Only had two days to fill my WY pronghorn tag this week, so I was not being too picky. Just glad to have the tag and squeak in a couple days.

Some trophy hunting dudes were ahead of me when I got out Monday morning. They stopped on the old two track, rolled down the windows and mounted the spotters, glassing a group of antelope. After they drove off, I decided to ease on up the dusty trail and see what they were glassing.

A nice "meat buck" was standing there about 300 yards out. Before I could get a better look, he took off. Four hours and a few miles later, I had him ready for the cooler. Should be good eats this winter.

Happy to be on "clean up" duty in Wyoming.

Great meat buck Randy! Is this hunt going to make it on the show?

Saw that on your FB page.. That's a NICE pronghorn.

Looks like a "nicely-horned" buck to me.

Nice going, Randy!

Congrats, for a "meat buck" that is a pretty nice one IMHO. Looks like a really nice curl on the horns.

Yup, it will air next season. Camera guy was tagging along behind, giving instruction, and even got in on one of the field pictures.



Not too bad for a meat buck. I think his C&G (Chill and Grill) score was over 100 pounds before I quartered him. The second biggest body on any pronghorn I've ever shot.

Hope those other hunters found what they were looking for. Wish I had their address, I would send them a Thank You card. Grilled tenderloins tonight.

Left view


Right view

Thanks!! Those pictures really show what I fine buck that is. I sure hope to run into a meat buck like that when I'm back there in a few weeks, I could be happy with one like that:)

He was definitely an overachiever when it came to the groceries! Never seen one with that big of a body. Well done!

Yeah I figured that first pic was a little skewed. Prongs and horn above the prongs looked to good. Very nice buck. Wonder why the other guys passed him up...good for you though. Congratulations on a very nice buck.

Very well done!! That's a great buck and congratulations again!! Can't wait to watch it all unfold.

Meat buck eh? Post some pics when you shoot a really nice one....

Maybe they only had doe tags?!?

That is an awesome buck! You have me chomping at the bit, I'll be up there in two and a half weeks.

That's a hell of a buck, let alone a meat buck!

One man's meat buck is another man's trophy buck�.REALLY nice pronghorn! I bet he will be tasty as well.

One heck of a buck, congrats!

BTW, what is the name of the Facebook page?

Would hate to find a "meat buck" like that

He musta been parked outta sight.

Fantastic!
I'm always pulling for you Randy and you rarely disappoint.
Hope the rest of your season goes accordingly.

Our meat bucks in SD are 2.5 years old and have 12 -13.5" horns, never heard anyone call a 3.5-4.5 year old buck a "meat buck" before. So just be a good guy and supply an age estimate and horn length if you would. Left side looks like atleast an inch longer, great prongs and a damn nice looking head. Mag Man Oh yeah really nice photos

As measured on the day I shot him, by a friend who is an official scorer.

Horns - L 16.0" R 16.5"
Prongs - L 6.75" R 6.5"
Base - L 6.75" R 6.75"
C1 - L 6.75" R 6.75"
C2 - L 4.5" R 4.25"
C3 - L 2.25" R 2.25"

Obviously, will have some shrinkage in 60 days of drying and will have some symmetry issues that impact net score. With any luck, should gross around 84" and net over 82", even with 60 days of shrinkage.

I would guess age to be around 4.5 years old. Would have guessed 3.5, based on teeth, but given the large body size, think he is an extra year older.

First place I spotted him was from about two miles off. I was standing on a tall knob glassing other bucks and saw this one in the ditch along a busy highway. He was trying to get through the fence and get further away from the highway. By the time the other truck had moved off, he was through the fence and headed back into the sage country. Glad he didn't get run over that morning.

Tenderloins were magnificent. A good meat buck, no doubt.

Wow son & I are heading out a wk from Sunday and if he can get a meat buck within 3" of that we'll be ecstatic!

Nice pronghorn!

You had to know this was coming��


YOU SUCK!

Not what I was expecting when I read "meat buck"!

Congratulations!!!

Eric

Very nice..Congrats.

[quote=EricM]Not what I was expecting when I read "meat buck"!
/quote]
My thoughts exactly. Congratulations!

Like to know what they were looking for if they passed on that buck???

Just the answers I was looking for. Thanks I appreciate the fact you didn't want to come across sounding like you were bragging and sure have a right to. I'd agree with the other poster who said he didn't think the other guys saw that one, no one would have passed him, my thinking. Again really great buck and congrats on the good eating too. antelope is favorite eating around my place. Magnum Man

Beautiful buck.. Not many bucks are killed over 16 in my area.. What did you use on this guy?

Great goat! Congratulations!

I'm shooting Howa's new Alpine Mountain Rifle in a 7mm-.08. A very sweet rig. The week before I loaned it to a friend and he took a 9 7/8" billy in Montana. Both that billy and this pronghorn were taken at 270-295 yards with one shot, using 140gr bullets.

Howa's new Alpine Mountain Rifle weighs 5.6 pounds, empty. Comes with a full cerakote finish and they put it on one of Mark Bansner's stocks from High-Tech Specialties. Very impressive, especially at the price point. The rifle is just now getting in the hands of retailers.

The HACT trigger can be easily adjusted on the new Howas. This trigger is set at 2.75#. Clean and crisp.

I've had this one as a proto-type since January and had been working with them over the prior year on a concept that would be reasonably priced and have the features needed for guys who abuse their rifles, as I do. Everyone who has shot it is very impressed with it, especially when you think about a rifle with those features for around $1,000 retail.

It is topped with what many might consider a big scope for a lightweight rifle; a VX-3L 3.5-10X50mm CDS from Leupold. With that set up, any miss is purely operator error.

Very easy for my guest hunters to get behind the trigger and have really good results, no matter the conditions or distance. Leupold's CDS system, though not as precise as Leupold's Mark4 turret systems, is the simplest and easiest-to-use system I have found for normal hunting conditions, especially when having guest hunters using these rifles at normal hunting ranges. Just range it, turn the dial, and shoot.

Randy�good to know. A perennial complaint about Howas has been the weight. Nice to see they worked on that.
Ive started using a Leupold CDS system and for shooting under 500 yards, I couldn't agree with you more. Longer ranges a guy might want to get more anal about it, but I have no intention of shooting farther than that. Its good, its simple, and it works.

Nice animal.
Congrats.

beautiful goat- The pear shape is my favorite and that is sure enough a dandy. Congratulation

Congrats - thank you for the pictures.

Interesting rifle. Found your excellent thread

http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?t=259063

I stalked to 235 yds from what I thought was a great buck today near Stanley, Id. Compared to yours he wasn't. Thats OK I didn't have a tag.

mike r

Congratulations

very nice buck randy! congrats

That is a sweet little rifle.

Randy let me mess around with this rifle a little bit and I was very impressed. Ive never been a big fan of Howas, mainly because of the stocks they've been wearing. I like thinner, more compact stocks and this rifle felt great in the hands. The Federal factory ammo I was running through was grouping right at MOA out to 350. Not sure what the trigger feels like straight out of the box, but this one was tuned perfectly.

If it were my rifle is have the bottom metal on it rather then the exposed magazine, but all in all I think Howa has a hit on their hands. I'd easily take one of these over a Tikka.

Glad to see it worked on the pronghorn Fin, that's an amazing buck.

Very nice....Pronghorns are always a challenge and my hats off to anyone who scores!

I checked Howas website and didn't find this rifle on it. What am I doing wrong?

It is that new, so maybe they have not yet got information on their site.

Let me get in touch with them on Monday and I will get you a report. The first production run is already allocated and I think the Howa dealer up on North 19th Ave has a few allocated to them.

Real nice buck there Randy and I sure like your shows. Of course, you should take someone like me for when the big one doesn't show.

The bow hunt where the cow and then bull jumped and ran was a good one.

Thanks Randy! I'm gonna be in Bozeman all next week and I may stick my head in there to have a peek!