What is your favorite state or states to hunt pronghorn, and what makes a great pronghorn hunt for you? I’ve started building points across the Rockies and cant wait to hit the sage or grasslands. I hope my planning can make it an annual occurrence. There are clearly differences in populations, public access, and terrain. If point systems weren’t a limiting factor, what are your top 3 or 5 states or just your favorite type of pronghorn hunt. Do you look spot and stalk terrain; abundant populations with the accompanying hunting pressure; a bow rut hunt; etc.? Having never been, I can just list the places I’ll hunt in the coming years or decades (lol). WY, MT, CO, UT, and NM. I’ve considered and researched a few other states but haven’t committed due to a range of factors.
Favorite Pronghorn States
- Thread starter RunNGunSC
- Start date
perma
Well-known member
Whatever one gives me a tag. Smart@$$ answer but that’s the truth. Never hated a state because they gave me one.
SD_Prairie_Goat
Well-known member
Truth, love to hunt pronghorn and the best place to hunt them is where I have a tag at that given time!
If it’s just about getting a tag, archery tags don’t seem to be that difficult to draw. Hunting the second fastest land animal, who can see 330 degrees, and motion 3 miles away with a bow really increases the difficulty level. I’m not interest in sitting a water hole. I can still hunt whitetails all I want in SC.
perma
Well-known member
You don’t HAVE to sit water to archery hunt. I’ve bow hunted pronghorn two years consecutively. All were spot and stalk. I’ve considered blind hunting but it’s not nearly as fun. There’s a handful of states (some western, some not) that offer OTC archery pronghorn tags too.
Nick87
Well-known member
Sat water one time for antelope. That's a no go for me again.
As has been said go wherever you can get drawn. Each state you just adjust your expectations of what class buck you want to poke at.
"WY, MT, CO, UT, and NM."
WY is a great state, just got hammered by winter kill in many spots, need a couple mild winters to rebuild, point banking time. Point inflation is real but more antelope than anywhere, practice your field judging if you get a tag here, have to look at a lot to find the right one.
MT go whenever you can, a mid 70s buck here is a good one, lots of public to look over and HUGE units.
CO the units that were reasonable draws have gotten mowed down with no tag reductions. I'll still go but be careful where you apply, information from a couple years ago is not representative of what's there now. IMO too many points for what you get.
UT the same point overinflation, too many applications not enough tags, you can be on a hunt that takes 7-12 years to draw and looking for same class you can find with 2 points in other states.
NM is a powerball lottery unless you are gonna pay to play, you can expect to never draw in your lifetime. Can get book buck in a lot of different places though, prices for everything private in NM have exploded to levels I consider unreasonable. 20k for a bull elk, 3k for a cow, 4-6k for a book antelope - Im never paying that.
This is one man's opinion and worth what you paid for it!
"WY, MT, CO, UT, and NM."
WY is a great state, just got hammered by winter kill in many spots, need a couple mild winters to rebuild, point banking time. Point inflation is real but more antelope than anywhere, practice your field judging if you get a tag here, have to look at a lot to find the right one.
MT go whenever you can, a mid 70s buck here is a good one, lots of public to look over and HUGE units.
CO the units that were reasonable draws have gotten mowed down with no tag reductions. I'll still go but be careful where you apply, information from a couple years ago is not representative of what's there now. IMO too many points for what you get.
UT the same point overinflation, too many applications not enough tags, you can be on a hunt that takes 7-12 years to draw and looking for same class you can find with 2 points in other states.
NM is a powerball lottery unless you are gonna pay to play, you can expect to never draw in your lifetime. Can get book buck in a lot of different places though, prices for everything private in NM have exploded to levels I consider unreasonable. 20k for a bull elk, 3k for a cow, 4-6k for a book antelope - Im never paying that.
This is one man's opinion and worth what you paid for it!
Bigjay73
Well-known member
Difficulty. Spot and stalk Bow hunting anywhere, or muzzleloader with a Co legal weapon in some of the flattest terrain I've ever seen are my top 2 favorite hunts.
LopeHunter
Well-known member
I have harvested pronghorn in OR, WY, MT, NM, UT, NV and TX. I have enough points in AZ and CO to get a tag for a pronghorn buck there when the itch needs scratched.
NM was the most challenging place to hunt pronghorn due to the relatively short season. WY was, until a few years back, the easiest place to obtain 1 and sometimes 2 buck pronghorn tags each year as a non-resident but times have changed for non-residents and herd populations. I sent a lot of buddies with their youngsters into WY to spend money chasing what I think is the best shoulder mount of all North American game. WY will do fine by rolling around in piles of petroleum money and my buddies will do fine not driving over to WY. Win, win. Besides, any state where a hunter can't open two doors at one time on your truck without having the contents blown to Hell and yonder is partially designed by Satan.
A great pronghorn hunt to me is seeing several pronghorn each day, plenty of public land to hunt, the ability to let a buck walk and have a decent chance that buck is not shot as crests the next hilltop, and some terrain that allows stalking in close. Rattlesnakes are not something that makes for a great hunt but they are out there usually. Some of the most amazing sunsets I have been blessed to witness have been when am on pronghorn hunts.
Good luck with your chasing several states. Is tougher to draw a tag today as a non-resident and costs are going up faster than inflation but nonetheless in a decade everyone will say these are the Good Ol' Days in comparison. I have been hearing how I just missed the Good Ol' Days since I was 6 years old and had to start dealing with a point system on ducks rather than a body count. Trust me, it will get worse in ways it takes a bureaucrat to dream up and they will. Go hunt and the more the hunts happen sooner is way better than later. The trophy is in the adventure for some. I like those chaps.
NM was the most challenging place to hunt pronghorn due to the relatively short season. WY was, until a few years back, the easiest place to obtain 1 and sometimes 2 buck pronghorn tags each year as a non-resident but times have changed for non-residents and herd populations. I sent a lot of buddies with their youngsters into WY to spend money chasing what I think is the best shoulder mount of all North American game. WY will do fine by rolling around in piles of petroleum money and my buddies will do fine not driving over to WY. Win, win. Besides, any state where a hunter can't open two doors at one time on your truck without having the contents blown to Hell and yonder is partially designed by Satan.
A great pronghorn hunt to me is seeing several pronghorn each day, plenty of public land to hunt, the ability to let a buck walk and have a decent chance that buck is not shot as crests the next hilltop, and some terrain that allows stalking in close. Rattlesnakes are not something that makes for a great hunt but they are out there usually. Some of the most amazing sunsets I have been blessed to witness have been when am on pronghorn hunts.
Good luck with your chasing several states. Is tougher to draw a tag today as a non-resident and costs are going up faster than inflation but nonetheless in a decade everyone will say these are the Good Ol' Days in comparison. I have been hearing how I just missed the Good Ol' Days since I was 6 years old and had to start dealing with a point system on ducks rather than a body count. Trust me, it will get worse in ways it takes a bureaucrat to dream up and they will. Go hunt and the more the hunts happen sooner is way better than later. The trophy is in the adventure for some. I like those chaps.
220yotekiller
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2017
- Messages
- 750
Wyoming, but I'm hoping to get into Colorado in a year or two.
It depends on your mentality. Do you wanna fill a tag? Are you easily discouraged or frustrated? Are you just a person who wants to be on the go all day?
Wyoming is the choice, but everyone already knows that.
If you just wanna go, be fast on the computer and buy one of the 250 NR Nebraska archery tags. I get to do it for $37 and I’m not sure there’s a more fun hunt for me. No trophy bucks, not a ton of Public, definitely not a high success hunt, but from first light until dark you can tote your bow and a pack, hike excessive miles and always manage to get within just outta range. I honestly love it. But I’ve taken people with me that literally give up after a failed stalk or 2. That type of constant failure for what seems like an impossible gain isn’t for them, but I grew up on a farm and still farm so it’s right up my alley.
Wyoming is the choice, but everyone already knows that.
If you just wanna go, be fast on the computer and buy one of the 250 NR Nebraska archery tags. I get to do it for $37 and I’m not sure there’s a more fun hunt for me. No trophy bucks, not a ton of Public, definitely not a high success hunt, but from first light until dark you can tote your bow and a pack, hike excessive miles and always manage to get within just outta range. I honestly love it. But I’ve taken people with me that literally give up after a failed stalk or 2. That type of constant failure for what seems like an impossible gain isn’t for them, but I grew up on a farm and still farm so it’s right up my alley.
3855WIN
Well-known member
A great antelope hunt starts with a full tank of gas, a box of ammo, and a cooler full of Coors Light.
turbobrick
Well-known member
I just love being out where they live, shorter than ears hunts are near the top of my list.
Westelker - W. Colorado
Well-known member
I've hunted Wyoming several times and have always been successful for doe antelope. It's hard for non-res to get good easy access units. WY changes unit number with species, so make sure you look at the antelope units per se! My wife and I have been successful to the East of Sheridan and also to North of Sheridan. Tags way up north are easy to get a but we had two doe tags a piece. And I also got a nice doe whitetail. Also hunted successfully by Saratoga, but tags are hard to get. All of our hunts have been rifle .270 130 grain nosler particians. Spot and stock mostly late seasons. Good luck my friend.
Khunter
Well-known member
Win or lose, multiple pronghorn stalks per day with a bow is the best! And NE allows you to use a spear to hunt!
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Westelker - W. Colorado
Well-known member
You're correct khunter! I forgot to mention how hard those goats are to hunt. We usually hunt at the end of the seasons, so it's a bit colder (better for keeping the meat cooler). But hunting late comes with cooler weather, but the antelope are much smarter. Since their eyesight is nine times a human, they'll run when you're 900 yds away. Multitude stocks each day...sooner or later you get lucky. I'll send you some very important info....PM me!
Westelker - W. Colorado
Well-known member
That's almost correct, but it's Miller High Life in the cooler!!
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