SD Pronghorn Hunt, help me plan it!

[Lamey]

A buddy of mine is a ranch manager near Faith, SD (area 53C).  I want to do a pronghorn hunt up there this year.  For those that hunt up there, or hunt pronghorn in general,  give me some pointers, hints, tips, tricks etc....  This will all be new to me.

[huntnmuleys]

faith, thats where mel dutton of antelope decoy fame is from.  that area got hit pretty hard last winter, but this year hasnt been to bad.  historically there are some dandy bucks up there as well, and lots of access from there west to montana. depending on when your going, could be pre rut or rut.  decoying is a blast in the rut, real hit and miss (mostly miss) in the pre rut. of course water hole sitting is your best bet. i absolutley love antelope hunting, its right behind elk to me and the meat is to die for.

[Lamey]

thanks!  what would be the best time to plan a 7 day hunt??   In general would setting up a ground blind near a watering hole be better then spot/stalk????

Again,  this will be my first time and this is my initial research into hunting Pronghorns.

[huntnmuleys]

well, if you find a water hole that they are using that is the best bet percentage wise, and earlier in the season ive had better luck with that (personally ive never shot one out of a blind but have helped many people do so). early can be a great time to spot and stalk bucks as well, as often the bucks break away from the herd that time of year to work their scrapelines, similar to whitetails.  they dont pay a lot of attention when theyre doing that.  mid to late september is usually peak rut and best decoying time. that is by far my favorite, but its also elk season then so i rarely get to do that.  if you are wanting highest success odds id say go early waterhole.  if your wanting more fun, mid to late is my pick.