Prong-Horn Antelope Hunting.

[HCD]

I would like to kill an antelope to hang on the wall. Is there any place where someone could drive to and with the proper credentials take one without a guide or a lot of added expense? A do it yourself kinda thing. Anybody know about such things or maybe have done this yourself?

 

[Bullseye 2620]

You need a permit to hunt them anyplace in the United States, and there are several subspecies that are protected under the Endangered Species Act, which means bad medicine if you kill one. Can you positively identify the excluded species at range?

Don't just think you can drive onto some rangeland out West and pop one using the hood of your car as a rest, or whatever. Someone owns those wide open spaces and won't cotton to your illegally taking an animal on his land, and then, climbing over his fences to retrieve it.

I have family with a 20,000 acre cattle ranch in South Dakota. There are pronghorns there. Sound carries, and shots are investigated immediately.

Why don't you Google "Wyoming Antelope Hunts" and see what you come up with?


Bullseye

 

[Frank237]

What sub species are Protected?? Always thought that antelope were antelope.

OP...Go to the AccurateReloading.com forums. Register, then visit the "American Big Game Hunting" area. Ask your question there.

Pronghorn's are a nice hunt for the first timer to the West. Decent weather, one sees lots of antelope, etc. Fun.

FN in MT

 

[Dashriprock]

Wyoming. Go to town of Kaycee. Buy nonresident tag at local store, drive outside of town until you see signs on ranch fences saying "please hunt our pronghorn." Park truck, get landowner's permission, and you're on your way. Place is lousy with 'em.

 

[HCD]

You need a permit to hunt them anyplace in the United States, and there are several subspecies that are protected under the Endangered Species Act, which means bad medicine if you kill one. Can you positively identify the excluded species at range?

Don't just think you can drive onto some rangeland out West and pop one using the hood of your car as a rest, or whatever. Someone owns those wide open spaces and won't cotton to your illegally taking an animal on his land, and then, climbing over his fences to retrieve it.

I have family with a 20,000 acre cattle ranch in South Dakota. There are pronghorns there. Sound carries, and shots are investigated immediately.

Why don't you Google "Wyoming Antelope Hunts" and see what you come up with?


Bullseye

I assume you did see where I said "with the proper credentials"
That means license and permission.

If others can make the distinction between animals I can also.

I am not just jumping into this hunting thing I have been researching this sense my last hunt to Florida where I took a wild boar on a reservation with a guide. I have Goggled, Binged, Ect. this subject to death. Now I am asking here. If anyone has any knowledge or personal experience about a do it yourself hunt. I know it can be done as I have read other accounts about this subject. I’m almost 60 years old and have been hunting and fishing my whole life with quite a few trophies on the wall, fish, fowl and beast. But I am also now retired and trying to keep the check book intact. Thanks for your help in answering my question.

 

[HCD]

What sub species are Protected?? Always thought that antelope were antelope.

OP...Go to the AccurateReloading.com forums. Register, then visit the "American Big Game Hunting" area. Ask your question there.

Pronghorn's are a nice hunt for the first timer to the West. Decent weather, one sees lots of antelope, etc. Fun.

FN in MT

Thanks Frank:
I was in Helena a few years ago for a conference that is where I got the idea. Thats also where I got my first Seritelli hat. I like it better than my Stetsons. I'll check out that site, thanks again.

 

[Wyo]

Wyoming has a great deal of public land, something over 70% I believe, and anyone can hunt it any time without permission. In addition, many landowners will allow you to hunt on their property if you just ask. Antelope are easy to find and in some areas they are, quite literally, everywhere you look. I would suggest you study your maps carefully, find an area with public land, go to the Wyoming Game and Fish website for further information and applications and have yourself a good time. Done right, the hunt won't cost you any more than the price of gas to get here, the cost of a tag and however much ammo you shoot up. Good areas to look into would be the area north of Casper and on the east side of the Big Horn Mountains and down in the Red Desert area south of I-80 in Carbon and Sweetwater Counties. By the way, there are no protected "subspecies" of antelope in Wyoming. You do need to be able to tell a buck from a doe, however.

 

[HCD]

Wyoming. Go to town of Kaycee. Buy nonresident tag at local store, drive outside of town until you see signs on ranch fences saying "please hunt our pronghorn." Park truck, get landowner's permission, and you're on your way. Place is lousy with 'em.

Dash; are you serious or are you being sarcastic. ie:"please hunt our pronghorn." sounds to good to be true.

 

[HCD]

Wyoming has a great deal of public land, something over 70% I believe, and anyone can hunt it any time without permission. In addition, many landowners will allow you to hunt on their property if you just ask. Antelope are easy to find and in some areas they are, quite literally, everywhere you look. I would suggest you study your maps carefully, find an area with public land, go to the Wyoming Game and Fish website for further information and applications and have yourself a good time. Done right, the hunt won't cost you any more than the price of gas to get here, the cost of a tag and however much ammo you shoot up. Good areas to look into would be the area north of Casper and on the east side of the Big Horn Mountains and down in the Red Desert area south of I-80 in Carbon and Sweetwater Counties. By the way, there are no protected "subspecies" of antelope in Wyoming. You do need to be able to tell a buck from a doe, however.

Thank you Sir:
I will look into that also. Ammo would be the least expincive thing then 2 shots, 1 to check the scope 2nd to kill the little fella.

 

[s&wchad]

Hunt Wyoming, where there's more pronghorn antelope than people. Permit applications need to be in by March 15th, but you can do it online. If you were born after 1960 (I think), you’ll need a hunter safety certificate. A non-resident license costs about $285 and most ranchers seem to charge about a $250 trespass fee per animal. You’ll also need a Wy conservation stamp (about $15). If you’re lucky, you can camp on the ranch, save some money and have more fun. Our group of five has had 100% success on permits and antelope for the last four years. They make a lovely trophy and the meat is outstanding. Both my wife and I like it better than deer, elk or caribou. The down side, you only get about 25# of meat off a speed goat.

We hunt outside of Bill on a small 36,000 acre ranch. Be advised, licenses are not statewide. The have different areas with different openers and quotas, so you need to know where you‘re going when you apply. There are large tracts of public grasslands that are open to hunting, but you find more goats on private ranches. Ranchers don't like antelope, because they compete with cattle for grass. We drive and make it about 2/3 of the way thru Nebraska on the first day, which gets us to the ranch on day two with plenty of daylight to make camp. It’s about 1300 miles each way and you’ll want a 4x4 truck out there, but you may not need it. Our season starts October 1st and the weather can be unpredictable. We haven’t had measurable snow yet, but we’ve had 80+ during the day and well below freezing at night.

You’ll want a good 300yd rifle and a laser rangefinder. Layered clothing is a must. I recommend immediately taking your animal to a processor, it’s too warm to hang during the day and the capes and meat spoil easily. Processing fees are typically under $100 and the frozen meat and hide makes it home safely in a cooler with some dry ice. That gives you a few days to shoot prairie dogs while you wait on the processor, so you’ll need a varmint rifle and a bunch of ammo. By Western standards, antelope is a cheap and easy hunt and it’s great fun.

Oh, and it's legal to drive around out there with a loaded rifle in the vehicle! Don't try that at home!

 

[Dashriprock]

Dash; are you serious or are you being sarcastic. ie:"please hunt our pronghorn." sounds to good to be true.

Seriously. As noted above by others, there are more pronghorn in WY than people. Some ranchers near Kaycee welcome you to come out and hunt their property, hence the signs.

 

[Iggy]

Check out the Como Bluff Hunter management area.
Hunter Management Area Details
Carlin Ranch, The red area and all above it. 45,000 acres and several hundred goats.
263 landowner coupons were received last year.

http://gf.state.wy.us/plpwhmprogram/uploads/management/comobluffs/comobluffsweb.pdf


Ammo would be the least expincive thing then 2 shots, 1 to check the scope 2nd to kill the little fella.

You best bring some ketchup cuz you might just have to eat them words!!LOL

 

[Wyo]

Iggy's not kidding. There are WAY more goats (antelope) out there than there are people! Maybe a few prairie dogs too.

 

[Iggy]

Wyo has it right. There are a few pasture poodles out there.
Had some folks come out a few years back. Brought a suburban full of guns and a U-Haul trailer of ammo.

They got their goats the first morning. One feller shot his with a TC pistol at 438 measured yards.

When they got their goats to the processor, they got down to the serious stuff. They killed 7000 PD in 5 days.

Be advised, we do have a quota on PD's. You can't leave until you have killed at least a hundred.

 

[HCD]

Check out the Como Bluff Hunter management area.
Hunter Management Area Details
Carlin Ranch, 45,000 acres and several hundred goats.

http://gf.state.wy.us/plpwhmprogram/uploads/management/comobluffs/comobluffsweb.pdf


Ammo would be the least expincive thing then 2 shots, 1 to check the scope 2nd to kill the little fella.

You best bring some ketchup cuz you might just have to eat them words!!LOL

OK I see your point, (although I prefer Tiger Sauce [hot and sweet]).

I do have a couple old Rem. 788's in 22 and 25 cal's and we sure don’t get much of a chance to use them off the range. Sure would be nice to put'm to what they are best at. I'm thinking a 270 or 243 for the Lope. Prob. 270.

OK point taken I can see a few more dollars added to the tab already, any more advice would be appreciated. Thanks to you guys for the heads up.

 

[kraigwy]

If you look up the the word Antilope in the dictionary you'll find a picture of Wyoming.

Seriously the problem I've seen with hunting antilope is people tend to over shoot them, over estimate the range. They are small, and normaly standing in tall grass, so people think they are much farther away then they are.

I hunt out with a bunch of out of state hunters (I was bumming coffee) as they glassed a group of goats, I heard estimates everywhere from 350 to 800 yards. I dug my laser range finder and got a reading of about 225 yards.

Adding to many ranchers allowing the hunting of goats, get a Wyoming Walk In Area Pamplet. Lots of private land open in which you don't need to contact the land owner first.

The critters are small, if you are looking for meat to go with your horns pick up a couple of cheap "doe/fawn" tags. Nothing else a nice young fawn will make a nice meal while hunting. Not like deer, they don't have to hang as long before you eat them. Shoot one in the afternoon let it hang over night and have a nice meal after the next days hunt.

PS Learn to shoot in the wind. Also when you go to take a shot, kneeling, setting, or prone, I believe its a state law you have to kneel, set or lay in cactus. Careful, when crawling through the grass last year I came upon a nice size rattler. Wouldnt hurt to put a little pistol in your pocket with bird shot.

 

[cp1969]

Thunder Basin National Grasslands near New Castle, Wyoming was where I got mine.

They make excellent summer sausage.

 

[m75rlg]

I love hunting pronghorns.

This one was on public land in the Red Desert a few years back. I hope to get out again before I get too old.

The hardest thing about a self guided hunt is judging the bucks. When you first start looking it is tough to tell a 9" dink from a 12" decent buck. After getting your hands on a few, you can make that distinction, but have trouble telling a 12" buck from a 14" trophy. The 16"+ bucks like this Red Desert goat tend to stand out, but you don't see them every day.

 

[Dashriprock]

That's one nice speedgoat!

 

[jkc]

What sub species are Protected?? Always thought that antelope were antelope.

FN in MT

The Sonoran Pronghorn subspecies of antelocapra americana is the only US subspecies of American Antelope on the Endangered Species list, and doesn't occur anywhere near any other ordinary antelope, so the matter of distinguishing one subspecies from another is moot. The Sonoran Pronghorn are denizens of a narrow range of habitat along the US/Mexican border, roughly corresponding to the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. Hammered by a decade of extraordinary drought, their numbers are dwindling, recruitment is failing, and they have probably ended up in an environmental cul-de-sac. There is, sadly, little "wildlife managers" can influence in favor of this animal, which historically has occupied a harsh, marginal, fragile, delicate, inhospitable ecosystem, which has lately drastically deteriorated. It is, for Sonoran Pronghorns, the ecological equivalent of human occupants of Detroit.