2016 Pronghorn trip report

[Bwana]

Dad and I headed out the day before the season to set up the camper, meet landowners, and do some scouting. Though things started off slow, Thursday afternoon we eventually found some goats and even a few decent ones though I was unable, or even forgot, to take pictures of them all.

Here are a few of the critters we spotted that first day:
ScoutAlfalfa.jpg
ScoutWide.JPG
ScoutWeird1.JPG

By evening we had several decent goats picked out and were trying to decide which one to go after first. We finally decided on the pick-of-the-day but given season didn't open until noon we decided to do a bit more scouting. As it turned out our first pick had moved a mile and was now a few hundred yards behind a ranch house. Though the land wasn't posted we decided to see what else we could locate as we weren't comfortable hunting that close to someone's house.

We found several other good bucks including these:
ScoutSatelite.JPG
ScoutHerdB.jpg

[LJ3]

Good start so far... I guess your sister was with you at least on day 1?

[Bwana]

Was afraid to lose what I had already typed so here is the continued story:

We kept on driving and found another buck with a doe but I told Dad there was no way I was going to let him shoot that buck as he was too little. After watching the pair for 5 minutes they got bored with us and ran on down the road. We were going that way anyway and ended up getting a fair bit closer. From the closer distance he didn't look that bad.
ScoutDad's1.JPG

So we left this guy alone and headed back north but not before shooting a coyote that watched us for a bit too long. When we got there the big buck we wanted was now standing in plain sight behind the ranch house. I couldn't take it anymore, so I drove in, introduced myself, and asked if they allowed antelope hunting. If fact they did allow hunting but the guy's wife had her first ever tag and they were planning on going out hunting themselves. I told them thanks anyway, exactly where the big buck was, the best route to sneak up on him, and wished them luck. (I need to call him back to see if she got him or not.)

Plan B turned out to be the goat in the first picture above.

The herd had been laying in the same place all morning and it was a perfect place for a great stalk that would result in an easy shot. Trouble is, as we were sneaking north along the back side of the ridge towards their position, they decided it was dinner time and headed south on the opposite side of the ridge. From there we went back to the buck I misjudged and after a single shot from his trusty .270, Dad had his buck.
DadGoat2.jpg
DadGoat1.jpg

[Chicken Dinner]

Great trip report and pics. I hope I'm still getting it done like your Pops when I'm his age.

[Bwana]

One down and one to go.

After getting Dad's buck we headed 15-20 miles away to where we had seen a dandy buck and not-too-bad satellite buck the day before. We putzing down a prairie trail in the area the herd had been the day before, I see a lone buck.
MyGoatDriveby.jpg

Though he looked pretty darn good, I knew he was broken on the left side and didn't feel he was the HOLY CRAP wall hanger I was looking for given it had been 9 years since I last drew an antelope tag. I watched him for 10+ minutes, took pictures through the spotting scope and with my camera, and asked Dad what he thought. As expected, he just smiled and said, "It's your tag but its definitely bigger than the one I shot." I was torn but finally said that if you shoot the little one, you'll never get a big one and drove on to see if we could locate the big guy. We finally found him but he was well into an area that we could not hunt so we turned around and headed back the way we came. We get back to the area and the buck above was still there. I kept driving until we were out of sight from the buck and told Dad I was going to see how close I could get to him and then see what happened. Long story short (I know, not really), after a bit of sneaking and crawling I find myself 154 yards away, sitting down, with the rifle firmly resting on the bipod. To be honest, I was hoping to scare him away but given I got that close and he was standing broadside it was just more than my trigger finger could take.

[Cards01]

Awesome trip report and memories made!! Congrats!!

[Captain]

Man that is a great trip report and straight up photos! Good job to
You, and your father (and sister)
I think I should come out there next year and go along with you boys!

[Bwana]

Thanks all.

As for Len and Cappy...bite me.

Happy, that would be a fun hunt but given how long it takes to draw an antelope tag, I'm pretty sure it will be a few years before I draw again. That being said, my wife and two other ladies have a decent chance of drawing next year but not sure I am comfortable having a sweet-talking southern boy hanging around with all those ladies out in the middle of nowhere.

[Chicken Dinner]

Have you seen a picture of Cappy? I'm pretty sure the only reason he hangs around with Thump is so that he looks passable by comparison.

[Captain]

Have you seen a picture of Cappy? I'm pretty sure the only reason he hangs around with Thump is so that he looks passable by comparison.

HEY!!! Bite me!

[quercus alba]

Larke don't look that bad, he just pales in comparison to mrs Captain

[airbud7]

Nice report right there^...Nice!

[Thumper]

Have you seen a picture of Cappy? I'm pretty sure the only reason he hangs around with Thump is so that he looks passable by comparison.

Bite me TWICE!

[Nandy]

Nice report, You and Bigsky live in great country that I love to visit some day. I am not too educated in y'alls hunting rules but seems it is very hard to get a tag to hunt there. Have a good one!!!

[Bwana]

Thanks Nandy and yes, getting drawn for a tag is tough. Unlike the sunny south where you must have a TON of deer, turkey, etc. up here the winters tend to put a damper on critter populations. Its not every year but every so often we will have a nasty winter that reduces game populations. It might be freezing ice that outright coats and kills pheasants and other game birds. Said ice whether from an ice storm or from a period of winter thaw followed by more cold can seal off and prevent access to food. Deep snow can have the same affect of cutting of a food source and hampering movement.

All of the above means we typically have situations where there are more folks wanting to hunt than there are critters that can feasibly hunted without further hurting the population. This means a balancing act for our Game and Fish plus it means our application has to be selected before we can hunt any of the following critters: turkey, deer, pronghorn, swan, moose, bighorn, and elk. The last three are, for most folks, a once-in-a-lifetime tag. The others are not but depending on the unit or species you apply for, it may be a number of years before your name is drawn/selected for a tag.

In this case, several bad winters in a row reduced the pronghorn population to the point where the season was closed for several years. Slowly one or two units were opened back up to hunting and more units were added as the population continues to grow. Sorry but I thought this might help explain why it sometimes takes so long before we can hunt a particular critter or unit.

[Nandy]

I appreciate your explanation, I was sure it had to do with more hunters than game but never thought about y'all winters also affecting the game in huge numbers. Maybe some day I get to reduce the elk population by one!!! lol!

[Bwana]

Hopefully you do but the way things stand right now, it won't be in ND. With the exception of one of the bighorn sheep tags, which is given to a Minnesota/Wisconsin Bighorn Sheep group to auction off, all tags for elk, moose, and bighorn are limited to residents only.

Though I have now applied for 35 years, I still hold out hope each year that I will draw one of the tags. Maybe next year.

[Nandy]

What could it be worst, not having draw a tag or drawing a tag and not fill it!!! lol!!! I wish you good luck!

[Trav]

You just have to keep trying, it took me 29 years to draw my Oklahoma elk tag but it was well worth it.