Looking at hunting Speed goats with my bow this year or next year with my bow. I’m a nonresident and looking to mark off more states on pronghorn list. Not looking for a monster, mostly just wanting to harvest one with the bow. If anyone has any pointers on where to look or have leads let me know. I really appreciate any help I can get to achieve my goal of harvesting a pronghorn in every state that I can. Thanks
If you are good at it I’d look SW of Tribune. Would need to get permission before you head out because most of the ground is private. Most of the public land I was near was very heavily pressured last year.
Go to Wyoming. I'll probably leave the poor things alone in KS because they are over hunted and only reside in something like 2 counties. I hunt them in NM every August but may stop there as numbers decline.
JT, they figure us out way before we figure them out. The herd is a little less than 10yrs ago, but there are plenty to hunt. Problem is...everyone wants to try it "just once", and most in KS want to actually hunt them, not just sit over water. That will be a hard nut to crack on public ground.
Tags are too plentiful for the muzzleloader and rifle season, and do a bunch of damage, just way too easy...but you know this.
I've watched your hunts Kyle, and have great respect for your methods. Only bowhunted them twice. Missed a shot on the first, and passed a small buck in easy range after a stalk on the 2nd. The buck I killed with a rifle last year could easily have been decoyed and I regretted leaving the bow at the truck. I've not seen many antelope in your semi live hunts as what I have it compared to on my CO and NM hunts. 4 years ago, there were over 30 bucks on the 5,000 acre ranch I hunt. Last year, there were only 6. Also, the place you hunt is private, something this gentleman may not have access to as you stated.
Historically, pronghorn used to be all over the state. Dad told me back in the 80's the pasture I still hunt today in Greenwood County had a pronghorn living on it that probably came over from the transplant herd at Matfield Green. The last known original wild one was killed by ranchers near Rosalia in the early 1900's after an ice storm.
They tried several re-intros. One of my bucks came from Clark County about 30 years ago.
The Red Hills had a season for two years and closed down. As of a few years ago there were remnant herds around Turner's Ranch south of Deerfield and north of Ashland. I'd heard the ones north of Ashland perished in the Starbuck fire, but that wasn't anything official.
Another release site was somewhere in the Smoky Hills, north of Ellsworth. They really disappeared quickly.
These were about the same time they started trying go re-introduce of ruffed grouse and sharp-tailed grouse to Kansas. Most reports ended after about a decade, though reproduction on both was documented.
Back in the mid 60s one of the outdoor mags had a state-by-state list of big game populations. I remember Kansas was listed as no deer (which was incorrect) and 50 pronghorns. Workmen could see pronghorns while building the Chase County courthouse in, I think, the 1870s.
J.R. Mead mentions them often in his book. Such neat animals. Love watching the young fawns learning how to run...it's almost like they don't know how to stop.
Boggles my mind how quickly the original huge herds of deer, bison and pronghorn were extirpated.
Alot of the pronghorn issue in flint hills came from too short of grass for fawning and too many coyotes.This is what I was told by one of the guys doing the study several years ago.
I know I've posted this before, several times, but it's an awesome hunt and Buck. One of my favorite videos! I had been chasing this guy for a few days, but decided to wait and let my buddy Brian take a "shot" at him as he'd never killed a good buck...well now he has ;?)
"Too short of grass"? Doesn't sound right. I heard it was too tall of grass that allowed coyotes to sneak in. Either way, the states with the biggest populations are shortgrass prairie and large numbers of coyotes. I think the only way to keep these things from disappearing is to drastically limit the tags and increase fines for poaching. It's a well known idea that ranchers hate them and many are poached because of the perceived fence damage.
The Flint Hills were historically on the fringe of pronghorn range. Heard a lot of theories...trying to establish a prey population where predators are already at capacity, more chances of fawn illness because of spring rains and humidity.
Over 200 were released there through the years. Now, population stays 25-60 or so.
Kyle, was that one of the Lohman calls and a Dutton decoy?
Most exciting bowhunt of my life was the first time I popped up a Dutton decoy on a Wyoming buck. It flat charged from 250 to 15 yards before it caught me drawing. Luckily it stopped for a “what the heck was that” look at 35.
From the time I left the truck to start the stalk, to my return after the buck was killed was nine minutes. Had a heck of a lot more to do with the attitude of the top buck on the ranch than anything I did.
I think the Dutton's were only "one-sided"? That one is painted on both sides, but Brian enhanced the color scheme as well as shortening the horns to make it look even more subordinate. I've never had much luck with the call but he likes to use it, I've sure heard them "barking" at each other many times.
Agree that the mood of the buck or stage of rut makes a huge difference...if you see him chasing off younger or less dominate bucks you need to make a move.
I don't know if I've posted this one here, if so it's been at least 10yrs. Out of the 15+yrs I've hunted them in KS, these were the only two times I've ever sat a tank, hated it. May also be funny to some that I called them Antelope then as well...I was uneducated. It's long, but you should really watch to the very end ;?)
I saw a buck off the turnpike on Tuesday going through the Flint Hills. I was out looking at an oil lease in Clark County S of Sitka and there is definitely some country out there that would be good for a reintroduction of pronghorn. I wouldn’t mind if they did more of this, I mean after whoring our deer herd out, they should have all that NR money to do these projects, right?
Kscowboy. I seen a herd of 20 laying/standing in the ditch 3 miles east of Coldwater 4 or 5 years ago. Anderson Creek might have got them, I haven't heard.