{"id":987,"date":"2019-04-18T14:18:22","date_gmt":"2019-04-18T18:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/?p=987"},"modified":"2020-02-02T23:27:29","modified_gmt":"2020-02-03T04:27:29","slug":"judging-speed-goats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/judging-speed-goats\/","title":{"rendered":"Judging Speed Goats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Judging Speed Goats: Nick Oceanak<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve drawn a license for the fastest land animal in North America, the Pronghorn! Well that\u2019s great but how do you know what to look for in a mature buck? The pronghorn is one of the most difficult animals to judge in all North America. I\u2019m speaking in terms of antler size of course! Even after being a professional big game hunting guide in Wyoming for seventeen years I still misjudge pronghorn on the hoof. Now pronghorn are not antelope but are often referred to as such because they closely resemble the true antelope in Africa. So, I will use both terms as I refer to them in this article. We regularly call them \u201cspeed goats\u201d as well (because of their similar features to goats and notorious speed).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A mature pronghorn buck harvested with a longbow. \nPhoto credit Timberline Outfitters WY\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So why are pronghorn so hard to judge? First, their antlers aren\u2019t very large to begin with. Therefore, a difference of twelve inches and fourteen inches is hardly anything at 800 yards but a world of difference up close. Due to the far distances from which you will be looking at antelope, you\u2019ll need to know what to look for. I\u2019m a firm believer that score means very little and that the trophy is in the eye of the beholder. However, to better help you understand what to look for in the antlers of a mature pronghorn I\u2019ll be talking about SCI scoring a little bit. It\u2019s also a good way to convey relative size to other people. You get one length measurement on each side starting from the base and ending at the tip. Then you divide that number by four to find where you will take your four mass measurements. Finally, you get one prong measurement on each side. (ex. figure below) <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Pronghorn horn scale<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mass is the most important factor when it comes to score. Now, you\u2019ll see in the figure that two mass measurements fall below the prong and two above. If the third mass measurement spot falls below the prong you are getting a much bigger score than if it is above, so keep that in mind. When judging a buck, you\u2019ll be critiquing three main things: mass, length and prong size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OK, so how does one take this basic knowledge to the field and successfully judge a goat at 1,000 yards!? I\u2019ll give you a couple quick, handy tricks to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Look at where the height in which the prong comes off the main antler. If it\u2019s below the ear, then it is most likely a younger buck. If it\u2019s equal the height of the ear or higher then you\u2019re looking at a mature buck. <\/li>
  2. Study each buck and make sure you get a good look from every angle possible. This will help you judge the three main aspects discussed earlier. The most important angle is the side or profile. This way you can determine relative mass, length, overall antler curl and prong size. Every buck is unique so the more angles the better. It\u2019s easy to look at a buck from straight on and say, \u201coh that\u2019s a big one!\u201d But don\u2019t fall for it! He may not have much mass, or he may not curl making him look taller that he is, or he may not have much for prongs.<\/li>
  3. Think about all other factors at play. Is the buck alone during the rut? If so, did he get run off by a bigger buck? Are you looking at a buck among a big group of bucks during the rut? If so, he may be a younger buck hanging with other young bucks because they can\u2019t get close to the does. Has it been a good year in terms of habitat? Is it an area known for producing big bucks? <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    The prongs come off the antler below the ear, so we are looking at a young buck. \nPhoto credit Timberline Outfitters WY<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Body size can help in some cases when looking at comparable bucks at great distances. Look for a stout block body with a thick neck and a big belly. Sometimes older bucks are lighter in color, but I\u2019ve found that color varies greatly and doesn\u2019t always indicate a bucks age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    A very mature pronghorn buck. Notice how high above the ear the prong comes off. Block body, large neck and lighter colored cape indicate an older animal.\nPhoto credit Timberline Outfitters WY\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    So,\nlet\u2019s recap on the three main aspects of the antlers: mass, length and prong\nsize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mass is the most important attribute in terms of overall antler size. Look at the eye in respect to the size of the antler from the side. If the antler is as wide as the eye or wider you know you\u2019re looking at some decent mass. Big bucks will have a circumference at the base of 6 inches and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    This beautiful antelope buck is extremely tall. If you were to put the ear up against the antler that would be approximately 6 inches up. You can see this buck has a lot of length past that. \nPhoto credit Timberline Outfitters WY\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    2. Length is perhaps the first thing we notice and the most impressive part in the overall \u201clook\u201d of a buck. Some bucks have huge curls that make them look cool (I love the heart-shaped ones). Some bucks don\u2019t curl much which makes them look taller and that can be neat as well. Mature bucks range from 12 inches to 16 inches and up. When looking at a profile view try to estimate how many inches the tip of the antler is above the ear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    This buck was \u201cmassive\u201d with over 7-inch bases and weight that carried all the way up. 84 5\/8 SCI\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    3. Prongs are the awesome features that make the pronghorn so unique! They can stick out, go up, go down, curl in, curl out, etc. They usually aren\u2019t more than 5 inches, but some bucks get huge prongs that go 7 inches and over. The prong adds another big contribution to the \u201coverall\u201d look of a buck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Pronghorn are unique in so many ways and they all differ from one another. The next time you\u2019re out chasing \u201cspeed goats\u201d remember the guidelines for field judging them but also remember the true trophy is in the eye of the beholder! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    A very cool non-typical buck taken by a 14-year-old Timberline client. \nPhoto credit Timberline Outfitters WY\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Judging Speed Goats: Nick Oceanak You\u2019ve drawn a license for the fastest land animal in North America, the Pronghorn! Well that\u2019s great but how do you know what to look for in a mature buck? The pronghorn is one of the most difficult animals to judge in all North America. I\u2019m speaking in terms of … Continue reading “Judging Speed Goats”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[21,47,1],"tags":[32,89,177],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/7.1.jpg?fit=350%2C275&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/987"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=987"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1199,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/987\/revisions\/1199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}