Pronghorn Hunt for 2008
08-13-2007, 10:24 AM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Cenral Illinois
Posts: 3,180
Pronghorn Hunt for 2008
I am looking to go pronghorn hunting in 2008. I need to know where to start looking. Is it a hunt that DIY is a good option or is an outfitter a better option. If outfitter is needed, any suggestions? Never done it before, so any info is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Mike
Mike
08-13-2007, 11:29 AM
#2
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
RE: Pronghorn Hunt for 2008
Depends on what your goals are. If you want big horns, you will probably want to hook-up with an outfitter. The outfitters tend to obtain exclusive rights to properties where the biggest bucks are located; if you want to hunt these big bucks, you will need to purchase a hunt from these guys. If this is what you want, you will need to consult with others, as I know nothing about outfitted hunts.
If, however, you don't require bighorns (and I am one of these kind of hunters), a DIY pronghorn hunt is one of the easiest DIY hunts around, and I can offer some advice. Wyoming has perhaps the largest numbers of pronghorn permits available, because they have the most number of pronghorns. Check the Wyoming Department of Fish and Game (or whatever they name this state department) to find out draw odds for different parts of the state for non-residents. There are some units that have very low draw odds -- less than 10%. Some other units (maybe unit 23 and unit 24, for example) have 100% draw opportunity. You will want to coordinate the unit you apply for with a plan for where you are going to hunt -- private land or public land. It may be the unit you apply in has little public land, and drawing may not help you if you can't get or hire a place to hunt on. That said, there seems to be lots of public land in NE Wyoming in the Thunder Basin National Grasslands area. I don't remember the units that correspond to this area. Additionally, it seems that many landowners in the area around Gillette will let you pay them a modest trespass fee (I paid $100 per gun, which seemed pretty modest to me) to hunt on their land. Call the Buffalo, Wyoming field office and ask for a list of land owners that accept trespass fees and begin phoning them to see what deal they will cut. You will have some research to do in this area. If you want an either sex tag, the cost is about $240 and the deadline may be early February or mid-March, I don't remember. If you don't care about horns -- and they don't taste very good -- you can get a doe permit for about $40.
The weather during pronghorn hunting season can vary quite a bit -- from mid 70s to mid 20s -- so carry a range of clothes with you from Illinois.
Plan to be successful. I think I have read that pronghorn hunting success is 90% in Wyoming. Have a good plan in place for taking care of the meat. Gut the animal immediately. Many recommend getting the animal on ice pronto. One guy recommended putting a couple of bags of ice in the gut cavity of the pronghorn to advance the cool-down process. If well cared for, pronghorn meat is truly excellent. My wife and daughter definitely prefer pronghorn meat to deer meat.
Use a flat shooting rifle with a good scope, because you may have to shoot your pronghorn at long range, though not necessarily (I shot mine at 240 yards, my son shot his at 150 yards -- not as long as many of the stories you read about in the hunting magazines, but I'm a meat hunter and not a head hunter, which may make a difference). .243, .25-06, .257 Roberts, .240 Weatherby Magnum, .257 Weatherby Magnum, .270, 7 mm Magnum, .280, .30-06, .300 Winchester Magnum are just a few exemplary suitable "flat shooting" cartridges. Pronghorns are not big, so it doesn't take too much to kill them.
Pronghorn are a lot of fun to hunt. There are some convenience factors that are nice. Unlike deer or elk, no advantage is gained being on the hunting ground at the crack of dawn. Deer and elk go into hiding during daylight hours; pronghorn remain out in the middle of a field fully exposed all day long. Just have a leisurely breakfast at the hotel when you happen to wake up, drive out calmly to the hunting ground, pick out a pronghorn, make you stalk, and shoot one. You can typically hunt pronghorn near a motel, for example a motel in Gillette, Wyoming, and sleep comfortably and eat in restaurants.
Good luck.
If, however, you don't require bighorns (and I am one of these kind of hunters), a DIY pronghorn hunt is one of the easiest DIY hunts around, and I can offer some advice. Wyoming has perhaps the largest numbers of pronghorn permits available, because they have the most number of pronghorns. Check the Wyoming Department of Fish and Game (or whatever they name this state department) to find out draw odds for different parts of the state for non-residents. There are some units that have very low draw odds -- less than 10%. Some other units (maybe unit 23 and unit 24, for example) have 100% draw opportunity. You will want to coordinate the unit you apply for with a plan for where you are going to hunt -- private land or public land. It may be the unit you apply in has little public land, and drawing may not help you if you can't get or hire a place to hunt on. That said, there seems to be lots of public land in NE Wyoming in the Thunder Basin National Grasslands area. I don't remember the units that correspond to this area. Additionally, it seems that many landowners in the area around Gillette will let you pay them a modest trespass fee (I paid $100 per gun, which seemed pretty modest to me) to hunt on their land. Call the Buffalo, Wyoming field office and ask for a list of land owners that accept trespass fees and begin phoning them to see what deal they will cut. You will have some research to do in this area. If you want an either sex tag, the cost is about $240 and the deadline may be early February or mid-March, I don't remember. If you don't care about horns -- and they don't taste very good -- you can get a doe permit for about $40.
The weather during pronghorn hunting season can vary quite a bit -- from mid 70s to mid 20s -- so carry a range of clothes with you from Illinois.
Plan to be successful. I think I have read that pronghorn hunting success is 90% in Wyoming. Have a good plan in place for taking care of the meat. Gut the animal immediately. Many recommend getting the animal on ice pronto. One guy recommended putting a couple of bags of ice in the gut cavity of the pronghorn to advance the cool-down process. If well cared for, pronghorn meat is truly excellent. My wife and daughter definitely prefer pronghorn meat to deer meat.
Use a flat shooting rifle with a good scope, because you may have to shoot your pronghorn at long range, though not necessarily (I shot mine at 240 yards, my son shot his at 150 yards -- not as long as many of the stories you read about in the hunting magazines, but I'm a meat hunter and not a head hunter, which may make a difference). .243, .25-06, .257 Roberts, .240 Weatherby Magnum, .257 Weatherby Magnum, .270, 7 mm Magnum, .280, .30-06, .300 Winchester Magnum are just a few exemplary suitable "flat shooting" cartridges. Pronghorns are not big, so it doesn't take too much to kill them.
Pronghorn are a lot of fun to hunt. There are some convenience factors that are nice. Unlike deer or elk, no advantage is gained being on the hunting ground at the crack of dawn. Deer and elk go into hiding during daylight hours; pronghorn remain out in the middle of a field fully exposed all day long. Just have a leisurely breakfast at the hotel when you happen to wake up, drive out calmly to the hunting ground, pick out a pronghorn, make you stalk, and shoot one. You can typically hunt pronghorn near a motel, for example a motel in Gillette, Wyoming, and sleep comfortably and eat in restaurants.
Good luck.
08-13-2007, 12:00 PM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Cenral Illinois
Posts: 3,180
RE: Pronghorn Hunt for 2008
Excellent reply. Thank you very much for that information and now at least I have an idea of what to do to get started. I'm not at all familiar with any western hunting, so this whole thing will be a first. thanks again.
Mike
Mike
08-14-2007, 06:43 AM
#4
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
RE: Pronghorn Hunt for 2008
If you are bow hunting pronghorn you will need to consult others, as I know little of bow hunting. I gather, however, that a common strategy for pronghorn hunting with bow is to set up near a water hole expected to draw pronghorns for a drink, for example in some kind of blind. I read stories of bow hunters sitting in their blinds, baking in the sun, until a pronghorn approaches within shooting distance. Pronghorn have exceptional eye sight. Others suggest you can lure pronghorns closer by appealing to their curiousity, such as waving a flag or placing a light jacket on a post which may flutter in the wind. Maybe this would work for bow hunting, placing yourself off to the side, between the pronghorns and the fluttering jacket or bandana. If you are bow hunting be advised, also, of the high winds that are common in Wyoming. Lots of wind.
08-14-2007, 07:24 AM
#6
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Somewhere in Michigan
Posts: 5,702
RE: Pronghorn Hunt for 2008
I am going again this year on a DIY pay access private ranch. I went out to the same ranch and took this buck in 2001.... http://www.huntingnet.com//forum/tm.aspx?m=2240360
we saw a lot of nice bucks and had a blast! I would never do an antelope hunt guided, IMHO it would take a lot away from the experience. PM me for info, i am willing to share some info with you if interested, you never know I may need some help with a hunt down the road and you can return the favor. I know of quite a few great bcks taken off this ranch in the past, i know a guy that went to this ranch every 3 years and his last 3 trips took bucks from 79" to 84" which are awesome in my book. They are there!
We camp out right on the ranch and butcher our own goats, shoot prarie dogs and jackrabbits, etc. It is one of the most enjoyable hunts out there, no matter how you do it you should have a good time.
we saw a lot of nice bucks and had a blast! I would never do an antelope hunt guided, IMHO it would take a lot away from the experience. PM me for info, i am willing to share some info with you if interested, you never know I may need some help with a hunt down the road and you can return the favor. I know of quite a few great bcks taken off this ranch in the past, i know a guy that went to this ranch every 3 years and his last 3 trips took bucks from 79" to 84" which are awesome in my book. They are there!
We camp out right on the ranch and butcher our own goats, shoot prarie dogs and jackrabbits, etc. It is one of the most enjoyable hunts out there, no matter how you do it you should have a good time.
