I've thought about going with a guide, since it looks fun. Quite a bit cheaper than an elk or mule deer hunt, but still not sure if it is worth the money.
Antelope hunting can be a blast. It can be relatively easy, or difficult. They are really fast with great eyesight. Shots can be close, they are shot with bows out of blinds by water, but are often quite long. Think 200-450 yards. I've only drawn once here in Idaho, put in many years, and shot a nice buck. This one spent the summer in an alfalfa field and was very tasty. They can be gamey, but common sense plays in here. If you shoot one that's been run all morning, it will have a lot of lactic acid in the muscle. It's hot when you hunt them, so we brought a huge rafting cooler of ice and quartered it on the spot. This helps the meat too. They are not hard to kill but you'll probably have to leave your varmint rifle home. Most western states mandate, and I assume outfitters will expect a medium caliber, flat shooting rifle. I shoot a 7mm STW. I've never been on a guided hunt, but that's how to get a speed goat if you want one without waiting until you age. Don't know about western Texas, but Wyoming, New Mexico and parts of Colorado are good bets! Good luck and book early.....
Antelope hunting can be a blast. It can be relatively easy, or difficult. They are really fast with great eyesight. Shots can be close, they are shot with bows out of blinds by water, but are often quite long. Think 200-450 yards. I've only drawn once here in Idaho, put in many years, and shot a nice buck. This one spent the summer in an alfalfa field and was very tasty. They can be gamey, but common sense plays in here. If you shoot one that's been run all morning, it will have a lot of lactic acid in the muscle. It's hot when you hunt them, so we brought a huge rafting cooler of ice and quartered it on the spot. This helps the meat too. They are not hard to kill but you'll probably have to leave your varmint rifle home. Most western states mandate, and I assume outfitters will expect a medium caliber, flat shooting rifle. I shoot a 7mm STW. I've never been on a guided hunt, but that's how to get a speed goat if you want one without waiting until you age. Don't know about western Texas, but Wyoming, New Mexico and parts of Colorado are good bets! Good luck and book early.....
Yeah we have a few in Texas, but I would probably go to New Mexico. I would probably take my .257 Wby, my go to for over 200 yards. If I can't get set up for an elk hunt in fall 2016 I might go pronghorn instead.
Got this one last fall in Colorado. Will probably try Wyoming next time, seems to be cheaper/easier access. After pronghorn I drove up to Craig, CO and elk hunted the first rifle season. Beautiful country, but no luck for elk.
I've only hunted them with rifle twice and both shots were under 100 yards. I've tried spot and stalk bowhunting them but they seem to be faster than my arrows. While we are technically prairie here in ND we are not quite as flat and wide open as some of the other states so getting within decent range isn't that tough. I have had pronghorns which I was stalking stare at me for 30-40 minutes (after I froze in place) and never move a muscle. They CAN drive you crazy at times.
Got this one last fall in Colorado. Will probably try Wyoming next time, seems to be cheaper/easier access. After pronghorn I drove up to Craig, CO and elk hunted the first rifle season. Beautiful country, but no luck for elk.
Bought a landowner tag that was valid unit-wide. I think the unit would've required 6 years to draw. I got him on public land, early in my hunt. That gave me time to drive across the state to my elk hunting area and spend a few days acclimating. Not the biggest buck, but nice mass, so I'm happy. He had 3 does with him, so I figured him to be breeding age/size. That's my only experience with pronghorn, but I'm buying points in WY and CO. They are fun to hunt. WY is probably the place to go for easy tag draws and finding access. AZ and NM seem to be the trophy states.
Lots of "Speed Goats" in Nevada.........
If lucky, you can see them from the highways when you get out of town , if there is flat lands around.
They need lots of area with rolling hills and water holes every now and then. A heard can go 30 to 60
miles in a day, just grazing and playing games. Some may go 20 miles to a water hole and return the same
25 miles to where they were feeding, if they found a honey hole.
They are a fragile animal and a 22-250 with a quality bullet will drop them if calm and not running. A
30-06 will work but also destroy a lot of meat if kept at factory speeds. I reload a 270 with a 130gr bullet
that only hits 2700 fps but the low target load will also be safe to shoot if 100 degree weather is at hand.
Early morning and evenings are prime times...........but high noon can also work, if you have a light pack
that will hold enough water and safety gear, for long periods of time in the field.
If four wheeling a lot in search of animals........it is wise to sight in a round on paper at the end of the day
at camp or before, to make sure the scope is sill on, if using one.
There is not that much meat and you don't want to mess up a Ham, with a missed placed bullet!!
Idaho has a 100% draw for archery. Shot mine last year at 50 and the wife got hers at 15 yards. One of the most fun hunts to do. I am addicted to it now and they taste great. I have a big group I am taking out this year for first timers.
Idaho has a 100% draw for archery. Shot mine last year at 50 and the wife got hers at 15 yards. One of the most fun hunts to do. I am addicted to it now and they taste great. I have a big group I am taking out this year for first timers.
Idaho has a 100% draw for archery. Shot mine last year at 50 and the wife got hers at 15 yards. One of the most fun hunts to do. I am addicted to it now and they taste great. I have a big group I am taking out this year for first timers.
Just got back from wyoming on a hunt for them! It was a fun hunt! But, I almost don't think you'd even need a guide. I went with two friends and diy on a zone we'd never seen, first time antelope hunters. We each got one. Took a day to figure out what to look for, but the next two days we had them figured out. I was able to do it for just over 200$ including gas, lodging, and licenses, but i only bought two doe tags to go cheap for the experience. With a buck tag it would have been about 400-450$. They aren't too hard to diy.
Here's a goat I tagged a week ago in the cowboy state, after i watched his herd get shot at 12 times. I was lucky enough to get a running away shot at 350 at about 20 mph trot.
After opening morning they have had lots of pressure. If your after one, you had better think long shots 250-400 yards. Our trip average was just about 300 yards. We tagged 5 buck antelope in the trophy class of 11-13 inches. Sometimes you get lucky and get an easy line to stalk them but most the time the big bucks know better and they use their sight to their advantge.
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