Colorado Muzzleloader

[Clintos1980]

You can use a .45 conical on pronghorn in Colorado. You will need to build quite a few points for Colorado pronghorn (certainly for any unit worth hunting) although muzzy will make it significantly easier to draw (but significantly harder to tag one). I'd be putting in for NM and building WY pronghorn points/straight up applying in WY while playing a long game in Colorado.

In the eastern half of the state, the majority of pronghorn are on private. Public will have some herds but they get shot up and bumped pretty quickly. The Western Slope is going to have more pronghorn on public (by virtue of having more public land to begin with) but the tags are going to be all that much more competitive.

If you want to hunt soon- like in the next year-- you're better off buying a landowner tag on a guided hunt, either in CO or NM.

Thanks for the info. I must have been reading elk-specific rules about the .50 cal. I am building WY points as well, and have 3 as of this year, but that's good info to have about CO. I haven't thought about NM...

 

[sneakem]

That is awesome!

I'm new on Hunt Talk as of about 20 minutes ago. I am from Tennessee. Pronghorn is on my list in the next several years....I've done one guided cow elk hunt in WY, but that's all I've done out West.

I was looking to get the same muzzleloader setup you listed above for hunting CO. I have a .45 cal CVA Accura MR that does great on whitetail in TN, but CO requires .50, so I'm probably gonna get one of those. Are you happy with those Williams sights (it definitely seems that way)?. Also, is it appropriate to ask which unit or just general area you were in? If not, set me straight.

Like I said, I'm a non-resident in CO, so I'm trying to determine if I should go the outfitter route for the first time to get some education or play the game until I (hopefully) draw a unit and hunt it on my own.

Any advice is appreciated. Great harvest!

I do like the Williams setup, they have several choices for the crosshair inserts (which I prefer in lieu of a fiberoptic sight, just for the precision in aiming). I have used the fiber in situations of low light as the crosshairs are nearly impossible to see. You can interchange the inserts in less than a minute, so switching is not a difficult task. As mentioned, .45 is legal for antelope in Colorado. I don't think you could go wrong with any unit that offers a muzz hunt, as Colorado is more of an opportunity hunt vs. trophy potential. Biggest thing is making sure there is plenty of public land accessible to DIY.... Limited public land it's advisable to have some help with access or hire an outfitter...