pronghorn outfitter?

[bassmatt]

Hello everyone,
I am looking to go out west on a pronghorn hunt.(archery prefered but willing to use rifle) I have never gone out west to hunt and would like your opinions on an outfitter/guide. I am not picky on which state I hunt in just want to experience a quality hunt with quality people. Would like to shoot a quality buck not expecting a record just a good buck that I can have mounted and made into sausage/jerky.
THANKS FOR THE HELP,
MATT

 

[42769vette]

If you go to Gillette Wy there is alot of public land, and as many pronghorn as there are squirrels in Indiana. I went out a few years ago with a guide, and after getting there I noticed "We dont need a guide for a rifle hunt"

 

[bassmatt]

Vette,
How far can I expect to shoot with a rifle on the public land your talking about.
Matt

 

[42769vette]

I had dope on my rifle out to 800, but I was able to get to 350 and 325 on both of mine, and my father got to about the same ranges on his. I dont mind long range hunting 1 bit if your capable of taking the shot do it. But I do believe you owe it to the animal to get as close a shot as you can. And no matter how much I pratice I still shoot better at 300 than 800

Also there is a ton of public ranges out there so you can confirm zero and dope once you arrive

 

[bassmatt]

Vette,
I have two savage rifles one in 243 & the other in 308. Which one do you think would better serve me on the trip or should I pickup a different caliber. Its always nice getting new guns and optics the wife will get over it lol. From what i have read pronghorns are not as big as whitetails also how do you judge a good pronghorn buck.
THANK YOU FOR THE HELP,
Matt

 

[42769vette]

Vette,
I have two savage rifles one in 243 & the other in 308. Which one do you think would better serve me on the trip or should I pickup a different caliber. Its always nice getting new guns and optics the wife will get over it lol. From what i have read pronghorns are not as big as whitetails also how do you judge a good pronghorn buck.
THANK YOU FOR THE HELP,
Matt

Im far froma expert on pronghorn judgeing, but I looked for a buck who had cutters as high as his ears, and had horns that came as close to a full heart as possible. The area I hunted is not known for trophy size, but its known for tons of game. next time ill go for a bigger one.

On caliber either will work, of the 2 I would take the 243. When I went I took a 260

 

[teddy12b]

Reading this is making me want to go out there and hunt. I'm getting tired of hunts where I just sit in a blind and I want to get out and move/hike. Maybe 42769vette can be our INGO guide? Are the antelope tags out there bought over the counter or do you have to get into a lottery? I tried getting into Jackson wyoming for an elk hunt back in '02 until I realized I had a zero % chance of getting a tag.

 

[42769vette]

Reading this is making me want to go out there and hunt. I'm getting tired of hunts where I just sit in a blind and I want to get out and move/hike. Maybe 42769vette can be our INGO guide? Are the antelope tags out there bought over the counter or do you have to get into a lottery? I tried getting into Jackson wyoming for an elk hunt back in '02 until I realized I had a zero % chance of getting a tag.

I hunted unit 23 and I did the lottery. When I got to town I went to the local sporting goods shop to pick up tags and bs with the locals. When I got there I picked up my tags and found out that everyone got drawn, and there were still hundreds left over that I could buy over the counter for the same price as they were in the lottery.

This is how unit 23 always is, but other units (more trophy hunting) you better get in the lottery. To the best of my knowlege there are 2 types of units out there.

1, more game than you have ever seen, but not many or any trophy's (by boone and crocket standards)

2, less game, but alot of trophys.

To me this trip the last trip was a learning experiance. next trip I will go on my own in a area that is full of game, the trip after that will be in a trophy area.

Its not possibable to describe how many speed goats are out there. Around here if your driving around and you see a deer you say "there's a deer" out there that game lasted about 3 hours before you just got tired of it. In a couple days of driving around we litterally saw thousands of pronghorn. We were also in a "more game" area so that might not hold true everywhere.

All and all it can be a very in expensive hunt. Gas was 75% of our out of pocket cost

 

[mrburtreynoldsou]

I guided for antelope in WY in '11 we had 100% success with all our clients. Opening day I was done after 15min...it's all private land 25,000acres. Nice bucks too
C4 outfitters

 

[teddy12b]

I'm more interested in seeing the big numbers of game. It's nice to be picky sometimes, but out west I'd just prefer to take in the whole experience and if there's a way to see more animals then I'm all for it.

 

[Dirty Steve]

I used Tyler Sims Outfitting, LLC in 2010. Private ranches, lots and lots of antelope and decent opportunity at a B&C goat, zero other hunts on the ranch you will be hunting on while you are there. He hunts in units 42 and 46. There is very little public land in those units, and hence, a pretty easy tag to draw. I will definitely hunt with him again. Very well run operation, good people, good accomdations, good food, top notch equipment.

Shots range from as close as you can sneak to as far as you can ethically shoot. My oldest son killed his goat at 380 yards with a .243. I killed mine at 230 yards with a 30-06. Both rifles had dope out to 500 yards. Tyler is an avid long range shooter and caters to a lot of that crowd through various long range hunting web pages. That is how I found him. Longest kill last year was 1306 yards.

Dirty Steve

 

[bassmatt]

When does the season start? What firearms are legal to use?
Matt

 

[teddy12b]

I'm thinking an INGO hunt on public land is in order. At least most of us could car pool.

 

[bassmatt]

Reddy12b,
I might have to agree with the INGO public ground hunt for pronghorn.
Also, to throw in a curve maybe someone could point us in the direction of a place to stop for a day or two to play shootem up on a few prairie dogs? Those are 2 things that are on my must do before I die list. I will start a post on prairie dog spots just to check it out.
Matt