Because of the sheer number of antelope, Wyoming and Montana lead the way among the Rocky Mountain states in annual harvests, but both Arizona andNew Mexico, despite smaller populations, yield outstanding record-book heads each year. No doubt, the milder climates and tightly controlled hunting allow more bucks to grow older.

That said, any of the following states can produce an outstanding buck if you do some homework, especially if you're a nonresident applying for a permit in a state where you've never hunted.

ARIZONA

The pronghorn population in the Grand Canyon State is comparatively small to other states, but what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. Nearly every year, a hunter kills a trophy that goes into the top ten in one of the record books.

The biggest detriment to Arizona's antelope has been the lack of sufficient rainfall over the last decade. Plus, development has resulted in a loss of habitat. Overall, however, the numbers have remained fairly stable. 

For 2007, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission authorized 969 permits.  Considering more than 6,000 hunters applied for one of 55 permits in Unit 7 alone last year, it's easy to see the drawing odds aren't real good. In fact, there's less than a one percent chance of drawing a tag for nearly every hunt unit.

One change made this year was moving the application deadline for the antelope permit drawing from Mid-June to mid-February. The way it had been, the results came out just a few weeks prior to the actual hunts, leaving folks little time to make arrangements.

Those lucky enough to draw a permit can expect good to excellent hunting regardless of the hunt unit, because any unit with permits is good. Units 17B, 19A &B, and 20A in the central part of the state near Prescott and areas around Flagstaff such as Anderson Mesa in unit 5B or the backside of the San Francisco Peaks in unit 7 should again be productive.

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