New Mexico pronghorn buck is world record

HUNTING — A pronghorn killed by New Mexico trophy hunter Mike Gallo’s has been certified this month by the Boone and Crockett Club as the new world record.

Gallo shot the animal, often called an antelope, in Socorro County, New Mexico, in September 2013. It’s official score is 96 4/8 Boone and Crockett points

The buck surpassed the existing record — which was a tie of 95 points held for more than a decade ago by two pronghorns taken in Arizona — by 1 1/2 inches. That’s a huge margin. In fact, it’s the widest margin between any of B&C’s 3,400 entries for trophy pronghorn.

The left horn of the new record antelope measures 18 4/8 inches, and the right horn measures 18 3/8 inches. The prongs measure 7 inches on the right and 6 5/8 inches on the left.

“Records reflect success in big game conservation,” said Richard Hale, chairman of the Club’s Records of North American Big Game Committee, in a press release. “Remember, the pronghorn was once nearly lost, much like the bison, until sportsmen led an era of wildlife recovery. Now the species is flourishing. And the fact that such incredible specimens exist today says a lot about how far we have come, and how bright the future might be.”

Gallo isn’t a stranger to the record books. In addition to the world record, he has killed the top three pronghorns in New Mexico.

New Mexico is second in pronghorn entries in Boone and Crockett records, with 627. Wyoming is first, with 1,154.