Another long phone call from an antelope hunter today.

Our first antelope rifle season starts Saturday. Folks are getting antsy.

This seems to be the year for trophy head-hunters to draw licenses in my areas, Had three or four this year that made repeated calls, all looking for a "book" head.

For those uninitiated in the sport, that means a buck whose horns would be large enough to make it into the Boone & Crockett record book.

A score of 82 or better for a pronghorn. Which has a moderately complicated system of measuring horn length, circumference at four different points, as well as length of the prongs. Subtracting any differences between the left and right horns.

Basically, a buck with taller, heavier horns with good symmetry between the left and right sides scores well. But it takes a lot to get a score of 82 (that's essentially 82 inches of measurements, measured in 1/16ths). But all these guys want exactly that. In fact, at least one wanted quite a bit more than that.

Well, it's possible. My areas produce a couple book heads almost every year. But that's out of over a thousand bucks that will be taken in those same areas.

The odds are against you.

And yes, calling the local folks to get tips is probably a good place to start. And these hunters are all doing a good job of getting permission from landowners ahead of time. A couple have already been here once or twice to learn the land, and scout the critters.

But hey, guys, I still don't have one tied up for you, okay? I mean, I even directed one of these fellows to the same general area one of the wardens is going, because he and I both know there's a large buck there. And my license is good there, too. But somehow, it seems like a couple of these fellows are focusing a lot more on what they're going to hunt, rather than how.

Or why.

Needless to say, a buck like this

has nothing to fear from these trophy hunters. His horns are too light, too short, and his prong is too low.

They may look twice at this fellow

because his prongs are nice, and high, but he's too light above the prongs, and needs another inch or two at the tips. Bases could be bigger, too. Someone not so choosy might be happy with him, though. He'd best watch out.

And then there are the bucks that probably don't have to worry hardly at all about this coming fall.

The yearlings.

With horns just barely past their ears, you rarely see one in someone's pickup truck. Usually only one or two percent of the harvest. Now, longtime hunters who want the tenderest buck antelope to eat, they may select a yearling on purpose. Otherwise, most hunters will pass them by.

Just as the does will ignore them in the rut.

These yearlings, though, are totally unaware of how unimpressive they are. Seemingly in awe of these brand new black weapons they have grown on their heads. To the point of even prancing by, apparently just to show them off.