Since I have finally figured out how to post pictures, I want to tell you about my Antelope hunt last season - My first Antelope hunt.

I was very lucky and was drawn for AZ Pronghorn in unit 5B - only 7 permits total. This is called the "Anderson Mesa" area and has a rich history for anyone who knows or has read about Pronghorn hunting in Arizona.

None of my hunting buddies could get time off to help mye scout so I called on my 12 yr old Godson, Brenton, to help me scout the weekend before my hunt. The area is not flat but ground cover is short - knee high at best.

This was it looked like.

we drove the roads and glassed all day and saw on small group at the end of the day -we decided to make camp and check them out again in the morning. We camped about 1/2 mile from a stock pond and started dinner at about sundown.

It was quiet and I heard a cow elk call just as Brenton said "an Elk!" as he pointed to a cow looking at us from 60 yards away. Then he said "there's the Bull!" who was watching the cow and he was was 100 yards away. We watched them for about 5 minutes as the worked their way around us to the water.

He was a huge 6x6!!

About a 330 Bull!

It was hard to sleep that night.



The camp where the elk suprised us.

In the morning we broke camp quick to start scouting again. We had driven 100 yards and Benton saw somthing running as it went over a rise.

As we turned on the main gravel road I saw a Prarie goat looking at us about 200 yards away. I drove to high point in the road 50 yards further and we got out, set up chairs ,spotting scope, and binos and started watching.

We sat and watched them for almost 45 minutes and saw a herd of about 18 animals with 2 bucks. One was a younger buck, tall with no prongs that we named "toothpicks" and the other was a good, tall goat with mass and seemed to have good prongs. Brenton called him "Big Boy". I knew they would be there next week so we went home early.

The season went from Friday to Thursday, a 7 day season. I took a week vacation starting on the Thursday before the season kicked off. I had camp set by 8:30am and was off the scout.



My camp.

On a borrowed Quad,I drove all the roads in a mile area over the course of the day. I stopped at every high point I found and glassed. I saw members of the herd 5 times that day including a 60 yard broadside look at "Big Boy" mid morning. Tracks were all over.

Prarie goat tracks.

more hunting area.

I had 2 friends arriving at my campsite to help me on opening day but they could not arrive until about 2pm. I fully expected to spend the week to get my Antelope if needed since the AZ draw has a once-in-a-lifetime odds draw.

Opening day I hopped on the Quad and went to a Glassing point I had found the day before. A 7:30am I spotted the head out about a mile away walking in the direction of a stock pond. I hopped back on the Quad and drove back to camp.

I then headed for another higher point near the pond on foot. I got there and laid out on my belly to glass just as the herd walked over the rise 800 yards away just as I laid down. They were coming straight for me so I just lay a watched.

At about 500 yards the they dropped out of sight. I thought they had headed down the gully to the water so I started to get up to move.

I was Sooooooo busted by a doe I didn't see still standing there. She stared at me as I slowly got down again and the entire group came back up and nervously walked and stopped and looked and walked and stopped - they were not sure as to the danger.

I had my .270 on the herd looking for the big buck through the scope. All the does took off but there were the two bucks just looking at me broadside. The smaller buck was in front of "big boy" so I had to wait.

I still can't beleive the little buck took off first. I squeezed off the shot and jacked another round in to get another shot off. I jumped up and all I could see was the smaller buck running off. Then my heart jumped - I saw a white belly on the ground - I had my Pronghorn!! - a self scouted(almost), self-guided, successful Pronghorn hunt.








And it was 8:30 am Opening day!

Only one problem - I had to go home - I had a week vacation and I had to go home.

The buck green scored 79 SCI and 77 B&C by my measurements

I will be very surprised if I ever will get a better Prarie Goat - But I'm addicted now and I'm sure going to try.

Riodot: Again congratulations on the great Speed Goat!
And now thanks for the pictures and the story of your Hunt!
You are right Antelope Hunting is just plain fun and exciting!
A true Gentlemans Sport!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

That's a great goat, I like the mass above the prongs. I have one head that scored 74 B&C (dried) but he was thin above the prongs which cost a couple of points.

What makes him the most special to me is that my Godson found him for me.

Riodot, I share your enthusiasm for the Antelope hunt. I don't have any kids--can't--wife got me fixed (sport model only) so no grandkids to scout for me, but none the less pronghorn hunting is just awesome in my book.

I really like the color of the prarie ghost, and they make such a handsome trophy. The meat if handled quickly is darn good too.

This guy was my 3rd Antelope, and a pretty good one for Montana, from Fort Belknap Indian Reservation on a hunt with Rod Rogers from Serengeti Rifleworks.



I'm heading out end of next week, optimistic to find a good one in NM.

Good Hunting--Don

Great post riodot. Now I'm fired up! I leave for Wyoming in a month and I hope I come home with some pictures and a story half as good as yours.

Don:

At least you had someone to take photos for you on the hunt - I tried a tripod and a timer on a 35mm camera - I just cut my head off!
Thats a nice Pronghorn - he looks tall! Nice Goat! Post some pics and the story of the one you bring back fron NM.

ForrestB:

Thanks for the kind words. Good luck - Wyoming is a place I have always wanted to hunt - Please post your report and some Pics when you get back.

Thanks
Lance