Hunting pronghorn antelope is an exciting challenge.  During the hunting season, the grasses on the prairie are a light brown, and the sage is a dark gray-green.  The antelope coat blends in with these colors making them difficult to spot on the open prairies.  The hunter also has to discern if the white spot on the hillside or in the distance with the sun glinting off of it is a rock or the rump of an antelope.  Good binoculars or a spotting scope are tools that are required.

The pronghorns' unique coloring also offers and advantage to the hunter.  The white underbelly usually ends at approximately the mid-point on the rib cage.  If the hunter is using a flat shooting rifle, the transition point from white to brown on the pronghorn offers an excellent area to rest the horizontal cross-hairs of their scope.  Then it is a simple matter to put the vertical cross-hair just behind the front shoulder.

Because pronghorn live on the open prairies, their vision, sense of smell and hearing are all excellent.  Hunters need to keep this in mind as they stalk a group of pronghorn.  If the pronghorn get any sense that danger is present, the group will be off like a shot.  By the end of the first week of pronghorn season, the animals spook easily. However, pronghorn do have a tendency to run for a short distance, then stop and look back to see if they are being pursued.  Having a flat-shooting rifle that is sighted in for 200 yards is an advantage in this situation.  If the hunter is lucky, and the pronghorn haven't run off too far, then a shot may still be possible.

Pronghorn hunting is big business in Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico, with Wyoming having the largest population of animals.  (Some say that Wyoming has more pronghorn than people!) Wyoming also has the most listings in Boone & Crockett and Pope & Young record books. Most pronghorn are taken on the first day of the season.  Because of the openness of the country and the high amount of visibility, hunters are able to keep a group in sight until they are able to get into a position to get a good shot.

Just as with any other big game animal, it is helpful to get out to your hunt area, with binoculars or a spotting scope.  When you find an pronghorn worthy of your attention, figure out his patterns.  Stay with him.  Figure out his feeding, watering and travel patterns.  Unlike other big game animals, antelope do not travel at night.  If you know where your animal is when it beds down in the evening, the chances are great that he will still be there in the morning.

 Scoring Your Trophy Pronghorn - Boone and Crockett Club

Wyoming Hunting Guide - A Guide to General Questions about hunting in Wyoming - Prepared by the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish

Wyoming Hunter Mentor program -  A program by Wy Dept of Game and Fish that allows hunters in the field who have not yet completed the Hunter Safety Program, as long as they are accompanied by a licensed hunter who has completed the program.

Fixin' For Pronghorn - Guns and Ammo, By Richard Venola, April 27, 2009

Choosing the Right Rifle for Pronghorn Antelope - Field and Stream, by David E. Petzal. December 08, 2008

Going Public: More Pronghorns Than People - Outdoor Life, by Jim Zumbo. September 18, 2007

Hunting Antelope On Their Turf - Outdoor Life, by Jim Zumbo. September 18, 2007

 Poaching is Mutiny on your Bounty !
Add this number to your cell phone speed dial - 1-877-WGFD-TIP

A herd of pronghorn under Elk Mountain near Saratoga, Wyoming
Photo by Adriene Wheeler