Arizona Pronghorn Unit 17A

[Nick87]

Cool looking buck. I'm not familiar with Arizona draw but obviously you didn't burn your 18 points then being 2nd choice right?

 

[BlakeA]

Congrats Kurt! That is an awesome buck! Cool videos thanks for sharing.

 

[FlatlanderAZ]

Cool looking buck. I'm not familiar with Arizona draw but obviously you didn't burn your 18 points then being 2nd choice right?

In AZ if you draw any of your choices (1-5, although for antelope only 1&2 matter) during the main draw you burn your points. Be judicious in completing your app.

 

[Cody.Carroll]

Congrats @Greenhorn, that is an awesome buck! Glad to help on a very rare tag. We will need to grab a beer sometime in the future when i make it up to Montana. I'm leaving Friday for Colorado OTC elk but dreaming of AZ still.

 

[Big Fin]

You've shot some of the coolest looking pronghorn of anyone I know. Glad to see you add another one to the herd. Congrats.

 

[rtraverdavis]

That's a really neat buck @Greenhorn. Congratulations. Also, what was the ladder for?

 

[The Hedgehog]

That's a really neat buck @Greenhorn. Congratulations. Also, what was the ladder for?

My ancient little ATV uses that ladder to climb into the bed of my truck.

 

[Mtnhunter1]

@Greenhorn,,,Nice hunt and Great buck! Congrats!!
Curious on the bullet used as that is one hellofa hole?

 

[rtraverdavis]

My ancient little ATV uses that ladder to climb into the bed of my truck.

Gotcha. Thanks. Seems like that would be kind of harrowing, like the latter would have too much flex.

 

[The Hedgehog]

It’s an ATV loading ramp

 

[rtraverdavis]

Ah. Well, it’s official. I’m dumb.

 

[TomTom8989]

@Cody.Carroll @EliAGrimmett @Big Fin Thanks for the tips/connections on this one. My hunt went very similar to Cody's minus the elk permit and having my truck broken into.

I had 18 points and this was my 2nd choice in the 2020 draw. Never expected to draw, just apply as I'm buying the required non-resident license for the elk app anyway. Odds are ridiculously low to draw a rifle buck antelope permit in AZ. I think the odds of me hitting this were on par with a good bighorn permit in MT. There are only 2 permits total in this area, and no archery and muzzle-loader season. It was just me and a nice fella from Camp Verde AZ, who spoke with me prior to the season. He'd hunted the unit many years ago when his wife drew. The unit is not large, and it mostly mountainous, rocky with thick pinyon and juniper forest. There was essentially one place that held antelope, although G&F website and mapping s/w showed there was antelope "habitat" in a couple other places. I checked those other places, and the water that was there and didn't see any antelope sign. Eli told me I could scout this place in 2 days and I'd know what was there. I went a week early anyway.

I knew the odds were against me to get a big buck, but that the odds were higher to get a really huge buck than probably anywhere I've hunted. I was expecting to see maybe 20 bucks total. I saw nowhere near that. I saw no more than 5-6 bucks that were adult, maybe that many more yearlings and a total of around 30 head at most. So I can't say I'm surprised that I didn't see any B&C caliber bucks. With only a handful of adult bucks - the probability isn't real high.

All the antelope habitat in this unit is on the borders of neighboring units. The buck I ended up with was in 2 other units the day before season. I looked out into other units and did not see anything spectacular while scouting. I did speak with the other hunter as I was loading up to leave and found out that he had seen one he thought was pretty big a month earlier while scouting but hadn't seen it since then. I saw one near that place that was in a neighboring unit, but didn't think it was anything great. I also met several nice folks that were archery hunting deer. One gave me a lead on another buck in a neighboring unit that was extra big and only 1 mile into the other unit. I found it and photographed it. He confirmed that was the buck, but I still didn't think it was a buck I'd be interested in. In the end I saw less than 10 bucks while in AZ that were 10" tall or greater, and honestly think I shot the best I saw. I'm glad he was a freaky one, otherwise I'd have maybe come home before the opener, or stayed and got so sunburned and depressed that I wasn't archery hunting in my home state. It was a "dry heat" though. ha.

It was a real fun trip, and not something you get the opportunity to do often. I enjoyed seeing the new country and different animals.. quail, javelina, road runners, lizards, a diamondback rattler, and some different artifacts. All the folks I met were pretty nice. Wow some of those roads suck, thanks for suggesting to take the ATV (Cody and Eli). I'd have really hosed up my truck had I left that home.

Some pics and videos..
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Awesome! I wish I would have hunted pronghorn in SD when I lived there, Oregon is harder to come by. This place looks amazing though, and what a crazy awesome buck!

 

[EastTNHunter]

That’s a cool looking buck. Congrats

 

[Buschy]

Extremely cool buck. Thanks for the write up and looking forward to your posts from the rest of the fall.

 

[elkrchr]

Always an adventure hunting a "new to you" area. Congrats on an awesome, freaky buck!

 

[HalfAce]

Zombie buck. Can’t believe he ran that much with that hole in him.

Congrats on that freak!

 

[Strough_bear]

Congrats @Greenhorn, that is an awesome buck! Glad to help on a very rare tag. We will need to grab a beer sometime in the future when i make it up to Montana. I'm leaving Friday for Colorado OTC elk but dreaming of AZ still.

Hey Guys, I drew 17A this year. Interested in any helpful information? Thank you!