Pronghorn hunting was better than expected, even with estimates of a slightly lower pronghorn density compared to last season (according to my friends). I thought numbers were fine, but I staked out waterholes while they ran around the country using the Be The Decoy pronghorn hat in attempts to stalk a pronghorn into range.

Here's the tally for our group of five: Everyone had 100 percent shooting and then some, and at the end of the hunt everyone, save for one, had a pronghorn in the cooler. That's something to take satisfaction in for do-it-yourself bowhunting on public land.

Although I vowed to let Cole take the first shot, I had to break that promise. Hold on. Don't chastise me yet. The waterhole we finally settled on was too large for one person to cover, so instead of abandoning a perfectly good ship, I had a light-bulb moment. Why not put two ground blinds on the waterhole to cover the entire length? We did just that.

It took a day for the pronghorns to settle to the idea of two new condos cluttering up their water, but soon a few were quenching their thirst poolside. The first good buck to drink within bow range came at sunrise. I thought he was within bow range of Cole, so I simply filmed him. And guess what ... Cole gave me the thumbs-up for me to shoot since the buck was too far for him. Unfortunately, I was too busy getting him on film and missed Cole's sign for me to shoot.

The next morning the same buck ambled in right after sunrise, and this time he was right on top of me, and too far for Cole. Instead of letting him go, I decided one in the cooler is better than two in the sagebrush, so I let the Rage broadhead fly. I'd like to show you the destruction the Rage did, but it's too graphic. Let's just say the pronghorn barely made it 20 yards before tipping over.

Cole helped me lash down the pronghorn to my Yamaha Grizzly and I headed out to put the buck on ice. How did Cole fare? You'll find out in my next blog post!