Importance of Pronghorn mass

H

highfastflyer

Very Active Member
Messages
1,553
I way underjudged this pronghorn. Watch the video and see how a short 13 inch goat with 5 inch prongs can still score 85. Another great video from Pronghorn Guide Service.
038D5BE0-8F72-4277-9189-22267B7CB000.jpeg
 
A good article on judging which emphasises mass.


Mass (49 percent of total score*)​

Although horn length is the traditional benchmark of choice, note that around 50 percent of the total score is derived from mass measurements alone.
Mass is best judged from the side. According to the B&C Field Guide, a pronghorn buck's eye averages just over two inches, measured front to back. You want the horn base visibly bigger than the eye. "Also, round mass will give you a lot more inches than flat mass," Murray adds. "So you want to get a good look from the front to see if his horns are wide and flat or wide and round."

Beware of prongs that fork from the horn below the height of the ears, which will likely result in only one mass measurement below the prong, and watch out for horns that don't carry mass above the prong. Willowy tops result in a score that is several inches less than ideal.
www.petersenshunting.com

How to Field Judge a Pronghorn - Petersen's Hunting

It can be tough to mentally score a live antelope on the fly. Check out these tips for choosing a worthy trophy.
www.petersenshunting.com www.petersenshunting.com
 
There are 12 total measurements on a pronghorn to get your score. 8 of the 12, %67, are totally based on mass. 2 of the 12 are based on length and mass. 2 of the 12 are based on length.
 
Length is always more impressive to the eye of the novice. But if score is what you seek then length needs to almost be ignored. The same holds true with sheep to a certain extent.
 
These are some great massive pronghorn in this post. One of the hard thing about hunting pronghorn in Wyoming is trying to quickly judge bucks and then move on to the next. When you have a buck that is 1500 yards and looking straight at you it would be easy to underestimate his mass. I'm sure I've underestimated several bucks in the past after just taking a quick look at them and deciding they were not good enough.
 
Yeah that’s why he was a scoring machine he got three mass measurements below the prong 6 3/4 and then over seven And the bump on the one side I was right on the fourth mass measurement he had 9 inches of mass above the prong
 
Tristate said:
There are 12 total measurements on a pronghorn to get your score. 8 of the 12, %67, are totally based on mass. 2 of the 12 are based on length and mass. 2 of the 12 are based on length.
Click to expand...
I understand your point, but the arithmetic is wrong. It’s correct to say that 67% of the measurements are “mass” measurements, but there is no direct relationship to total score. If the mass actually works out to 67% (or 70%), it’s purely coincidental.

Yes, I’m a little bored this morning (although I did see a deer pushing past his ears on both sides :) ). But the drinkin is fixin to begin purty quick.??

And I agree that there are some cool bucks posted here.
 
Okay if you want to go that path and say mass is %49 then you are still full of it. If that were the case pronghorn would be the easiest thing to judge. Just get a length of horn and a length of prong and double it. Every 15 inch pronghorn with a 6 inch prong is exactly 81 inches. Hell the Boone and Crockett scorers can just get rid of mass measurements altogether since it's exactly %49 of total score every time.?


I'm bored and hungover.?
 
highfastflyer said:
A good article on judging which emphasises mass.


Mass (49 percent of total score*)​

Although horn length is the traditional benchmark of choice, note that around 50 percent of the total score is derived from mass measurements alone.
Mass is best judged from the side. According to the B&C Field Guide, a pronghorn buck's eye averages just over two inches, measured front to back. You want the horn base visibly bigger than the eye. "Also, round mass will give you a lot more inches than flat mass," Murray adds. "So you want to get a good look from the front to see if his horns are wide and flat or wide and round."

Beware of prongs that fork from the horn below the height of the ears, which will likely result in only one mass measurement below the prong, and watch out for horns that don't carry mass above the prong. Willowy tops result in a score that is several inches less than ideal.
www.petersenshunting.com

How to Field Judge a Pronghorn - Petersen's Hunting

It can be tough to mentally score a live antelope on the fly. Check out these tips for choosing a worthy trophy.
www.petersenshunting.com www.petersenshunting.com
Click to expand...
You MUST take 2 mass measurements below the prong.
 
nontypical said:
You MUST take 2 mass measurements below the prong.
Click to expand...
Yeah that’s a point the author by Peterson‘s hunting mag. overstepped when he stated that in the article. Thanks for pointing that out. Like we discussed if you want true mass try and get one that has 3 mass measurements below the prong.:)
 
Interesting thread. Pronghorn are difficult for me personally to field judge. I’ve sorted adopted the idea that I will know that is the one when I see it. Lol This is mine from last year in NM. I didn’t score him & im still waiting to get him back from the taxidermist. The taxidermist said he didn’t recall mounting one with the prong length mine has. A buddy that is a former guide believes he will bump over 80”. I’m not into scores much at all, but I would like to know what he will score. Opinions welcome!
4D463262-A92E-4973-819E-A458C96B200E.jpeg
52A0452F-7698-4C2C-A50E-2E64A7726B71.jpeg
 
I couldn’t guess a pronghorn score right if my life depended on it. What’s his length ? With that curl I bet he’s longer then I think.
 
I had posted these photos in another thread a while back, but...sometimes length is a bigger part of the total.

Corky Richardson killed this buck during the 1999 archery season in Arizona's Unit 19A. The horns, with both sides more than 21 inches long, scored 90 2/8 inches w/deducts, placing it third in the Pope & Young record book. The world record is held by Marvin Zieser at 91 4/8; Les Shelton's 90 6/8-inch buck sits in second place. Ricardson's buck is the current SCI archery world record, however.

post-82-0-71782800-1364080318.jpg


post-82-1271790595.jpg
 
Last edited:
oilcan said:
I couldn’t guess a pronghorn score right if my life depended on it. What’s his length ? With that curl I bet he’s longer then I think.
Click to expand...
If I remember correctly I believe he was just 14” on one side & 14 1/2 on the other.
 
OutdoorWriter said:
I had posted these photos in another thread a while back, but...sometimes length is a bigger part of the total.

Corky Richardson killed this buck during the 1999 archery season in Arizona's Unit 19A. The horns, with both sides more than 21 inches long, scored 90 2/8 inches w/deducts, placing it third in the Pope & Young record book. The world record is held by Marvin Zieser at 91 4/8; Les Shelton's 90 6/8-inch buck sits in second place. Ricardson's buck is the current SCI archery world record, however.

View attachment 49497

View attachment 49498
Click to expand...
Man! That thing is ridiculous… I would have no problem recognizing he was a shooter. Lol
 
Great looking bucks and conversation! It's my understanding, from B&C, is that the number of bucks that qualify with three mass measurements under the prongs is only 2-3 out of all the entries, not 1 out of 100 as mentioned above. Also, it needs to be mentioned that Pope and Young does NOT have that same rule. It is required that two mass measurements be taken above and two below the prong with no exceptions.
 
StickFlicker said:
Great looking bucks and conversation! It's my understanding, from B&C, is that the number of bucks that qualify with three mass measurements under the prongs is only 2-3 out of all the entries, not 1 out of 100 as mentioned above. Also, it needs to be mentioned that Pope and Young does NOT have that same rule. It is required that two mass measurements be taken above and two below the prong with no exceptions.
Click to expand...
I have one....but it won’t book...like 65
 
The moral of the story is when looking for pronghorn,
89B55246-0DF5-4E46-AA56-AB3A4EC7CB77.jpeg
don’t look for those tall skinny ones on the right, look for those short, fat, pudgy ones with big breasts (prongs) on the left unless of course you can find one that has it all. A lesson for fathers to pass along to their sons.
 
highfastflyer said:
The moral of the story is when looking for pronghorn, View attachment 54106don’t look for those tall skinny ones on the right, look for those short, fat, pudgy ones with big breasts (prongs) on the left unless of course you can find one that has it all. A lesson for fathers to pass along to their sons.
Click to expand...
If that is the only choice.....I’ll never book again...
 

Similar threads

SatchSquatch
Big Billy Down
Replies
27
Views
1k
Snoopdogg
Snoopdogg
TerynItUp
‘24 Archery Buck
Replies
27
Views
2k
RioHuntNutt!
RioHuntNutt!
billc
My natal SA hunt and what luck I had,
Replies
10
Views
655
billc
billc

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos

Member Gallery Photos and Videos!

ScoutDeer.jpg
Stasbury Deer.jpg
big fork.jpg
20D5CED2-23FB-429E-A349-25B5E836E84E.jpeg
1B5639F8-4BF3-4C6C-861C-4446B18EC275.jpeg
Super Kicker Buck
Sqiggely Book Cliffs Buck.jpg
C7046360-C547-4744-B3C3-928978E10249.jpeg
202A37EA-7C09-422C-A85D-1F00B4D7436E.jpeg
DAA7E076-CC48-4724-8EB0-A23C7EE0CEBF.jpeg
0765CDBB-21BC-4EF3-B33D-6DC10FBF57C1.png
deer (2).jpg
Back
Top Bottom