Family-Outdoors

Pronghorn Antelope North Dakota’s 2016 pronghorn hunting season is set, with 730 licenses available in seven open units, according to Jeb Williams, wildlife chief for the State Game and Fish Department. Along with units 3B, 4A and 4C, which were the only open units in 2015, units 1A, 2A, 2B and 3A will hold a limited number of licenses. “Overall, our pronghorn numbers are up 34 percent from last year, with better fawn production of 66 fawns per 100 does compared to 52 per 100 in 2015,” Williams said. “With an average winter, the foundation is set for an even larger increase next year as many other units are doing well and are close to opening with the observed population levels. But we are continuing to be conservative to ensure steady population growth throughout the pronghorn range.” A total of 110 licenses are available in 1A, 60 in 2A, 40 in 2B, 35 in 3A, 110 in 3B, 300 in 4A and 75 in 4C. All licenses are valid for any pronghorn. Similar to last year, each unit will ha...

Todd W. Bradley of Kismet, Kan., is the newest record holder for pronghorn in the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's Cy Curtis Awards Program. His buck, taken Sept. 21, 2006, in Cimarron County, scored 85 points. (Photo Provided) A new Oklahoma-record pronghorn has been certified by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's Cy Curtis Awards Program.     The new record holder is Todd W. Bradley of Kismet, Kan. His buck pronghorn taken in Cimarron County in 2006 scored 85 points.     Bradley, 51, was raised in Muskogee and attended Oklahoma State University. He has lived in southwestern Kansas since 1990, and has hunted in Oklahoma most of his life. After many years of submitting his application in the Wildlife Department's Controlled Hunts Program, his name was drawn for a pronghorn hunt in 2006.     Bradley said he secured permission to hunt on land owned by distant kin. He scouted the area the day before, and he spotted the buc...

David Baumann of Midwest City with his Cy Curtis Awards Program state-record pronghorn. The buck scored 74 2/8 points.  (Photo by Don P. Brown/ODWC) A pronghorn taken in 2010 with an Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation controlled hunt permit has become the newest state record in the  Cy Curtis Awards Program . David Baumann of Midwest City now holds the state record with his buck that scored 74 2/8. Baumann's record comes just a few weeks after the Cy Curtis program honored the first state-record pronghorn -- a Texas County buck that scored 72, harvested in 2009 by Glenn Knutson of Loco. Baumann took his pronghorn at  Rita Blanca Wildlife Management Area  in the southwestern corner of Cimarron County near Felt. It was Baumann's first hunt for pronghorn, and he was quick to praise local game warden Rusty Menefee for the assistance he gave t o someone who didn't know much about pronghorn hunting. "We've got wonderful public hunting opportu...

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) North Dakota Game and Fish Department biologists recently completed the 2012 pronghorn population survey, which revealed the statewide population is 20 percent lower than last year. Therefore, the Game and Fish Department is recommending the pronghorn hunting season remain closed in 2012. Bruce Stillings, big game supervisor in Dickinson, said the statewide population estimate has dropped to approximately 3,600 pronghorn. “Pronghorn in all four management regions decreased in numbers from last year and are well below population objectives,” he said. According to Stillings, three severe winters from 2008-10, and virtually no fawn recruitment during 2009-11, left an aging population with few prime-aged breeding females. “The result was another poor fawn crop, but there were signs of recruitment with more yearlings being observed this year,” he added. The recent scenario is similar to the large-scale pronghorn decline in the late 19...