My 1st Pronghorn Hunt in 20 years!!! Tips?

[Hammsolo]

Well, it’s taken 3 years to draw the unit in Southwest Montana my brother has hunted, and I hunted a lifetime ago. Unfortunately, he didn’t draw it. My life was an ever lovin’ shiz show for some time, but is epic now. Thank sweet baby Jesus.

The unit isn’t notorious for giants. It’s convenient. My goal is a mature buck. It would be awesome to kill something “ugly,” as Randy would say.

I’m putting together my kit and watching videos. I’m going to take @Big Fin ‘s Outdoor Class on Pronghorn.

I’m a pretty good western hunter and marksman. I’ll be using my ol’ 6.5 manbun (way better than a 7mm-0HT ) with some 123 grain Hammers over Varget. It’s shoots well below MOA groups all day (pic below). I am upgrading the Vortex Viper scope to a Vx5hd fire dot for funnsies. I’ll be carrying my Meopta Meopro Airs and Sig Sauer rangefinder, along with my Leupold Alpine spotting scope. I use a Sirui tripod for my binos and scope.

I’ve started e-scouting, and will be heading that way to scout via boots fairly soon. When hunting I’ll be pulling my camp trailer over for a minimum of 1 good chunk of time.

What are your tips, advice, and lessons? I’m hesitant to share the unit. I know some people get fired up, and I get that.

 

[LuketheDog]

Just glass and glass some more, they are a really fun critter to watch. They're usually busy and will cover all kinds of ground, often the one that just walked out of sight will come right back in another spot. You can usually find the same ones several days in a row in the the same areas too.

 

[Hammsolo]

Brass are polished and prepped. I just need my brick CCI large rifle primers to show up. Man, Hammers are sexy. I’ve killed about 20 coyotes and 5 deer over the last 3 years with this load. Hammers ‘em.

 

[JohnCushman]

Antelope are fairly territorial, so if you find them one day, you should be able to spot them in the general area the next day if they're not spooked. Find the does, find the water....

 

[Sheltowee]

Whatever you shoot, get it skinned, quartered and on ice as fast as humanly possible. Some of the best game meat you will eat if you handle it properly. Also, save the heart and liver for boudin.

 

[Valley1320]

Find the biggest goat in the unit lol

 

[Big Sky Guy]

I have hunted the same southwest unit for the past two years. Two years ago I had the tag and then last year my wife had the tag. My biggest constraint was distance shooting. I would practice as much as possible at 400 yards (or as far as you are comfortable) in field positions - sitting off tripod, prone off backpack etc. I was consistently able to get within 6-700 yards but it was closing the gap for those last 2-300 yards that always ended up blowing the stalks. I tried using a mule deer doe decoy (there were a lot of muley does in this unit) to hide behind and walk up to the antelope like Randy did with the big cow (there were not many cows in this unit so didn't think that would work). This method proved useless as the antelope always bolted around the 600 yard mark. I did somehow get a coyote to come within 100 yards and got him.

I finally had a successful stalk by belly crawling ~300 yards from behind a haystack to 378 yards of the buck I shot in some high-enough alfalfa and using the pivot ditches to my advantage. I had plenty of "failed" stalks with my wife, we had numerous encounters sub 300 yards but she needed to be closer to 250 or under, had some of those but couldn't get shot off for various reasons. She was getting frustrated the second day so we spotted a young (2 y/o) buck by itself not far from the road and she suggested we park down the road over a knoll and just walk straight towards it with the decoy (which had failed me numerous times the year before). So we got out and walked straight up to within 250 yards and set up and she shot it. Turns out the buck was blind in the eye that was facing us - go figure. Made for a good story - it was blind in one eye and couldn't see us out of the other.

A few years before that I had a tag in a different unit and found the antelope night before opener. Went there opening morning and setup ~200 yards of where they were the night before. I sat until about an hour after shooting light when all the orange army started circling the roads around me. I got up and headed back to the truck, the game warden had parked beside me to observe everyone, as I neared our trucks I could see him waving me to go back/turn around. To my surprise I looked around and there was the herd of antelope, heading straight for where I had been sitting all morning. Had I stayed put (and the antelope taken the same path they did) I would have had a ~150 yard shot at any of the bucks in the group.

So, all that to say my suggestion is to scout the days leading up to the season if possible and see if you can pattern them. You may see them in spot A one day and spot B the next then spot A the next. Another good idea if you have time is to walk out to the spot they aren't in but were in the day before to get a better idea of the terrain and how you might be able to or not be able to stalk them if they end up there again. Seeing them around our house, they appear to have a "route" if you will and my experiences (failed) have also shown this as well. While it might not be a path per-se, rather a swath, they seemingly do a round-about circle for their route depending on food/pressure etc.

I have also had good luck waving a white rag. But only during archery and I could only get them to within ~100 yards, which would have been great with a rifle but with my bow did not work out.

I didn't like hunting them at first because it seems like a lot of road hunting but I came to appreciate the 100% success rate in seeing a mature/good buck every time we went out. It can get frustrating if the terrain doesn't allow for a stalk (or you don't use it correctly), but that also is what made it challenging and fun.

 

[perma]

Don’t shoot the first one you see.

 

[Nick87]

Good luck!

 

[Hammsolo]

Whatever you shoot, get it skinned, quartered and on ice as fast as humanly possible. Some of the best game meat you will eat if you handle it properly. Also, save the heart and liver for boudin.

I’ll be bringing a big cooler packed with ice. Great tip.

 

[Hammsolo]

I have hunted the same southwest unit for the past two years. Two years ago I had the tag and then last year my wife had the tag. My biggest constraint was distance shooting. I would practice as much as possible at 400 yards (or as far as you are comfortable) in field positions - sitting off tripod, prone off backpack etc. I was consistently able to get within 6-700 yards but it was closing the gap for those last 2-300 yards that always ended up blowing the stalks. I tried using a mule deer doe decoy (there were a lot of muley does in this unit) to hide behind and walk up to the antelope like Randy did with the big cow (there were not many cows in this unit so didn't think that would work). This method proved useless as the antelope always bolted around the 600 yard mark. I did somehow get a coyote to come within 100 yards and got him.

I finally had a successful stalk by belly crawling ~300 yards from behind a haystack to 378 yards of the buck I shot in some high-enough alfalfa and using the pivot ditches to my advantage. I had plenty of "failed" stalks with my wife, we had numerous encounters sub 300 yards but she needed to be closer to 250 or under, had some of those but couldn't get shot off for various reasons. She was getting frustrated the second day so we spotted a young (2 y/o) buck by itself not far from the road and she suggested we park down the road over a knoll and just walk straight towards it with the decoy (which had failed me numerous times the year before). So we got out and walked straight up to within 250 yards and set up and she shot it. Turns out the buck was blind in the eye that was facing us - go figure. Made for a good story - it was blind in one eye and couldn't see us out of the other.

A few years before that I had a tag in a different unit and found the antelope night before opener. Went there opening morning and setup ~200 yards of where they were the night before. I sat until about an hour after shooting light when all the orange army started circling the roads around me. I got up and headed back to the truck, the game warden had parked beside me to observe everyone, as I neared our trucks I could see him waving me to go back/turn around. To my surprise I looked around and there was the herd of antelope, heading straight for where I had been sitting all morning. Had I stayed put (and the antelope taken the same path they did) I would have had a ~150 yard shot at any of the bucks in the group.

So, all that to say my suggestion is to scout the days leading up to the season if possible and see if you can pattern them. You may see them in spot A one day and spot B the next then spot A the next. Another good idea if you have time is to walk out to the spot they aren't in but were in the day before to get a better idea of the terrain and how you might be able to or not be able to stalk them if they end up there again. Seeing them around our house, they appear to have a "route" if you will and my experiences (failed) have also shown this as well. While it might not be a path per-se, rather a swath, they seemingly do a round-about circle for their route depending on food/pressure etc.

I have also had good luck waving a white rag. But only during archery and I could only get them to within ~100 yards, which would have been great with a rifle but with my bow did not work out.

I didn't like hunting them at first because it seems like a lot of road hunting but I came to appreciate the 100% success rate in seeing a mature/good buck every time we went out. It can get frustrating if the terrain doesn't allow for a stalk (or you don't use it correctly), but that also is what made it challenging and fun.

Lots of great information. I am planning on getting out shooting a ton. I’m lucky to have a few great spots to set up targets at a variety of long ranges and on uneven terrain.

 

[Hammsolo]

So, should I go out multiple days early and scout before the opener? I really don’t like hunting during the orange crush. I love spot and stalking while putting miles on. I actually love a great belly crawl, and my brother is always stupefied how long I’m willing to belly crawl and lay in the dirt waiting for a shot.

 

[Sheltowee]

So, should I go out multiple days early and scout before the opener? I really don’t like hunting during the orange crush. I love spot and stalking while putting miles on. I actually love a great belly crawl, and my brother is always stupefied how long I’m willing to belly crawl and lay in the dirt waiting for a shot.

If you can swing it, I’d go out a day or two early in order to at least drive the entire unit. You’ll want plans A-Z if you are hunting public.

 

[Hammsolo]

How do you guys practice field shooting? Long distance? I’m thinking about taking a pile of clay pigeons on a walk and placing them all over the place. Then going back to my truck, and getting all my hunting stuff on. Then walking and shooting as I go in all positions I can dream up. Why the hell not? Shooting is fun!

 

[Hammsolo]

If you can swing it, I’d go out a day or two early in order to at least drive the entire unit. You’ll want plans A-Z if you are hunting public.

I’m going to scout in the next couple of weeks to plan for camp spots and learn the lay of the land.

 

[Sheltowee]

How do you guys practice field shooting? Long distance? I’m thinking about taking a pile of clay pigeons on a walk and placing them all over the place. Then going back to my truck, and getting all my hunting stuff on. Then walking and shooting as I go in all positions I can dream up. Why the hell not? Shooting is fun!

I shot an 8-inch gong from different field positions and ranges. Practice prone and sitting up shooting off the yoke of your backpack. Learned that trick from one of Uncle Randy’s videos and put it to use on my 2021 Wyoming buck.

 

[Hammsolo]

I ordered up the Montana Block Management Access Guide

Great idea @Elktrack !

 

[cgasner1]

My preferred way is to find them the day before watch them till dark and hammer the buck at opening light before people run them around

 

[Jbotto]

How do you guys practice field shooting? Long distance? I’m thinking about taking a pile of clay pigeons on a walk and placing them all over the place. Then going back to my truck, and getting all my hunting stuff on. Then walking and shooting as I go in all positions I can dream up. Why the hell not? Shooting is fun!

The more I think about this, the more I hate the idea of leaving clay pigeon pieces all over. I’ve done it before but have since chosen other targets. Water bottles are fun and reactive. Take the label off and add some food coloring. Still got to piece them up after though. Steel plate targets are my preferred target now.

 

[Hammsolo]

The more I think about this, the more I hate the idea of leaving clay pigeon pieces all over. I’ve done it before but have since chosen other targets. Water bottles are fun and reactive. Take the label off and add some food coloring. Still got to piece them up after though. Steel plate targets are my preferred target now.

I hear you. I always assumed they were biodegradable and non-toxic, but I guess not. These are the ones I have. It sounds like they aren’t perfect… I shoot them on my buddies farm land. Hmmmm…

White Flyer® Biodegradable Clay Targets are made of non-hazardous and non-toxic materials that will biodegrade at least 95% within two years into elements found in nature. White Flyer Biodegradable Clay Targets share all the superior flight and breakability characteristics of standard White Flyer clay targets, and function in both handset and automatic traps.
Manufacturer model #: BIOO-D.

• Made with non-hazardous and non-toxic materials
• Biodegrade at least 95% within 2 years
• Superior flight and breakability characteristics
• Function in both hand set and automatic traps

Some more information Clay Target Article