Continued drought and a frigid winter in some states will put a dent in hunter-success rates this year. But overall, pronghorn hunting in the Rocky Mountain States should be good. Photo by Tony Mandile.

Native Americans called the pronghorn antelope the “wind spirit” because of its speed and ability to disappear quickly. But George Ord, a 19th-century zoologist, provided the pronghorn’s official Latin name, Antiopara americana, which literally translates into “American goat antelope.” In reality, though, the pronghorn is unique -- a one-of-a-kind species found only in North America.

About 1 million speed goats currently roam the Western plains, with the bulk of them living in Montana and Wyoming. Although several other Rocky Mountain States have good numbers, they provide excellent hunting.

Compared to the more glamorous species like elk and mule deer, the pronghorn offers a relatively inexpensive, yet exciting hunt. The permit costs are generally reasonable, and hiring a guide for a public-land hunt is not necessary.

Any hunting unit that offers permits will have habitat where the pronghorns hang out. So if a hunter does his homework, the chances of seeing a legal buck are high. In fact, few hunters will go through a season without seeing a shootable buck, and they normally see many.

Obviously, seeing a buck is no guarantee to filling your tag. A successful hunt involves some skill, a bit of luck and plenty of patience.

With few exceptions, a buck with 14-inch horns is a decent trophy. A pronghorn’s ear is 6 to 7 inches high. So horns that are twice as long as the ears, without the arc or the curl on the tips, will measure 12 to 14 inches, and the curve will add a minimum of 3 or 4 inches to the length.

For the most part, hunters must draw permits to hunt on public land in every Rocky Mountain State, and getting one can be tough. In fact, some guys apply for years and never draw. Some special cooperative programs with landowners, such as Ranching For Wildlife in Colorado, do offer draw permits on private property. And others, such as New Mexico, merely dole out permits to the landowners to sell as they please.

A single outfitter will often grab the latter type and sell guided hunts for that specific piece of land. A permit here is a sure thing for the hunter who can afford it.

Because of the sheer number of antelope, Wyoming and Montana lead the way among the Rocky Mountain States in annual harvests, but both Arizona and New Mexico, despite smaller populations, yield outstanding record-book heads each year. No doubt, the milder climates and tightly controlled hunting allow more bucks to grow older.

That said, any of the following states could produce an outstanding buck if you do some homework.

ARIZONA
The pronghorn population in the Grand Canyon State is small compared to other states. But what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. Nearly every year, a hunter kills a trophy that goes into the Top 10 in one of the record books.

The biggest detriment to Arizona’s antelope has been the lack of sufficient rainfall over the last decade. Plus development has resulted in a loss of habitat. Overall, however, the numbers have remained fairly stable.

For 2007, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission authorized 969 permits. Last year, more than 6,000 hunters applied for one of 55 permits in Unit 7 alone. It’s easy to see the drawing odds aren’t real good. In fact, there’s less than a 1 percent chance of drawing a tag for nearly every hunt unit.

One change made this year was moving the application deadline for the antelope permit drawing from mid-June to mid-February. The way it had been, the results came out just a few weeks prior to the actual hunts, leaving folks little time to make arrangements.

Those lucky enough to draw a permit can expect good-to-excellent hunting regardless of the hunt unit, because any unit with permits is good. Units 17B, 19A, 19B and 20A in the central part of the state near Prescott, and areas around Flagstaff such as Anderson Mesa in Unit 5B or the backside of the San Francisco Peaks in Unit 7, should again be productive.