pronghorn hunting guys

txcookie, I hunted pronghorn for the first time this year in N.E. Colorado near where I live, it was a great time, albeit unsucessful. I took me 8 years to draw a buck tag here in my home state so it will be a while before I get another tag here. I'm Planning a trip to WY next fall if at all possible. Last I looked, non-res doe tags were $37. and bucks were considerably more but still not bad. There is a huge public grassland east of Casper and from what I hear it is loaded with pronghorn. I'll try to keep the folks on this forum updated on that venture. Good luck with you overseas deployment, I'll save a few for you to hunt when you get back.

H&Hhunter said:

HOWEVER My girls shoot .308's and .30-06's with 1.75X6 power scopes except for the wife who uses a scout rifle with a 2.5 power IER scout scope she killed her doe last year at 233 yards. The girls in this family can shoot!

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From what I've seen, the girls in every family can shoot.

It would be a good idea to check in with a resident to see if the Wyoming legislature has agreed to raise the tag fees before you buy. They have tried twice, and it was shot down, but they are on the third try now. They seem to be dead set on making us all pay for thier inability to reign in wasteful spending. I can't remember what the increase was going to be, but I know alot of residents are saying that if they go up, they're not hunting.

TX Cookie a buddy of mine and I did our first big game hunt away from our home area last fall and it was to Wyoming for Antelope. From the southern tip of Illinois the trip cost us about $600 a piece from the time we left till the time we got back, most of which was fuel. We stayed at a KOA, stayed at a motel in Kansas City on the way there and the way back, we mostly ate off of the tailgate of the truck using a 2-bruner Coleman propane stove except in transit there and back we ate where we could.
Antelope were plentiful where we hunted and judging from guys we talked to that had hunted various parts of the state it seemed anywhere would be about the same. Get an idea of public access to ground and have at it.
I used a .243, buddy used a 30-06, ranges we shot antelope were from 150-320 yards.

I used to go every year when I lived in Colorado. I thought they were relatively easy to hunt. We'd drive up and down the highway until we saw a herd, drive a couple hills over, hike back to the herd and take a shot. I think I went a total of 5 years. There was only one year that I didn't get one.

I live in central Wyoming, and I also guide for an outfitter that specializes in pronghorn hunting. Do your homework and check for the odds/success ratios at the end of 2013 as you plan for 2014. Things are bad (real bad) in my part of the state due to the drought. Numbers of critters are down with no relief in sight, and the number of tags is being drastically reduced. Last weekend I was out calling coyotes and I have never seen so many ravens, bald eagles, and golden eagles in my life. There are dead antelope by the droves and the raptors/scavengers have a regular smorgasbord set out before them. Damn shame.

Pronghorn are a blast to hunt! Spent last summer trying it with my longbow! It sure was tough.

Don't need much gun. Any mid to long range deer gun will do.

Bring good glass and a range finder! A lot of times ranging animals on the prairie is tough because there's not many objects to get a read on.

I'd also practice shooting in the wind. If you mainly shoot deer from a tree stand back east at 50 yards in a light breeze, you may have trouble. Wyo like Montana can get a bit breezy! Probably average wind speed for my part of MT is 15 mph. Lots of weeks it's a steady 25 mph.

You really learn how to hold for the wind hunting out here.

What ever you do if they start to run DO NOT shoot them! There's a lot of idiots that try shooting lovers on the run at 300 yards. It's flat unethical and stupid!

They can see very well, but if you use your optics and some smarts you can use the terrain to get close.

Wyo is probably your best bet at a loper! I always seem em when I go down there. Almost hit a one that would have made books! I think Wyo has more pronghorn than people...

In God and Glock we Trust

I think Wyo has more pronghorn than people...

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OK, you made me look it up. In 2010 the G&F estimated 520,000 pronghorn in Wyoming. The 2010 Wyoming census had the population at 563,000. Considering the margin of error, who knows?