The Hedgehog
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@antelopedundee Do those bucks look big?
Judging pronghorn is hard!
- Thread starter npaden
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The Hedgehog
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Just curious if many people who think big antelope are easy to spot, would slam on the brakes and admire these ones, or just keep driving after a quick glance like several other hunters did. Maybe they're not that big?
Carl 9.3x62
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I think i probably would pass on them, depending on the hunt area. But I may regret it.
Drake4
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Definite pass on the first one. He’s not very big.
Second one is worth a closer look through the rifle scope over the hood of the pickup.
Second one is worth a closer look through the rifle scope over the hood of the pickup.
huntin24/7
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We hunted the same unit as you for 5 days npaden. I have no idea how many bucks we looked over. I never felt like we laid eyes on a true 80” buck but we saw some good ones. I always felt like we were under judging some of the bucks. I also find them very hard to judge. In the end, I held out for 4 days and shot a short but heavy buck the last morning. I misjudged him too thinking he was 14 tall. He was 13 on one side and busted a bit on the other only 12.5, but he has 6.5” bases. It was a great time.
huntin24/7
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The Hedgehog
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Okay so we've established those first 2 I posted are not very big, especially is a good WY unit. What about this one?
Carl 9.3x62
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Prongs are good but low. Not real heavy above them either. Not sure about over all length. I'd still pass in a "trophy" unit.
antelopedundee
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Not especially. Not in comparison to some real nice ones I've seen. I said you can use ear length to get an idea of horn length. Long horns don't equate to a real nice buck tho. Still you want to look at him from other angles too. Same with mule deer. If the antler spread is not wider than his stretched out ears then he's probably not a shooter if your looking for a book buck.
The Hedgehog
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@antelopedundee what's your definition of big? 75, 80, 90? Just curious. 12 incher? 16 incher? Do you regularly pass on bucks that are record book caliber? Call out the measurements on say, the very first one I posted. This one.. feel free to use that 5” ear trick..
antelopedundee
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I only said it can be used to estimate horn length since you know the ear is about 5 inches. I never implied anything else so I'm done with this.
what do you think the first one scores? I have 9 Wy antelope points and plan on using them when life allows..
antelopedundee
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I have no idea and don't really care. I'm not a trophy hunter.
npaden
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I think the one in post 47 is big.
I think a lot of folks wait until later in the year to hunt them because when they are grouped up it is easier to tell the big ones from the small ones. When there were several bucks together I could at least pick out the largest one of the group. The one that I ended up going after and not connecting on got me excited because a couple of the smaller bucks that were trailing him and the doe actually looked pretty good until you looked at them in comparison to the larger one. I doubt he would have gone over 80" but he would have been a lot closer than the one I ended up shooting.
I really think it would be an amazing experience to ride along with someone like Eli Grimmett (or even Greenhorn) on a summer scouting trip and just listen to him talk through judging different bucks.
I think a lot of folks wait until later in the year to hunt them because when they are grouped up it is easier to tell the big ones from the small ones. When there were several bucks together I could at least pick out the largest one of the group. The one that I ended up going after and not connecting on got me excited because a couple of the smaller bucks that were trailing him and the doe actually looked pretty good until you looked at them in comparison to the larger one. I doubt he would have gone over 80" but he would have been a lot closer than the one I ended up shooting.
I really think it would be an amazing experience to ride along with someone like Eli Grimmett (or even Greenhorn) on a summer scouting trip and just listen to him talk through judging different bucks.
Post #47 buck looks to my eye like a huge D lineman on steroids compared to some wide receiver style skinny body, and I think that fools my tenderfoot eyeballs into initially downgrading his score.
More meat and higher score equals invite to ride home with me.
More meat and higher score equals invite to ride home with me.
D
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NFW do I pass on this buck.
The Hedgehog
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I’m no stranger to totally missing it on lopes. Misjudged my last WY buck by 5”
It’s no surprise anymore to hear or see people drive right by a monster buck. Lots of folks drove right past that first one without much of a thought.
I could tell my friend Matt really likes that fat horned thing during an August trip and was happy when he got him. He didn’t make it more than a few seconds into opening day.
It’s no surprise anymore to hear or see people drive right by a monster buck. Lots of folks drove right past that first one without much of a thought.
I could tell my friend Matt really likes that fat horned thing during an August trip and was happy when he got him. He didn’t make it more than a few seconds into opening day.
mevertsen
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That is a pretty buck.
