HornedToad
Active Member
- Messages
- 430
I was fortunate this year and drew a pronghorn tag on the Rita Blanca National Grassland hunt in the northwest Panhandle of Texas.
This area is not particularly known for big goats, but I found a nice one. He measures 17-3/8" on each horn with 6-3/8" bases. He has a freak 2nd prong on his left horn, which probably reduced the size of his measurable prong, lowering his total score. He still should net over 80, which is big for the Texas Panhandle.
I found this goat while scouting two days before the season opened this past Saturday. Despite the reputation for average 13"-14" goats in the area, I also found two "back-ups" in the 15"-16" range. This part of Texas has received plenty of moisture this year, which may explain the quality of the pronghorns I saw on this trip.
On the hunt, I began my stalk at about 1200 yards. I had closed the distance to 350 yards when he "busted" me, but he could only see a part of my head, so he probably did not know what I was. He began trotting to my right, and I thought about taking the shot because I was steady on a bipod and had practiced shooting to 400 yards. There was a stiff sidewind, however, so I held off, when suddenly he must have gotten too curious for his own good, and began trotting in my direction, closing the distance to 250 yards. I couldn't believe my luck. He stopped facing directly toward me, but I held steady, and with a slight allowance for the breeze, put him down with one shot.
This was a cool "do-it-yourself" hunt. I particularly like the wicked "forward thrust" of his horns... and only picked up a few cactus thorns in my hands from the crawl.
This area is not particularly known for big goats, but I found a nice one. He measures 17-3/8" on each horn with 6-3/8" bases. He has a freak 2nd prong on his left horn, which probably reduced the size of his measurable prong, lowering his total score. He still should net over 80, which is big for the Texas Panhandle.
I found this goat while scouting two days before the season opened this past Saturday. Despite the reputation for average 13"-14" goats in the area, I also found two "back-ups" in the 15"-16" range. This part of Texas has received plenty of moisture this year, which may explain the quality of the pronghorns I saw on this trip.
On the hunt, I began my stalk at about 1200 yards. I had closed the distance to 350 yards when he "busted" me, but he could only see a part of my head, so he probably did not know what I was. He began trotting to my right, and I thought about taking the shot because I was steady on a bipod and had practiced shooting to 400 yards. There was a stiff sidewind, however, so I held off, when suddenly he must have gotten too curious for his own good, and began trotting in my direction, closing the distance to 250 yards. I couldn't believe my luck. He stopped facing directly toward me, but I held steady, and with a slight allowance for the breeze, put him down with one shot.
This was a cool "do-it-yourself" hunt. I particularly like the wicked "forward thrust" of his horns... and only picked up a few cactus thorns in my hands from the crawl.
