pronghorn antelope information

13 August 2004, 22:02

At risk of appearing totally stupid , can anyone give me a generalised run down on hunting antelope , their habits , their hunting season etc ? We dont have many pronghorn in New Zealand , lots of other exotica , and it is on my wishlist to hunt a representative specimen in the not too distant future . Thanks in advance.

14 August 2004, 05:18

Russell E. Taylor

Well, for another thing, they're not really antelope.

Pronghorn stuff to read.

Russ

14 August 2004, 04:56

tasunkawitko

click here for an excellent discussion on antelope behavior, hunting etc....

14 August 2004, 03:57

Fjold

Quote:

At risk of appearing totally stupid , can anyone give me a generalised run down on hunting antelope , their habits , their hunting season etc ? We dont have many pronghorn in New Zealand , lots of other exotica , and it is on my wishlist to hunt a representative specimen in the not too distant future . Thanks in advance.

The American pronghorn is an open country animal usually found in the open plains and rolling hills of the American western states. They range from Southern Canada down to Mexico, west of the Mississippi river. They rely on their superb eyesight and speed to evade predators. In the fall mature bucks gather harems of does and defend a territory for breeding rights. Other bucks will be travelling around looking for does and to encroach on herd bucks areas.

Hunting them is usually done in the middle of the day as they are diurnal and involves glassing and then a stalk. They generally bed down in open areas during the night and rise after dawn to start grazing. They usually go to water everyday so many people hunt from blinds (hides) near water holes or along routes to water. Stalks and shots can be long in open country so a flat shooting cartridge is usually recommended. They are not hard animals to put down and are usually taken with smaller caliber rounds. Alot of people use the 243Win up to the big 7mm Magnums to take them. With the more powerful cartridges being used for longer range rather than heavier bullets.

The hunting seasons generally begin with archery season in August and early September and rifle seasons running from mid-September through November. The largest population of pronghorns live in the state of Wyoming and they have more tags available for out of state hunters. Generally, success rates are close to 100%.