idahofishnhunt
Well-known member
Nice job, way to overcome the odds.
NM pronghorn hunt
- Thread starter Big Fin
- Start date
ID_deerslayer
Active member
Fantastic write up randy. Congrats on the biggest there was, the dialogue right before the shot was very funny.
oldman357
New member
glad New Mexico didn't let you down too far. Sorry about the ranch glad you connected.
Duck-Slayer
Well-known member
other than the lack of specimens, sounds like its going too be a great show, buck isn't that bad either,
Matt
Matt
npaden
Well-known member
Great job sticking it out.
That buck doesn't look too small to me. Kind of odd but it looks like his 2nd mass measurement might actually be bigger than his first one.
If you put a tape to him I'm sure you will notice that he doesn't have any curl on top, but just looking at him he looks pretty good to me.
A lot better than the tag soup I ate on my New Mexico ranch assignment. I saw one legal buck that was about 9" that I could have shot but passed on him, and one 70"ish buck that crossed the small ranch I was assigned to one time but was across it and onto the neighbors ranch before I could react.
For sure the New Mexico tag lottery for antelope just starts when you get drawn, the ranch assignment is where you really need the luck in my experience.
That buck doesn't look too small to me. Kind of odd but it looks like his 2nd mass measurement might actually be bigger than his first one.
If you put a tape to him I'm sure you will notice that he doesn't have any curl on top, but just looking at him he looks pretty good to me.
A lot better than the tag soup I ate on my New Mexico ranch assignment. I saw one legal buck that was about 9" that I could have shot but passed on him, and one 70"ish buck that crossed the small ranch I was assigned to one time but was across it and onto the neighbors ranch before I could react.
For sure the New Mexico tag lottery for antelope just starts when you get drawn, the ranch assignment is where you really need the luck in my experience.
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RUT JUNKEY
Well-known member
Way to get it done, sometimes you just have to play the hand your dealt, and you did that very well.
stillkickin
Well-known member
Well done guys, when in Rome you need to shoot what the Romans would shoot! A very nice, and well earned buck!
Nemont
Well-known member
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Good job, sounds like a great episode.
Nemont
Good job, sounds like a great episode.
Nemont
Bowhuntrben
Well-known member
Congrats Randy! Well earned buck!
2rocky
Well-known member
I had a smaller buck in my mind from your description Randy.
Way to burn the boot treads and make it happen.
Whil;e hunting, when I feel exasperated, frustrated and grumpy, I think of your trying times you have described and portrayed on your shows, and I realized I'm being a big pansy.
Way to burn the boot treads and make it happen.
Whil;e hunting, when I feel exasperated, frustrated and grumpy, I think of your trying times you have described and portrayed on your shows, and I realized I'm being a big pansy.
idnative1948
Well-known member
Happy to see your luck change for the best.
flyfishmadison
Active member
Congrats. Way to get it done. I think I already know the answer to this question, but did you notice any fawns with the groups of does? The rains we got in september were much needed, but I am afraid it is going to take a couple of wet years before we recover from this drought.
Andy
Andy
wingman1
Active member
Good job! Looks like you found a movie star.
Funny that you ask that. Spitz and I commented that we were surprised to see any fawns, given the last two years of drought. Most the does did have a fawn with them. Shows how hardy these animals are.
MNHunter
Well-known member
Congrats Randy!
Thanks for all the comments, guys. Gotta give a big thanks to Spitz. Some of you have shared a camp with him and you know what a great guy he is. Never down, always happy, sees a silver lining in every dark cloud. Just the kind of attitude you want when you are hunting, especially on a hunt where expectations need to be readjusted.
Was a great hunt for TV. It will show the anticipation that comes with having a NM pronghorn tag, and the reality that some hunts are not necessarily what was advertised. So often, we go on a hunt with big dreams, then when we get there, we realize that a reality check is in order. We can either let that cause us to pack it in and go home, or we accept that fact and we make it a fun hunt, regardless of the final outcome.
The footage was excellent. Brad did a wonderful job and hauled the camera gear all over those mesas, and is probably still extracting cactus spines after Spitz used the Leatherman to remove a cholla branch that Brad implanted on the inside of his knee. Best to pay attention when walking and filming - next cactus Brad walks into could inflict more damage. Spitz and I were kind enough to hold our laughter until the blood had stopped streaming.
It might not come across this way in the words I wrote, but this buck is one of the most hard-earned and treasured pronghorn I have ever taken. Very happy with this buck, given what we were up against. I feel that the combined pronghorn experience Spitz and I had was invaluable on this hunt. As Spitz mentioned, a new pronghorn hunter out in this assigned area by themselves would probably not have a chance, other than if lady luck shined heavily upon them.
A little explanation of the NM rifle antelope system, given I got a PM asking why I didn't just move to different part of the unit. Here goes my best effort to explain a complicated system.
NM rifle hunts do not allow you to hunt anywhere/everywhere in the unit, regardless of the public land that is available. When you draw, the big game manager for that unit assigns you to a participating ranch. Private landowners enroll in the program and by doing so, they get some private landowner vouchers that they can sell in the open market.
The formula works something like this. If my ranch, both my private and my leased public lands, make up 15% of the pronghorn habitat in the unit, I get 15% of the tags allocated to my ranch. So, lets say there are 20 tags for this unit. I get 15% of those, or 3 tags allocated to my ranch.
Then, they look at the private-to-public ration of land on my operations. Let's say that my ranch is 2/3 private and 1/3 public. In that instance, I get 2 of the 3 tags allocated to my ranch as private landowner vouchers that I can sell to anyone. The public gets 1 of the 3 tags and that hunter will be assigned to my ranch, getting full access to my ranch, both my private and the public that are in the enrolled acreage.
Both the hunters using my landowner voucher and the public hunter MUST stay on the administrative boundary of my enrolled acreage. If they see the world record buck on public land just on the other side of my enrolled acreage, they cannot go after it. If that buck stays on public land that is not enrolled, due to no one enrolling that ranch, he is off limits in rifle season.
For archery, there are no assignments. It is the same as most other places you hunt. If you draw an archery tag, you get to hunt any/all the public land in the entire unit and any private land to which you can gain access.
Npaden stated that he had asked to be reassigned to a different ranch. I called the big game manager after the scouting afternoon produced nothing and I inquired of the same issue. I was told the same thing - "There will be no reassignments." Further editorial was later added with the statement of "We can't herd them up just for hunters."
This ranch should not be enrolled. If there was a good population at one time, take it out of the program until such time it can recover. When I think about the guided hunter we saw, I can only imagine the disappointment there. They probably paid a few thousand dollars for the guide, the tag and license being a few hundred more, and scarce vacation days allocated.
I don't think that hunter was expecting a guaranteed buck. None of us were. Yet, when you have something as obscure and random (maybe assignments are not that random) as the NM system, it seems they should make sure the area has ample numbers of animals. For there to be 30-45 animals on a public land allocation of 64,000 acres (100 square miles), it is hard for me to justify having a season there.
I will continue to apply in NM, as the quality can be amazing in some areas. I will just stay away from applying in this unit. And to think 76 of us non-residents applied for that hunt as a first, second, or third choice.
Now time to de-junk and relax for a couple weeks prior to getting into the toughest two hunts of the season. Our next two hunts are both general/OTC public land elk hunts. First in MT, then in CO. Both of those hunts will involve a lot of boot leather. Hope to be completely exhausted from hauling elk quarters after those two hunts. From CO, we go right to WY where Spitz and I have limited entry elk tags. I get a four-day break before heading to AZ for another late rifle elk hunt with my son.
I love elk hunting, but spending 45 days hunting elk, with only about eight days off during that span is going to be a grind. Sleeping in wall tents is fine for about three nights. After a month of it, I am longing for a warm shower, dry clothes, and a soft bed.
Between now and then, I better get that BADASS drawing finished. The names are all accumulated and we will be doing the random number run tomorrow. No points system in this drawing.
Was a great hunt for TV. It will show the anticipation that comes with having a NM pronghorn tag, and the reality that some hunts are not necessarily what was advertised. So often, we go on a hunt with big dreams, then when we get there, we realize that a reality check is in order. We can either let that cause us to pack it in and go home, or we accept that fact and we make it a fun hunt, regardless of the final outcome.
The footage was excellent. Brad did a wonderful job and hauled the camera gear all over those mesas, and is probably still extracting cactus spines after Spitz used the Leatherman to remove a cholla branch that Brad implanted on the inside of his knee. Best to pay attention when walking and filming - next cactus Brad walks into could inflict more damage. Spitz and I were kind enough to hold our laughter until the blood had stopped streaming.
It might not come across this way in the words I wrote, but this buck is one of the most hard-earned and treasured pronghorn I have ever taken. Very happy with this buck, given what we were up against. I feel that the combined pronghorn experience Spitz and I had was invaluable on this hunt. As Spitz mentioned, a new pronghorn hunter out in this assigned area by themselves would probably not have a chance, other than if lady luck shined heavily upon them.
A little explanation of the NM rifle antelope system, given I got a PM asking why I didn't just move to different part of the unit. Here goes my best effort to explain a complicated system.
NM rifle hunts do not allow you to hunt anywhere/everywhere in the unit, regardless of the public land that is available. When you draw, the big game manager for that unit assigns you to a participating ranch. Private landowners enroll in the program and by doing so, they get some private landowner vouchers that they can sell in the open market.
The formula works something like this. If my ranch, both my private and my leased public lands, make up 15% of the pronghorn habitat in the unit, I get 15% of the tags allocated to my ranch. So, lets say there are 20 tags for this unit. I get 15% of those, or 3 tags allocated to my ranch.
Then, they look at the private-to-public ration of land on my operations. Let's say that my ranch is 2/3 private and 1/3 public. In that instance, I get 2 of the 3 tags allocated to my ranch as private landowner vouchers that I can sell to anyone. The public gets 1 of the 3 tags and that hunter will be assigned to my ranch, getting full access to my ranch, both my private and the public that are in the enrolled acreage.
Both the hunters using my landowner voucher and the public hunter MUST stay on the administrative boundary of my enrolled acreage. If they see the world record buck on public land just on the other side of my enrolled acreage, they cannot go after it. If that buck stays on public land that is not enrolled, due to no one enrolling that ranch, he is off limits in rifle season.
For archery, there are no assignments. It is the same as most other places you hunt. If you draw an archery tag, you get to hunt any/all the public land in the entire unit and any private land to which you can gain access.
Npaden stated that he had asked to be reassigned to a different ranch. I called the big game manager after the scouting afternoon produced nothing and I inquired of the same issue. I was told the same thing - "There will be no reassignments." Further editorial was later added with the statement of "We can't herd them up just for hunters."
This ranch should not be enrolled. If there was a good population at one time, take it out of the program until such time it can recover. When I think about the guided hunter we saw, I can only imagine the disappointment there. They probably paid a few thousand dollars for the guide, the tag and license being a few hundred more, and scarce vacation days allocated.
I don't think that hunter was expecting a guaranteed buck. None of us were. Yet, when you have something as obscure and random (maybe assignments are not that random) as the NM system, it seems they should make sure the area has ample numbers of animals. For there to be 30-45 animals on a public land allocation of 64,000 acres (100 square miles), it is hard for me to justify having a season there.
I will continue to apply in NM, as the quality can be amazing in some areas. I will just stay away from applying in this unit. And to think 76 of us non-residents applied for that hunt as a first, second, or third choice.
Now time to de-junk and relax for a couple weeks prior to getting into the toughest two hunts of the season. Our next two hunts are both general/OTC public land elk hunts. First in MT, then in CO. Both of those hunts will involve a lot of boot leather. Hope to be completely exhausted from hauling elk quarters after those two hunts. From CO, we go right to WY where Spitz and I have limited entry elk tags. I get a four-day break before heading to AZ for another late rifle elk hunt with my son.
I love elk hunting, but spending 45 days hunting elk, with only about eight days off during that span is going to be a grind. Sleeping in wall tents is fine for about three nights. After a month of it, I am longing for a warm shower, dry clothes, and a soft bed.
Between now and then, I better get that BADASS drawing finished. The names are all accumulated and we will be doing the random number run tomorrow. No points system in this drawing.
Curtis.mullin
New member
Nice buck Randy!
