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Old September 22, 2016, 11:16 AM   #1
DPI7800
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Wyoming pronghorn

Saw this guy on the way in to set up camp. Couldn't resist so I stopped got out, got my gear and crawled 200 yards to make a clean 400 yard shot on him.
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Old September 22, 2016, 12:16 PM   #2
ligonierbill
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Nice goat!
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Old September 22, 2016, 12:21 PM   #3
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Nice.
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Old September 22, 2016, 12:52 PM   #4
Worc
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Very nice! I'll be out there in a couple of weeks doing the same thing.

What gun, caliber, load, and scope did you use? Details man!
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Old September 22, 2016, 01:28 PM   #5
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Cool.
What area did you hunt?
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Old September 22, 2016, 01:45 PM   #6
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I used my Tikka T3 Tactical in .308, topped with a Nightforce NXS 3.5-15X50 NPR-2 reticle, Hornady 168g TAP ammo, Harris bipod, rear bag Swarovski EL 8.5X42 bino (yes you read that right), Lica rangefinder.

Like I said, we were driving in to find a place to camp, when I looked off to the north side of the road and saw what I believed to be a pronghorn. So I drove down the road a little further to a spot where there was a slight rise that would block the truck and our movement. Walk the hundred yards to the top of the rise and spotted this buck laying down. From the top of the rise to the buck was 598 yards. I had not been doing any practice for a 600 yard shot so I decided to move up.

I figured I only needed to crawl a hundred yards and then I could take the shot. Well I crawled the 100 yards but now I was in a depresion where I couldn't see the buck anymore. I had to crawled another 100 yards to a spot where the terrain was dropping away enough to allow me to take the 400 yard shot. As I was setting up, I realized the brush was at a height that I had to have my bipod fully extended. Being set so high I was not able to use my support side fist or grab my bicep high enough to support the rear of the rifle. I emmeadiately went into problem solving mode on what to use as an improvised rear bag. Glancing around I looked at my binoculars and realized that just might work. I grabbed them shoved the binoculars will case and all, under the stock to create a stable platform that was the right height.

I got all set up and laid there on my gun waiting for the buck to stand. After laying there starring through the scope at this buck for about 20-30 minutes he finally got up. Once he stood I slipped the safety off and pressed the trigger. I saw it was a good hit and knew he was going to go down. He ran about 20 yards and stood facing me and started to wobble back and forth, but just to make certain I put one more in him and he hit the ground hard.

So after hunting for 30 years I got to be that guy, who gets to tag out not only the first day of his hunt but before he really starts hunting.
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Old September 22, 2016, 02:20 PM   #7
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Very nice.



Quote:
So after hunting for 30 years I got to be that guy, who gets to tag out not only the first day of his hunt but before he really starts hunting.
Yep.
One of my brother's did it a few years back. Filled both of his antelope tags before sunrise - and had his wife fill hers. So, instead of hunting, they spent the rest of the week twiddling their thumbs, acting as designated drivers for the hunters that wanted to drive around, and worrying about the meat.
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Old September 22, 2016, 04:10 PM   #8
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Quote:
I used my Tikka T3 Tactical in .308, topped with a Nightforce NXS 3.5-15X50 NPR-2 reticle, Hornady 168g TAP ammo, Harris bipod, rear bag Swarovski EL 8.5X42 bino (yes you read that right), Lica rangefinder.
I'll be using something similar. Sako 75 Finnlight with 24" Douglas SS air gauged barrel in .308 win. Hornady Superformance 150 gr SST topped with a Ziess Conquest 4.5x14x44mm plex reticle. Leupold 10x42 bino's and Leupold RX1200i TBR range finder and a Kestral 3500 NV wind meter for good measure.
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Old September 22, 2016, 05:43 PM   #9
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OK ,I'll ask a question I've asked on forums before.
How fast can a pronghorn run ?? NO guesses please !
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Old September 22, 2016, 06:20 PM   #10
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US Fish and Wildlife said 65 MPH., I have actually clocked a few at 58 MPH.

So "no guesses" means that the fastest ones I have chased were going 58 MPH for about 1/2 mile.

At least 58 MPH, and maybe 65 in some cases.

Just like humans, some are faster than others.


But I can assure faithfully they are fast. They make deer look real slow in comparison.
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Old September 22, 2016, 08:35 PM   #11
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man... I remember the few times my brother tried to hunt goats with me taggin along. I couldn't even see them at the distances he was spotting(didn't yet know I was just a little near sighted) and we would walk quite a ways before they would take off at well beyond shooting distance. I'm much more happy hunting in places where 300 is the max expected shooting distance
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Old September 22, 2016, 08:47 PM   #12
KenL
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Nice! I'm in Wyoming for business this week, and saw several nice ones along the road. Also saw one buck "get lucky". That's one thing I never thought I'd witness alongside the highway.
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Old September 22, 2016, 09:45 PM   #13
Worc
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Quote:
Nice! I'm in Wyoming for business this week, and saw several nice ones along the road. Also saw one buck "get lucky". That's one thing I never thought I'd witness alongside the highway.
Now that's a funny story. Thanks


Quote:
OK ,I'll ask a question I've asked on forums before.
How fast can a pronghorn run ?? NO guesses please !
Top end speed is one thing but, they can run at a speed of 35 MPH for a distance of 4 miles. That's a pretty long cloud of dust in the ole spotting scope.
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Old September 22, 2016, 09:49 PM   #14
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Nice one!

I would sure like to amble out that way and get one with my Contender.
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Old September 23, 2016, 01:49 AM   #15
mete
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The one chance that I had to measure was years ago driving in CO .Actually I was not driving so I could watch the pronghorn. We were going 55 MPH and I watched as a pronghorn joined us and paced us .He gave no sign of using much energy to do that .He was with us for at least 1 mile , then accelerated quiockly and left us in the dust !! We both agreed that he would have gone to 70mph .Over the years I've tried to find measured speeds for the pronghorn.
For those who don't know, comparing pronghorn with a deer , the pronghorn has a bigger esophagos and bigger lungs --he's built for speed !!!
Thanks for the numbers .
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Old September 23, 2016, 09:25 PM   #16
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I've written a few papers on Pronghorn over the last ten years (it's my favorite animal).

Quoted "official" speeds are all over the place in scientific literature, and often come back to questionable sources. (Sounds really scientific until you drill down through 90 years worth of citations and find that the "official" measured speed was actually an old fat guy sitting on a rock, using dead-reckoning to "measure" their speed. )
I've seen as low as 38 mph, and as high as 58 mph. However, all of the 'top end' numbers are for captive animals. I have not, yet, found a solid figure for top speed of a pronghorn in the wild -- only estimates (or dead-reckoning garbage).


My personal experience is 55+ mph. I've seen it many times for half a mile to a mile.
I have no idea what my real speed was at the time, but I once saw 52 mph while accelerating (off road) to get in front of a herd that was going to run straight into a nasty fence, only to have them pass me and dart in front of me (while my speed was still climbing).
I was on a silty/sandy 'jeep trail'. They were in the sagebrush. We had to have been doing in excess of 60 mph. And they still outran my truck.
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