what is you caliber of choice for antelope?

[lbirch]

I shot one with a 7mm another with a 300 Weatherby a third with a 300 Ultra Mag and one with a .243. The .243 did the best job dropping the buck in its tracks and with minimal damage. I bought replacement capes for the other three.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Last couple of mine were taken with arrows, but with a rifle.. call me silly. I take my 300RUM. I shoot a 200 grain accubond and it's trajectory/drift is pretty tough to beat. Have never noticed a loss of meat on any of my animals. Oddly, they don't just explode like a tomato when hit with a 300. Sometimes rifle hunting antelope the shots can be long, and the prairie can be windy. There's been days I wouldn't have wanted my lighter rifle. But sometimes a child's size rifle is fun too.

Buddy of mine shot a wolf today, with his 300. Tomorrow, I'm taking my 300RUM for wolf as well. It's a tack-driver, and less prone to my errors in drop/drift.

 

[Big Fin]

Buddy of mine shot a wolf today, with his 300. Tomorrow, I'm taking my 300RUM for wolf as well. .....

Ah, um, uh, pictures? Details? Now that is news. Serious news. Congrats to your friend and good luck to you tomorrow.

 

[pseshooter300]

I don't know a lot about the 25-06 but the more I here you all talk about it I get to thinking. How much bigger is it than the 243 is it just a lot flatter shooting? I'm just trying to see what are a couple caliber in between the 243&25-06?

 

[billy-bob8]

i bought a Remington 700 bdl in 1972 in 25-06 caliber, ( by the way it cost 139.00 dollars new back in the day ) and have used it for ant,deer,elk, wild pigs, ect. it all comes down to placing a bullet in the right spot, which this light recoiling caliber allows. Being from az.I love to hunt coues deer, which is comparable to ant. in the fact that long range shooting seems to be the norm, make sure to put some quality glass on it and you will have all you need for antelope. I love this caliber. The biggest difference between the 1972 version and today is in the bullets. Premium bullets and a load that shoots well with your rifle is the key.

 

[chasendeer]

A Jack O'Connel specail, Winchester model 70 in 270 win.
Jay

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I've killed all but one of mine with a Ruger M77 in 25-06 with a heavy barrel using handloaded 117 grain Hornady boattails. The other was with a friend's .243 Mauser. My Dad just passed on 9/11 and I'll be working up handloads with the 100 grain Hornady BTSP for the .243 Sako that he told me I couldn't have until he passed to use on Wyoming antelope next season. I'd much rather still be using the 25-06 than losing him, but he lived a full life and just missed making his 89th birthday by five days!

 

[tarheel]

I'd much rather still be using the 25-06 than losing him, but he lived a full life and just missed making his 89th birthday by five days!

Use the .243 every chance you get as a tribute to your father. My current .243 belonged to a very close friend who died of liver cancer, so when it leaves the house to the range or hunting, I tell my wife that Tom and I are going shooting.

 

[gundog]

Skeet20 is on the money. The .257 Weatherby is perfect foe antelope.

 

[Ridgerunner1CO]

I have used a 25-06 (100 grain bullets) for antelope in Colorado and Wyoming with great success as well as getting many mule deer bucks. It's fast and flat shooting plus have made long range shots!
Probably might want to handload as that would save you some money.
I sold my Ruger 25-06 to a fellow I worked with and surprisingly he used it to shoot many bul elk with 120 grain bullets! Shot placement appears to be th main reason for success.
For what it's worth, you couldn't go wrong with the old reliable 270 caliber as it will cover a great variety of game. Best of luck!

 

[JohnDeereGreen]

Purely personal preference, but I'm a one-gun-does-it-all type. I have a Remington 700 SPS in .300 WSM that seems to meet that requirement. Nothing fancy by any means, but I have a decent scope on it with a drop reticle zeroed at 200yds, with the remaining dots at 300, 400, 500, 600yds. I shoot a 180 grain Barnes TSX bullet through it, and it's pretty darn accurate. If you're heading west to hunt antelope, you might think real hard about getting comfy to 400 yards with whatever gun you choose to shoot. Farthest I've ever shot with it was 525yds on a cow elk and she tipped right over like the proverbial sack of potatoes. A bipod is a real nice feature for antelope hunting, too. I know you said your range only goes to 300, but IMHO, 300 is a fairly moderate range shot for an antelope. I shot one at 250yds this year, and that was by far the closest shot I've had on one. Also, the .300 WSM seems to hold up in the wind as well, something you are likely to encounter out West. The lope I shot was out in the open and the wind was howling, so it's important to have a solid understanding of how much drift your are going to have in relation to the wind speed. A 3x5 index card taped to the rifle stock is always nice. Hope it helps, good luck to you wherever and whenever you make it out this way.

 

[Outdooraddict]

I love my Savage 260 Rem. Still having fun working on loads.

 

[arffdog875]

My choice is .270 win for Lopes. I have been loading 130 gr. NP's but still working on improving groups and speed, going to try 110 grain TTSX's see how they do!

 

[justdada]

Ya know... Remington did a limited edition 6mm in the 700cdl SF this year ... you would have a hard time finding a better antelope rifle than that. Just my opinion .

 

[tehamadeerhuntrer]

I have been to Wyoming three times for Antelope and used the 25-06 it would be my choice for speed goats. As far as the model I prefer the Remington 700 especially if you can get an older one. The load I like is IMR 4831 with a 117 grn Sierra game king boat tail. I have taken several California Black tail deer with this caliber and load.

 

[pseshooter300]

Thanks for all the advice

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

for this years hunt in wyoming,Im thinkin of using my ruger .243 with the hornady superformance sst factory loads,,,how does this combo work out at longer yardages{any input},,Im thinkin if its real windy of pullin out my 7mm mag w 150 gr bullets,but the last 2 animals i got with my 7mm really got some herendus meat damage in the shoulders,,,have shot my 7 mm out to 600+ yrds but have never tried my .243 out past 400,,,will a 95 gr .243 have enough knockdown out at say 500? the .243 appears to get wind drift much easyer than the heavyer 7mm bullets.appreciate all inputs.

 

[gundog]

.257 Weatherby

 

[upper deck]

for this years hunt in wyoming,Im thinkin of using my ruger .243 with the hornady superformance sst factory loads,,,how does this combo work out at longer yardages{any input},,Im thinkin if its real windy of pullin out my 7mm mag w 150 gr bullets,but the last 2 animals i got with my 7mm really got some herendus meat damage in the shoulders,,,have shot my 7 mm out to 600+ yrds but have never tried my .243 out past 400,,,will a 95 gr .243 have enough knockdown out at say 500? the .243 appears to get wind drift much easyer than the heavyer 7mm bullets.appreciate all inputs.

At 500 yards you should have roughly 750 ft-lbs of energy and about 25 inch of wind drift at full value 10 mph.

 

[Straight Arrow]

25-06 Rem Federal Premium 100gr Barnes Triple-Shock has worked great for me.