Now that the draw results are out for most states, it is time to get psyched about antelope hunts (except not for me, as I did not draw.) Each year it seems like there is a photo gallery thread on antelope that helps people judge trophy caliber, so it is time to start one for this year. For people new to antelope hunting, they can be tricky to judge because the distances are long and counting points doesn't really help all that much (they all seem to be western count 2-points.)

This is the buck my son shot last year, and I think it is a very representative example. It does not quite go 15", but has everything one typically looks for in a nice antelope. And although I have done very few mounts over the years, I decided to have this one done because quite frankly I am not sure how much more big game hunting he is likely to be doing.









At any rate, that goat has the features most people look for: strong prongs, nice shape, ivory tips, not busted up, symmetry (aside from slightly different prong heights). Lots of us harbor dreams of a 16+" 85 pt buck, but this buck is a more realistic example. Quick way to judge is make sure the prongs are above the ears and the horns don't taper off too soon above the prongs.

So let's get a bunch of others up to get the juices going for this fall.

You got me flowing utah708!

Heck, when it comes to NA game I'm really lost. Only thing I know is the one your son took looks like a big one to me and if I were in a position and you said shoot, I'd shoot at it in a flash (don't know if I'd hit it though), but regardless, I bet you were equally as proud.

It would be great to see many more pronghorns please. Please remember to add what you will be looking for in a good representative/trophy.

This is the only one I have on the computer, I will try to get some more of the ones we have taken. He is 16" and goes low mid 80's.

I killed this guy in the Texas panhandle last fall. He is under 75" and just a drop under 14

This is one I decided wasn't big enough for the first day.

My first and only antelope to date (2010, Utah). Not a huge buck, but a good representative for the unit and has some character. One of the funnest hunts I've ever been on!

81 3/8 green

GREAT THREAD! I'm going on my first speed goat hunt at the end of August! Can't wait.

v/r
Jon

Some nice looking antelope....never shoot a large one and haven't hunted them for 20yrs but they are a neat looking trophy.

Took this picture out in Wyoming a few years back out. He was out there about 500yds...not sure if he'd make the grade (I thought he was about 14") but looked like a nice one to me.

Here's another from a different trip. At first glance, you noticed him in the herd but he's probably very average by most trophy standards....maybe 12"?

Great bucks, nice cutters on several of 'em!


Miller, excellent live pics, that is a nice buck for sure!

GW, I would agree, right around 12" but has nice potential.


The one I got last year was funky, stovepipe horns with weak diggers way at the top. 14 7/8" dried and scored roughly 78".





Hope he didn't winterkill.

Awesome pics mtmiller. Beautiful goat.


Travis

Tough to score unless one finds a bunch of them together so he can compare. In those instances, the big ones really stand out. Last hunt I was on the wife had about 200 head walking right at her. In near panic mode, she picked out a good one, but certainly could have done better if she had had 10 minutes to size them up.

Look for good long prongs emerging will above the ears, length, mass for as much length as possible and well curved tips since one measures around the outside of the curve. Height is not everything, as I have seen some 17 inch pronghorn that can not make book. Best to go 2 or 3 days early with some good glass and spend a bunch of time sizing up potential targets.

Every one is unique, and given their colors and variety, they all make fine wall hangers.

Here's a couple the wife got some pictures off. Of the the two, I'd take the left one as the mass goes higher. Neither though is a bang up trophy. Good luck out there.

\

heres my "once in a lifetime"
he busts 86 by a smidge

That's a hell of a goat! Congrats! What state?

Thanks 1minute, that explains a lot.

depends on the hunter, last time i was after them i had my eyes on half a trophy, on side appeared busted off just below where the prong would have been but the other side was, well really damn impressive, had he had both sides intact he would have been a one hell of a trophy in anyones book......even busted he was cool enough i put two separate sneaks on him but someone showing up in a pickup at the wrong time spooked him....

you also seem to have a better chance of finding a just bizarre individual than with deer.....they may not score very high but some ppl like shooting the weirdest looking one they can find....

excellent thread. I am going after my first antelope this september.

I've always liked this one.
This photo comes up on the web from time to time.
Said to be from somewhere in NM.
The size of the body on this one is noteworthy.




One more that is worthy of a look.
Listed as Troy Adams, Montana.

this one is just a hair over 14" on one side and a hair under on the other, with pretty good mass (scored 79" IIRC)






this one is quite tall (15.5" on the one side) but thin, which really effects the number score (I didn't actually measure, so can't relay a number)








I think all of them are pretty cool, and I've accumulated a collection over time



[img]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x134/utahlefty/Hunting/DSC00823.jpg[/img]

Thanks rattler, they all look good to me. To me a trophy includes getting up early, having coffee, walking way too much and sitting round the fire talking till way too late. Of course having a beer at the fire has never hurt at that moment. I'd really like to hunt one before I fall down. Which time of the year would be a good time?

Antelope seasons are in the fall, typically September to October. If you wanted to come over, I am sure there are people who would host you (myself included.) Montana and Wyoming are the best bets for drawing tags, although lots of other states have huntable populations. New Mexico may be the prime spot for big horns.

Here is one I was lucky to get in 2009 in Wyoming, it was snowing when I got up that morning and about 2 hours after this pic was taken. He is my best to date, not really tall but really good mass, which shows a little better in the 2nd pic, just a nice buck for me anyway.
On the height, right at 14" on the longer side, 13 3/4 or so on the shorter side.
Hope to find another this year in the same area:)

our speed goat rifle season here in Montana runs the second weekend in October to the second weekend in November.....unfortunatly the areas with the most bucks were kinda hit hard the last couple years between a blue tongue outbreak and a real bad winter......gonna be a few years before goat hunting here looks real attractive to someone coming in from out of state...

though i would be happy to take yah out i really think you would be better served by chatting with the Wyoming guys.....Wyoming has more speed goats than every other state combined....

I don't know how tall this guy was as I never really measured him, so it won't be that useful to the whole point of the thread. But heck, I enjoy seeing everybody's pronghorn pictures so much that I feel I should contribute something.



My biggest buck so far on some pretty heavily pressured public land. I used a Roberts that I made for a high school project. That rifle is pronghorn medicine.

Thanks utah708 and rattler. Those months I'm still working and am out your way mainly Jan and Feb.

Its majic seeing you'alls game pictures and it makes me excited just looking at all the fun you are having. Soon as I have an opportunity I'll be knocking at one of your doors!

Wyoming public land diy

Nice, bout how many inches was that joker ?

Nice buck! I'd tag him in a second!

From New Mexico in 2008. I think he ended up at around 15 1/2 inches and 81.5 B&C.

This won't help you judge, but he was NM in 2010 and was around 13".

A trophy pronghorn to me is a doe. They eat the best.

I took this one in 2008 in area 89. He went just at 16" on one side and 15.75 on the other.

this was perhaps the toughest antelope hunt I've ever done. Just miserable conditions. This is a buddy from PA. He was expecting shirtsleeve weather, but at least he was prepared for the blizzard we got!

My best 'lope, near Jordan Montana.
16" horns but not great mass or prongs.
78" B&C.

I love those "back in the day pics".....nice buck!! Jordan is cool country. I lived there for six years....back in the day.....grin!

Has anyone thought to get a video or DVD on judging antelope or other big game heads?

Try perusing eBay or similar sites for a DVD or old video on this very topic! Most such flicks are professionally done (edited by professionals who know what their doing), and narrated by guides and experienced hunters if not outfitters who have years and years of expereince.

You can watch the presentation/s over and over and OVER AGAIN to your heart's content, until one learns how to spot a trophey on the hoof, really worth stalking and bagging.

heres one for mom. she was a rabid big buck antelope killer.
this is her personal best, at not quite 85"

Mine from Colorado. 15" goat, never scored him. Just a real pretty buck with the heart shaped horns I was looking for.

I passed up a whopper at first light 10 seconds into the unit. I didn't want to end the hunt that soon. I came back a little later to check on him. Since he was so close to the boundary and had run into a hidey hole, I didn't think anyone would find him. I wanted to look at a couple of others I had located the night before. A young 15 year old kid had killed him just as I popped over the hill. He was just short of 17 inches 85 B.C. I about cried. The low light in the morning really hid his mass well. Flinch

A different view. Flinch

Is he looking through the scope? Not much eye relief.

They don't need eye relief with their awesome vision It does look like he is looking through the scope, doesn't it? I never noticed that before...lol. Flinch

Here's a pretty good one from last year in Wyoming.

Thats an understatement!!! That is a heck of a antelope - any other pics you can post of that brute?
Wow - can't even guess the score on that one.

Oh, Look at them all! They're just like antelope, only smaller!



Silly boys! Antelope are for girls!

Here's a few of twenty seven (according to a friend that counted them) we have on the wall at home. (Including the girly buck shown just previous.)

As one guy mentioned, this IS the funnest hunting there is on the planet.

I'm not big on the whole scoring thing, but do not disparage those that are, unless they express the adventure in terms of competition. Hunting is never competition, and for me, to express it as such demeans the reason we go.

Most you see here were taken with "limited weaponry": handguns, muzzeloaders, replica blackpowder guns, antiques, archery. (Note the '03 Springfield responsible for the guy just under the buttstock).

Look closely at the framed photo, extreme right. Yes, my girlfriend is kissing her buck. She kissed her first, and continues to do so. The photo is also signed (barely visible) by Ted Nugent. We shared dinner with him and his family, and he thought this picture was pretty cool.

Been chasing these guys since I was ten years old, every year.



Hooks (horns curling at the tips) are where you get length that may not be always "evaluatable" in the field before the shot.

Lately, I put as much store in the cape as the horns for a buck deemed worth mounting. Some are real standouts for sideburns, black faces, and neck patterns. Yes, each is different.

And a field picture of the Springfield buck:

Great stuff there Tahnka! Looks like your family is Very involved in hunting pronghorn. Cool.

Here you go Oregonmuley.

B&C gross was 92 6/8
Net was 91 4/8

Those aren't my numbers or a guess, thats right off the official score sheet.

Wow - that is a trophy of a lifetime and just a heck of an antelope buck.
Thanks for posting that one - now I know what to look for this year:)

A giant for sure!!

loborojo....Post the scull pick with the beer can...it is a great pic.

It is a size reference some of us can relate to! LOL!

Bull.

I can see where he just spray-painted a Snap-e-Tom can blue and white.

Huge!!

Thats why i hunt antelope....
what a smokin buck!!!

So I did a real quick search but wouldn't that be the new Wyoming state record by a 2/8ths or so??
Unreal buck.

Oregonmuley, Thats what I'm hoping. I submitted the score sheet to B&C about 6 weeks ago. I have contacted them once and was assured that all my paperwork is the and waiting for final approval. They said it sometimes takes 2 or 3 months depending on how busy they are. Then there is a possibility of a panel scoring if he ranks high enough for that.

Here's some more trick photography Tahnka.

Should've had Ted sign that Booner of a pony tail.

That's an awesome buck loborojo.

Your killing me with the pics of that beast. If you don't mind, any chance of getting the story on your hunt - did you know that monster was around or did you luck into him?? Were you on your own?? Love to hear the details if you can post them.

Just a DIY in a good area in Wyoming. All public land. I had tried to draw the tag for several years and finally did. I had a "buddy" that was supposed to go with me and he cancelled at the last minute and I ended up hunting and camping by myself. I hunted as hard as I could several days and passed several low 80s type bucks. Just stumbled on this one, I had glassed hundreds of bucks by then and he obviously stood out. I really didn't realize he was as big as he was until I got my hands on him. I guessed him in the mid 80's on the hoof and knew he was the one I was after. I shot him with a 7 mag, 168 Berger, at 480 yards. I had been closer, but it was towards the end of season and they were easily stirred. He left while I was trying to get a better look at him, and that was as close as I ever got again. I have a elevation turret and have shot my set up a ton, so the shot wasn't difficult. He had a major case of ground growth. When I got some mass measurements I realized he was in the 90 inch class. Another amazing thing is that I drew the tag again this year.

Whoa, that is a BIG buck!


I just measured the buck I shot last year.

5 3/4" at the same spot. Unreal mass/cutters on your buck.

How tall, gotta be in the 16-17" range?

I had the good fortune to go on my first antelope hunt this past season. I hunted a ranch in the Davis Mountains near Ft. Davis and the McDonald observatory. I got to see a lot of antelope and some very interesting country.



I didn't expect to see record book animals but I did get to shoot a buck I liked while enjoying a memorable hunt.

Centimeters, right? (factory etching on the silver tab of that tape measure, examined with a jeweler's lupe says, "Made in Canada".)

Here are some AZ bucks
2010 AZ buck


2010 AZ buck


AZ bucks


AZ buck


AZ buck


AZ buck


AZ buck with extra prongs
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v407/AZBuckSnort/4prong09A.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v407/AZBuckSnort/Antelope.jpg[/img]

AZ bucks on the wall @ Glendale Cabela's, all over 90" B&C
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v407/AZBuckSnort/90inchpronghornsAZCabelas.jpg[/img]

Thanks for the story - maybe you will find another one this year - good luck to you!!

Lobo,

Damn. That's all I can say.

Having failed with my pathetic attempts to charge fraud, I'll let Intruder speak for me.

Alamosa: That was an Arizona buck taken in 2008 by Dr. David Meyer and guided by Pronghorn Guide Service and Vaquero Outfitters. The buck officially scored 94 4/8 B&C and 97 5/8 SCI.

Tahnka, I found your attempts very humerous and well thought out.

I had been planning a trip to Arizona for the "big one" but lucked out and found one in my home state. I truly never thought I could approach 90 in Wyoming, although there had been a few killed of that size, it is realy a rarity here.