Help, I need a new pronghorn rifle! (Update)

[Pucky Freak]

 

[BobT1105]

Why not use that lever and put some challenge in it?

That’s a .45/70, its sole job is killing whitetails in the brush. I would probably take it if I were to go buffalo hunting though. The challenge I’m looking for on the next trip is to put a “booner” on the ground.

 

[OleRedbeard]

I am a dyed in the wool 270 guy. They are hard to beat for about everything you can think of in the lower 48 with the proper ammo. But I don't really like them in anything under a 24 inch barrel. Critters don't know the difference in the few inches but its a mental thing for me.
I love a 308 but feel like I'm over gunned when I use it for Pronghorn. There's no reason to feel that way I guess I just do. A man is entitled to a few unwarranted opinions.
I know it wasn't on your list but the 25-06 is a magic stick when it comes to pronghorn albeit a little light for elk but many have been killed with it.

At the end of the day however, the 7mm08 as far as weight goes fits the bill, since you're wanting something light and with a 20-22 inch barrel. You already know the affinity people have on here for it and for good reason. Its a wonderful cartridge and being a short action comes in lots of light rifles. I have 3. 2 savage axis for my daughters and a Ruger RSI Mannlicher. None are over 6 or 7lbs. As far as using it for the occasional elk...well, there's been a few elk killed with it since it was released around 1980.

 

[NewTroutBum]

I have taken antelope with both a .243 and a 30-06. Both worked just fine.

I am a big 30-06 fan so I have since gotten rid of the .243.

Honestly, just about any centerfire cartridge with a good bullet will work.

 

[Wvhntr81]

243, 25-06, 308, 6.5 it all kills them dead

 

[BobT1105]

A little update, the Ruger is going to be a shooter and a keeper I think.

Thanks to all of you who responded! It’s been an interesting thread

 

[Marshian]

Im planning to buy a mark V accumark in 257 and want the 26 inch barrel for max velocity. I also want to suppress it. Anyone have experience with a 26 inch barrel and suppressor. I know it’ll be very long but it’ll only be on the prairie and never a super hard hike.

 

[Sheltowee]

Im planning to buy a mark V accumark in 257 and want the 26 inch barrel for max velocity. I also want to suppress it. Anyone have experience with a 26 inch barrel and suppressor. I know it’ll be very long but it’ll only be on the prairie and never a super hard hike.

I have a 24” 25-7PRC that I shoot with a DeadAir Nomad. It is not impossibly cumbersome but you definitely feel it. You’re going to be in the 32-34” range with most suppressors, so you will essentially be toting a muzzleloader-length weapon.

You might look at one of the OTB/reflex suppressors like the Unknown to help offset some of that length.

 

[cgasner1]

Im planning to buy a mark V accumark in 257 and want the 26 inch barrel for max velocity. I also want to suppress it. Anyone have experience with a 26 inch barrel and suppressor. I know it’ll be very long but it’ll only be on the prairie and never a super hard hike.

If you carry it strapped to a backpack it won’t be bad. This issue is the center of gravity they don’t pack well because it tries to tip over backwards the entire time

 

[D4570]

Just a thought, is there a reason that you want it suppressed? If it's, you don't want ear protection? With a supersonic round like what will NOT be quiet. It will be less, yes, but not quiet. If you hit your shot, the antelope will never hear it. You will still need hearing protection.
And the other antelope will still hear the shot.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

I have taken antelope with both a .243 and a 30-06. Both worked just fine.

I am a big 30-06 fan so I have since gotten rid of the .243.

Honestly, just about any centerfire cartridge with a good bullet will work.

I shot my first antelope buck with a 35 Whelen over 45 years ago. Saw him maybe a mile and a half away and shot him at about 65 yards. That still was my favorite antelope hunt. Was in a high mountain meadow in Wyoming's' "Grizz Rich" Wind River Range. Wonderful two-hour stalk.

I used to live in Wyoming when residents had OTC antelope tags (Doe and some Bucks) delt out to you like a hand of poker cards.

I took some in lower elevation non-grizz country with the 30-06 and of course the 270. Took a few with the 7x57 too.

If I were hunting them now in non-grizz country I would use my Model 70 Featherweight in 6.5x55 Swede and a 6x scope. In that strong rifle the Swede reloads can have a slight edge on the 6.5 Creed.

As far as a noise suppressor, they make some great foam ear plugs. And I could also throw earmuffs in my pack.

Going around with a super long rifle with a "Beer Can" screwed on the end is not to my liking.

 

[Marshian]

My main hunting gun is a Sako Finnlight in 7mm08 that I now suppress and it’s super light and short enough. Before getting a suppressor (silencerco scythe ti ) one ag, I carried foam ear plugs and used the quite religiously which I still plan to do in addition to the suppressor. I still like the suppressor for at the range and in reducing the blast and recoil in general so that almost non-negotiable for me now. I realize the bullet will still be supersonic and the animals will hear that but hunting with suppressed friends, it does seem like the spook less. Regardless, the range and practice alone makes me want a suppressor. I’ll likely have to learn from painful experience for my self and just see how it goes, and if miserable, go from there. Thanks for the inputs all, much appreciated.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

My main hunting gun is a Sako Finnlight in 7mm08 that I now suppress and it’s super light and short enough. Before getting a suppressor (silencerco scythe ti ) one ag, I carried foam ear plugs and used the quite religiously which I still plan to do in addition to the suppressor. I still like the suppressor for at the range and in reducing the blast and recoil in general so that almost non-negotiable for me now. I realize the bullet will still be supersonic and the animals will hear that but hunting with suppressed friends, it does seem like the spook less. Regardless, the range and practice alone makes me want a suppressor. I’ll likely have to learn from painful experience for my self and just see how it goes, and if miserable, go from there. Thanks for the inputs all, much appreciated.

I have had a Sako model 75 Finnlight in 308 for about two decades. I absolutely love that little rifle, a bit too much for Antelope, but great for deer and Elk. I use plugs and muffs It is loud with that short barrel. Which model do you have?

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Just a thought, is there a reason that you want it suppressed? If it's, you don't want ear protection? With a supersonic round like what will NOT be quiet. It will be less, yes, but not quiet. If you hit your shot, the antelope will never hear it. You will still need hearing protection.
And the other antelope will still hear the shot.

A good suppressor will reduce noise by 25+ dB, basically the same value as hearing protection. But it reduces the recoil and noise for everything else in the vicinity as well.

 

[BobT1105]

I’ve been hunting suppressed for several years now. Yes, there is some noise but I have seen deer at close range pay absolutely no attention to the sound. Hogs will run around in circles, it’s as if they don’t know where the sound is coming from. This past fall I was hunting with my .308 in an area where I could kill 3 deer. It was a managed hunt and you had to check in 2 antlerless deer before killing a buck. I was hunting in a thick river bottom, a group of three does crossed the river and walked fairly straight to me. I shot the lead doe and dropped her in her tracks, swung back to the second in line and dropped her with a neck shot also. The third animal halted briefly and then just kept walking straight to me, she came close enough that I’m pretty sure I could have spit on her. I was sitting on a bank probably 10 feet or so above the creek bottom, it was an old dozer pile. The deer were within 40 yards before I fired the first shot.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

I’ve been hunting suppressed for several years now. Yes, there is some noise but I have seen deer at close range pay absolutely no attention to the sound. Hogs will run around in circles, it’s as if they don’t know where the sound is coming from. This past fall I was hunting with my .308 in an area where I could kill 3 deer. It was a managed hunt and you had to check in 2 antlerless deer before killing a buck. I was hunting in a thick river bottom, a group of three does crossed the river and walked fairly straight to me. I shot the lead doe and dropped her in her tracks, swung back to the second in line and dropped her with a neck shot also. The third animal halted briefly and then just kept walking straight to me, she came close enough that I’m pretty sure I could have spit on her. I was sitting on a bank probably 10 feet or so above the creek bottom, it was an old dozer pile. The deer were within 40 yards before I fired the first shot.

that is pretty amazing