Wanted: Top end Pronghorn hunt

[Green Chile]

Regarding TX antelope, I actually had a private ranch booked to hunt and they called me back to cancel due to the winter kill on the ranch. Apparently the biologists were recommending letting the herds recover. This was about 2 years ago.

 

[dgr416]

I only hunted Montana but loved it took my 264 win mag and had two depretation tags antlerless .I want to go back to Montana so much fun and nicest people .I went on my way back from Alaska this time I want to bird hunt too .

 

[skydiver386]

I have contracted with Pronghorn Guide Service 2x for antelope but haven't drawn successfully yet. After a lot of research, they were the obvious ones for my interests.

They've been at the top of my list for several years now.

I'd love to hunt on the Plains of Saint Augustin, where the huge antenna of the VLA are, but of course if you want big Pronghorn, they seem to be wherever you find them.

 

[farmer_john]

I only hunted Montana but loved it took my 264 win mag and had two depretation tags antlerless .I want to go back to Montana so much fun and nicest people .I went on my way back from Alaska this time I want to bird hunt too .

You hunt public land or guided?

 

[TMac]

Best contact Eli soon, unless you have gobs of points in WY, NV or AZ. A NM landowner tag maybe your best shot, unless he knows of some TX options. Last I checked with him the landowner tags went fast.

 

[dgr416]

You hunt public land or guided?

Public land meet some of the nicest people in the world .They said hunt public land first day then you can hunt our ranch .They put up 500 cows so I could hunt .They drove me around to find some .I got out belly crawled 300 yards shot both in their tracks flipped them dead with 155 gr lapula mega tip bullets .I just got bad news my friends that moved to Monara from Alaska so I gotta go by myself again .I camped out a week had best time of my life .I saw a zillion bucks but didnt have a buck tag .It was as fun as hunting in Alaska herd of pronghorn was like caribou tons of them .I heard numbers are down now .

 

[BAY]

Landowner tag in NM is the route for a tag this year, unless you get lucky with the draw. Most outfitters in NM will have some available for ranches that they lease. They may also have you put in for the draw to access public lands as well. Regardless, of draw success, you can still buy a hunt via land owner tag allocation. I would reach out Sante Fe Guiding Company and G3 Outfitters.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

NOTE: I have never hunted Pronghorn out west. But, a few years ago, I was working in Raton, NM and one weekend a friend and I drove or to the NRA Wittington Center to shoot sporting clays. The staff could not have been nicer. They provided us with a flat of 12ga shells and a pair of very nice over-under shotguns and handed us the controller with directions to the range. A final admonition was to not shoot directly at the Antelope that may be grazing behind some of the stands.

They also suggested we drive about 7 miles up one of the canyons to see the Elk and more Pronghorns. We saw multiple herds of both Elk and Antelope including some really nice rams. They offer guided hunts in the fall at the center. It is not cheap but is a first class operation. They have onsite cabins for housing and it is a lovely high plains area. You could do worse.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

So i have 0 experience hunting out west. Im looking to learn practice glassing and hunting public lands so indont waste the harder to get tags when i get them eventually.

If you didn’t start applying 15-20 years ago your chances of getting those harder to get tags is diminishing by the day.

Example: AZ Unit 10 Pronghorn as cited by another poster; 15-20yrs of points. It didn’t start at that it’s been steadily climbing and I think it’s the higher end of that number to guarantee at tag. In 5 years, it’ll likely take 3-4 more points than it does this year because there are more point holders in the max point range for that tag than there are tags. This creates what’s known as “points creep”. Most units are experiencing this because demand has exceeded the number of tag allocations. This is why Colorado removed OTC elk tags, and all deer tags have been draw for some time.

You can certainly draw “other” units, but the harder to get tags are a shot in the dark. There is a random component to Arizona and Wyoming’s lottery system giving lower point holders a chance at a tag, and no fail every year at least 1 super premium tag goes to someone with little or no points.

Without knowing your age, my advice would be to save the money on applications, pick a hunt/species and find a way to save for a landowner voucher for it. I just did this after applying for a sheep tag in Wyoming for 20 years. The state with zero noticed changed the percentage of non-resident tags and the way tags are allocated it removed the chance of a random draw tag with all tags going to max point holders, of which my roughly 20 years of applications don’t even put me on the top 1/3. The money from those 20 years of applications would have me several grand towards hunting a sheep elsewhere.

 

[farmer_john]

If you didn’t start applying 15-20 years ago your chances of getting those harder to get tags is diminishing by the day.

Example: AZ Unit 10 Pronghorn as cited by another poster; 15-20yrs of points. It didn’t start at that it’s been steadily climbing and I think it’s the higher end of that number to guarantee at tag. In 5 years, it’ll likely take 3-4 more points than it does this year because there are more point holders in the max point range for that tag than there are tags. This creates what’s known as “points creep”. Most units are experiencing this because demand has exceeded the number of tag allocations. This is why Colorado removed OTC elk tags, and all deer tags have been draw for some time.

You can certainly draw “other” units, but the harder to get tags are a shot in the dark. There is a random component to Arizona and Wyoming’s lottery system giving lower point holders a chance at a tag, and no fail every year at least 1 super premium tag goes to someone with little or no points.

Without knowing your age, my advice would be to save the money on applications, pick a hunt/species and find a way to save for a landowner voucher for it. I just did this after applying for a sheep tag in Wyoming for 20 years. The state with zero noticed changed the percentage of non-resident tags and the way tags are allocated it removed the chance of a random draw tag with all tags going to max point holders, of which my roughly 20 years of applications don’t even put me on the top 1/3. The money from those 20 years of applications would have me several grand towards hunting a sheep elsewhere.

Almost 40. And im not looking for huge trophies. Just a good representative of the species

 

[JimP]

Almost 40. And im not looking for huge trophies. Just a good representative of the species

I had been putting in for Wyoming for a number of years along with Arizona and Utah. Arizona and Utah require a "qualifying" license but since I hunt javelina down in Arizona every year and have a lifetime license in Utah it is no extra cost for me. I realized a number of years of how dumb I had been for not putting in for Arizona years ago since I already had a hunting license for down there. I have drawn a few tags down there using their bonus point system and lucked out one year after having a tag the year before and drawing the same tag the very next year, so you just never know when you might draw in a state that uses bonus points.

This last year I decided to use my Wyoming pronghorn points on a hunt since my hunting partner had passed away a few years ago and I just wanted to get rid of them. I had 12 Wyoming points and used Table Mountain Outfitters and drew my Wyoming tag in a unit that may not of required that many points. But I used them and brought home a nice pronghorn.

At 73 I'll still put in for a hunt and or points in Arizona and Utah as long as I can still get along.

 

[Firebird]

Antelope numbers “bounce back” fairly quick especially compared to mule deer. It does take some years to make big horns-
I rarely chase the tape measure, just find one that I love Or that provides something special and chase that buck. But there is such thing as a small buck that will shrink even more on the geound
Wyoming seems to be recovering quickly-

 

[farmer_john]

I had been putting in for Wyoming for a number of years along with Arizona and Utah. Arizona and Utah require a "qualifying" license but since I hunt javelina down in Arizona every year and have a lifetime license in Utah it is no extra cost for me. I realized a number of years of how dumb I had been for not putting in for Arizona years ago since I already had a hunting license for down there. I have drawn a few tags down there using their bonus point system and lucked out one year after having a tag the year before and drawing the same tag the very next year, so you just never know when you might draw in a state that uses bonus points.

This last year I decided to use my Wyoming pronghorn points on a hunt since my hunting partner had passed away a few years ago and I just wanted to get rid of them. I had 12 Wyoming points and used Table Mountain Outfitters and drew my Wyoming tag in a unit that may not of required that many points. But I used them and brought home a nice pronghorn.

At 73 I'll still put in for a hunt and or points in Arizona and Utah as long as I can still get along.

View attachment 751920

How hard isnit to get javelina down there?

 

[JimP]

How hard isnit to get javelina down there?

The tag or the animal?

We have drawn our tags every year for the last 32 years except for the covid year when my hunting partner didn't purchase a hunting license that is required to put in or the hunt. We do the HAM's hunt, handgun, archery, muzzle loader.

I have a friend whose group does the general rifle and they have drawn every year for the last 10 years that they have been putting in. However, there used to be quite a few leftover tags available for the hunts and like everywhere else demand is increasing with a slight decrease in tags. So you never know

 

[Muskox]

The only place you can 100% get a 90 plus pronghorn is in Northern New Mexico on private.

If you have tons of points in Wyoming, then yes Wyoming would be an option on a good year.

If you have 25 points in Arizona then that becomes an option.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Almost 40. And im not looking for huge trophies. Just a good representative of the species

You can kill good representatives without building points or trying for harder to draw/premium tags. I’ve killed numerous pronghorn with OTC (over the counter) tags or leftover tags, after striking out earlier in the year on trying to draw a premium or top end tag unit.

It can take a little while to figure it out but OnX, a few tanks of fuel, and good Binos should have you killing a goat pretty quick. Your other option is a trespass fee type hunt. Lots of ranchers/outfitters in Colorado and Wyoming offer these hunts

 

[farmer_john]

You can kill good representatives without building points or trying for harder to draw/premium tags. I’ve killed numerous pronghorn with OTC (over the counter) tags or leftover tags, after striking out earlier in the year on trying to draw a premium or top end tag unit.

It can take a little while to figure it out but OnX, a few tanks of fuel, and good Binos should have you killing a goat pretty quick. Your other option is a trespass fee type hunt. Lots of ranchers/outfitters in Colorado and Wyoming offer these hunts

What are those trespass fee hunts?

 

[Siennacoyote]

What are those trespass fee hunts?

Depends on where you trespass. Landowners don’t get together and settle on an amount

 

[farmer_john]

Depends on where you trespass. Landowners don’t get together and settle on an amount

Im failing to understand

 

[Siennacoyote]

Im failing to understand

You pay a landowner for the right to hunt their private property