Newly Found Love for Pronghorn

[texwest44]

Hi folks!

I'm not one for telling long stories, but I just had to talk to someone about how much I just realized I love pronghorn. My boss offered some pronghorn burger meat from her freezer, and I gladly accepted. Now, I've been eating venison for years, and more recently elk, but now that I'm in Montana I've finally had a chance to try pronghorn and that's it, people. Wrap it up. Pronghorn is hands down the tastiest wild ungulate I have tried. I just made a batch of Texas red chili (well, as close as I could with what I have access to) and it was way better than I could have expected. I mean, Washington deer and elk are really good but this pronghorn... I mean, wow, that is a tasty animal. It reminds me of when I first tried bison. I'm like, "how are we not eating this all the time?!"

Over the last few months since I moved here, I've been studying deer hunting on national forest and state land (public lands forever, y'all), but no more. Someone at work mentioned offhand a couple of months ago that they liked to hunt pronghorn out around Musselshell or Roundup and they're about to get the grilling of a lifetime tomorrow. There's some poor pronghorn out there who just got his little warrant signed by my boss, lol.

If there's any tips you're willing to offer a newcomer to pronghorn hunting on big plains public land, I'd sure appreciate it. And I've got a Texas chili recipe that'll compliment any kind of game if anyone's interested. 🌶

 

[406LIFE]

Welcome to the club.

As it's often said, "the only thing bad about antleope is they aren't the size of an elk."

 

[Dsnow9]

Use the geography to your advantage, don’t skyline yourself, and don’t move to quickly. They usually hold to a relatively localized area unless they are migrating, so if you blow an opportunity, there is a good chance you can try that spot again later that day or a couple days later. Don’t know if it helps that much but it has worked for me.

 

[jeremys4]

Man not real sure about Texas chili but elk chili with bacon is one of my favorite recipes. Game animals get a bad reputation from bad hunters and cooks. If you handle the meat correctly and then cook it well it’s hard to beat. I love eating mule deer I hunt black powder in September next to a cow elk it’s my favorite game meat. Keep your passion and love for the wildlife pass it on.

 

[NEWHunter]

Welcome. Yep, pronghorn is right up there. I find it to have a bit milder taste and a bit finer grain than the whitetails I shoot here in WI.

As far as tips, don’t over think it. As long as you can shoot and are willing to put some miles on your boots, you should find some success.

Oh, and tons of good stuff in the old threads. Lots of good reads.

 

[sbhooper]

My wife will agree with your assessment of the meat. The one good thing about them-besides the meat-is that they are not difficult to find and hunt, for the most part.

Have a decent bino and practice shooting to 300 yards and you will not have a tough hunt-unless you are trying to be picky about size.

 

[texwest44]

I appreciate the comments and support everyone, and with any luck I'll be joining ya in next season's post 'em thread!

 

[ComebackSeason]

I'll bite - can we hear the chili recipe??

Haven't taken a pronghorn myself yet, but have seen a good number while deer and elk hunting in CO and WY. Here's a few things that are helping shape my strategy for this fall:

• Bowhunting the Prince of the Plains by Jace Bauserman - great book
• A year in the life of a pronghorn documentary - helpful for understanding their biology
• Leather gloves and/or kneepads for crawling in cactus country (also bring a leatherman so you can use pliers to pull em out)
• Get the meat off the hide quick - they apparently foul a lot faster than other animals. I've also heard good things about marinating them in pinneapple juice

 

[Brian in Montana]

If you can beat their eyes, they're not that hard to kill.

I hear you on liking the meat. I think it's great. I remember making some chicken-fried antelope steak for my bro-in-law and he raved. Said it was the best wild game he'd ever tasted. My wife really doesn't like it. I don't get it. She insists on making them into sausage when I shoot one. That's fine, but it's great with just a little garlic salt and black pepper.

 

[Dsnow9]

If you can beat their eyes, they're not that hard to kill.

I hear you on liking the meat. I think it's great. I remember making some chicken-fried antelope steak for my bro-in-law and he raved. Said it was the best wild game he'd ever tasted. My wife really doesn't like it. I don't get it. She insists on making them into sausage when I shoot one. That's fine, but it's great with just a little garlic salt and black pepper.

My wife and daughter far prefer it over deer and they both put it on par with elk. I prefer elk but would put it on par or slightly above deer. Antelope is great!

 

[bullbugle307]

One piece of advice Id offer is that oftentimes a circuitous stalk is necessary for pronghorn to get the wind right and to use the terrain to your advantage. People put so much focus on their eyes, but they will definitely wind you just like deer or elk. A lot of the pronghorn in my areas are so used to road hunting pressure that if you make a big circle and approach them from a direction they're not accustomed to you can catch them off guard.

 

[thusby]

It's great meat. I'm not sure I prefer it over deer but it's a nice change of pace. It's like comparing turkey to chicken to Cornish game hen.

 

[runningmt]

Excellent table fair. You can make Pronghorn Hunting as easy or as difficult as you would like. If you’ve effectively hunted deer, you can successfully hunt Pronghorn.
Sounds like you are looking to hunt Pronghorn for the right reasons, and the best two pieces of advice I can give is the does taste even better than the bucks, and have fun!

 

[1_pointer]

We like pronghorn enough in our house that I tend to keep it out of things like chili, spaghetti, etc. I save it for things that allow the flavor to come out more. It's very good stuff. The only thing I've shot that we like better is bison.

 

[AggieHunter]

Whenever I asked someone how it tastes before my first hunt they said you will love it or hate it and it sure is good!

 

[Bob-WY]

Wife and I, when we first pronghorn hunted, our worry was we wouldn't like the meat cause the hunting was FUN. No issue, we love the meat, learn to cool it FAST and you're good.

To hunt them, coming off our first DIY season :

- If it's public land that you found, assume others will too. We won't even bother with opening weekend again.
- Get out of the truck, this ties to how many hunters, during bow season we would "truck hunt", drive til we spotted some, then Id try to sneak into bow range. Come gun season all bets went out the window, lots of tags, lots of hunters, those spots we easily found pronghorn in before rifle, nope, nada, nohting. for 2 weeks. Then it returned.
- If you can see them, they can see you. Simple as that, get out of sight, make a plan to get there and GO, hoping they will still be there. Don't periodically "check" on them, everytime you see them, they can see you and you run the risk of blowing it. Have faith in your spotting and stalking. BUT, keep your eyes open for others. Wife and I were doing a "around the hill" move to cut distance to 2 feeding does when we ran smack into another group at 100 yards.

If you don't see them, WALK, walk to that next ridge, glass.

Learn how to gutless method and toss them in a backpack. A good sized pronghorn is an easy single load hike.

 

[texwest44]

I'll bite - can we hear the chili recipe??

Haven't taken a pronghorn myself yet, but have seen a good number while deer and elk hunting in CO and WY. Here's a few things that are helping shape my strategy for this fall:

• Bowhunting the Prince of the Plains by Jace Bauserman - great book
• A year in the life of a pronghorn documentary - helpful for understanding their biology
• Leather gloves and/or kneepads for crawling in cactus country (also bring a leatherman so you can use pliers to pull em out)
• Get the meat off the hide quick - they apparently foul a lot faster than other animals. I've also heard good things about marinating them in pinneapple juice

Whooo, since we're out here helping each other out, I'll let you in on a chili recipe we like in my family!

INGREDIENTS:

1lb meat (your choice)
1/2 big white onion, chopped small to medium
1 small clove garlic, mashed to hell
1/4 cup pasilla/hot new mexico chili powder blend (or however much you like)
2tbsp cumin (or however much you like, I like more)
3/4tsp paprika
1/4tsp oregano
1/4tsp salt (depends on saltiness of other ingredients you have)
1 can of Rotel tomatoes (drained, no liquid)
Cayenne to your preferred level of spicy
Kidney beans if you want them (they start a fight in my family)
8oz tomato sauce
8oz water

Brown up your meat and onion, and when that's done, toss in the rest and just let it stew for an hour or so. Cash back guarantee.

And I appreciate the pronghorn tips! Haven't heard that bit about fouling quicker than other animals. Do you think it's the heat or the thickness of the hide or something?

 

[FranklinME]

I shot a couple for the first time last year, definitely my favorite wild game meat.

 

[Gumbo Hunter]

We like pronghorn enough in our house that I tend to keep it out of things like chili, spaghetti, etc. I save it for things that allow the flavor to come out more.

That is exactly what we do too! Antelope is my family's favorite and I shoot as many as MT will allow me each year.