By Popular Request - StickFlicker's P&Y WR Pronghorn

After taking the #16 bow-killed pronghorn from Arizona in 1993, I was excited to locate two huge bucks in the same area when I drew the permit again in 1995. "Slant" had the most massive horns I had ever seen, but they were oddly tilted with little curve making him difficult to judge. The tallest buck I had ever seen I named Criss-Cross, for his cross-tipped horns that would surely exceed 19 inches. I was positive that he would be the new world record with a bow, maybe even in Boone & Crockett….. if I could take him.

I located water being used by both bucks, and decided to leave my formerly successful methods of decoying, pit blinds and stalking and use a blind so I could videotape the hunt, since I would be hunting alone. I spent a good deal of time with these bucks during the summer, photographing and videotaping them. I salivated over the photos and videos I took before the season, feeling I had a very legitimate chance at a world record and hopefully capturing it on tape.

I caught glimpses of both bucks the first two days of the hunt, but never within range. Day three was sizzling inside the stuffy blind. An exceptionally wide buck, "Flair", finally broke up the scorching afternoon by feeding nearby. Suddenly realizing that Slant and his harem were approaching, I knew I couldn't pass up a buck of this caliber, even though I had my heart set on Criss-Cross.

I had little time to make a choice as he passed my shooting window, forcing me to twist and shoot through the four-inch opening above the camera. A fawn covering his vitals made my shot timing more difficult. He slowed, offering me a momentarily clear shot as my Hoyt sent the Easton arrow entirely through the buck's chest at 30 yards.

Camp measurements proved the buck taller and even more massive than I had thought. Due to his horns’ odd shape and unbelievable mass, he had been difficult to judge. I then realized I might have taken a new world record after all! While I knew he was exceptional, I had been so taken by Criss-Cross that I had not recognized the importance exceptional mass would be to his score. Ironically, my Criss-Cross obsession likely helped me stay calm for the shot on Slant! The thought that I had even considered letting him pass, now made me slightly faint.

With nearly eight inch first quarters, my trophy netted 92 2/8 after the 60 day drying period, exceeding the Bowhunting in Arizona state record by six points and Pope & Young’s world record by more than two points. After two more years of drying, he panel scored at 91 4/8. No hunter tagged Criss-Cross, so I’ll never know how he compared. A little over a decade later, my buck is still the world record and the pride of my trophy room, which of course he would be even if he wasn’t the record!

Thanks for taking the time to post that. That is a magnificant animal. I've got 74" antelope on my wall and was drooling over the thought of another 18" of horn on his head! That must be really impressive to see in person.

Not to sound greedy, but where's that video? I would love to see that too!

StickFlicker, Great Buck! No Incredible, once in a lifetime buck. =D> Thank you for sharing the story of your hunt with us. =D>

Thanks for posting! Love the names you have given them. So, no body ever scored on CrissCross that you know of?

Your 93 buck is a handsome beast and very impressive in it's own right.

I probably would not have made it passed Flair.

To me I love the fact of it being a DIY trophy.

Slant is tremendous.

Thanks again for posting the story.

Well done Marvin! Your first booker antelope you appear to be really proud and.....well......younger! :) Thanks for taking the time to share the story again amigo, we appreciate it.

Roy, ya beat me to the punch! I was going to mention the same thing!

Marvin, that buck is AWESOME!!! I never realized just how big he was until I saw the field photos (The avatar just doesn't do him justice...LOL). The mass is absolutely incredible!

Thanks for taking the time to share the story with us!

Great buck, and nice story.

Thanks for a great story and for the pics!

Truly an amazing Antelope. You put in your time, worked at it. Congrats.

LOL....there is only two years difference between the first photo and the last two, but I agree I look much older..... The first photo was taken less than 24 hours after losing a custody hearing for my son. Perhaps two years later into a "not pleasant" divorce took its toll of my youth!

Slant was named because his horns lean slightly to one side if viewed from the front. As for the video, I was actually taping Flair at the time I saw Slant approaching. I thought that he might feed within range of some other hunters, so I thought I'd try to video their kill. I do have pretty good video of Slant walking past the camera, but since a fawn was blocking my shot, I couldn't draw and shoot until he had walked off screen. You can hear the draw, and the hit, and then he walks back into the screen. It's TOUGH to video yourself! The hunters that I thought might have a chance on Flair saw me shoot it, and took the photos for me. They had named the buck Loner, because all summer he was always by himself, which I had noticed too. The day I shot him was the first time I had ever seen him with other antelope. I do not have the video converted to digital to upload it, and wouldn't know how to upload video anyway.

The bottom-left two photos on this web page are live photos of Criss Cross and Slant, which I took a month prior to this hunt. There is some disagreement among a few of us hardcore antelope hunters here in AZ as to whether Criss-Cross was killed four years later, which I believe he was. If it was him, he was no longer at his peak and had been wounded and abandoned by another hunter prior to the eventual bowhunter killing him.

http://bowhuntinginarizona.com/Home/antelope-wildlife.html

Marvin,

Agreed thanks for taking the time to post the story. The mass is exceptional for sure and AMAZING! I like to see some other closer shots/pics of him if you have them.

Nice story, sounds like you came dang close to getting it all on video also. I'm amazed at how long the record has held and how far you exceeded it. Mass like that just doesn't happen often.

What where the conditions like as far as moisture and feed?

Thanks for the photos!

It is my opinion that ideal horn conditions for antelope are the opposite of all other species. At least in Arizona. The years that are dry are the best years for antelope horn growth. I've mentioned my theory to Tony Grimmett, who created the "Size is Everything" video that you sell. He agreed with me, but I'm not sure we agree on the reason. I've always felt that either different plants grow during dry years, or that antelope are forced to eat different plants in dry years, was the reason for the large horn growth. Tony feels that most of the nutritional value of the plants are in the top few inches of growth. With less growth in law rainfall years, the nutrition is more condensed and antelope get more nutrition out of each bite. Who knows, but it does appear to be true. Antelope grow big at a much younger age than other species as well, which means that one good year of the proper nutrition can really cause a quick growth spurt in an area.

I'll see what I can post for closer pictures of my buck.

Marvin

Awesome buck.... Congrats

Nice trophy, and a great job of telling the story. fatrooster.

sweet goat!!! i have shot one goat with my bow and i love it. i am hoping to do it again soon. maybe i could get a big one like you. lol. [-o<