Pronghorn State Ranking

[WVgoodguy22]

You are right though it is ALWAYS good to check such a video as well as the WY G&F website. I don't want to spread misinformation. Is the doe/fawn reduced price just an easy draw, not an OTC opportunity. I just did created an account as an existing customer on WY G&F website and it looks like the deer and antelope licenses won't be open until we get closer to the 6/1/21 deadline. Thanks again.

 

[wytex]

Some interesting pronghorn hunting in Texas too. Panhandle area and West of there. I believe landowners are given tags and they can then sell them, or give away. Not much for public land hunting but my unguided hunt i did many years ago got me the license and access to property. I talked with the landowner and got more ground to hunt during my stay.

 

[WVgoodguy22]

Some interesting pronghorn hunting in Texas too. Panhandle area and West of there. I believe landowners are given tags and they can then sell them, or give away. Not much for public land hunting but my unguided hunt i did many years ago got me the license and access to property. I talked with the landowner and got more ground to hunt during my stay.

My Dad mentioned Texas as well. I figured that they would have some in at least the panhandle area like Oklahoma. Thank you for the heads up.

 

[madtom]

You need to apply for buck and doe tags both in WY.

Don’t wait and depend on the leftover draw or leftover tags after the leftover draw. It has been increasingly slim pickins after the initial draw each year. Tags I used to buy as leftovers in September after the season was already open are now all taken in the initial draw. Just my advice; probably worth what you paid for it.

 

[WVgoodguy22]

You need to apply for buck and doe tags both in WY.

Don’t wait and depend on the leftover draw or leftover tags after the leftover draw. It has been increasingly slim pickins after the initial draw each year. Tags I used to buy as leftovers in September after the season was already open are now all taken in the initial draw. Just my advice; probably worth what you paid for it.

Excellent after diving more into the GoHunt Insider which has more anterless and doe draw odds this year, I see how that works better. Thanks for the heads up on the leftover tags too.

 

[mhouck06]

Good info! Hoping to hit Wyoming in 2022 for antelope!

 

[QuazyQuinton]

Pronghorn hunting in Oregon is generally regarded as being pretty good. Not Arizona trophy level good, but there are certainly some nice bucks that come out of Oregon. If you're looking into all those other states, I don't think you can justify leaving Oregon off the list. The primary shortcoming for Oregon is that it's tough to draw a tag. Residents are currently drawing most rifle tags in the 14-18 point range, and nonresident allocations are embarrassing. Archery can be easier to draw.

QQ

 

[RobertD]

I've thought about doing this too.

1. Put in for NM and Idaho every year.
2. Wyoming should be first stop and the most realistic shot you have at hunting one your first or second time trying.
3. Next CO and MT. Can hunt them w/o a huge wait in both, though you may have to take some less glamorous units.
4. Start early building points for AZ, UT and Oregon. Maybe Nevada too?
5. In the meantime, try archery (OTC) in SD and Nebraska.
6. Buy a tag from a private land owner in TX (the only way you can hunt them there) as well to kill the wait for the states mentioned in 4.

Aaaaand that's as far as I've gotten (with planning, not actually hunting). But I think you can reasonably shoot for five or six states in the first decade of trying. After that, it gets more difficult I'm sure.

 

[WVgoodguy22]

I've thought about doing this too.

1. Put in for NM and Idaho every year.
2. Wyoming should be first stop and the most realistic shot you have at hunting one your first or second time trying.
3. Next CO and MT. Can hunt them w/o a huge wait in both, though you may have to take some less glamorous units.
4. Start early building points for AZ, UT and Oregon. Maybe Nevada too?
5. In the meantime, try archery (OTC) in SD and Nebraska.
6. Buy a tag from a private land owner in TX (the only way you can hunt them there) as well to kill the wait for the states mentioned in 4.

Aaaaand that's as far as I've gotten (with planning, not actually hunting). But I think you can reasonably shoot for five or six states in the first decade of trying. After that, it gets more difficult I'm sure.

This is pretty much what I was looking for and from doing my own research spot on to what I was thinking. The biggest hindrance for number one is the up front cost whether non refundable license cost and/or full tag price before drawing. Wyoming is definitely my planned first stop, I will have 3 points for both deer and pronghorn in 2022. I would go this year if I wasn't getting married in August.
I have a point in both CO and MT (standard and the 900 Archery only). I know that CO has OTC Archery tags and it would take 6-10 years to be in the running for a tag otherwise.
I bought the expensive non refundable NR license in AZ as well as point for elk and pronghorn and will do the same for deer and sheep later. I could kick myself for not doing the same for UT last year, not sure why I didn't. But I did for Nevada which is more expensive.
I definitely need to practice with my Archery equipment much more for SD, Kansas and Nebraskan the short term.
I will have to check out landowners tags in TX and OK as well.
Thank you very much for the breakdown Sir. I can't wait to get on the Pronghorn Pursuit.


Forrest

 

[Djfan]

Pronghorn is very good tasting. We eat it a lot.

 

[RobertD]

I can't wait to get on the Pronghorn Pursuit.

Hey for Colorado check out some of the units in SE CO. There not really high-end units but they seem relatively drawable even for low-points holders. Would take some work but there's a goat out there somewhere.

And let me tell you man. Take it from a fellow back-Easter (assume your from WV?) and relative newcomer to the pronghorn scene: You are going to love it.

I say that because two years ago nearly to this writing I was jumping into applying for pronghorn tags, and had the same enthusiasm you do. I hit on a little luck and drew a rifle tag for a unit in NE New Mexico. That was before I joined this site and I'm sitting on the story for a rainy day, but suffice it to say I loved every second of that hunt. I sincerely hope you get to get into it soon! I'm probably going to roll the dice in New Mexico again here in the next few days. Haha!

 

[mxracer317]

Pronghorn is very good tasting. We eat it a lot.

What is your strategy? I’d love to hunt a lot of them, to eat a lot of them.

 

[FlatlanderAZ]

Not to be a rain cloud, I love antelope hunting more than most, but there is a bit of reality to deal with.

In some states like AZ for example, you will never build enough points to guarantee you a tag. You will have to get lucky and draw a random tag. So you need to apply every single year and not just buy a point. If you look
At GoHunt you can see that the odds for someone with 1 PT and someone with 10 PTs are not drastically different for a rifle tag. So that $15 investment is worth about as much as you paid for it. So you need as many bites at the Apple as you can. Apply every year. The good news is that AZ’s draw is early enough that if you draw you will know before you have to apply for Wyoming.

You probably need to plan an otc / Hugh percentage draw every year and move forward with that plan while simultaneously throwing hail
Mary’s in the draw states. If you get lucky and land a draw tag, be willing to walk away from whatever investment you have made for that year in the otc / easy draw state.

Just from what I have seen in this thread it looks like you could do something like this:

Year 1 otc NE / SD / KS? AND apply in AZ, NM, ID, CO, NV, OR
Year 2 Repeat w/new otc state
Year 3 Repeat w/new otc state
Year 4 Apply in AZ, NM, ID, CO, NV, OR and then apply in WY if not drawn for any other state
Year 5 Apply in AZ, NM, ID, CO, NV, OR and then hunt in MT if not drawn for any other state
Year 6 Apply in AZ, NM, ID, CO, NV, OR and then buy a NM landowner tag if not drawn
Year 7 Apply in AZ, NM, ID, CO, NV, OR and then buy TX landowner tag if not drawn
Year 8 Apply in AZ, NM, ID, CO, NV, OR and if not drawn go back to one of the OTC states if not drawn
So on and so forth until you check all the states off the list. In reality, you probably never will, but it will be super fun trying and we will all get to see your pictures and read your stories. And along the way you are bound to have a little luck and draw a good tag or bump into an above average buck on a otc tag.

like someone else said, the advice is probably worth as much as you paid for it.

 

[Djfan]

What is your strategy? I’d love to hunt a lot of them, to eat a lot of them.

My strategy was to move to Wyoming and hunt a lot. I scout some, but know my area well now, I also hunt does, which surprises some folk, and I butcher it myself. Just a few hours from field to freezer - or table - and life is good.

 

[NoWiser]

Applying for points-only in the SW states is a waste of time. The only value in those states is to apply every single year.

 

[EastCoast94]

Pronghorn hunting in Oregon is generally regarded as being pretty good. Not Arizona trophy level good, but there are certainly some nice bucks that come out of Oregon. If you're looking into all those other states, I don't think you can justify leaving Oregon off the list. The primary shortcoming for Oregon is that it's tough to draw a tag. Residents are currently drawing most rifle tags in the 14-18 point range, and nonresident allocations are embarrassing. Archery can be easier to draw.

QQ

I apply in Oregon for everything except Antelope as a NR. They only give 3% of tags to a NR and there are not enough tags for a NR to even get picked in the 25% random draw. If you archery hunt it can be worth it but still a wait.

 

[QELKhunter]

NM has big pronghorn with plenty of good units, and good hunting if you can draw a tag

That's a big if! I've been applying for 7 years and nothing yet. Some of the hunts I put in for have the best draw odds for a non-resident, around 10% no luck yet!

 

[Cheesehead]

I’m going to say this with the best of intentions.
But I would consider getting a bit of experience with pronghorn first before dedicating a serious quest to them.
After my first hunt for them in Wyoming, I was 1) brilliantly surprised by the tastiness of the meat, 2) even more impressed by the handsomeness of what I consider to be N America’s most unique creature, 3) somewhat deflated by the experience. They have great eyesight (and present some of the most challenging archery spot and stalk quarry). But in general the tags are high success ratio because they aren’t the wariest of creatures and are shot by center fire rifles within 1-500 yards of a road, at most.
N=1 but as you were.
As long as you know what you’re getting into, carry on

 

[BuzzH]

I’m going to say this with the best of intentions.
But I would consider getting a bit of experience with pronghorn first before dedicating a serious quest to them.
After my first hunt for them in Wyoming, I was 1) brilliantly surprised by the tastiness of the meat, 2) even more impressed by the handsomeness of what I consider to be N America’s most unique creature, 3) somewhat deflated by the experience. They have great eyesight (and present some of the most challenging archery spot and stalk quarry). But in general the tags are high success ratio because they aren’t the brightest of creatures and are shot by center fire rifles within 1-500 yards of a road, at most.
Right after shooting my first, I texted my childhood friend and said it was like road hunting coyotes except they lacked the coyote’s sense of intelligence.
N=1 but as you were.
As long as you know what you’re getting into, carry on

It's not a function of lack of intelligence, it's just that they're visible all day and live in open country. I hunt elk in similar country and they're no harder to kill than pronghorn. Also, could you post up all the booner pronghorn you've shot since they're so dumb....

 

[Cheesehead]

It's not a function of lack of intelligence, it's just that they're visible all day and live in open country. I hunt elk in similar country and they're no harder to kill than pronghorn. Also, could you post up all the booner pronghorn you've shot since they're so dumb....

@BuzzH — chill out man. I like your stuff. I like antelope. I readily and initially admitted I don’t have tons of experience.
So adolescent inch-measuring taunts aside, they seem easy to kill, that’s all I’m saying. Ones with bigger horns would seem to be a game of access, and draw-ability, not hunting prowess.
WI cracked out public whitetails where I currently hail from would put them to shame (nocturnal, 95% of daylight hours in choked out brush, flee at any hint of danger vs generally stand there in the open 400 yards from a legal shooting rest of an obliging fence post). That’s my limited experience.
No booner antelope as after my initial experience it seems easy vs other big game hunting so I’m not really interested in them again. But as stated, encourage the OP to test the waters first and figure out what he wants.
Pax vobiscum