One was shot in 1986; most were shot since 1996. The No. 4 buck (with a B&C score of 91) fell two seasons ago in Lincoln County.

Some of the better hunting in the south is found in units 12, 13, 24, 25, 34, 36, 37 and 38. In the north, units 41, 45, 46, 47, 54, 55, 56 and 58 are consistent producers.

The hardest part might be drawing a tag. Last season, only 1,650 tags were issued for public land hunts, and of those, a large number went to special hunts like archery, muzzleloader and for youth and the physically impaired.

New Mexico's tag quotas look like this:

• 78 percent to residents,

• 12 percent to non-residents under contract with an outfitter, and

• 10 percent to non-residents without an outfitter.

Last season, some 14,000 residents drew 1,300 tags, 2,600 non-residents drew 168 tags and 450 guided non-residents drew 157 tags.

There are also private lands tags available for a fee, either through the landowner or a leasing outfitter.

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish continues to manage antelope aggressively. The current trap-and-transfer program seems to be working.

Wyoming, the Cowboy State, is far and away No. 1 in the West.

It has the most licenses sold, the most hunter participation, highest harvest, and some of the highest success rates.

Utah
This is another state where not all that many antelope roam, and drawing the tag is perhaps the hardest part -- especially tough for non-residents.

Unless you've amassed a fair number of bonus points, your odds of drawing a tag here are almost nil.

Lucky hunters can expect a successful hunt, however. Rifle-hunter success rates are quite good. In 2005, for example, 1,129 hunters killed 603 bucks and 518 does, for an overall success rate of 99 percent.

Eighty-eight hunters participating in the limited-entry archery hunt killed 59 bucks, and 497 hunters participating in the any-legal weapon limited-entry hunt downed 484 bucks.

Drought and rampant development of prime habitat have combined to render Beehive State antelope herds stable at best, while many are below management objectives and dwindling. Units that continue to produce decent to outstanding results are the south-central limited-entry hunts where year after year, success rates range above 90 percent for rifle hunters and around 50 percent for bowhunters.