What is your favourite proghorn rifle? I am looking at tweaking my collection and adding a rifle dedicated to hunting pronghorns and open country mule deer. I have set .270Win as my upper limit, and .243 as the lower. I am not especially interested in the very high velocity magnums.

So, what do you like, what have you had good success with, and why?

I've killed them with 243, 308, 7mm Rem Mag and 6.5x284 I really don't think that the cartridge matters that much. As long as it's accurate and the style of rifle fits your hunting style that's what really matters.

I prefer a long range cartridge just in case I have to reach way out there and I like heavier rifles with long barrels using a sitting type bipod and I'll shoot prone or sitting most of the time.

My personal pronhorn rifle is a Rem 700 chambered in 25-06 topped with a Nikon 4.5x14x40. About as good as it gets IMO.

I shot an antelope with a 243
I have a 270 that's bagged 10 or so deer
Now I have a winchester model 70 25/06 that I'll use for the next antelope I draw.
Most anything legal will work.

What Molar said. Perfect set up!

Today, the perfect rifle for plains game out to 500 yards, anyway, would be a nice 98 chambered in 6.5x68 Schuler with a 26" barrel by somebody that knows how to build one right. It will be the same answer tomorrow...and the day after...and the day after that...
I been sitting on a 1908 Brazilian Mauser, and got a set of DST's and an engraved set of bottom end metal a while back. I'm wood shopping now.

Rich
DRSS

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Today, the perfect rifle for plains game out to 500 yards, anyway, would be a nice 98 chambered in 6.5x68 Schuler with a 26" barrel by somebody that knows how to build one right. It will be the same answer tomorrow...and the day after...and the day after that...
I been sitting on a 1908 Brazilian Mauser, and got a set of DST's and an engraved set of bottom end metal a while back. I'm wood shopping now.

Rich
DRSS

Rich, I'm curious, why a Mauser? Just about any modern action will have a faster locktime and require less work to get better accuracy? Is it a rifle look thing? I'm a lefty so I've never fallen for the nostalgia thing with old rifles.

Sorry but I haven’t got a clue of what the “perfect†plains rifle is.

If I was limited to 1 round to hunt antelope with it would be the 7mm rem mag.

I mainly hunt with a 25-06, wife shoots antelope with her 243, friends hunt them with 308 win, 270 win, 270 wby. 30-06, 270 win. They all kill antelope.

I am planning to build a rifle in .257 Roberts AI. My 1st choice for an action would be Ruger #1 but I might end up with a short action remington.
That would be about my ideal lope rifle , a 100 grain bullet at 3250 to 3300 , from a 24 inch tube. Use the same rifle for muler deer with a 115 grain or a 100 grain barnes.
hell it would be good for caribu also with a 115 grain tripple shock.
I am a Quarter bore fan for animals under 400 or so lbs.
...tj3006

I've taken antelope with a 270, a muzzleloader, a 7RemMag, and a 300RUM.

If I had to choose one it would be the 270. Bullet of choice would be 110 TSX since it is a proven combo. The scope is Leupold 4.5x14x40.

If I was thinking of buying a rifle solely for antelope in a caliber I do not own, it would probably be a 6.5 something.

I have killed antelope with a 308, 7mm Mag, 300 Wby, and a 30 Herrett.

I have seen them killed with the 243, 6mm Rem, 25/06, 7mm Mag,308, 300 Win Mag,30 Herrett, 35 Herrett, and a black powder50 cal.

I think the 243 is as good as any.

All the people I hunted with that lived in Wyoming used the 25/06 with 100 gr Sierras.

My longest shot was with the 308.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Today, the perfect rifle for plains game out to 500 yards, anyway, would be a nice 98 chambered in 6.5x68 Schuler with a 26" barrel by somebody that knows how to build one right. It will be the same answer tomorrow...and the day after...and the day after that......

I would have to vote for the good old 25-06. I have plenty of rifles in the safe to choose from, but when I go for antelope it is always the first choice.

My rifle is a customized Remington 700 that wears a Lilja barrel and has been pillar bedded into a Bell and Carlson stock. It has a Jewell trigger and a Leupold 4.5 X14. Just about a perfect set up. For antelope I put on a Harris bi-pod and fell well equiped. For the rare occasion that the brush or grass is too high for the bi-pod I use shooting sticks.

I've only killed 3 of them, all with a 30-06.

The longest was at 455 yards and the other two were at 300.

I've also seen em killed with 25-06, 270win, 300WM.

IMO you couldn't get much better than a 25-06 for pronghorn.

If I draw this year, I'll be using a 25-06 M700 topped with a 4-14x40 Nikon Monarch BDC loaded with 120 Sierra HPs over 55 grns of 7828 for 3175fps. Should be a heck of an 'lope load.

Good Luck

Reloader

7-08. Don't know about 500 yards tho. I've never shot anything other than Pdogs at 500 yards. In fact, I've only shot 1 antelope at over 300 yards.

Fjold,

it's a nostalgia thing mostly. I have always admired the old Mauser Guild Guns with DST's.
The 6.5x68Schuler runs along side the 264WM for velocity and range, and that was the niche Winchester looked at for it in the 1950's IIRC. It's a cartridge that a guy could take after a big elk or black bear with as well and not feel undergunned. It seems to be a logical next step up, building a battery from P-dogs and Rockchucks (223R and a good 6mm) to under 600lbs game (the 6.5's) and Big NA game (300-338-375) and Africa (416 Rigby and up).
There are other options, this is just a really good one IMHO.

regards,

Rich
DRSS

I built my American PG rifle a few years ago:
-LH Sako L61 action, 3 pos. safety added
-Lilja #2 barrel, 25.5"
-Nice chunk of English. I built stock, Kathy Forster (member ACGG) did the nice fleur de lis checkering
-Warne rings, Leu. 3 x 9 compact
-257 AI, 100gr @ 3300.
It's pretty heavy, for long range work on mulies and pronghorn.

Incidentally, they are not antelope. The proper name is pronghorn. They are a separate species, closer to a goat than any antelope or deer.

Have only killed 2 antelope and that was 50 years ago. One taken with a Mdl 27 S&W in 357 Mag and the other taken with 44spl in a S&W triple-lock. Dug a hole and got in and covered up with a tarp. Put a top from a can on a string tied to end of a stick poked in the ground like a fishing pole. Shot both at less than 10 yds. Very effective. If I were to do it again I would probably use a 257Roberts.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
Have only killed 2 antelope and that was 50 years ago. One taken with a Mdl 27 S&W in 357 Mag and the other taken with 44spl in a S&W triple-lock. Dug a hole and got in and covered up with a tarp. Put a top from a can on a string tied to end of a stick poked in the ground like a fishing pole. Shot both at less than 10 yds. Very effective. If I were to do it again I would probably use a 257Roberts.

That's too much work, do you realize how big that hole would have to be?

I've killed around 50 antelope and have used the 243, 6mm Rem, 257 Roberts, 25-06, 270, 280, 7mm Mag, 308, 30-06 300 Mag and 357 Mag. Having a 257 Roberts built, but think the 25-06 is probably the most ideal.

Fjold,
Do YOU know how big that hole had to be. I'm 6'1" and weighed around 240 at the time. Actually it was two holes as they were shot on different occaisons in different places. I did use part of existing depressions but DUG the holes, I was laying down not standing in them. It works.

Gee, guess I'm the odd guy out. The story is that I killed my first one with a Ruger Redhawk in .44 Mag, wearing a Leupold 2-X scope I just traded off two weeks ago here on AR. One shot at 200 yards after my hunting partner missed him with his 300 H&H Model 721. That was only fair, I thought. I had actually won the draw for first shot, but he shot before I even got my pistol raised.

Since then I have hunted them with my pre-64 M70 FW .270 and, most commonly, a Mauser in .280 Remington with 120 gr. Barnes-X.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
Fjold,
Do YOU know how big that hole had to be. I'm 6'1" and weighed around 240 at the time. Actually it was two holes as they were shot on different occaisons in different places. I did use part of existing depressions but DUG the holes, I was laying down not standing in them. It works.

Slight tangent here, but was that in Unit 26? I've seen several 18" antelope there, and have two friends that have killed 18"+ 'lopes in that unit. You know Floyd Green, the lion guide and owner of of Outdoorsman's Resale on Cave Creek in Phoenix? He's one of them....I think his was 18-1/4' one horn and 18-3/8' the other....anyway, as I recall, scored about 88-1/4 when eligible for book measurements. 'Course,that was almost 20 years ago and my memory isn't perfect, but bet the measurement's still in the book...

Use a 25-06, 100 grain premium bullet, practice, take your laser rangefinder, and you will be fine.

My antelope rifle is a 270 on a Mauser action and scoped with a 3x9 power Nikon. It has a medium heavy 24 inch barrel and is a half MOA shooter. My favorite bullet for it is the 150 grain Hornady Interlok. Does it all no problem and is only a little heavy to stalk with.

25 WSSM!

I wondered how long it would take before someone suggested the 25 WSSM! That is a cartridge I have actually been considering. Do you have one? What has been your experience with ti?

mine is a Model 70, rebarreled to 6.5 x 57, with a 28 inch heavy magnum contoured Pac Nor barrel...

It is on a long action and using 100 grain Hornady SPs or 100 grain Ballistic Tips, with an MV of about 3500 to 3550 fps...

I took my pronghorn with a Sharps carbine .45 2/10th (.45-70). B.P. 420gr.PP pure lead semi-spitzer. Crawled through the prickly pear for about five hours (400 yrds) to make a 90 yrd one shot kill. Even met a nice 'ol rattler along the stalk.
Have a 25WSSM M-70 FWT. that I will use next time

If I ever Draw a tag to try it, mine might be my 257 STW.

My pronghorn rifle is "The 26IOD".

Browning 78 25-06, 3-12 Sightron SII, 100 gr TSX's over 55 H4831.

IMHO a perfect blend of style and function.

Just find a rifle/load that fits what you want. Anything from .22 calibers on up will kill an antelope. Find a gun that fits the niche that you want. For strictly antelope, it would be hard to beat a 25-06 class cartridge, but as long as you know the ballistics, even a good old .308 is a thumper.

My favorite Pronghorn rifle at this point is my Mod. 70 in 270 Win. but I'm thinking I need a 257 WBY for some reason to hunt 'lopes with.

I've taken 30-40 Pronghorns in the past 40 years, in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. Most were with my .257 AI and 115-120 gr bullets. Almost all of them were shot at under 200 yds, and most were around or under 100 yds. I do alot of crawling and waiting.

I like the .257 AI. It shoots flat, and has mild recoil. It's also my favorite rifle for Sheep, Deer, and Caribou.

My 6mm-284 is my most accurate gun, really like that. Nothing against the 7mm Remington, it's my most versatile rifle, or the 6x45mm, a really nice little popgun for under-200-yard shots.

quote:

Originally posted by Wooly ESS:
I wondered how long it would take before someone suggested the 25 WSSM! That is a cartridge I have actually been considering. Do you have one? What has been your experience with ti?

Make it a 25-06. No point in reinventing the wheel. A 26" barrel will get you 3,400 fps and good for 600 yards with a 100 grain Sierra.

David

quote:

Originally posted by molar1:
My personal pronhorn rifle is a Rem 700 chambered in 25-06 topped with a Nikon 4.5x14x40. About as good as it gets IMO.

Ditto! But change the scope to a Burris and a 6-18!

Mine is this Sendaro model. Though the last one I shot was with a 284 XP100.

It had a Bushnell 6-18 on it but the plan is to upgrade to the Burris Laser Scope in 3-12 or a Signature in 6-18.

quote:

Originally posted by sbhooper:
Just find a rifle/load that fits what you want. Anything from .22 calibers on up will kill an antelope. Find a gun that fits the niche that you want. For strictly antelope, it would be hard to beat a 25-06 class cartridge, but as long as you know the ballistics, even a good old .308 is a thumper.

In Wyoming you will lose your antelope and get a ticket if the game warden catches you hunting them with a 22 Centerfire. We have game rules for a reason!

Alberta Canuck,
Actually both were taken in New Mexico. They were 13"/14" if memory serves. Definitely were NOT over 15". My third and largest was a 15 1/8" taken in colorado with a 257 AI.