Pronghorn Hunting (The Complete Hunter) (Hardcover)

by Toby Bridges (Author), Don Oster (Author) "From the very beginning the pronghorn has been mistakenly called an antelope..." (more)
Key Phrases: pronghorn hunter, pronghorn habitat, antelope movement, Toby Bridges, Don Oster, Winchester Magnum (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Pronghorns are the next species on the big-game list of many eastern and midwestern whitetail hunters, especially bowhunters.

About the Author
Both authors are vetern pronghorn hunters with extensive experience hunting many of the western states in which pronghorn are found. Toby Bridges authored Cpi's book, Muzzleloading and Don Oster wrote the best-selling Cpi title Largemouth Bass. Toby Bridges lives in Pearl, Illinois and Don Oster lives in southern Indiana.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Creative Publishing International (July 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865731578
• ISBN-13: 978-0865731578
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #402,120 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pronghorn Hunting, September 10, 2003

By	v.s. carberry (Silver Spring, Md, USA) - See all my reviews

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!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended Reading, August 20, 2007

By	EasternOregon Old Tom (Eastern Oregon) - See all my reviews

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.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Is Pronghorn Hunting Really This Simple?, July 26, 2005

By	Jonathan Nelson (Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!