stanley

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!!!

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.

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.

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.

My oldest son and I were skunked in the draw, so I put him in for a leftover. We just love to get out and hunt!!. Well, he got a 30A Nov tag (apparently all the 36A/B tags were gone by the time his application was drawn... lol). Looking at the various areas to start scouting. Looks like some decent stuff over along the far Eastern boundary along the New Mexico border. The G&F site also references the Walnut Canyon area. It also references some limited access out of Wilcox in the Dos Cabezas area. These areas seem a little closer to get to, but the stuff way East (by following the Geronimo Trail from Douglas) looks more promising on the topo. Anyone have any experience they want to share? NOT honey holes! Will be scouting either way, but curious.... PM me if you are willing to share. Thanks in advance!! S.

Strait-up COOL and AWESOME!!!!!!

Love that smile!!! AWESOME!!!

VERY awesome!! My two college aged kids (son & daughter) were lucky enough to draw 36C Dec tags this year. I will be sending this link to them!!! S.

Thanks much! Great info and perspective in flash flood watch. Hadn't even considered the road conditions. Appreciate it! S.

VERY excited to be heading-up tomorrow morning for 5 days tramping around Big Lake, Black River, Little Colorado, Baldy, Greer, etc.!! Times like this with my kids are more precious as ever, as they grow and start their own lives! Did anyone hit Big Lake last weekend or recently? Will likely rent a boat 1/2 day once or twice while I'm there. My usual attack plan includes night crawlers fished down low with little/no weight, kastmasters, rooster tails, z-rays, etc. (I'm not a 'cow-bell / Ford-fender' guy....) Any reports or late tips? S.

Yep, he was a good one. Didn't measure, but thinking he was 18ish.... Nice to know there are some good sized (and VERY tasty) hold-overs to be had in that lake.

Got too busy, and am now just getting around to posting a report @Vowell! So the fishing was pretty slow. Caught a couple on night crawlers out of the rental boat that I did one day. Then managed this one from shore one morning. Caught him on my favorite go-to trout spinner! Black rooster tail spinner!! Love those lures! Spent most of my fishing time hiking/splashing up and down the Black River, and had a great time on mostly stockers there. Rained every afternoon, and saw something like 300-400 elk over 5 days. Amazing time in the White Mountains with my boys. The best!

My buddy just got this back to back. Sorry!!!!! Disgusting I bumbled into a Unit 1 archery tag two years ago with no points (other than hunter ed). Did not end-up killing one, but was for sure a dream hunt. Good luck on getting that tag!!!! S. PS: For the record; Other than the max point holders, it is my belief that bonus points or not, the odds are roughly the same. With hunter ed points, loyalty points, and the number of dudes putting-in, I think the point pool is SO diluted that it doesn't much matter anymore. HAVE FAITH!!!

On a late kaibab hunt? Nah, go big or go home Who needs a tape measure to tell if a deer is big or not?

I was 4. All I remember is not being able to watch Saturday cartoons because all the channels (all 4 of them) were showing this coverage non-stop. Was lost on me....

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