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| Category: | NORTH AMERICA |
| Page Views: | 327 views |
| Last Update: |
3 year(s) ago | | Added on: | November 12, 2008 |
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Latin Name:
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Antilocapra americana
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Other Names:
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Prong buck
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Physical Characteristics:
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Pronghorns are about 3 feet tall and an adult male is roughly 120lbs in weight. They are very fast runners and have been clocked at over 80 kilometers per hour. They can also maintain a good speed over long distances which help outrun coyotes and other predators.
Both male and female have horns, with the males being larger in size. The horns sweep backwards and split to form a prong, hence the name Pronghorn. The coloring is reddish brown to a tan color with a white rump and belly with two white stripes on the throat. They have a short mane along the back of the neck. They possess excellent vision hearing and smell.
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Distribution:
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Pronghorn are plains animals and love the wide open grasslands and prairies. Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Texas, North and South Dakota, Arizona, Mexico and up into Alberta and Saskatchewan have good populations and have hunting seasons for Pronghorn.
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Hunting Method:
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Pronghorn antelope live in wide open spaces with little cover. The country is typically flat to rolling with some cover that antelope make good use of. Antelope are generally found not to far from a water source.
Having keen eyesight Antelope will run to put distance between them and any hunter if spooked. Use a good pair of binoculars to spot them from a long distance before planning your stalk and remember to keep the sun at your back.
Morning and evenings are the best time to hunt, however you can hunt them throughout the day as they can be spotted bedded down at any time of the day in the open. Once a shooter is spotted plan your stalk carefully to take advantage of any cover that is available and take your time. It is a good idea to come prepared with knee and elbow pads and gloves as you will need them on your long stalk. Using a bi-pod on your rifle can also be helpful to get a rest.
Archery hunters can use tactics such as sitting up over a water hole and using a decoy during archery season to lure in a good buck.
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The Shot:
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Hunting Pronghorn generally involves shooting at a small target at fairly long ranges. Practice shooting at 200 yards and over before your hunt to become accustomed to shooting small targets at long range and also to get to know rifle and loads trajectory and bullet drop. A variable 3-9x scope is sufficient but one can even go to a higher magnification if they think they will need it.
Archery hunters will of course shoot within bow range, but should also practice for those longer shots.
As with most horned game a lung shot offers the biggest and best target and will drop an antelope in its tracks. Taking a facing shot is much more challenging as the target is smaller and does not allow for inaccurate shooting at longer ranges.
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Calibers:
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A light caliber rifle is ideal for this game and anything from a 243 Winchester using a 100 grain bullet upwards would be a good choice. A 25-06 or 270 Winchester would also be ideal. Avoid the lighter center fire 22 rifles, as lighter bullets can blow up on the animal and also drift more in strong winds which might be encountered on the prairies.
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Ammunition:
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A regular factory load or hand load shooting a soft nose bullet is what’s needed. It is more important to find a load that shoots accurately in your rifle as the range will tend to be long. Nosler’s hunting ballistic tip and other quick expanding bullets will work perfectly.
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Taxidermy:
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A Shoulder mount is a typical mount.
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Alberta
(CANADA),
Arizona
(USA),
California
(USA),
Colorado
(USA),
Idaho
(USA),
Kansas
(USA),
Montana
(USA),
Nebraska
(USA),
Nevada
(USA),
New Mexico
(USA),
North Dakota
(USA),
Oregon
(USA),
South Dakota
(USA),
Texas
(USA),
Utah
(USA),
Wyoming
(USA)
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