Bowhuntingpronghornsrequiresflexibilityanda relentlessno-quitattitude.
100 BOWHUNTER///SEPTEMBER 2019
I
CUT MY BOWHUNTING TEETH slithering across the
arid plains of southeast Colorado. Our cactus-rich prairies
are home to an abundance of pronghorns, and for a young
bowhunter full of piss and vinegar, spotting and stalking
these plains-dwellers was the ultimate challenge. Their
burnt-orange hides and ebony horns were captivating.
Although most of my early stalks ended with a diaper-butt
bounding away at Mach 10, I kept going. Finally, a 56-yard
arrow found its mark, and my first spot-and-stalk pronghorn
toppled over in the parched prairie grass. I was hooked!
Since that first harvest some 15 years ago, I’ve chased
pronghorns across the West, my obsession growing stronger
with each hunt. Over time, I’ve learned a lot, and my approach
has become increasingly more flexible. This past season, along
with some great friends, I was able to chase pronghorns from
the first day of the season to the last. Getting to be in the field
and watch the ever-changing pronghorn rut play out was
bowhunting joy at its finest. The key to our success was using
numerous tactics while maintaining a relentless, no-quit at-
titude. Here’s what we did.
AUGUST 15 Ð 22
The months leading up to Colorado’s August 15 opener
were wet. Over the course of three months, more than 10
inches of rain fell, filling every pond, pothole, and divot on the
prairie. Consistent waterhole activity was nonexistent, and the
opening-day plan, with scattered showers forecasted through-
out the day, was to spot and stalk.
I’m not a trophy hunter, but over the years I’ve been blessed
to have arrowed some good goats. This season, however,
I’d vowed to be picky. I had only two target bucks, and both
were running with a number of does and a few smaller bucks.
Both bucks and their harems, although in different locales,
had staked claim to the flattest sections of Colorado dirt they
