Customer Reviews

Pronghorn Hunting (The Complete Hunter)

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Since I was old enough to get my Hunter's Safety Certificate, I have been actively hunting Whitetail deer in Wisconsin and Sitka Blacktail deer in Alaska. After 16 years of hunting deer, I wanted to pursue another big game species. I decided that the Pronghorn would be my next pursuit. Despite extensive hunting experience in Southeast Alaska and Wisconsin, I did not have the slightest clue how to hunt Pronghorn. I saw this book and thought it would be a great place to begin to learn.

I would summarize this book as a cross between "everything you ever wanted to know about Pronghorn" and a "how-to" book on hunting. The book is divided into four sections. The first section, Understanding Pronghorns, covers biological and social information about Pronghorns. This section talks about eating habits, travel habits, basic history of Pronghorn populations, etc. The second section is entitled "Hunting Equipment." Not surprising, this section covers equipment needed to hunt Pronghorn including rifles, optics, clothing, and other items for muzzleloaders and bowhunters. The third section, Pronghorn Hunting, discusses various hunting strategies such as decoying, blinds, spot and stalk, as well as how to field judge Pronghorn. The final section, Hunts to Remember, is a collection of a few stories by each of the co-authors.

Parts of the book were extremely useful. I thought the section on field judging Pronghorns was very valuable. The section on hunting clothing is also very handy for the novice Pronghorn hunter. A majority of the book simplifies Pronghorn hunting with rifles to simply be glassing a prairie, see a Pronghorn, stalk it, and shoot it. For close range weapons, find a place Pronghorns will go (a fence crossing or a water hole), set up a blind, and wait. While some other methods are talked about (I thought the cow story was great. I felt like building one myself.), a huge chunk of the book is spent talking about the two methods I mentioned. To the authors credit, while they make the hunting process sound simple, they do convey the point that a lot of the time, a Pronghorn will spot you and run all the way to the next county before the hunter can even think of shooting, letting the reader know it is much more difficult than it sounds.

Personally, I felt the authors or editors could have cut out a lot of the data in the "Understanding Pronghorns" section of the book. I think the book could have highly benefited by discussing how to find a place to hunt, or rules on using BLM land. As the majority of Pronghorn hunters are from out of state, I think some elaboration on preparing and transporting the meat and a trophy head and cape over long distances taking a day or two would have been highly beneficial as well.

The book was an easy read. Despite its shortcomings, the book is still an acceptable place to start learning for the novice Pronghorn hunter. An experienced Pronghorn hunter may get a tidbit or two of information, but I would not expect they would learn much. Happy Hunting!

If you are just going to drive around and pop the first decent goat you see,as most pronghorn hunters do, then you probably don't need this book. However,if you want to learn how to hunt pronghorns, have a more enjoyable hunt, and score on a nicer buck, then I highly recommend that you read this book. It starts with the animals habits,goes on to locating, stalking and on thru to cooking. I've been on more than a dozen pronghorn hunts since 1982. I won't take a buck less than 3 or 4 years old - in the 15 to 16 inch range. I learn something every hunt. I learned a heck of a lot from this book. The authors really know their stuff. I'm anxious to apply some of their knowledge and try some of their tactics on next months hunt in Wyoming. Good luck on your hunt.
Followup comment 10/26/07 . Best hunt ever. Located and stalked more pronghorns than ever thanks to this book.

If you enjoy antelope hunting, or if you want to, you will thoroughly appreciate this book. It provides the How To, along with the biolology, and the pure joy and mystery of America`s unique game animal. There are not many books on antelope hunting, but even if there were, this would still be one of the best. Enjoy!

Very infomative book with lots of tips on hunting. Great information on the Pronghorn and their habits. A very easy read.

I was going on my first antelope hunt this fall and wanted to read more than I had in hunting magazines about antelope hunting. I found the book very informative about antelope. I think this is a very good starter book. It would be nice to see a little more advanced hunting methods and processes. There are not many options for books on antelope hunting but this is a good starting point and I would recommend it.

The book repeats itself a lot. I do not fell the info about the right firearms to use is accrete. Things like speed I fell are a little exaggerated, prong horn may be the fastest land animal in North America but the 60 M.P.H. of the cheetah is a little out of reach.