Hunt Planner: Antelope education 101
Patience is but one trait you'll need to exhibit in pursuit of pronghorn
Certainly that's true while occupying a broiling waterhole blind in New Mexico while bowhunting pronghorn antelope.
I learned that lesson well in August 2002, arrowing a Pope & Young qualifier on the final afternoon of my hunt with less than two hours remaining before the closing bell rang.
Later, in August 2003, with another tag in my back pocket and the speed goats roaming the 52,000-acre Good Ranch northwest of Fort Sumner, I learned that patience is only one of the many virtues an antelope hunter needs to be schooled in.
As I drove toward the ranch headquarters for that bowhunt to see brothers John and Cary Crist, the darkening heavens opened up, drenching the once-arid countryside.
In a matter of moments, the parched landscape was turned into one vast watering hole amidst intense daggers of electricity crashing down from the foreboding prairie sky.
For a bowhunter pinning his hopes on guarding a waterhole against a visit from a black-horned antelope buck with an insatiable thirst, this was not a good sign.
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Species: Pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) Range: Found throughout the American west and in portions of the Great Plains. Antelope also roam portions of southern Canada and northern Mexico. U.S. population: 500,000+. Hunting seasons: Generally between mid-August (early archery) and November (late seasons). Antelope rut: While rut dates can vary from late-August (north) to early November (south), the peak of the rut generally falls somewhere between mid-September and mid-October in much of antelope country. Top antelope states Methods of hunting Trophy field-judging tips (Sources: "Pronghorn Hunting" by Toby Bridges and Don Oster; Boone & Crockett Club Records of North American Big Game, 11th Edition; Boone & Crockett Club's 24th Big Game Awards; Boone & Crockett Club website; Pope & Young Club Bowhunting Big Game Records of North America, 5th Edition, Pope & Young Club's 22nd and 23rd Recording Period Statistical Summaries; and ESPNOutdoors.com files.) |
Of course, first appearances can be deceiving, both in life and in hunting.
As I crested a high ridge barely a mile from the ranch headquarters, the world was a sea of water and mud. But as that mile melted away under the tires, the muck gradually turned into a billowing cloud of dry earth.
With the scent of rain in the air as I stepped from the truck, my gear was unpacked and John Crist and I were quickly formulating hunting plans for opening day the following morning.
"Where do you want to hunt?" Crist asked.
"I don't know, what do you suggest?" I queried back.
"You know that big, wide buck is still down in the east pasture. If anything, he's bigger this year," Crist answered.
That was hard to fathom.
A year earlier, this Land of Enchantment antelope had possessed massive, sweeping black horns that would have likely topped out several inches above the 82-inch mark needed to gain entrance into the Boone & Crockett Club's all-time record book.
To be even bigger this year, well, that made my decision a no-brainer.
The next morning in the cool desert air, the plan seemed simple enough as I crawled into the waterhole blind: Sit, wait, be patient and smile big for the camera.
Barely an hour into the day, however, that plan was tested as the gathering warmth of the sun illuminated an impressive antelope buck trotting by in the distance in half-hearted pursuit of a doe.
While the peak of the antelope rut was still weeks away, the approaching urge to breed occupied the buck long enough for an optical look-see: solid black horns, nice prongs, good hooking over the top and that familiar width discussed the evening before.
But as I studied intently, somehow, this buck just didn't seem to be as big as advertised. After all, binoculars don't lie, do they?
A record book antelope for sure, but probably not the true-blue New Mexico monster I had dreamed about the past year. Occasional sightings throughout the day seemed to confirm those early suspicions.
With that seed of doubt planted, the day progressed as the thermometer's red bulb sent its liquid surging toward triple digits. And with every drop of sweat, my resolve was being measured.
Didn't I miss my wife and kids? Hadn't my body been pushed to exhaustion the week before thanks to a grueling Utah bowhunt for high-country mule deer? Wasn't there plenty of work waiting back at the office?
Late in the afternoon, after hours spent in the sweltering and cramped blind, my brain and body were frazzled.
In truth, I was on virtual autopilot when a respectable shooter buck appeared in front of the blind. After I had drawn and unleashed an arrow, it was all over in seconds.
After tagging the antelope, closer examination revealed a buck that would fall just shy of Pope & Young's minimum 67-inch archery record book standard.
Oh, well, the buck would still provide plenty of fine eating, not to mention a nice trophy for the wall thanks to his peculiar prongs, one turning up, the other down.
That evening, while attending to the necessary camp chores, Crist posed the obvious question: "Lynn, he's a good goat, but why didn't you wait on 'Big Boy?'"
As I explained the chemistrylike mix of my antelope sightings, my tired body and my heat-dwindled willpower, a cryptic grin crept across John's face.
"Hate to tell you this, but I think you saw 'Junior,'" Crist said. "'Big Boy' has a son roaming that same pasture that looks just like him. The only difference is that he's just not as big as his daddy is."
The next morning, while watching the sun awaken creation from Crist's deck as we sipped a cup of hot java, Clay Crist, the patriarch of the family, pulled up in his pick-up after the morning ranching duties.
His Cheshire grin betrayed the answer to his question," Guess what I just saw walking with two does less than 30 yards from the blind?"
A few minutes later, as John Crist and I eased down the dusty ranch road with my Nikon in tow, we crested a rise and saw a sight that caused my hunter's heart to thrill — and sink — at the same time.
In the distance, not far from the blind I had occupied the day before, walked "Big Boy" in all of his mid-to-upper 80-inch glory — sweeping horns, heavy mass, great prongs and that unmistakable width.
It was right then and there that I learned a second great truth about bowhunting pronghorn antelope.
Patience is indeed a virtue when chasing speed goats — but so is listening to your guide.
Top-10 Boone & Crockett antelope
(Score, hunter, location, year.)
1. 95 0/8, David Meyer, Mohave County, Ariz., 2002
2. 93 4/8, Michael J. O'Haco Jr., Coconino County, Ariz., 1985
3. 93 0/8, Edwin L. Wetzler, Yavapai County, Ariz., 1975
4. 92 6/8, Sam Jacksick Jr., Coconino County, Ariz., 1991
5. 92 6/8, Sam Barry, Harney County, Ore., 2000
6. 91 6/8, Steven E. Hopkins, Coconino County, Ariz., 1992
7. 91 4/8, Wilson Potter, Location unknown, Ariz., 1899
7. 91 4/8, Bob Schneidmiller, Weld County, Colo., 1965
7. 91 4/8, Donald W. Yates, Garfield County, Mont., 1977
10. 91 2/8, Robert S. Guevara, Lincoln County, N.M., 1996
Sources: Boone & Crockett Club Records of North American Big Game, 11th Edition; Boone & Crockett Club's 24th Big Game Awards; and Boone & Crockett Club website.
Top-10 Pope & Young antelope
1. 91 4/8, Marvin N. Zieser, Yavapai County, Ariz., 1995
2. 90 6/8, Les Shelton, Coconino County, Ariz., 1998
3. 90 2/8, Duane "Corky" Richardson, Yavapai County, Ariz., 1999
4. 90 0/8, Roger W. Clarno, Lake County, Ore., 1993
5. 89 6/8, Kevin Robinson, Yavapai County, Ariz., 1996
6. 88 6/8, Archie Malm, Grant County, N.D., 1958
7. 87 0/8, Garnet Kingsland, Yavapai County, Ariz., 1995
8. 86 6/8, Jerry Bien, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, 1990
8. 86 6/8, Jim Machac, Yavapai County, Ariz., 1993
8. 86 6/8, Jim Machac, Yavapai County, Ariz., 1998
Sources: Pope & Young Club Bowhunting Big Game Records of North America, 5th Edition and Pope & Young Club's 22nd Recording Period Statistical Summary.
