Chris FarrisPronghorns are probably the most misunderstood and interesting big game animal in N. America.
They are not antelope, not even related to antelope and they are not goats either. Pronghorn are their own species. Their speed (60 mph) is surpassed only by the cheetah. They posses both horns and antlers by definition because they shed the sheath made of hair off their horns yearly. They have hollow hair for insulation and vision that spans 320 degrees and is the equivalent of an 8x pair of binoculars, so to say they see you before you see them is an understatement.
This hunt took place in Wyoming, where Pronghorn out number humans. It was October 1, the opening day and we saw hundreds of Pronghorns the first day and they were in prime rut. We saw several bucks mount does and just about every buck had a small heirum. The first day you can get relatively close to them but as soon as the shooting starts they get extremely spooky (can't balme them). Many of them must posses maps that show them were no hunting is allowed because they sure get to these areas quick and then rub it in your face.
We spotted this buck on the very back side of the 10,000 acre ranch we were hunting. It was a difficult spot to get to but the spot was known to hold a few mature bucks in the past. He was with a small group of does, working them hard, like a cutting horse. They spotted us the second we crested the hill and split, they went under a fence onto the neighbors and in a matter of seconds put half a mile on us. We just sat still and waited to see what they would do and while trying to get to a better position we lost them. A few minutes later he magically appeared at the fence line and was coming back to our property all alone. The cover would not allow us to get any closer so I set up to shoot and got a range from my partner... 325 yards. The Ballistic Plex reticle not only takes the guess work out of wher to hold, it gives you the confidence you need to even attemp a long shot. If I would have been using a standard plex, we would have had to formulate a different game plan. I held, squeezed off the shot and he took off in a large circle. I had already chambered another and was getting on him again when my partner said, "he's hit"...."he's down". I held on him for another 30 seconds and he did not move.
Beautiful and unique animal!
Pronghorns are the most difficult animal to judge for trophy status, even seasoned veterans have a tough time picking trophy animals from average animals. I used Burris Signature Select binoculars and felt like I was cheating. Chris used:
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