A true family hunting adventure results in one whopper of a pronghorn. 

By Remmy Beck 

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When my dad drew an Arizona muzzleloader pronghorn tag, he gave it to me so I could shoot my first pronghorn, since that’s allowed in Arizona. On our very first scouting trip, we got lucky and found a big buck! I was excited and knew it was going to be amazing.

The ride there felt so long, with all the curves and turns. When we finally arrived, it was late. We unloaded our stuff and went to bed so we could wake up early to hunt. Morning finally came, and we set out to chase after the huge antelope! After a long morning, we found the antelope around midday. We left my mom and my brother with the truck and made a long hike. We sat down and watched the antelope for a while. Some of the group came really close to us—one mother and her fawn were only 25 yards away. I was a bit anxious when they got that close, but it was a beautiful sight.

The time came for me to get on the gun, ready to shoot the antelope. I took the gun off safety, aimed, and fired! The antelope ran after the bullet hit. When we found it again, we were kind of rushing, and I missed the second shot. After some more trailing, we finally found it again.

It was hot, and the sun was in my face. I took my hat off to wipe the sweat from my forehead. We were about 75 yards away—or at least, that’s what it seemed like. My dad got me set up again and told me to shoot whenever I was ready. I put on my earmuffs, got on the gun, took it off safety, aimed, and shot perfectly! When I fired, the smoke blocked my view of the antelope, but my dad told me, “He’s down!” I was so excited that I didn’t even feel the gun kick back on my shoulder.

When we walked up close, my heart skipped a beat—it looked so much bigger up close. My mom and brother came over to see the antelope I had shot. When they got there, my mom yelled, “Oh my god!” because she didn’t know it was that big either. My brother just looked tired, like he didn’t want to be there, which I thought was kind of funny.

After we were all settled, my dad started getting the meat. He is good at that. We loaded it all into the truck and drove back to my grandparents’ house, where everyone congratulated me and gave me hugs. 

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The Future of Fair Chase 

We know that the future of conservation rests squarely on the shoulders of tomorrow’s hunters. That’s why we’re celebrating the stories of our youth hunters in this section called The Future of Fair Chase. Many of these stories are plucked straight from the pages of our 32nd Big Game Awards Book. Other stories have been submitted by young hunters, who are rightfully proud of their achievement. If you are a young hunter or know a young hunter who might like to submit a story, please email it to [email protected].