it seems.

- The first mass/base measurement (at the very base of the horn) needs to be as close to 1 3/4 eyes as possible. 1 1/2 eyes may not be enough unless the front profile of the horn is thicker than normal.

- The second mass/base measurement (usually half way between the base of the horn and the prong, or slightly closer to the prong) should be at least 1 3/4 eyes. I usually just look for the mass at the base to either be carried, or improve. If it does not, then something somewhere else will have to compensate for it.

- Now for the hard part, the prongs. Look for prongs that are 2 eyes in length. Imagine laying two eyes along (on) the prongs. If you come up short here, look for something else to compensate for it (like extra length).

- Next, the length measurement.

My preferred method is to try to compare the horns length to the bucks face. The straight line length from the tip of the nose to the back of the head is fairly close to 15 inches on most bucks. This may require you to straighten out the antelopes horn and compare it to it's face in your minds eyes. That is what works for me. Of course taking curl into consideration - add length for more curl, don't for less.

A few other considerations:

- Don't judge a buck when it is walking away. They almost always look bigger than they really are.

- Don't judge a buck when it is staring you down, other than for frontal mass.

- Don't confuse the black on a bucks face for horn mass. This is really easy to do through binocs or poor glass.

- They typically look bigger when they are skylined.

- Don't forget to look for broken prongs and tips. They are very common, especially on large, dominant bucks. Not only do they reduce your measurements, but they usually cost in additional point deductions.

From Boone and Crockett:

Horn Length
Horns should appear to be much longer than the length of the pronghorn's head, measured from base of the ear to tip of nose. This distance averages around 13 inches. Also check the horns against ear length. If the horns appear to be 2-1/2 to 3 times the ear length, which averages 6 inches, they are probably long enough. Remember, horns that have pronounced, rounded curves inward with horn tips ending in downward hooks, may be half again as long as they appear to be, while straight horns with little hooks at the very tips will not yield much of a bonus.

Prongs
The prongs of most record-class buck will appear extremely large and will project from the horn at or above the level of the ear tips. Prongs are measured to the rear edge of the horn they project from, so a 6-inch prong will appear to extend about four inches from a heavy horn — or twice the width of the horn viewed from the side. A head with very high prongs may cause the third quarter circumference measurement to be taken below the prong instead of above it, which usually helps the score.

Horn Mass
As four circumference measurements are taken on each horn, it is obvious that heavy horns are a must for record-book pronghorn. The eyes of a pronghorn are located directly below the horn base, so they are a convenient feature to judge horn mass. As viewed from the side, the horn base should appear to be twice the width of the eye, which generally measures a little over 2 inches. This equates to horn base that measures 6 to 7 inches in circumference.

Pronghorn are usually found in open country and have exceptional vision. Therefore, good binoculars and a spotting scope are necessary to evaluate potential trophies at the distances required to avoid spooking them. Good optics and careful use of them will save the hunter many needless stalks when searching for a record-class buck.

A major factor in pronghorn trophy quality is seasonal weather. While not directly related to field evaluation, it may be a factor in where you choose to hunt. Pronghorn shed their outer horn sheaths in the fall, leaving a bony core upon which regrowth of horn material soon begins. A mild winter coupled with a warm, wet spring, and early summer providing abundant feed can result in much larger horns than will a severe winter and drought conditions the next summer.

http://www.boone-crockett.org/bgRecords/records_fieldjudging_pronghorn.asp?area=bgRecords

fish hunter · Aug 5, 2017

Good info guys thanks, I've only hunted antelope once before about 10 years ago but this year me and my wife were lucky to draw tags here in my home province of Saskatchewan! Just picked up a vortex razor spotting scope to help judge these amazing animals hopefully it all comes together with a great hunt for us!

fourfive8 · Aug 8, 2017

The Hornady video is ok but like all such... too many little "formula" details to be really useful in the field and of course a marketing thing for the super dooper, long range, high BC doppler tested yadayada..... First- be a able to judge distance and not shoot too far or if running. Usually the country is very open and the true speed of a pronghorn is underestimated. Also, too many rules for trophy judging these usually just confuses the issue in the field and may even cause more second guessing than helping. Try to look at as many as possible, in the field, before going on the hunt or pulling the trigger.

Heavy and long prongs- heavy overall appearance. At long distance a good buck will show quite a bit of "black" thus justifying some effort to get a closer look. Appearance of overall height of horns should be about twice length of ears. Then look for long points making nice, heart-shaped downward deep sweep. Or most simply, like O'Connor said, "the big ones look big"

sheephunterab · Aug 8, 2017

It depends what you are trying to judge for, for sure but when you are trying to judge score within an inch or two it is critical to know the "formula" details. If you just want a nice mature buck then ya, overall impression is really all you need to worry about.

fourfive8 · Aug 8, 2017

sheephunterab said:
It depends what you are trying to judge for, for sure but when you are trying to judge score within an inch or two it is critical to know the "formula" details. If you just want a nice mature buck then ya, overall impression is really all you need to worry about.

The only "formula" that I would even consider useful would be comparing the height of horn against length or height of ears. Other than that look at a bunch of pronghorns and compare. Once you see a big one you'll know what you are looking at for the rest. Even studying good mounts is better than trying to memorize some silly formula of inches.

sheephunterab · Aug 8, 2017

Again, it depends what you are judging for......you may think inches are silly and many hunters don't. When you are in the position of being required to judge inches...well then inches matter. If they aren't to you then that's cool!

Erny · Aug 8, 2017

Perhaps my favorite animal to hunt. They are very hard to judge IMO because an inch can mean the difference between a good antelope and a true trophy. I have shot enough that I just enjoy going.

BRICKBURN · Aug 8, 2017

Can you imagine running into these. Not a lot of doubt.

BRICKBURN · Aug 8, 2017

Look at the size of the horns in comparison to the head.
No wonder it's a World Record.

sheephunterab · Aug 9, 2017

Yup no judging there!

fourfive8 · Aug 9, 2017

In a past life I spent 27 years working with these. I always got a kick out of guides, explaining in great detail to their clients, the nuances of inches of pronghorn measurement and judging at a distance. The funny thing about it was it was usually all part of the guiding "game" in that most of the time it was to make themselves sound like an expert and/or to massage the ego of the client

"Nice goat" "he ought make at least 13 1/2" "nice mass look at that hook" or for either sex hunts "Nice doe!" and so on.

Simple google search of trophy pronghorns will show lots of images.

Actually having looked at or handled thousands of them from the ground, from on foot, while trapping them, from the air, from hunting them myself, from measuring them and so on... IMO... a truly nice big pronghorn buck will have obviously heavy horns, the horns will appear twice as high as the ears, will have prongs with tips that curve downward with an overall heart shape. If it isn't somewhere between 14-18" with at least some of those attributes, it's just another pronghorn. A pronghorn buck with horns that barely clear the ears without much mass simply isn't much. The most attractive pronghorn buck I ever saw was killed by the daughter of a friend. Ranks pretty well at just over 16"- very pleasing and well balanced heart shape, fairly heavy, good prongs and very uniform. To me more attractive than the world record. The current world record is from the area where I worked and is pictured below. I don't know the hunter.

cpr0312 · Aug 9, 2017

Damn now I want to go antelope hunting again after looking at this thread!!!

curtism1234 · Aug 9, 2017

I went in 97,98, and 99

It is one of the best hunts you can go on and very straightforward for the DIY'ers.

As far as mounts go - I don't like them too wide, too narrow, or too tall. They are a small animal and I personally like the balance of a 14-15" animal

fourfive8 · Aug 9, 2017

Here's the best one I killed when I used to hunt them. I killed pronghorns with bow, muzzleloader and rifle. Using a Groves recurve bare bow (no sights) and yes the old Bear Razorhead. This one is 15" x 15" with decent prongs and mass... still, to me, not that attractive- don't know why. Maybe I like the prongs to flare outward more or something?

BRICKBURN · Aug 21, 2017

Only saw a few bucks that were worth stopping to take a picture of this last weekend.

This scouting exercise reminded me to look at the bucks from EVERY angle. Front, back and side.

Some have nice hooks #2 #4, some wide,#5 etc.
Nice prong #3
The trickiest one was a hook that went back at an angle. #4

#1 Just an Antelope.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Erny · Aug 21, 2017

I like the lazy horns on number 5.

Charles de Ribeau · Sep 12, 2017

I'd suggest you pick a copy of Guy Eastman's "Hunting Trophy Antelope". I don't agree with everything, but it's pretty good.

If it's in the rut, consider using a decoy (carefully if there are other hunters around)

Consider using a silhouette cow decoy to help with a stalk.

I've hunted pronghorn quite a few times and usually, they are an easy hunt. Last year, they were crazy wild. They would run a the sight of a car or a person. I watched one take of on a run when I was still about 1 mile away. It was nuts. (I was wishing that I hadn't forgotten my cow decoy) Hardest pronghorn hunt I've ever done. In the end, I took a nice buck that just missed B&C.

Best of luck

Judging Pronghorn Antelope

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