Pronghorn Hunting: Beginner’s Guide

This is the formula 1 animal for North American hunters, a Pronghorn antelope can run at a speed of 53 miles per hour. And that is faster than both Coyotes and Bobcats. Usually, they prefer to run at half that speed when traveling long distances and when we’re talking about Pronghorn it’s really a long distance compared to other animals as these guys will run for miles and miles in a day.

Pronghorn Antelope Facts

Here we will give you the most necessary information in regard to the Pronghorn Antelope. Mainly focusing on the important aspects to know when out hunting.

Pronghorn Diet

Pronghorn primarily eat forbs, weeds, shrubs, grasses, and cacti. The most important food for the Pronghorn consists of Sagebrush browse which is highly nutritious.

Pronghorn Appearance

• Looks a bit like an antelope.
• Yellow/Brown color on their fur
• White stripes on the neck
• White stripes around their mouth
• The Male Pronghorns have black markings on the neck and face
• Males have horns that can reach around 25 cm
• Female Pronghorns can have horns but only really small ones.

Life expectancy and threats

The normal pronghorn antelope will reach the age of 10, it’s not unheard of for some pronghorns to reach up to 15 years. The biggest threats to Pronghorn antelopes are bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes, black bears, and golden eagles. Another big threat to the pronghorn population is that we’re blocking their migration paths with roads/fences and other types of infrastructure. Pronghorn often migrate over 300 miles, in Wyoming, they start migrating as soon as the snow starts falling, often towards the Upper Green River Valley.

Breeding

Pronghorn antelopes breed in September and have their calves in May. The male pronghorn breed with multiple females within their territory. The female antelopes are pregnant throughout the winter and often give birth to either one or two fawns. A fawn pronghorn can often stand after a day or two but are often really weak and need protection from predators. The fawns remain with their mother for around a year before they become independent.

Habitat and behavior

Pronghorn is native to North America and can mainly be found in the treeless deserts of western North America, and also in the southern prairies of Canada. They are usually spotted in grassland and desert. You will often see Pronghorn along the roads from a distance, they are usually quite easy to spot if you are within their habitat. Seeing Pronghorn is not the hard part of hunting them.

The Pronghorn is active the entire day and night, they take small breaks now and then in between feeding. As soon as they see a good opportunity for food they will go for it, they are opportunistic by nature and really selective diners. They move in herds and all herds have different social structures and ways they work so it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how they behave within the herd as it differs. In the winter they gather together in herds of all ages.

How to Hunt Pronghorn Antelopes

The first thing you will notice (even if you read it here before you start hunting) is that Pronghorn Antelopes has the best eye-sight of all game animals i’ve ever hunted. Even though you read it right now you will not really believe me when I say it’s good. A slight movement from a brush that doesnt match the wind direction or a minor dust cloud from the sand and you’re screwed if they are watching your way.

The Pronghorn is not really genetically related to any other kind of animal and is totally unique to the North American region. This means that your normal deer hunting skills don’t really transfer over to hunting Pronghorns.

Their hearing and smell is really secondary and not even close to our normal game animals like wild hogs and white-tail deer.

Best method for Hunting Pronghorn

For sure the best method is stalking. It’s quite easy to spot Pronghorn from a distance as they are usually located in open areas where you can see them from a far. We have compiled a list for you with the steps needed for a successful Pronghorn-stalk.

• To find an area inhibited by Pronghorn you can look for scat and hair on the lower strands of the fence as the Pronghorn need to scrawl under it and often get some of their fur stuck in the fence.
• Look at a map of the area to make sure there is terrain to move through without being seen.
• You can start by driving around the roads and see with your binocular if you can spot any pronghorn and see where they are located for the day.
• Look at where the pronghorn are located and the map and what you see from the window – is there a discreet way to approach?
• Once you start your stalk you need to know exactly where you are going and what checkpoints you have along the way.
• Crawl, roll, tumble.. you will get dirty, dry, and tired.
• Once you get within shooting distance it will all be worth it! make sure you shoot for the heart and lungs like you would a white-tail deer.
• Don’t get too upset if you fail the first few times, it’s very common. Usually, they will just run over the hill and you get another chance!

Pronghorn Hunting in Texas

If you’re a hunter in Texas you’re rather limited if you want to hunt pronghorn locally. They are only found in the deserts of the Trans-pecos and the high plains of the Panhandle. You can however also hunt them at Wildlife Systems who offers pronghorn antelope hunts on the sprawling A.S. Gage Ranch. If you are interested in how Pronghorn hunting is developing in Texas, especially into the Trans-Pecos area, you ought to read this research report on the restoration of Pronghorn in the area. We have written an extensive guide to hunting wild hogs in Texas that we really hope you check out!

Pronghorn Hunting in Wyoming

This is the absolute mecca for hunting Pronghorn, if you ever get the chance to go hunting for pronghorn in Wyoming you are a lucky man! Keep in mind that all the hunting in Wyoming is regulated by the Wyoming Game & Fish Department. So make sure you check out their website before you start your hunting adventure. When it comes to pronghorn hunting in Wyoming, all the areas are managed under a limited quota framework. This means that there are a set number of licenses that are valid for each area. Some of these areas does offer a reduced-price quota for fawn-licenses or doe-licenses.

So where in Wyoming is the best hunting for Pronghorn? Well if you want the absolute best one you should direct your attention to the south-central, central, and southwest parts of Wyoming. Here you will find a ton of Pronghorns as it’s the most densely populated area in the entire US. There is a lot of public land to hunt in these parts so there are really good opportunities. There are quite a few Pronghorns lurking around in the east and northeast parts of Wyoming as well. The problem in these parts is that the land is mostly private so it’s much harder to get access to the hunt.

Gear for Hunting Pronghorn

• Good binoculars is essential
• A good hunting knife
• A family size bottle of water (the stalk is long and warm)
• An accurate rifle (I’d suggest a .308) but make sure it’s accurate as the distances are long.
• A full cover face mask for hunting
• Quite and light hunting boots.
• A Scope with good magnification, preferably x20 as the distances do tend to get long as mentioned before.

Conclusion

Hunting for Pronghorns is really exciting as you have so much time to spot your pray and you can be actually hunting the same animal for hours. In any given second you can lose your prey if you do a slight mistake. This just adds thrill to the hunt as once you finally land a nice antelope you will get that feeling that you’ve earned it. I highly recommend you go and try it and my suggestion would be to go for the public hunting areas in Wyoming. I can’t guarantee that you will shoot something but i can guarantee that you will see a ton of Pronghorns. Best of luck my friend!