Pronghorn shot placement
Pronghorn
Heading to Wyoming for pronghorn the week of 8/24. Some recommendations on shot placement would be greatly appreciated. Pictures with colored dots would be great. I googled up an old post from '08 by BB but the pictures wouldn't open up. He recommended aiming straight up the front leg. What aiming point has the most margin for error on broadside and slightly quartering away positions? Thanks in advance.
Shoot em in the > like everything else.
Shoot him in the swirl behind the elbow.
I remember that thread.
Pronghorn have a built in pointer. The white comes up their sides and makes a point where It meets tan on their back and shoulders. That white/tan color change point works well...
I remember that thread.
Pronghorn have a built in pointer. The white comes up their sides and makes a point where It meets tan on their back and shoulders.
That white/tan color change point works well...
This is one of my favorite pictures. I'm not smart enough to add dots or other pointers. You can shoot up to the top of the white patch and still be under the spine. You can also shoot all the way forward on the white. The only concern is the point of the shoulder which is very visible.
The perfect shot is about 2" below the upper right point of the white area. It makes for the perfect aiming point.
As stated earlier, they aren't that hard to kill but if you don't get both lungs, an artery or liver, they can live a long time. I generally don't hesitate to shoot at them quartering on because they are seldom in the same position when the arrow gets there.
I did hit one quartering on through the top of the shoulder and it exited behind the ribs. I watched him for about 4 hours and then he led me on a merry chase that ended up with a killing shot after about six hours and a mile later. The good things is, you usually don't lose sight of them and if you make a marginal shot, you will be able to follow up. Not what we want but if you hunt long enough you will have to deal with some screw ups.
If they aren't within 25 yds when you shoot it's very unlikely you'll hit anywhere close to where you're aiming anyway. No kidding..they're amazing. My partner who has killed a pickup truck full of them says he hit one on the exact opposite side one time at 33 yds!
My wife and I are heading out in mid-September. We booked lodging about 2 weeks ago and now I am having trouble concentrating on my school work. Oh well, who needs to know about Global Political Economy anyway? Antelope are fascinating animals - and tasty.
My one and only pronghorn I shot at the brown meeting the white. It was on the shoulder crease. I was above him shooting down. I hit below the spine caught the top edge of the lungs. He did not go far but did not want to give up the ghost. Next time I will aim low in the “V”.
Shoot them like a deer.
Antelope may be small, but they are built to survive. Put a bad shot on one you’ll soon learn the meaning of “long day”
My main take away from hunting antelope a handful of times is that they’re always closer than they seem. They’re small which makes them seem farther away.
It’s not really rocket science......shoot them like you would a deer. ??
I like to come up the leg & remind myself to "kill them in the corner" (White & Brown intersection)
Will be after them in Wyoming 1st week of Sept. Primary weapon will be an Osage selfbow with Tonkin cane arrows tipped with Zwickey deltas.
Cazador just described what happened to me in Nevada a couple days ago. Pronghorn turned at the shot & it ended up being a really long, stressful day. Wasn't one of my proudest archery moments. I ended it later but some bad memories that will stick with me for a long time.
