Spot and Stalk Pronghorn
The most difficult animal to harvest with a bow and arrow in North America is hands down the Pronghorn. With their incredible eyesight; it tests any archer’s patience when it comes to sitting over a water hole in a ground blind baking in the hot sun for hours on end waiting for that goat to come in and quench his thirst. Well doesn’t that seem a little boring for those other hunters who enjoy bringing the hunt to the animal and love to test their skills of allusiveness and to get within the animals comfort ability without letting him know your there? Now that’s hunting.
When spot and stalk hunting for pronghorn you need to make sure you are eliminated of all scent but even more importantly, have the right kind of camouflage. Anything about you that doesn’t fit into the habitat and environment you are hunting will blow the hunt completely in a matter of seconds, no matter what distance you are from the animal. It's important to place yourself below the sky line of ridges but high enough on the hill you have the vantage point to glass the property. Normally I find pronghorn early in the mornings feeding out in the flats of the prairie as they slowly make their way to water. I like to think of this part of the day as a chess match. I sit back, watch them and study the land a few hundred yards in front of the animal at all times until the right time comes that they head for a ridge top or off the bottoms of the hills and that’s the time I feel the confidence into making my move to where they are going. Heading an animal off is a task in of itself, but placing yourself within that 40 yard range and having the security of being able to pull the shot off when the time comes is the true test. Make sure you have enough tall grass, a small indentation in the ground, or any back ground cover so the animal won’t be able to pin you so quickly.
As the middle part of the day comes it seems almost text book you will see the goats bedded down in the open prairie to where it is nearly impossible for you to make a successful stalk. You will always see the buck whether in the middle of the herd or near the top which enables him to see further and secure his safety. More often than not, the does will be bedded all around the dominant buck and facing separate ways to increase their chances of seeing any threat or predator coming near. What I like to do during this time of the day is find the area that I believe the animals will head once it begins to cool off; such as a food source or a watering hole, and I will place myself half way in-between the herd and their evening destination. By doing this, I'm not completely committed to that choice of action but still keep the confidence in the knowledge I have gained through my years of experience. Never eliminate yourself from visual contact with the herd and always make sure you can see just exactly what they are doing at all times.
These few but important tactics will increase your chances of harvesting the illusive pronghorn greater than if you keep attempting to go straight for the animal until you blow them off the property. This technique may not be as successful as ground blind hunting over a food source or watering hole; but for the aggressive hunter, it’s a little more satisfying than sitting back and waiting all day in the summer sun. Spot and stalk hunting for pronghorn is a test of wit and persistence and will bring you through trials and tribulations, but in the end, it only takes that one perfect setup...