Rookie Rita Blanca Pronghorn tag holder

[S-3 Ranch]

I think I remember some of the better units for hunting

[mhunter6]

let your spotting scope do the walking.

[jimmy o]

My son got drawn on the youth hunt program several years back. We hunted the same area you are going to be hunting. Don't worry the pronhorn were plentiful. We hit the grass lands at day light and the hunt was over at 10:30 am. I don't remember the score but I think it was 78 or so.

[Texans42]

Glassing and covering country. From a scoring stand point good goat(prongs above the ear, side mass should exceed corners of the eye and length min of two ears tall. Although my last goat was 77" and only 12" tall.

[Top Of Texas]

Lucky dude! I've put in for 22 years. That doesn't mean much from a drawing standpoint when 5,000 people put in, 10 get drawn, and the other 4,990 all have 20 preference points. Congrats!

Anyway, before stretching boot leather, stretch tire rubber. Panhandle antelope see lots of vehicles and are accustomed to them, but a guy out walking around looks like trouble. The RB Grassland is a patchwork of properties intermingled with private (watch where you're at), not a big contiguous block though some pieces are bigger than others, and pretty scattered, and there's not much topography. So, I would suggest staying in vehicle and cover as much country as possible until you find one you like. Then stretch leather.

Spotting scope is very important for judging.

I wouldn't worry too much about water in that area, not as big a deal as in large expanses of rangeland like in NM, AZ, or WY. There's water everywhere.

If you haven't already, holler at the ranger office in Clayton, NM for detailed map of units.

For judging quality, that's tough especially if you haven't done it as differences between nice buck and good buck can be subtle. On your scout day, you should get a feel for the average buck, 12-13" scoring 65-70. Those are a-dime-a-dozen. Shane gave some good pointers. I'll add, that generally there will be 1 buck with a harem of doe. Ordinarily those are the more dominant bucks in the immediate area, and odds are, the better buck in the area. Not always, just a rule of thumb.

Good luck! There are some 80" bucks in that country. And please do follow up with us.

[HankH]

Many thanks for all of the good gouge above and Semper Fi Mr. Whiskers.

Thanks also for the PMs gents, however I am not able to reply via PM as I have not reached a 15 post minimum yet. I have attached a photo of the single sheet map that TPWD sent me in the packet. The hunt units are easy to read but figuring out which roads form the boundaries is a bit difficult and it would be nice to have some starting places picked out. The packet said that the "Best units for hunting pronghorn are 7-14, 16-36, 51-52." That may be good info, but I wonder how well the units are marked. The USFS website does say that the units are marked with signs so one can hope.

I am in the process of contacting the rangers in Clayton for the better maps y'all are talking about. That is good info. Also, great pointers particularly on all the rules of thumb for judging. I'm not expecting to break any records but it will me nice to have a clue what I am looking at. Thanks!

-Hank

[HankH]

Disregard on the attachment referenced above. I cant get the file any smaller than 729K (jpeg) where the unit numbers are still legible.

[HankH]

Harvest

All,

I managed to find an unlucky buck there in the Rita Blanca. The pics are not the best to show his rack and he is not going to the record books, but my freezer and wall will be quite pleased with this buck. I didn't have him scored, maybe after the taxidermist is finished, but one side was a bit over 14" and the other a little shorter with a broken tip. Mass and prongs were not anything exceptional.

There is no shortage of animals out there although I will double down on the groups assessment that these critters are hard to field judge. I set up camp and scouted in the rain following a mid-afternoon arrival at Thompson Grove on Thursday, 2 days prior to the Saturday opener. The rain made a real mess out of all of the dirt roads which constitute most of your thoroughfare through the Rita Blanca. Friday was another day of rain and High Lonesome Road, which cuts through most of the huntable area West to East was all but impassable. 4wd was a necessity, but still didn't grant me full mobility on Friday. Saturday dried out considerably and most was reasonably accessible.

I got glass on a good number of bucks during my scouting time such that I think I had a feeling for small, average and "nice". Differentiating one nice buck from another was a challenge. I never saw one that was a clear standout and that assessment was identical to the stories of 5 other hunters in camp.

Although I didn't necessarily plan to tag out on the first day of hunting.....that is what happened. Saturday brought eyes/glass on at least 18 more bucks, several of which I stalked for variable distances. With winds nearing 20 knots, the 400 +/- yards that most animals allowed me was off the table for a shot I was willing to take. At this stage, I was mostly experimenting with stalking methods, terrain, decoy employment and animal behavior. That behavior was quite variable by the way. Some other guys in camp had does within 40 yards and bucks within 60 while the hunters were standing in the wide open. Others would be intolerant of a hunter or even a truck on the horizon.

While trying to figure out how I would approach a distant herd at about 3/4 of a mile, I noticed another herd on my opposite side, at about 700 yards. With no cover, I approached them head-on behind my Montana decoys buck pronghorn. As I neared them (500 yds), part of the same herd which had broken off out of sight became visible again at about 300 yards. They were eyeing me so I planted myself right there to see if they would settle down. Of the 4 bucks in that group, 1 was junior, 2 appeared mature and decent, and one was the clear winner. I could make out their heads and the top of their backs. The best of the bucks was interested in me and slowly closed ground, step by step between bites of grass. Eventually, I decided that if he cleared the small crest he was behind and gave me a good shot above the grass line, I would take it. After about 10 min, he had closed to 240yds and when he turned broadside, he fell at my rifle shot. I was able to field dress him and stuff a 10lb bag of ice into the chest cavity immediately, then hang, cape and quarter quickly thereafter.

Many thanks to all in the group that helped to provide me with information, much of which directly contributed to my success. Thank you.

For any future tag holders reading, 2-12 animal groups were widespread throughout the huntable expanse of the Rita Blanca. There was seemingly a greater abundance in the units numbered in the 30's off of Shirley Rd. 35 and 36 held several 8-12 animal herds and I ultimately killed my buck in unit 38. Feel free to contact me at h1hortenstine@gmail.com in the future as I am happy to provide any assistance that I might be able to.

-Hank

[Shane]

Nice buck! Congrats! He'll make a beautiful mount.

[pafdrn]

Congrats! I would love to make a hunt for one of those. I really wish i wouldn't forget to register for the drawing every year.

[Texans42]

Great goat!! Congrats

[S-3 Ranch]

Great detailed hunt ! That is a pretty goat nice dark face will make a good mount

[quarterback]

Dang Hank! You got yourself a good one. Congratulations to you on your successful hunt way out there on the big prairie. Oh and welcome to the Green Screen. Feel free to come on back and hang out here any time. Thank you so much for serving our country.

[scoutman]

Congrats

[ken]

Congratulations.

I am just now seeing this thread. I hunted there in 2005 and would have given you some advice if I had seen this earlier but it looks like you didn't need it.