The hunt takes place on 12,000 acres in central New Mexico, with the possibility of more acreage available in the future. Currently, the ranch is allocated eight rifle tags each year. At press time, four of those had already been sold for the 2001 season. Negotiations are underway to acquire the tags on a neighboring property, which would bring the total number of permits available to 20.
What makes this area of New Mexico special is the fantastic genetics of the pronghorn. Animals here tend to have very large horns. In fact, Hunter Resources' clients generally take between one and three goats each year that green-score 80 inches or better. In the 2000 season, two bucks hit the mark, and in 1999, three made the standard, with one brute green-scoring over 86 B & C.
While Wyoming is famous for its thick-horned antelope, this area of New Mexico is known for producing goats with long horns. Seldom is a goat harvested here that measures less than 15 inches. Many in the 16- to 18-inch range are taken, with the ranch record being an incredible 19-1/2 incher. The New Mexico state record antelope, a 19-incher scoring over 90 B & C points, was taken less than five miles from this ranch.
Antelope hunting is usually a successful proposition, and hunts here are no exception. Shot opportunities have been 100 percent, and the harvest rate has been over 96 percent for the past decade. In fact, the only past hunter who was not successful is the man who took the 19-1/2-incher. Seems he came back on a subsequent hunt and looked unsuccessfully for an even larger antelope!........(continued)
