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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.