I would like to know what experienced pronghorn hunters think the best bullet and caliber are for pronghorn. What the heck, I will be happy to hear what anyone has to say on the subject. My brother and I will be hunting pronghorn for the first time this year near Craig, Colorado (and we are very, very excited about the whole thing). All information will be appreciated.

Heck, it's hard to go wrong in choosing a caliber for Antelope. I've used several from .243 to .300 mag. What's most important, is your ability and knowledege of the capabilities of your chosen gun. Shoot the gun that you shoot best. Place your shot, and enjoy the hunt.

But, since you asked for a specific bullet/caliber. It's hard to beat the .270 win., with a 130 grain pill. Just my opinion.

I used to have a wonderful old Savage 110 rifle that was a real tack driver at 300 to 500 yrds. It was in 7mm Mag, and a bunch of Antelope bit the dust from it. But, it was stolen a couple years ago.

In the last couple years, I've used a .270 rifle and been happy with the results. My wife uses a .243 and she has no problems putting the Antelope down.

I'd suggest a good long range rifle(practice a lot), and good bullets. The ballistic tip type bullets are a mistake. The Pronghorn's hair comes loose very easy. The shock of the ballistic tip bullets will ruin a good cape. On the first Antelope that I ever took, I grabbed him by the back skin to roll him over and all the hair came off in my hand. The hair is very long, stiff, and fragile. Go to your taxidermist and learn how to skin around the eyes and mouth. Keep the skin dry and don't allow the blood to soak it. I always salt the headskin to insure that it doesn't ruin before I can get it home. Sometimes the prarie can get very warm during the day, and you don't want to have the hair slip. If I'm going to be hunting in other areas, or take several days before I can get home, I always wrap the headskin in a garbage bag, pack it with dry ice, and express mail it to my taxidermist.

I hope that this helps.....



/

Welcome to Colorado. Antelope aren't that hard to kill. I use a 257 Ackley with a 100gr Interlock and have killed them past 400 yards with it. But like mentioned a 270 with a 130gr is a great choice. The 7mm Mag is also a great choice. Basicly anything that'll shoot pretty flat will get the job done. Just keep in mind that in Colorado the minimum legal is .24 cal or larger, minimum of 1000fpe at 100 yards and a 70gr bullet for deer and antelope. I hunt up there every year for deer and elk and there are some big antelope bucks in the area. In fact I always see several that I'd like to put on my wall in the actual town of Craig. It's kind of infuriating. A couple of things to keep in mind are that antelope have great eyesight and that is their primary defence. If they see you, they're gone! I would recomend a good scope and good binoculars. Also a bipod won't hurt either, there's a whole lot of nothing to use as a rest for thoes long shots. Good luck on your hunt. BTW, what ranch are you hunting on?

You have received some pretty good advice so far. I have taken 35+ in my life time with the .243 on up. I have probable seen that many more taken by other people. If I was getting a dedicated antelope rifle it would be very hard to pass up the .25/06 topped with a 3-12 power scope. Personally I do not think premium bullets are needed for antelope. Every standard BIG GAME bullet I have seen works fine. Leave the varmint bullets at home. They CAN take an antelope but they can be a BIG disaster.

Toby: Your advice sounds good and I appreciate your comments. I will be using a .300 Wby, a rifle I use on spring caribou up here. It shoots 180 gr. Nosler Paritions out a long ways and it is very accurate. I was considering using 150 grain Nolser BTs, but I think I will pass on that now...I'll probably use 150 grain NP. Your point on ruining the cape or hide is well taken...I ruined the cape of a blesbuck a couple of years ago by using a too-big, massive-surface-wound-causing bullet and by shooting the animals in the cape. I do not have any experince using ballistic tips, but for some reason I thought this antelope hunt might be an appropriate time to try them. If it ain't broke, don't fix it...Thank you again.

Robert

Hunterbug: I appreciate your advice. While I'd like to, I probably will not buy a new rifle just for antelope. As stated above, I'll be using a .300 Wby shooting probably some type of 150 grain bullet. Since I reload all my shells, I know I can get some pretty small bullets to shoot. I haven't looked at my Hornady, Barnes, or Speer manuals for available bullet weight and speeds, but I'll do that. I've got into the habit of using Nolser Partitions on thin skinned animals (almost everything) without fangs with my .300 Wby...even under normal conditions (180 gr. bullets), it shoots fast and flat. The Nolser manual indicate that 150 gr (or smaller) bullets are real screamers. I have hunted and shot a bunch of stuff, but not antelope..and I like talking about it here.

We booked a hunt with Elkhorn Outfitters out of Craig. I do not know exactly what ranch we will be hunting on. While it's not my style to use outfitters/guides to hunt in the United States, on this hunt we will be using a guide . I risk my life to hunt run-of-the-mill caribou in the most remotes parts of Alaska on my own, and then I pay good American money to drive around in a truck. I love it. A good guide is worth his (or her) weight in gold.

Thank you again for the input.

Robert

I have a Ruger #1 in 7mm Dakota that is my "shootemwayoutthere" rifle. I use 160gr bullets to min. damage if I get a close shot, (my last lope was taken under 120yds) @ 3200fps it's plenty flat shooting & bucs the wind well. I think your .300 is fine, no such thing as over kill. If I were getting a rifle to hunt pronghorn, it would be hard to beat the .25-06, .270 or .280 class cart. w/ a 24" bbl. Leup. 3.5x10.

I'd like to throw in a vote for the 257 Weatherby with 100gr pills in the mix. It's a real flat caliber and in my experience it's a real "killer." All the choices posted have been good, so pick the one you like and let us know! jorge

So much good advice...and it is always fun to read.

WyoJoe: I will heed your advice on premium-bullets. I may make my (younger) brother shoot NPs and I'll try your basic Hornady..either way I am sure that I will be able to convince him that my bullet did better than his, no matter how well he shoots. He is only 49 and doesn't know any better yet.

fredj338: I am a fan of 7mms of any variety, but have not had the opportunity to shoot a Dakota. Thank you for the bullet weight info, just for comparison. I am with you on the over-kill thing...

jorge: At the risk of bringing the rath of who-knows-what down on me, I have to say that I am a bona fide Weatherby fan and right now that is all use to hunt with, both calibers and the rifles themselves. I unfortuantely do not own a .257, but someday I will. Thank you for the information.

Robert

RWJ,

That is relatively easy for me to decide.

Take a 100 gr Ballistic Tip of .257" caliber and drive it to at least 3200 fps. That being a hot loaded 257 Roberts or better.

My personal favorite is the 25-06 loaded to 3450 fps with said bullet.

Of course I just built myself a 257 STW and have been doing load developement with her. I am getting 1/2 moa groups with that bullet at 3900 fps.

Many will tell you the Ballistic Tip is to fragile for big game, those are the fellas that either do not shot straight or hit shoulder bones on a regular basis.

A speed goat is a light framed critter, even at 3900 fps, the 100 gr Ballsitic Tip would make it into the chest cavity of the biggest goat.

The 3450 fps level is perhaps more bullet friendly but at 3900 fps trajectory is very flat out a very long way.

Properly sighted in, there is no need to aim of hair for a bit past the 1/4 mile mark.

Good Shooting!!!

50

Fiftydriver: So you would recommend ballistic tips? I have heard they are deadly on whitetailed deer, but I have not actually shot anything with one. The manual says that my .300 Wby will drive a 150 gr. Nosler BT at about 3400 fps. I DO NOT WANT TO START AN ARGUMENT, so please don't argue, but what are the drawbacks of using a ballistic tip or a small BT? Some folks here recommend against using very small BTs. Why do you like BTs? Thank you for the information.

Take the centerfire rifle that you shoot the best, one that will reach out to 400 yards and it will work well. I've used a lot of cartridges from the 243 Win with an 85 grain Partition up to the 165 grn Hornady SP in a 300 Magnum. This year we put in for southern Wyoming and I'm taking a 7 mm Rem Mag with a 139 grn Hornady SP coming out at 3200 fps. Zeroed at 300 yards I'm 10.4" low at 400 and that's as far as I'll shoot now.

while i would opine that the .264 caliber is optimum, you could use anything from .243 caliber to .308 caliber and do very well.

I've used a 7mm Mag with 160 gr Noslers with very good results. It's a little big for antelope in my opinion, but it's the same rifle and load I use for deer and elk and I shoot it well. I've also used a 243 and a 6.5 Swede. Both worked equally as well. Antelope aren't too hard to kill. Just be sure to keep the bullet behind the shoulder due to the aforementioned fragile caps.

I've hunted near Craig several times on the Blue Gravel Ranch which is a participant in the Ranching for Wildlife program. Elkhorn Outfitters has their headquartes on that ranch, so I would imagine that is probably where you will be hunting. Huge numbers on antelope up that way.

PM me if you would like some specifics on the ranch and general information on the area.

Mac

You are definitely in the .243 to .284 bullet diameter range, and need to shoot flat out to 400 yds or so. To me 243 will work, but CAN be too small, and .284 will work, but the Mags are too big.

270 Win with 130 gr ballistic tip is right in the middle. What the 270 needs is a partition bullt in a 110 gr bullet weight for this task, just like the 100 grainer in 6.5MM that nosler came out with.

I've used a .243 Ackley Improved with 95gr. Ballistic Tips the last few years, as well as a .300Wby. with 150gr. Hornady spirepoints, a .309JDJ handgun with 165gr. Ballistic Tips, and a .270Win. with 140gr. Ballistic Tips.

I like the .243AI, and .270; the .25-06 is a fine round for game of this class, as is a 6mmRem., .257Roberts, .260Rem., and 7-08.

You don't need a lot of gun, or a heavily constructed bullet for pronghorn. You DO need to be able to shoot at longer ranges from bipods, dope wind, and judge distance.

George

Some good advice here.
Antelope are not hard to kill. They do not take a hit well as long as it is reasonably well placed.
Antelope meat is VERY tasty and there really is not much of it. Think about how much damage you really want to do when deciding on your bullet. A bullet that does not expand too much - like a Barnes X - may be a better idea than a nosler partition which can have some pretty spectacular exit wounds.
I have mostly used 25-06 with 117 Hornday BTSP. Based on the wounds and wound channel, that was more than enough gun.

As GeorgeS said, focus more on the shooting part than the gun and bullet.

I have only taken 3 'lope myself but, I have witnessed several more taken w/ diff. cals. I took my three w/ a 30-06 and 150 grn spt cls (sighted pretty high at a 100). I have seen the 25-06 in action on some 'lope and would have to say it is probably the best cal. for the job. The 100 grn bullets in .257 cal @ 3300+ fps are very flat shooting.

The antelope is a very easy animal to take down, a good varmint load would be adequate. I have always wanted to hunt them w/ a 22-250 and some 55-60 grners but, I never have.

Good Luck!

Reloader

Rwj,

Lets first look at what is needed for a bullet to be considered a good Pronghorn bullet.

Any bullet will harvest a big pronghorn with a clean shot to the ribs, even the 22 caliber bullets.

If you measure a speed goats width in the chest, it is not a lot more then a big coyote. Also, their bone structure is very light meaning that there is absolutely no need for a super premium bullet.

They do offer uniqu problems as far as selecting a good bullet for them. First off, most hunting bullets, even traditional bullets such as Hornady, Sierra and Speer bullets do fine but will expand in the 4-6" range after impact.

This is pretty good for speed goats but even at that, they generally only take out the off side lung with a small penetrating hole through the onside lung.

Premium bullets such as the Partition and X bullet designs are actually poor choices for pronghorn as they, especially the X bullet just begin to expand after 6" of penetration. These are called delayed expansion designs or the more common term controlled expansion.

This is very good on heavy game such as elk where we need to get 6" of penetration before the vitals are even reached, but on a goat, the bullet will nearly pass through before it opens up.

This is where the tipped bullets come in to play. A Ballistic Tip will open up in 3" of penetration effectively taking out both the onside and offside lung.

Other tipped bullets exist such as the Hornady SST and they work fine as well but here is my favoring point for the Ballistic Tip.

When hunting pronghorn, the terrain is often wide open and long shots, +300 yards are not all that uncommon and some much longer shots MAY present themselves.

For this reason, I like flat trajectory. Along with which usually comes high velocity. The Ballsitic Tips will handle high velocity impacts much better then the SST. Also, even if there is core seperation, the jacket of the Ballistic Tip is over twice as heavy as the SST jacket and will usually stay nearly totally intact where as the SST jacket will fragment more.

Dispite what is said about the Interlock ring in the SST, the ballistic Tip will still out penetrate it for equal bullet weight, in fact I have tested heavy Hornady interlock BT's in 7mm, the 162 gr to be specific out of the 7mm STW driven to 3200 fps.

I have witnessed that bullet fail to fully penetrate deer size game 9 specific times.

I recommended to the owner of that rifle that he should try the 140 gr Ballsitic Tip and we developed a load producing 3475 fps with 3/4 moa accuracy, much better then the Hornady.

He has yet to find one of those 140 gr B.Tips in the 5 deer he has shot with it since.

People just do not give the Ballistic Tip credit for what it is, the best deer bullet on the market.

Now, common sense needs to come into play here. There are two different Ballistic Tip designs, one intended for varmint hunting and one for hunting game up to 400 lbs or so.

If you take a 50 gr Ballsitic Tip and drive it to 3800 fps from a 22-250 it will more then likely harvest a speed goat fine but the odds of wounding the game is pretty high compared to the ballsitic Tip designed for big game.

Big game Ballistic Tips start with the 95 gr .243" bullet and the 100 gr .257" pill.

THe lighter bullets of those calibers are not recommended for big game of any size. I know they have been used with success but I would never recommend such a practice.

My favor of the Ballistic Tip for deer can be summed up like this:

1. They are very accurate, in fact the most consistantly accurate hunting bullet I have ever tested and I have tested nearly all of them.

2. They have a very good B.C. for a give bullet weight which means they will shoot flatter, retain more velocity and buck the wind better then most hunting bullets.

3. They have nore realistic velocity limit so stuff them in whatever you want and they will generally shoot very well.

4. They expand very quickly, disrupt huge amounts of vital tissue and penetrate better then most believe they will.

So while I do not recommend the use of light weight Ballsitic Tips for any big game bullets, using the proper weight big game hunting Ballistic Tip will result in the best on game performance I have seen yet on deer and pronghorn size game.

Good Shooting!!!

50

I think that just about anything you can legally hit them with will work, though a 223 is probably unacceptably light.

My son-in-law's rifle was acting up so he used my 30-06 on one. The only cartridge handy was my elk load, 180 grain Hornady. The shot was quartering toward, and he hit it in the neck, just forward of the shoulder. Shattered the spine, ripped out the heart and lungs, and broke two ribs on its way out. I'm sure the animal didn't feel a thing.

So the point is, use whatever you shoot well. Just about anything from 243 to '06 will work. Just make sure the rifle is better than average at putting the bullet where you want it.

but will it work on a p-51 mustang??

You're going to, heck, have, gotten lots of advice, none bad. Lot of personnal opinion, so I'll add mine. I've used lots of different cartridges, including .338 Win on pronghorn, but I think that the pronghorn is THE animal that the .243 Win (or 6mm Rem) was designed for. I like a bullet of only 75 to 85 grains. I like a premium bullet that doesn't expand a whole lot because a) they die easily, and b) like someone else said, they have good meat and a guy sure hates to destroy any of it. They go down easily, but think about it, even if he doesn't, where's he going to go? You ain't going to loose him in the thick woods. People talk a lot about long shots, how 300 yards is common. Well, I have only taken one shot at one over 250 yards (the best, or should I say luckiest shot of my life). I guess what I'm saying is that I really don't buy into that. You can almost always sneak to within 200 yards, surely 250. Have fun, whatever gun you use will work. In fact, last fall I hunted them with an open sighted .25-35--a real flat shooting screamer!

Fifty--Good analysis..thank you.

denton and Art---Thank you as well for the information...it all sounds like good advice.

We will have fun.

rwj -



just to show that i am not ALL fun and games, i'd like to post what i hope is some good advice on antelope hunting. it is based on experiences up here in central montana, but should work well for colorado too. the pix are of my dad and my three boys with his antelope (i am the shadow) that he got on opening day 2002. the horns measured 13 inches, which is not huge, but not bad.....



-------------------------------------------------

http://www.baitshopboyz.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=141&PN=1



my first real antelope hunt was the fall of 2002, and i learned quite a bit. if anyone is interested, i'd like to post some observations here.



if you are coming out west to hunt antelope (or east, if you are coming from the west coast), i personally would forget the guide, but that is just my style. instead get an atlas for the state you are hunting and learn where the public land is, especially the BLM and school districts. the antelope don't know the difference, and you won't have to pay huge guide fees, trespass fees and who knows how many other fees.



i learned quite a few things this last year while hunting antelope in north-central montana. the first is that antelope tend to run a big circle when they get riled up, and will most times end up right about where they started if you give them time and a chance to do so.



the second thing is that antelope tend to stay in a territory and use fairly-well established trails. my father and i sat in one spot last year and watched several different antelope pass through this one same spot. he was able to "pick out his buck" though this observation, and it was a nice one (14 inches).



also, antelope mothers are quite protective of their young, and they are pretty smart in doing so. i watched a doe stand with her fawn on a very small rise, just a couple of feet above the surrounding land, out of pratical rifle range, and wait out several hunters until it was safe. she then headed for the nearest coulee like her tail was on fire, the fawn close behind.



if any sort of weather comes around (wind, snow, rain, dark clouds), i have noticed that the antelope bed down in the coulees and creek bottoms. this is the last place i would have looked for an antelope, but last year when the weather turned and we were about to give up for the day, we went back home through a coulee and found them bedded down in the creek bottom, scaring up a fair-sized herd.



if you stay out of site, keep to the low ground, below rises, walk along the sides of hills and pop up on them, and so forth, even if you crawl through tall grass or stake out in a clump of bushes, you can stalk very close to them, which will improve your chances of a good hit, and clean kill. this is a good general rule for any hunting, but especially good for antelope, which are quick to flee. i don't know how else to say it, but think like a sniper.



shot opportunities can be found at any range from 50 yards to well-past 300. practice for the long shots, but hope for a good solid opportunity which is in your "comfort zone."



regarding rifles, cartridges, calibers, chamberings and bullets, the trend is toward fast, flat-shooting cartridges in the 25-27 caliber range. i myself would recommend the rifle that you have the most confidence in, for that way you can be assured that shot you take will be the best that you can take.



psp/spitzers around 130(6.5mm and 277cal)-150(7mm and .30 cal) grains are ideal in my opinon, but there is nothing wrng with going up to 165 or down to 120. i would recommend a boat tail for flatter shooting and more retained velocity/energy downrange. SST and ballistic tips are great, i hear, though i have no personal experience in this area. the thin skin of antelope make the b-tips naturally a good choice, though. i would recommend heavy-for-caliber weights if you choose b-tips (i.e., use 165gr for .308 or .30-06, 140gr for 6.5 or .260, etc).



last year's antelope was taken at roughly 330 yards with a remington m700adl (early 70's, VERY pre-lawyer) in .30-06 with 150-grain factory psp's from federal.



last thing. if you get a big old buck, keep your hands, clothes, face, and everything else away from his cheeks and the side of his neck!

Tas: Thank you. The information you provided sounds like good advice and it sounds like fun. I normally don't use guides, but sometimes I do rely on them when I am uncertain about the animal and area being hunted and when I want to increase my chances of shooting one of the buggers as best I can within the limited time I have to chase the animal. Thank you again for your advice. And congratulations on your antelope hunt. And, if I did shoot a Ford, which I wouldn't, I would use 400 grain solids in my .416 Wby.

Your 300 WBY will work just great. I personally would go with the 150gr Partition as opposed to the BT. I used the BT one year in my 257 for deer and antelope and was very unhappy by the meat damage. Good luck on your hunt.

My three cents:

If the 180 Partition shoots really well, use it. It will do just fine. Focus on being able to hit instead of monkeying around with what isn't broken--buy a quality rangefinder and practice at ranges farther than you expect to shoot. If you "need" a load that's "flat shooting" out to 400 yds (no such thing) for this hunt you should be practicing out to 500+. That will do more for your chances of success than any fancy load you may come up with.

If you're just looking for an excuse to try a different load, that's fine too. I'll recommend against what most people do, something I feel is a mistake--picking a light bullet specifically for long range because it's "flat shooting." Yes, the lighter bullets will shoot a bit flatter but if you're actually considering 400 yd shots even they won't be flat enough to simply "point and shoot." Buy a rangefinder and use it.

Once you do that, the lighter bullet offers no advantage--in fact it puts you at a disadvantage because it will drift more in the wind--which is much harder to compensate for than drop. If you "don't have time" to use a rangefinder and the buck turns out to be at 475 instead of your estimate of 375 or 275 instead of 400, etc, a light bullet isn't going to make up for your error.

For the least amount of wind drift, it's hard to beat the plastic tipped bullets. Buy a bunch of 180's or 200's and see which shoots the best. You don't even need to waste your time seeing which shoots the best at 100 yds. Group them at 300 or 400 (out where accuracy really means something) to see what your rifle likes. Any of them will work just fine. Beyond accuracy, it's just personal preference and how big a hole you want.

Hell, anything works on pronghorn, even a .223 to the toenail will make them bed down while you sneak up closer. (Yes, I have actually seen it done due to a defective scope.) Just take a rifle that you can shoot well at long range.

don't try to pretty it up, it's just a goat!!!

You are right about that. I have seen them barely "nicked" in the leg while running and then just stand there until the hunter gets up close to put them down.

On a hunt up at Elk Mountain, WY about 10 years ago, I had a doe tag to fill so, we rode around in the truck and spotted a small buck and a doe. I decided to try to take the doe and when we stopped the truck they bolted. I jumped out and let the model 7400 30-06 auto roar, on the fourth shot I barely grazed the doe in the back ham. After She was hit she just stopped and I walked up close and shot her in the neck. I have seen this happen on more than one occasion.

Reloader

Why don't you elaborate on these "Problems"

I would like to know where you are coming from.

I personally have know problem ridding around on an open ranch in a 4x4 trying to fill a doe tag.

Are you one of those "Bunny Huggers"


Reloader

no, not a bunny hugger. i can kill (and eat) bambi with the best of them.....if you don't see any problem in your ethics or your methods, then nothing i say is going to make a difference.

Good input Jon! As much as we all like to monkey around with this round and that load, what really counts is experience. Only one way to get that: shoot at the ranges you expect to be tested at when hunting! My last open range animals (antelopes and mule deer) were taken with a load running about 2800 fps with .308 cal 200 grs NPs. I figured out what the hold over was, and the missing 1-400 fps did not matter much.

FWIW - mike

Your ethics would probably be very questionable to many here too!

The last 14" Pronghorn I took was after a mile stalk. I watched two bucks fight it out and took the champion of the herd. The shot was a ranged 450 yards w/ a 150 grn 30-06 load. If that is not ethical, what is?

When you get a doe tag to fill the freezer, there really is not that much skill involved in taking one of so many (Although 350 yards running is quite a feat w/ the ole' 30-06). I usually try to take them as easy as posible. If I am after trophies, thats a different story.

You hunt your way and I will hunt mine. After putting 7-15 big game animals down per season year after year, something I am doing must be working right.

Good Luck!

Reloader

>>>Although 350 yards running is quite a feat w/ the ole' 30-06<<<

not really, espedially when you are spraying and praying while road hunting. however, as you said to each his own. i am sure you ahve given PETA and other anti-hunting fucks enough ammo for one day.....

I don't believe Road hunting was ever mentioned.

Surely you don't think I was ridding down the blacktop shooting at animals?

I said Ridding around the ranch in a 4x4. Maybe I sould have said ridding through the pastures of the ranch "Off-Road" we rode up upon two pronghorns grazing along. Is that enough info?

Come on!

Dont Imediately see the bad till ya know different.

Reloader

so, stalked these bad boys for a mile and the closest you could get was 450 yards before you shot an exhausted buck?



yep - PETA loves you. if you don't think they are watching this and paying attention to posts like yours, then you are sadly mistaken.



look, i don't care how you hunt; if you want to rake them from the back of your land rover at a thousand yards while flying down the road at 75mph with your semi-auto .30/06, then go ahead. i myself prefer to stalk and take one shot in the kill zone. doesn't always work out that way, but when it doesn't i consider it a failure, no matter how big the trophy. in any case, i don't brag about it on the internet. my concern is what you are telling anti-gun and anti-hunting bugaboos when you make the rest of us sound like a bunch of ignorant rednecks.



this conversation is really polluting a good thread. if you really want to pursue this argument to its dead-end, pm me.

No, this isn't putting a bad taste to the thread. You just have diff. abilities and methods than some of us on here.

I feel very confident in shots at running animals. Where I came from, turning a pack of long-legged Walker hounds out on a whitetail was a common practice.

I also feel very confident in taking shots at long range if the conditions are in my favor (wind, elevation, animal behavior, etc., etc.). Some cant take long shots, I dont judge them for their inability in any way. Every man should know his shooting ability and not try unethical practices. If you dont posess the ability to make long shots you shouldn't, it would be the "unethical" way to go.

You cant look down upon us guys that can shoot and who know thier rifles. There are many out there that stand no better chance at hitting a game animal at 75 yards as a well trained guy that can hit one at 400-500 yards.

I cant hardly remember an animal That I missed w/ a rifle since I was a very young hunter. I have missed my share but, I have taken tons of animals from point-blank to close to 500 yards.

You hunt your way I will hunt mine. I certainly don't hunt unethically and don't take kindly to those who would say so. (As you might can tell)

Reloader