stanley

Just picked-up my son Erik's pronghorn from last year. Jim, Cody, and team did an AMAZING job!!!!! It really looks SO beautiful!! Thanks for the outstanding work, guys!! 👍😉

Wondering how you define "GOOD"?? Someone who kills big things? Someone who kills a lot of things? Someone who bow hunts? With a recurve? Someone who can kill something from 800 yards? Someone who can 'Rambo' to within 20 yards? 5 yards? (All of these questions are of course, rhetorical...) I'm a hunting fool, I suppose. Just want to get out with friends and especially my kids as much as possible. Makes me feel "good". S.

Nice, Christian!!!!!!

Someone just got a screamer deal!!!

I use Slumberjack cots, plus s 4" memory foam topper. Super comfy! 😉

Oh brother.... Probably should read the regulations. Good luck. 🙄

I own those! Screaming deal for someone! S.

Feel VERY fortunate we don't have to deal with this kind of threat here in AZ..... Can't imagine...... Yuck! http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/09/17/wyoming-hunting-guide-fatally-mauled-by-grizzly-bears.html

Another thing that I remember about that event, was that I had scheduled a Kiabab archery deer hunt (when it was OTC....). We went two days after, and I recall the 'no fly' order was still in effect. With no jets flying in the distance and/or overhead throughout the day and night, t was the quietest I have ever experienced in the outdoors. Possibly it was the somber mood that contributed to the perception of the peace and quiet, but I definitely remember NO planes.

I was on an early morning conference call with my team based in NYC. Our company headquarters is in the World Financial Center, right across the street from the Trade Center. My project manager on site there suddenly cut me off and said 'something just exploded across the street and he would call me right back.....' It wasn't until several hours later that he got back to me. Heavy stuff.....

Last year was my oldest son's first pronghorn hunt, and this year it was Nick's turn. He's going to Creighton in Omaha, so I drove up to Albuquerque and met him at the airport there on Thursday night. Quick 4 hours of sleep, and we hit I-25 for the 2 1/2 hour drive up to the hunting area (Lancetkenyon and Zeke-BE know where it is... LOL). We rolled into the property right around 7AM and began seeing pronghorn immediately. We glassed for just a bit upon getting there, but then drove on into the ranch headquarters to say hello to the owner and thank her for letting us hunt there. Like last year, she was gracious and we had a nice chat. She mentioned that there seemed not to be as many pronghorn this year as in past years, but after hearing other reports and seeing Lance & Zeke's reports here we were optimistic. We had already seen one nice buck early in the morning upon getting on the property, and he quickly did what basically ALL others had done last year; As soon as we stopped the pick-up, he and his squad ran out to about 3/4 mile. When I got out to glass them with the 15s, they proceeded to run even further! So anyway, with that in mind I had a brought along a secret weapon. A couple of years ago when I had an archery bull elk tag, I had bought one of those fabric pop-up cow elk decoys. (Her name is Miss September! Got a good laugh at that when I bought the decoy....) I decided that I would try holding her up in front of us to try to get closer to some of those spooky bucks. Well, after visiting with the ranch owner we drove off and quickly spotted another nice buck and some does. He did his usual antelope-thingy and was in the next county in short order, but I hadn't had time to break-out the secret weapon yet. We drove up on a large knoll and glassed all around, and I eventually a nice buck popped up at about 1/2-3/4 of a mile out. I broke out Miss September, and held her up in front of me and started walking directly towards the buck with Nicholas walking right behind me. I walked a steady pace, stopping every 50-75 yards or so and the buck never broke his stare. We proceeded along closing the distance, and when we were at about 500 yards I was thinking it was actually going to maybe work. We are not big on super long distance, with about 400 yards generally being our max shot distance. Well, we kept strolling and eventually got to a nice little tuft of grass on a little mound of dirt. I stopped and check the range-finder, and the buck was still staring at us from just about 350 yards. The 30-06 is zeroed for 200 with 180gr. PSPs, and I told Nick to hold just slightly over it's back. He got on the bi-pod in between Miss September's legs and let it rip! The buck bolted for about 50 yards, then stopped and started to look sick. Within about 5 more seconds he was down. 9:30AM on opening day, and it was all over! Went and got the truck and drove right to him (we had met up with a ranch hand just prior to that and he said it was no problem driving across the pasture....). Anyway, two hours later and we were done cutting it up and enjoying a couple of sandwiches. Overall a GREAT hunt!!! Drove back last night so that Nick could spend the weekend with his mom (really, the other way around... lol). A 36 hour round trip for me, with only 4 hours of sleep but lots of great road-hours with my boy! He was nice enough not to nap it all away, and we had a great time the entire way! Getting done early let's me spend a couple of mornings at the dairy shooting doves before I leave for archery deer in Utah on Tuesday morning! I'm blessed! S.

Which safety mechanism does the M77 have? Tang safety? Thanks! S.

Super awesome!!! That IS a cool rack! Enjoy that meat as well. We killed our first last year, and found the meat amazing! S.

Thanks! Yes!! Bought that beautiful rifle used from a super nice guy on this site. It's a beauty! Absolutely LOVE the M77 Mark II's.

Lower Black River I usually go earlier in the summer. Have not been up this year, but am thinking of a trip in the next week or two. How is it typically in August. Of course I assume there is a risk of muddy water (and fluctuating levels) based on White Mountain t-storms this time of year. Has anyone been up there recently? Reports?? Thanks! S.

I took my son's elk hide to Southwest Wildlife Taxidermy (sponsor here....). They sent it out to their tannery place and it came out great. Good luck! S.

Yes, thanks. This was the first pronghorn hunt we had ever been on, and we would have been happy with ANY buck at all. This one ended-up being the buck that gave him the opportunity, and he made a great 400 yard shot (directly through the heart). That being said, we really don't know much about pronghorn horns. The thing we really liked about this one was the big mass down low. My son is not a small guy, and his hand could barely make it around. Also it has a great heart shape, with the tops curving directly into each other (My younger son just shot his first pronghorn, and the tops tend to point slightly back at about 45 degrees as opposed to directly in...). Also it has a couple of nice 'rose thorns' that we like. Anyway, thanks for the nice comments everyone! S. PS: Yup, my son is channeling my 70s youth with the shirt!

Huh???

Heck yea, man!!!! OUTSTANDING!!!

Coincidentally, the same week that Zeke-BE and Lancetkenyon posted some great pronghorn stories, I happen to pick-up the pronghorn that my son killed in the same area last year. So here it is, Erik's kill from last year. All finished and looking good! 😉 We took it to Southwest Wildlife Taxidermy, and Jim & crew did an OUTSTANDING job!!! These things are beautiful animals, and the taxidermy art truly captured this dude!! So happy with it! Anyway, thought I would share. Now off to New Mexico in the morning for a hunt with my other son! Can't wait! S.

My son had mentioned a time or two that he would like to hunt pronghorn sometime, so I finally started researching open public state lands across the West last Spring. Pretty much figured out that since I had not planned far enough ahead of time that a landowner tag would be our only option for this season. After a little looking around (and some great leads and advice from folks on this site) I made a connection for a landowner tag in New Mexico for Erik. We checked in with the ranch owner about 8:30AM last Friday, chatted with her a bit and talked about the ranch boundaries, etc. She was nice and welcomed us, providing some information on where antelope might be found (which was basically anywhere on the ranch! lol). We started our hunt out in an area that was VERY open & flat. We saw plenty of antelope including a few bucks. We passed on the first buck we saw, as he seemed like a young one to us. Again, this was our first hunt so we really don't know much about them, but his horns were a little narrow and didn't really have much of a hook at the end. Anyway, we passed. Through the morning, we got a quick basic education in hunting antelope. The primary lesson we learned was that the are HARD to get within shooting distance of (which for us is about 400 yards)! We saw plenty of bucks, but were not able to get closer than about 1/2 mile of any of them after we saw that one young one. Anyway, after a long morning with no shade/trees, we sought out a different part of the ranch that had a few trees so we could catch some shade to have our lunch. After we ate, Erik and his friend decided to hike a little loop of a mile or so, and I would drive around to meet them. About an hour later I was driving down the main ranch road to meet them and noticed a pick-up stopped about 1/2 mile ahead. I stopped and saw several antelope walking/running/moving along the pinon & grass ahead of the truck. The antelope were heading into the direction that I thought Erik would come out, so I called him on his cell phone and he answered. I told him I saw some antelope moving towards him, and he replied that they already saw them. I started watching the animals from my vantage point on the road, and shortly after I heard Erik shoot. I scanned the animals, and sure enough the buck was doing a wobbly circle, and then fell! YES! Erik's first pronghorn!! I started that direction and met Erik and his friend at the dead buck. The buck ended-up being a pretty nice one (much bigger than the little one we passed in the morning). The horns were not extraordinarily long, but they had quite a lot of mass. Also had a nice heart shape to them, plus a couple of small little thorns/stickers. No matter what the horn size though, we were just happy to get one! A little later while we were taking care of the buck, the guys in the white pick-up walked up. Turns-out that it was a guy named Zeke-BE from this site! Met him and his brother. Super nice guys! His hunt didn't start until the next day (they chose a different 3 day block than us), else he might have shot this buck. They gave Erik congratulations for his first antelope, we chatted a bit, and then quickly continued on our business as there was a MAJOR thunderstorm rolling in and we were trying to beat it! We got our gear loaded up in the rain, and drove on our way. Took a detour through Hatch for some fresh green chili's on the way home, then drove on to Phoenix. Erik wanted to have the head mounted, so I called Jim at Southwest Wildlife Taxidermy when I got home, and he was nice enough to meet me at his shop to get the head into the freezer. Thanks Jim!!!! Finished off the Labor Day weekend with limits of doves yesterday and today! Overall a great weekend!!!! S. Link to Zeke-BE's hunt: http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/75271-shot-the-wrong-antelope-buck/ That blood on the front of the antelope is the result of a shot directly through the heart from approx. 375 yards. Erik used his new Savage .30-06 that he saved for and bought last Fall.

Way to go, Zeke!!!!! Very awesome!! Same ranch as last year? I'm heading-up there tomorrow to hunt with my middle son (he's flying into Albuquerque from school in Omaha....). Picking-up my older son's buck from Southwest Wildlife today Taxidermy today. ) S.

Outstanding, Lance!!!! Love the pics and story! If you got the info from Zeke-BE, you might have been hunting the same place that I will be with my son this weekend. My oldest son killed a nice one there last year, now it's his little brother's turn. (Stopping by Southwest Wildlife Taxidermy to pick-up last year's buck today!) BTW, last year was our first pronghorn hunt ever, so I had never tasted the meat before. We found it to be VERY good! Super mild and tasty! Enjoy that! S.

I'm not certain on that. AZLance likely does..... Lance???

I was just going to say "driver"! My recently college graduated son is making some extra cash by driving loads around the state one or two days a week for a small local freight company. Luckily they are flexible around his full-time job days. Maybe check something like that out. Good luck!! S.