best colorado antelope ?

Elkcrzy1 · Jan 26, 2009

A good friend has 17 points for antelope and is wanting to find a trophy buck in Colorado. Does anyone have expertise on some of the wildlife ranching properties that are hard to draw or public areas that are producing some big guys ? We know the obvious areas of 2, 3, 201, etc but he's looking for something exceptional with this many points. You can send a pm if youd rather. Thanks

jims · Jan 27, 2009

As your buddy may have noticed there really aren't that many B&C pronghorn that come out of Colorado. The NW corner used to be one of the better areas in the state but numbers have plummeted in recent years. I would definitely not apply for a RFW hunt because you are often limited to hunting such a small ranch and area. I don't think any of the RFW ranches are noted for extreme antelope bucks? I know a guy that had a state-wide lotto tag last year and shot an 80" buck. 80" would be considered a giant in any unit in Colo.

EliAGrimmett · Jan 27, 2009

Here's a weird question, but this might be a decent thread for it...Jims, you seem to know a bit about Colorado...we had a hunter call us up wanting to take a monster antelope. We thought - great, you might be interested in one of our Gold hunts. We explained everything and then he mentioned that he had already contacted an outfitter in Colorado about taking a huge buck. Apparently the outfitter told him that a mid 80's type buck would be a cakewalk and that a buck in the 90 range might be doable. He also told him that a 94 inch buck was taken off his ranch last year.

Obviously, being Colorado, we're very skeptical, but could there be any truth to this? Do you know of any ranches claiming these kind of genetics? Any thoughts on who this outfitter/rancher could be?

ColoradoOak · Jan 27, 2009

I'm not sure I believe the numbers being thrown around there. If such a place exists, it's probably in NW Colorado. I just checked the B&C website: of the top 10 bucks from CO since 2000, six came from Moffat County. The highest scorer was 86 4/8", and number 10 was 84 2/8".

I checked the website of the most likely outfitter in Moffat County, and they are making no such wild claims. They do claim "world class" pronghorn hunting, though.

ColoradoBob · Jan 27, 2009

I would forget 2. Last time I was there the antelope were few & far. The drought pushed them off into 3. Those irrigated pastures held the goats. I've got 9 points as a res & can't figure out where to go either.

ColoradoOak · Jan 27, 2009

Wow, I just noticed something else about that top 10 since 2000 list. Three of those six bucks from Moffat County were killed by the same guy! In 2001, 2006 and 2007. The guy has 23 pronghorn entered in B&C, and two listed from Moffat County in 2007. Obviously somebody who buys the best opportunities.

HiMtnHntr · Jan 27, 2009

If it were a private ranch in southern CO I might believe those scores, simply due to it's proximity to New Mexico. If someone took a 90+ gross from CO, I'd have to see it to believe it. I would imagine a guy could do pretty well with a landowner voucher in NW CO, as appears is the case with the above-mentioned hunter.

Elkcrzy1 · Jan 27, 2009

Ive never heard of a cakewalk for an 80 + buck anywhere in Colorado ? Id have to say its probably not for real but Id like to see it.

zekers · Jan 27, 2009

Somebody's bullshipping someone. Anybody saying a mid 80's buck in Co is easy either doesn't know how to score or is just a liar. And a 94 inch buck? Please. Moffat county and unit 128 have some of the best genetics IMO. On the right year, with good spring conditions, I would be hopeful in searching for a low 80's buck. Eli, you're the most respected antelope guy around, you should know better. Take that guy on a long walk.

EliAGrimmett · Jan 28, 2009

Oh, I know better. Just didn't want to assume (because you know what that makes

. When someone mentions HUGE antelope I'll be the first to say "WHERE?" before I'm the first to say "BULLSHIP!"

I'll see if I can narrow down where this ranch is supposed to be.

jims · Jan 28, 2009

Eli, I would subtract about 10 pts off the bucks you described in your post and that would be about right for the very best units/ranches in Colorado. There are relatively few mid 80's bucks from Colo in the books and probably less than a handfull taken in Colo the past 10 years!

I have put my hands on a couple Colo bucks within the past few years that had close to 7 1/2" bases and super prongs so there is potential for super bucks in Colorado, but I have my doubts about multiple mid-80's bucks in 1 year? 90's would be close to the Colo state record and I believe the state record shot on the Pawnee Grassland in Weld County way back in the good ole days was proven to be a hoax.

I heard about a ranch in SE Colo that was producing 80"ish bucks a couple years ago before the 2' snow blizzard hit that area but they were a far cry from mid-80's. Not sure if this helps but I'd stick to AZ or possibly NM if you are looking for 90" bucks!

EliAGrimmett · Jan 28, 2009

No worries, I wasn't planning on doing anything drastic...

HiMtnHntr · Jan 28, 2009

Sure looks like some ranch in NW CO is producing some low to mid 80's net bucks for that fella that is entering them in B&C. If I had to guess I'd say unit 3. Too bad you can't trade 17 points for a few thousand bucks....Jims, you say that the weld county buck turned out to be a hoax, do you mean that literally, as in it is a fake? I've never heard that before.

EliAGrimmett · Jan 28, 2009

I talked to my Dad about what that hunter said. Apparently it's some ranch near Trinidad.

zekers · Jan 28, 2009

I reread your first post. It could just be that your hunter is uninformed, and he took the word of a shady outfitter who doesn't know how to score. Not to be harsh, but that guys been fed a line. For some reason, the gene pool isn't very good from Trinidad east. From Pueblo to Aguilar, and east about 30 miles, is what I think is a great gene pool(for Colorado). Out of all the bucks I've seen in this area, a low 80's buck is outstanding. Most of the good, trophy goats are 15", scoring 176-178. In most cases of people telling me a score of their goat, and then watching them score it, a higher than should be score is usually accredited to measuring the 3rd circ. at the wrong spot. Easy to add 8 inches to the final score with that one mistake. There might be a fluke of a gene pool in a small area out there, with an outfitter killing a 90 incher, but do you know one outfitter who wouldn't advertise killing the Colorado state record?

songdog · Mar 24, 2009

I found this barely breathing dead horse thread and thought I would breathe some life back into it before the April 7th deadline...

Has anyone out the in MM land ever hunted unit 79 in the San Luis Valley? Its got a lot of private land (primarily farm land)and has some good bucks but the quality is not what it used to be from 4-5 years ago. The DOW only issues about 8 or 9 buck tags so killing a speed goat is not a problem and not many hunters to worry about. But, I'd like to know what the quality is like THIS year???

The absolute best speed goat I've ever seen was between Fairplay and Hartsel in a private ranchette subdivision. HUGE pronghorn buck!!!

Best of luck in the upcoming drawings!

Hiker · Mar 24, 2009

They sure have increased the number of tags in those NW units. I don't see how many big boys are going to make it when they give out that many tags. The PLO numbers are huge.

Hiker

Proverbs 3:5-6