Taking a pronghorn with a bow, and doing so outside of a ground blind positioned near a water hole, is one of the West’s most challenging hunts. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)
August 26, 2024
By Andrew McKean
In the face of it, there’s no way to kill a pronghorn antelope with a bow. These animals size up country by the township, and the idea that they’d voluntarily get within shouting range of danger is as laughable as deliberately putting coleslaw on a hotdog.
But every year several thousand bowhunters do the impossible, arcing arrows through thin prairie air and into the vitals of pronghorns. Their success doesn’t hinge on the angular mathematics of reticle subtensions, or on some particular ninja stalking skills. Instead, these magicians find a way to beckon wary pronghorns across space, time and wheat stubble into bow range by exploiting some behavioral cue.
Most rely on decoys to reel antelopes into bow range. Others wave a white flag or otherwise appeal to the animals’ curiosity. And some blow a wheezy call to get their attention. All these open-air tactics—whether they result in a shot or not—beat the tarnation out of baking in a ground blind over a water hole, which is the other tried-and-true method of hunting pronghorns with a bow. This ambush tactic can be effective, and is a favorite of outfitters, who can plant their clients in a blind, leave them with a couple gallons of water and a good book and come back when they’ve either sluiced a thirsty speed goat or succumbed to heat-induced hallucinations.
Pronghorn country can be deceptively complex. Scrutinize every wrinkle in the landscape from a high vantage point before making a move. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock) But decoying delivers magic, improbability and heart-pounding excitement, and elevates archery antelope hunting to a classic Western pursuit.
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On the way to accruing knowledge of bowhunting antelopes, I’ve accompanied old prairiemen who would get squirmy if they heard me call them my mentors. I’ve envied friends’ random successes and have had my own share of hits and misses. What I’ve learned from each of these experiences is that there’s no substitute for the combination of chance and abundance. In places where you can work several bucks in a day, you’ll get lucky sometimes. I’d estimate the tactics I’m about to share work roughly a third of the time. The other two-thirds? Those are the antelopes that blew up well outside of bow range, declined to play the game or had no idea there was a game at all.
HUNT THE HERDS When bowhunting pronghorns, your first task is to find them. As with most things, the more, the better. Remember that reference to abundance in the previous paragraph? It’s not just a situational consideration, but a reason that pronghorns thrive in herds. The more animals in a herd, the more they’ll want to split into subunits. And the more bucks in a glut, the more they’ll be eager to achieve escape velocity and come to investigate your decoy.
Once you locate a large herd, identify bucks that peel off to accompany smaller groups of does. Those are the ones that’ll be more inclined to investigate a decoy. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock) So, find the big herds, but hunt the outliers. Big herds of antelope move like schools of fish, with a shared purpose that makes them really hard to sneak up on, and once they flare they are nearly impossible to calm down. So, on the margins of big herds, look for small gatherings of four to 10 pronghorns.
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The full-on pronghorn rut begins in the latter part of September, but as early as mid-August, bucks will start to separate from herds and hang around small groups of does. These lone bucks exhibit a mix of curiosity and possessiveness, both traits that make them decoyable. Watch their body language. A workable buck has its head up and its weight forward, almost like a boxer ready to deliver a punch. The prospects of success are sometimes better with two of these trip-wire bucks. They almost compete with each other to engage a decoy, which they sense as a challenger.
WORKING THE DECOY Antelope decoys have probably repelled as many pronghorns as they’ve attracted. To maximize its effectiveness, use your decoy sparingly. That is, flash it to a buck, then lower it out of sight, then raise it again. That now-you-see-me approach piques their curiosity and gives you time to judge their reaction. If they like what you’re doing, they’ll start to come—some slowly and others at a sprint. If they don’t, they’ll run the other way. More often, they’ll stand and watch but won’t commit. If that’s the case, back out and figure out another way to approach.
I like reading the landscape and working antelopes that are in the middle of a prairie wash. That allows me to decoy from the rim of a basin. If you can hide your profile but flash the decoy over the rim, you’ll stand a better chance of reeling a pronghorn in. That terrain break also gives you a chance to set up in case a buck steams in. Find a way to keep the decoy upright and in sight (the best decoys have stout stakes) find your rangefinder, nock an arrow and get ready.
The very best decoy set-up is with a buddy. If you’re the shooter, get in a spot where you can hide your profile. Put your buddy off to a side where he can work the deke, but close enough where he can whisper the range in case you’re pinned down and unable to deploy your rangefinder. If you’re the decoyer, try moving it, laying it out of sight, then bringing it back into view. All those variations will keep an interested buck’s attention.
In wide-open country, try setting up along a fence line or near a water tank, windmill or other feature.
Sometimes you have to exaggerate the appeal of a decoy. Two falls ago I spotted what I identified as a workable buck—a lone pronghorn that kept looking around like he owned the place. Problem was, he was 1,200 yards across an open stubble field and didn’t initially react to my decoy. So I hoisted the deke high over my head and walked down a shallow wash where my body was mostly hidden to the buck. I brandished the decoy like a protest sign at a demonstration. Whether it was the movement or the flashes of white, the decoy somehow caught that buck’s attention. He covered 1,200 yards in two minutes, and I arrowed him at 31 yards.
KNOW WHEN TO ADJUST As I’ve mentioned, not every encounter ends in a dead pronghorn. Many times, antelopes run the other way or simply don’t respond. In the latter case, don’t push it. If you can confirm that bucks have seen your decoy and don’t respond, back out and find another approach. Your temporary failure may not be your fault. Maybe the sun is directly behind you, or the wind isn’t right for the antelope. Or maybe there’s some other reason—like a previous interaction with a coyote—that they don’t want to approach your spot.
Decoying pronghorns is best done with a partner. Working the decoy, keeping an eye on the buck, ranging the buck as it approaches, readying for the shot and then making the shot can be a lot for a solo hunter to manage. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock) You can often use the very same tactics from another direction, and bucks will cooperate almost like they’ve never seen your decoy before. You should also experiment with impassive bucks, either flashing the decoy or moving it from broadside to quartering. You can also try calling.
If decoys have a sub-.500 batting average, then calling is a fraction of that, more like my .156 Little League average. Pronghorns make their living with their razor-sharp eyes. Their hearing is decent, but calling should be used when other tactics fail. If you’ve ever decoyed an antelope inside of bow range, then you’ve probably heard its vocalization. It’s a wheezy grunt, almost a bark. I’ve used that sound to get the attention of antelopes that hadn’t yet seen my decoy, and I’ve used it to stop a buck that was running in so fast I feared he’d overshoot my location. But I’ve also blown pronghorns out of the country by overusing a call.
If you’re lucky enough to decoy an antelope, first celebrate an impossible success. Then get busy. It’s almost always hot during antelope archery seasons, and you have only a short time to get that delicious meat out of the sun and cooled down. You can relive your unlikely achievement with every savored meal.
ESSENTIAL ARCHERY ANTELOPE GEAR Mission-built equipment for punching early-season pronghorn tags.
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DECOY Photo courtesy of Montana Decoys) The gold standard for pronghorn decoys is the classic Mel Dutton. Created by a South Dakota schoolteacher of the same name, these hard-plastic dekes hold up to the high winds of the plains, and they have what none of their competitors do: blazing whites that pull antelope in from a country mile. They’re no longer being manufactured, but savvy garage-salers can sometimes score one.
A strong contender for heir to the Dutton is M.A.D.’s CommAndelope ($81; flambeauoutdoors.com), a tri-fold, hard-plastic decoy that can be set up in either a standing or bedded posture. The hand-hold helps with field transport, and also provides a useful portal through which to watch the advance of a headlong buck.
The foldable, fabric Montana Decoy Antelope Buck is handy for those who cover many miles on foot in search of pronghorns ($89.99; montanadecoy.com ).
BOW SIGHT (Photo courtesy of Spot Hogg Archery) Your choice of bow is probably already established, but I want to make the case for a very versatile bow sight. I’m partial to a two- or three-pin sight with an adjustable floater. Happily, manufacturers are making sights that have the best of both worlds. Because conditions are so fluid and changeable with pronghorns, you want the versatility to shoot with confidence at pre-established distances, but also have the option to take a shot at a specific yardage if the conditions allow. Check out Spot Hogg’s Fast Eddie XL Triple Stack ($424.99; spot-hogg.com ) and the Pro Hunter HD from Black Gold ($339.95; blackgoldsights.com ).
CALLS (Photo courtesy of E.L.K. Inc.) This fits in the “better safe than sorry” category. I have only ever used calls to stop pronghorns, not to get them to come closer. But I’ve seen them used by others to get the attention of a distant antelope that had yet to see the hunter’s decoy. And they probably have some utility on foggy mornings when visibility is especially low. Go with the simple E.L.K. Inc. Antelope Talk clamshell-style call ($14.99; elkinc.com ).
RANGEFINDER (Photo courtesy of Bushnell) It’s hard to accurately judge distances in open country, and being off by even 5 yards when bowhunting can mean the difference between a clean kill and a miss—or worse, a wounded pronghorn. Pick a rangefinder that’s easily deployed with a single hand and has a display that can blaze bright in full sunshine, when most archery antelopes are killed. I like Bushnell’s Broadhead, with its handy smart display ($299.99; bushnell.com ).
BOOTS (Photo courtesy of Danner) You’re going to grind, and you need a boot that can handle miles, heat and grit. I haven’t found a better option for archery-season antelope than the aptly named Danner Pronghorn ($270; danner.com ). Get the uninsulated, 8-inch version for early-season duties.
CAMO (Photo courtesy of KUIU ) I’ve killed pronghorns in a t-shirt and Carhartt jeans, but it’s hard to beat a lightweight, durable set of duds. I like Kuiu ’s Tiburon ($149; kuiu.com ) and Kutana ($169) pants in Valo, which may be the ultimate pronghorn pattern. For shirts, the Tiburon Hybrid Hoodie ($129) is a good choice, or go with Sitka’s Core Lightweight Hoodie ($129; sitkagear.com ) in the Open Country pattern.
This article was featured in the August 2024 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .
