Scope question for pronghorn hunters
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If that middle buck isn’t B&C he’s edging it pretty hard. I’m like you though, I’ve only ever had one of my critters officially scored, that was my Shiras moose and he made the book, but I never registered him. I just don’t see the point of paying to have my name In a book amongst thousands of other guys who all have low ranking “record book” critters of about the size.
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As long as we are on the subject of score and pronghorns. If you want a high scoring pronghorn don’t worry so much about horn length as much as mass. Mass and cutters are where your big scores come from on a pronghorn buck. The biggest newb misconception is that a 16” goat is a trophy, which could be true but he’s got to have excellent mass and good cutters to make book. There are plenty of 12 and 13” main horn length antelope in the B&C book.
So the three things I look for in field judging a pronghorn are;
First and foremost mass if the Buck’s horn is as wide as his eye or wider that’s really good mass. If he holds that mass all the way up to the cutters he’s a heavy horned buck.
Second is cutter length, good mass plus good cutter length is a good buck.
And finally total horn length. The ear of an antelope is about 6” long, so take the length of an ear and compare it to the horn more than twice the length is starting to be a good length. But always remember that horn length can be very deceptive If the buck sweeps back or has “heart” shaped horn. You get the full length of the horn even after it curls back.
https://www.google.com/search?q=how...ari_group=9#kpvalbx=_nDOSXr-7HJbJtQa-qJigCw60
Guys I know that a lot of you know this stuff. I apologize for geeking out here. I just really enjoy pronghorns and hunting them and field judging them. As usual I’m “over sharing” on a subject that I’m passionate about.
So the three things I look for in field judging a pronghorn are;
First and foremost mass if the Buck’s horn is as wide as his eye or wider that’s really good mass. If he holds that mass all the way up to the cutters he’s a heavy horned buck.
Second is cutter length, good mass plus good cutter length is a good buck.
And finally total horn length. The ear of an antelope is about 6” long, so take the length of an ear and compare it to the horn more than twice the length is starting to be a good length. But always remember that horn length can be very deceptive If the buck sweeps back or has “heart” shaped horn. You get the full length of the horn even after it curls back.
https://www.google.com/search?q=how...ari_group=9#kpvalbx=_nDOSXr-7HJbJtQa-qJigCw60
Guys I know that a lot of you know this stuff. I apologize for geeking out here. I just really enjoy pronghorns and hunting them and field judging them. As usual I’m “over sharing” on a subject that I’m passionate about.
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T.R.
Member
I grew up near Powell, Wyoming and hunted with Grandad's Winchester 30-30 from a camouflaged foxhole that I dug near a stock pond. Most of my shots were taken at about 75 yards or so. A move to Rapid City, South Dakota changed my hunting technique to "spot & stalk." Much crawling to get within decent range of my quarry. Knee pads and leather gloves are strongly suggested for this style. I hunt antelope with an older Remington slide action rifle in .243 shooting Black Hills Ammo which is outstanding for accuracy. My scope is a Simmons AETEC featuring 2.8 to 10X settings. My shots typically average about 275 yards or so which I feel is reasonable to achieve for any hunter willing to do some low crawl stalking.
TR
TR
shootbrownelk
Member
The Red Desert tags are the hardest to draw. However, all antelope areas have big antelope bucks, the hard part is finding them. They magically appear after the season closes. Any antelope area with lots of public land is a hard tag to draw though. Go on Wyoming G&F's website on "Plan your hunt" and find out where to apply.
climbnjump
Member
I have a 100% success rate with antelope hunting, so I guess I'm a expert.
(Well ok, I've only hunted antelope once - last September - and got lucky.)
That was near Casper, WY.
To make the post at least somewhat relevant to the OP's question, I was using a 4-16x scope. We stalked this one for only about 1/2 mile on the other side of a ridge from him. I had the scope set to 16x since when we topped the ridge, I was expecting him to be some distance away. It turned out to be only 220 yards, and the shot had to be taken quickly so I didn't have time to adjust the scope down. At 16x and that distance, I could almost pick out which rib I wanted the bullet to hit. I would have dialed back for more FOV if I'd had the time.
And I've always heard that antelope don't jump fences, but I saw four or five of them do just that. However, as my second pic shows, I guess sometimes it doesn't work out...
(Well ok, I've only hunted antelope once - last September - and got lucky.)
That was near Casper, WY.
To make the post at least somewhat relevant to the OP's question, I was using a 4-16x scope. We stalked this one for only about 1/2 mile on the other side of a ridge from him. I had the scope set to 16x since when we topped the ridge, I was expecting him to be some distance away. It turned out to be only 220 yards, and the shot had to be taken quickly so I didn't have time to adjust the scope down. At 16x and that distance, I could almost pick out which rib I wanted the bullet to hit. I would have dialed back for more FOV if I'd had the time.
And I've always heard that antelope don't jump fences, but I saw four or five of them do just that. However, as my second pic shows, I guess sometimes it doesn't work out...
Patocazador
Member
Pretty good antelope for your first time.
Kingcreek
Member
Quality glass is more important than the magnification power.
I’ve had no problems using 3x9 and 3.5x10. Any longer than 300 yards and you better be good at doping the wind. It’s always blowing where the pronghorns hang out.
I’ve had no problems using 3x9 and 3.5x10. Any longer than 300 yards and you better be good at doping the wind. It’s always blowing where the pronghorns hang out.
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