2023 Nevada Pronghorn

[Trial153]

Early summer 2023 Brought a surprise when I was reading my Nevada Big Game Draw results.  As I scrolled down the list looking at the red ( unsuccessful) draw results I happened upon a green line ….I drew successfully draw a Nevada Archery Pronghorn tag in my first choice unit.  I don’t remember my exact odds, but with the points I had accumulated it was something in the neighborhood of like 2-3%. 

Originally I planned a DYI hunt, I even booked a flight and rental car to scout mid summer.  However my family vacations, my sons travel schedule for soccer and other commitments I started to explore some other options.  I touched base with an outfitter I knew from cat hunting  who lived about 3 hours or so from the group of the units I drew. I called him and let him know I drew the only NR archery tag for that unit and asked him if that would be something he would be interested in taking on a guiding.  He agreed to do it  if I could hunt the beginning of the season, say the first four days…I wanted to make the most of hunt and with the week plus I was saving from my scouting trip, I extended the hunt to 6 days.  

We kept in touch though the summer, and when He let me know that he found not one but two pockets in the unit(units) that seems to be holding several good bucks.  We talked about a plan… The plan was that he would set two ground blinds near water in the area that he found some very nice bucks, the hitch was the areas were about 3 hours drive from each other. 

Plan was he would bring his camper down to our location A, and I would fly to Salt lake city, rent a car then drive the 4 hours and meet him by the camper.  From there the long waiting game began.  I started my hunt the next morning after I arrived,  there were three bucks in the area that I would have been more than pleased in killing and one of them.  The best of the three was  despite the fact that we kept putting eyes on him with a large group of does, just never came to the water. He obviously was watering in a different location …on that we couldn’t find. We spent two additional nights looking for an unmarked water source and never found it . 

The days brought hot Nevada temps and all day sits in the Blind.  through the first three days cooking  in the blind  resulted many smaller bucks and Finally a shooter buck … coming in I passed him up knowing I still had three days to hunt. Then the unexpected happened for august …Rain 🌧️.  A storm brought in enough rain to put water in puddles. Day four brought many does and small bucks to the water…but the two big shooter i were seeing were staying out on the flats… day five pretty much the same… except a decent buck  we never seen before made an appearance at the water hole.  It took some restraint to pass him up on the afternoon of day five. Day six brought hot temps and decent action from mid morning on… and  on that last afternoon… I got lucky and one of our targets decided to pay me visit at the water with a group of about 5 does….. I was lucky enough to get a shot and make good on it.  

Here are some pictures from ten hunt…

[Trial153]

[Trial153]

[2BuckBizCT]

Wow he’s tall 

[mowin]

Such neat looking critters.  Nice antelope.  

[Trial153]

7 hours ago, 2BuckBizCT said:

Wow he’s tall 

He is and it helped his score; would have liked more mass but I am happy with him. 

[Trial153]

6 hours ago, mowin said:

Such neat looking critters.  Nice antelope.  

Pronghorn has really grown on me over the years.  I would love draw a couple more good tags in the next few years