Hi Guys,

Just wanted to know what you use to shoot antelope (Deer also) and what else you have tried. Shots are around 300 yards.

I can load up my 30-06 with 165 grain bullets and do pretty good or use my 6mm AI with the 87 grain bullets I have on hand. I also could load up some 130's in my 7 x 57.

Would one of the new short mags offer anything better than those listed?

Any suggestions would be really helpful?

Thanks for the help!!

Snapper

I'd say a 25-06 or 257 Weatherby would be about the ideal calibers for antelope.

However, all of the rifles you mentioned will work fine. Personally, I'd go to a 100 grain bullet in the 6mm though.

Mike

Two Five Oh Six.

Thanks for the replys.

I must admit to having the urge to picking up a 25-06. Or, a 270 and lobing the 130's and those critters.

Would the 270 WSM be something to look at?

Snapper

I'll third that motion. Can't go wrong with the 25-06!
Steve

Snapper I use all the same calibers. Last year I shot 2 deer and 1 pronghorn with my .243 using 100gr. hornady interlock. All animals collapsed where they stood.I would not use less than 100gr. bullet. I use Noslers the most. This year my 25-06 with 120gr. Noslers will be my choice.Just got my 5x6 mule deer,pronghorn,and bison mounts.
used a 458lott for the bison.

I used a 7X57 on my B&C Pronghorn.
The big problem with antelope is getting close enough to hit them. So, whatever you shoot best would be the ticket. E

I have used 30-30, 22-250, 223 and 30.06/150 on antelope. All worked just fine.

The 30-30 I had to climb up a draw and crawl a little to get within range.

My buddy used his 243 for everything and never had problems dropping speedy goats.

300 Remington Ultra Mag with a 180 grain XLC.

Try to beat it in the wind, flat shooting, and long range energy. As long as you don't ass shoot them, you won't loose meat. And if you do ass shoot them, you can bet your ass they won't run off either.

Puny guns are for sissies.

snapper I try to go for pronghorn every year, I have shot one with a 250 savage, one with a 25-06, and the rest with a 270.
I would pick anyone of your cartridges. No flies on any of them.

XP-100 6.5-284, 3-12 X Burris LER/Ballistic Plex reticle, 129 gr. SST, 120 Ballistic Tip maybe, or 140 SST. This rig and the 129 gr. bullet has accounted for a 300 yd. bighorn/ 330 yd. cow elk/ 350 yd. antelope doe and a barrel load of coyotes at very long-range (at least 2 of them were)-- so far, but it will kill a bull elk and mule deer this year also. Since using the SS pistols I'll probably never use a rifle again on big game.

[ 10-24-2003, 12:53: Message edited by: sscoyote ]

257 Roberts w/100 grain bullet

The 270WSM would be ideal. Nobody wants to talk about them, but they perform very well.

I use a 6.5x55 swede. More punch than a .243, less recoil than an 30-06 or .270. Great selection of bullet weights fron 85 gr up to 160 gr. If you run into a big muley, you wont feel undergunned. 300 yd shots are not a problem.

However to be honest...most any deer or varmint rifle will work on antelope. Nothing wrong with those you listed, especially the 7x57. Go with the rifle you are most comfortable(accurate) with.

My $.02

swede

While a 25-06 might be nice and might be able to be set up specificaly for antelope (longer barrel, different glass, bipod etc) I would have thought that the 3 you mention with appropriate bullets would be perfect.

I allways thought a 25-06 Ruger No 1 would with a nice trigger and some forearm work be a really nice rifle for such a thing with the 26" barrel really getting the best out of the cartridge.

Hi Guys, Thanks for the replys and yes I have used the guns listed to harvest a few game animals.

My daughter has used the 06 with 165's loaded to 2600 fps (44 grs H4985 start load) to knock down a big mule deer doe at 258 yds. The bullet entered the front chest, broke the bone and left the deer in front of the right hind leg after going through two feet of deer.

The 7 x 57 was also used for deer and antelope by my daughter to take a nice mule deer buck at 274 yds and her first antelope doe at 300 yds. Recently, I been using this gun with 100 HP's to shoot coyotes and is the reason I had the 6mm AI built. The little Mauser tears coyotes in half.

I guess I just wanted to know what everyone esle was using and why they picked that caliber. Why I've wanted a new gun when these work so well I can't say. Caught up in the advertisting.

Thanks for the help!

Snapper

240 wby. JMO, Dutch.

I built a rifle for my antelope hunt this year and after thinking long and hard about caliber I chose the .270. Why get a 25-06 when you can have a .270? The .270 beats the smaller round out in all departments even if the increments are small in the lighter bullet range it still wins.

7-08 or .280 140gr ball

This is a great tread but tough to answer.
1.The ideal - would be a hot 24 or 25. They are very lightly constructed and any 100gr or so bullet will work very well.
2.Of your guns - any of them will work very good. I use a '06/165 on everything up to elk. The 6mm would br "ideal"
3. Short Mag - Is this an underlying desire for a new rifle?? If so then hell yeah' you need a .270WSM to hunt Pronghorn. Nothing else will work as well. Me, I am no fan of the short and fat crowd. They are the answer to a nonexistent problem.

ED

Well

Anything from 25 to 7mm that shoot flat enough and is easy to shoot.

I never like to shoot at long ranges if I can get closer

/ JOHAN

Evening Fellows:

Well, I'm taking the 30-06 with the 165's tomorrow only because the 7x57 is not sighted in with the 130's. Maybe next time.

Thanks for the help!

Snapper

I shot my last pronghorn with a .264 Win Mag.

It's everything the .257 Weatherby wish it was.

Good choice Snapper!

30-06 out to 300 yards..... It's a dead speed goat!
Good luck!

I'm with you Vapodog. The 25's are a little weak for me. Hard to beat the 264 for wind bucking and light recoil.

Jamie

[ 10-25-2003, 12:05: Message edited by: x-man ]

I'm not a big .270 fan, but it has to be just about perfect for antelope. Flat shooting & low recoil. Me, I would go .25-06, just because.
The rifle I have used though is my #1 in 7mm Dakota. Very flat shooting & MOA as far out as anyone should shoot. I use 160gr bullets, they buck the wind & shoot plenty flat.

[ 10-26-2003, 01:55: Message edited by: fredj338 ]

Antelope and Caribou have one thing in common they are very easy to put on the ground. Choose the cartridge you the most confidence in and that's the one to use. Since I prefer a light recoil long range cartridge my gun closet contains two, the 257 Roberts or the 25-06 with the 100 grain bullet.

We're back. I didn't get a chance to shoot an Antelope, but my daughter got a shot in at just over 200 yds on a nice doe with my 375 Hawk.

I don't know why she wants to use that gun on Antelope, but she does. Anyway, we walked up to the doe and shes says, " I should have turned the auto gut feature off" and we both had a good laugh. The gun hits hard to say the least, but she likes using it.

Tomorrow is the opener of deer here in MT and we hope to repeat our good fortune hunting with four tags to fill.

Snapper

Good choice Snapper!

The 25's are a little weak for me. Jamie

Tell that to the Mulie I just butchered yesterday, one shot from a 257 AI dropped him in his tracks. MHO is in the signature.

Snapper,

Just load the 6mm with 100 grn BT's and dont look back.

I hunt the Owyee Desert of Idaho and the my leased ranches near Vaughn, NM and of course have hunted the Big Bend of Texas for antelope all my life....

About any deer rifle is a good antelope rifle..I have shot my last three antelope with a 6x45 and a 75 gr. BarnesX at 2950 FPS....The old 270 and 25-06 is about ideal IMO.

I have taken around 35 antelope in my time with the .243, 6 mm Rem,.30-06, .300 H&H, & .44 mag pistol. Any of those does a quite handy job. I have probably been in on another 30 - 50 kills by other people. If I had a rifle dedicated to just antelope & maybe deer I could not think of a better round than the .25-06 or .270 and in that order.

How about a 50 BMG. Long range wind bucking beast that it is, should be just about ideal for those llllooonnnggg antelope shots.

.260 Remington, but nothing wrong with that 6mm you got. I would pick it! It out shoots a .243 and you already own it! Hundreds of Pronghorn are shot with .243's every fall.

All the chamberings mentioned by everyone here will take speed goats quite handily, with the exception of the 6mm AI with the "87gr" pill! The 6mms are all just about perfect for prong horn, but 100 gr bullets are indicated. I'm not a fan of the 1/4" bore cartridges,but they work for those who do like them, so that is a presonal thing. My favorite rifle/cartridge combination , for antelope is a 1961 MCA Mannlicher Shoenauer rifle chambered for 243 win with 45 grs H4831 behind a Hornady 100 gr bullet, @ 3000fps. That load drops them in their tracks with a shot through the ribs just behind the shoulder.

[ 10-27-2003, 01:44: Message edited by: MacD37 ]

I think Greenhorn is on the right track.

D'Arcy Echols is known here as a top rifle maker, but he is also a keen hunter and has taken more than 70 antelope. He recommends using 190 grain Sierra Matchkings.

Why? Because of the wind that always comes up at 10am or so on the plains. Matchkings because they are superbly accurate, have wind-cheating weight, and antelope kill easily, so don't need the expansion of other bullet designs. You may well have a long shot under windy conditions.

Lots of bullets will kill an antelope. All of the ones suggested above will. But many of them are too light in a strong wind.

I took my first pronghorn in northern New Mexico two years ago with a 140 grain 270 Weatherby Magnum at 130 yards. We were able to stalk close behind a ridge. I've since sold that rifle and had D'Arcy make me a new 300 Win Mag. When I go on another speedgoat hunt, I'll take his advice.

[ 10-27-2003, 06:32: Message edited by: wayne nish ]

Since 1952 when I shot my first mule deer with a 130 gr bullet from a 270 Win. ,I have used the 22-250,243,257,25-06,270,and 308 Norma. Except for my first mule deer all rounds were reloads. Hornady flat base bullets were used most of the time for one shot kills. I used the Nosler 150 gr 270 Win.165gr 308 Norma,and 225gr Hornady 340 Weatherby for Elk. I,ll use a 130 gr interlock Hornady in the 270 Win.or 120 Gr in the 25-06 Rem. should I get a Nebr. Antelope tag next year. Except for the 340 Weatherby all the rifles have used to shoot P Dogs before going big game hunting. Back when we had a lot of jackrabbits the rifles were use to to take running shots,boy that was fun. Do a lot of shooting with rifle before hunting, get as close as you can ,shoot into the hart lung area then any center fire rifle will drop them. Have fun.

Since the early 60's I have used 270 Win 140 gr and 30/06 150 gr for antelope. In 1997 I ran out of time as work kept me away from home until I was to leave for antelope hunting in eastern Montana. The only rifle that I had sighted in and ready to go was my 338 IMC (338/404). I did a belly crawl for 400 yards and had a 250 yard shot at a nice buck. I must say that when the 225 gr Barnes X bullet hit him it was impressive. I pulled the trigger from a prone position, the muzzle bucked and the antelope disappeared. I looked over the herd for him and decided that he went down immediately. He was quartering away on the shot and the bullet hit a rib on entry. The bullet proceeded through the vital area. The rib proceeded down the side and riped out about three more before it stopped.

Even though it was an interestng hunt, the rifle that I now have for antelope is a 7X57 shooting a GS Custom 130gr HV at around 3000 fps.

Any light rifle that you enjoy shooting and you shoot well is great for antelope.

Steve

Thanks for all the great replys. As I thought, everyone has a favorite gun that they shoot well and just about everything works when the shot is placed well.

Thanks again.

Snapper

Snapper,

Out to 300 yards any of your rifles would work well.

We make a 127gr EXP bullet that would work well in your 7 X 57 for antelope through elk starting out at 3000 FPS. If you like exit holes, the 127gr EXP will give you that.

Using a 25-06 and a 101gr EXP Groove Bullet starting out at 3400 FPS would work well on antelope and/or deer with complete pass through.

You want to be carefull believing all of this heavy bullet bucking the wind stuff, it isn't always accurate. Flight time and surface area play a huge role in windage. Out to 300 yards the wind isn't going to bother the lighter, faster bullet near as much as some would have you believe.

Don

Hi Don Thanks for the comments. I found what your saying to be true when shooting my friends 220 Swift in the wind.

I would like to try some 130's in the 7x57 on antelope. Maybe next season.

Snapper