Prairie Goat Primer

For most folks, the Western adventure is envisioned as a high-country elk hunt, replete with bugling bulls, a comfortable camp and a long string of pack animals to transport the trophy. Thanks to these hopelessly grand (and expensive) expectations, the run-of-the-mill hunter never makes his cherished hunt--except vicariously through the pages of a magazine or on cable television. However, by altering one's perception of paradise, any competent hunter can make the Western dream a reality. Enter the antelope.

Consider the facts that favor antilocapra americana over elk and deer for first-timers to the West. An antelope license routinely costs 50 percent of a comparable elk tag. In some states, drawing odds nearly guarantee a tag, making it much easier to schedule a hunt than it is in the long-odds lotteries that often determine opportunities for other species. Additionally, it takes little specialized gear to hunt pronghorn--a deer rifle and everyday camping equipment make an adequate outfit.

To top things off, the tan and white speedsters often roam on public land, making access a non-issue. Alternatively, hunters seeking a low-pressure experience on private land can typically find excellent hunting on properties whose trespass fees are usually much lower than those charged for deer or elk.

"What's antelope hunting like?" That's a question I often hear from diehard whitetail hunters looking to come West. The simplest response is that antelope hunting is challenging and lots of fun. Pronghorn are often plentiful where they're found, making it sometimes possible to view 100 animals or more in a single day.

Early in the season, the innate curiosity of antelope sometimes makes them fairly easy to stalk. Once they've been pressured, however, the appearance of a vehicle or man a mile away might send them on a forty-mile-per-hour dash across the prairie. Conversely, they may make camp on the center of the biggest, flattest, parcel of real estate, knowing it's over a quarter-mile to the nearest bush capable of hiding a hunkered cottontail. Antelope hunting under such conditions requires every dram of a hunter's stalking skills and perseverance. The sleek beauty of a black-cheeked buck is the reward for those who succeed in this unique experience.

That's my pitch for pronghorn hunting. How about practicalities? If you've never hiked the open prairies, first prepare yourself for the scale of the landscape antelope inhabit--there's a reason my home state, Montana, is called Big Sky Country. Atmospheric conditions allowing, spotting animals at three miles or more isn't uncommon. You might have to walk that far to engineer a stalk.

Given the broad expanse of the habitat, you may also have to shoot at distances much farther than you're accustomed. A few years back, I shared an antelope hunt with a Tennessee police officer. In the course of prehunt conversation, I found he put in lots of time at the rifle range and had shot competitively. One afternoon we followed three bucks over a rolling series of low hills. Taking a chance, I led him quickly around a bulbous knob to a position overlooking a swale I thought the animals might cross.