Field judging pronghorn for trophy quality

[JJMarsh]

Spotting a true trophy antelope requires more than just finding the biggest horns on the prairie. The key lies in evaluating mass, prong formation, and overall horn shape at distance. Look for bases that appear thick compared to the ears, distinct upward-curving prongs, and horns that extend well beyond the ears when viewed broadside.

Many hunters overlook the importance of horn mass when field judging. A buck with shorter but heavier horns often scores better than a taller, thinner rack. Pay equal attention to the horn's rear curve - the best trophies maintain consistent mass from base to tip.

What's your preferred method for estimating pronghorn size? Any tricks for judging at extreme distances in mirage?

#PronghornHunting #TrophyAntelope #FieldJudging #SpeedGoat #HuntingTips

 

[PNWGATOR]

Start here:

Field Judging

Practice your pronghorn field judging skills on these bucks. Click a picture and it takes you to a scoring form and video of that buck. Submit your entry and find out the real score (or what we...

www.pronghornguideservice.com

 

[wytx]

Get close and look them over closely.
Spotting scope is mandatory and a good mount for glassing- tripod or window mount.
Mass- base compared to eye, length compared to ears and prongs.

When the first thing you notice is black on their head usually they are worth a closer look.
A buck that has mass and length will just stand out, you'll notice his horns 1st.

 

[Elkslut]

Following this. Drew my first pronghorn tags this year. Scouted the area with my buddy, only saw females and faws (young ones). Looking forward to this hunt.

 

[Rackmastr]

Mass is king!!!!!

Dont pass up a short buck without taking the time to ensure you've assessed mass.

 

[High Climber]

Start here:

Field Judging

Practice your pronghorn field judging skills on these bucks. Click a picture and it takes you to a scoring form and video of that buck. Submit your entry and find out the real score (or what we...

www.pronghornguideservice.com

^ This is a great resource

 

[cuerro viejo]

Ye

Mass is king!!!!!

Dont pass up a short buck without taking the time to ensure you've assessed mass.

Yelp I have a 12.5” that’s 79” due to mass, you get two length measurements and 8 mass, plus mass increases cutter so essentially 10 of the 12 is based off mass.

 

[Dwnw/theAltitudesickness]

Super cool post.

Start here:

Field Judging

Practice your pronghorn field judging skills on these bucks. Click a picture and it takes you to a scoring form and video of that buck. Submit your entry and find out the real score (or what we...

www.pronghornguideservice.com

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Yes, mass is king. My best is a 15.5 inch with huge mass over a near 17 with less. Although, the latter is cooler as his prongs are double over his ears.

 

[TaperPin]

I love long prongs. A 14-1/2” goat with 7-1/4” prongs does more for me than a 15-1/2” with 6-1/4” prongs. Mass is definitely a score builder, but a nice hooked shape with white tips and long prongs is primarily what I’m looking for. Somewhere there’s a photo of a goat that made it low in the book that’s kind of ugly with crooked straight up tips, weird prongs, but good mass. I don’t know that I would have passed it up, but it’s not much to look at.

White tips often don’t show up at distance and look shorter than they are, especially if the horn has a lot of curve in the top. You really have to see both prongs before pulling the trigger - the rut can be hard on aggressive goats with one or both prongs busted off. Same for tips, make sure to get a good look at both.

It definitely helps to look over a lot of animals and decide what’s important to you. If someone isn’t used to estimating size carry a small 1/4” wide tape measure and measure mounted heads whenever possible, or just ask what the length is. Telling a 14-1/2” goat from a 15” or larger should be automatic and is often what separates average goats from good ones. Some years you’ll pass up at least one 15 incher every day, other years you’re lucky to find one. Any goat with 7” prongs is well above average.

I tell this story every year, but the last hour of the last day I pulled the trigger on a good, but not exceptional buck, only to have what was close to the largest goat I’ve ever seen during a season come out of a hidden draw and stare at me from 250 yards. I would have traded ten years worth of bucks for that one. Naw, I’d trade all the antelope I’ve taken for that one. Don’t shoot a small one if you really want a big one, even the last hour of the last day.