Antelope hunting in seven days!

[80x80]

Next week my son and I will join three close friends in our annual trek in a quest for Wyoming antelope. We will be returning to a ranch in the north east corner of the state where we have hunted many times before.

We have enjoyed a great relationship with the land owner and will make every effort to keep it that way. Follow the basic rules and leave a clean camp.

Our goal each year is to enjoy some good camp cooking, a toast or two after a day of hunting and bag a few bucks with some careful shooting.

I will be using a long range pistol chambered in 300 Savage. The rest of the crew will be rifle men. Roger has a new wildcat to try. A 25 based on the 270WSM case. Jr is knocking the dust off an old Ruger number one in 25-06 that has a "fast" barrel. I assume Gordo will return with his favorite Remington 270. Jeff, now an airline pilot, will have a 280 or 25-06.

We have never attempted extreme long range shooting as the ranch has enough terrain changes to allow spot and stock hunts.

Wish us luck on finding the big one.

 

[2506]

I know that you have already worked up your loads for your 300 Savage pistol but a Nosler 125 gr. Ballistic Tip is a great bullet. I use it in my 30X47 HBR and 308 Rilfe for deer and have never had a deer take a step after being hit in the front shoulders. As my tag name says I am a 25-06 man also. They just plain kill things dead before they even hit the ground. I too am getting ready to take my yearly trip to east NC for a 3 week deer hunt vacation in 4 weeks. I am going to do some range time with my bag of weapons I take along for the hunt Thursday. I wish you all the best of hunts.

 

[80x80]

25-06

Just so happens I have a green plastic ammo box filled with green tipped bullets,125 grain Nosler ballistic tips, marked with a green label. You might say I am going green on the upcoming hunt. And yes the tents are green.

IN mid October we will return to a different area in Wyoming with a fist full of antelope doe tags. I have prepared a 243 for the new shooter in the group plus I have worked up some extreme velocity loads for a 340 Weatherby that has never been to the high plains. 160 grain Barnes at near 3500 fps should do damage at both ends.

Bill

 

[MrMister]

Out of curiosity:

Why would you want to use a ballistic tip bullet on game?

Isn't the damage caused going to ruin a lot of meat?

 

[2506]

There are varmint ballistic tips and there are game ballistic tips. The 125 gr. 30 cal. ballistic tips are medium game bullets. They will do a number on a deer but if you shoot a deer or antelope right you are not loosing any real meat. I shoot deer through the front shoulders and it takes a great big deer to have any "REAL" meat on their shoulders. Most of the meat that is on the shoulder of the average 100 to 150 pound NC deer is sinew type meat that is tough as leather. There is a piece that I guess you could call it the tricep muscle that I throw into the meat grinder when making bugger but that is about all the "REAL" meat on the front shoulders. If you behind the shoulder heart/lung shoot one there is not much meat loss either because they do not have much meat on their ribs either. Most of the meat comes from the hams and the back strap on a deer or antelope. I have shot well over 200 deer and I am of the quick expanding bullet crowd. The average deer is not that big of an animal. It is on average 1 to 1 1/2 feet between the shoulders in it's boiler room. After a bullet reaches the off side of the boiler room it can't do any more killing damage. I want a bullet to destroy the heart and lungs and turn them into mush imparting lot's of shock. This most often drops the animal in its tracks so you don't have to go tracking them all over the place following a blood trail from a bullet that just poked a hole through them. Remember we are talking thin skin small boned body animals not big body big bone animals where you need a bullet to break a tree trunk thick shoulder and travel through 4 feet of muscle. Those I like Speer grand slams or Nosler partitions etc.

 

[MrMister]

2506

I've taken my share of deer and I agree with your through the ribs doesn't ruin meat, but I get steaks out of the shoulders.

Granted they aren't back strap but they aren't bad either. Defiantly jerky worthy at the least!

I think I'll stick to my soft point bullets.

My season starts Saturday for local deer!

Can't wait, happy hunting everyone.

 

[80x80]

"Adventures in Duck Creek"

Opening morning the Rhino side by side putts out of camp with its cargo of orange capped clowns. We have been assigned to Duck Creek for the opening hours of the hunt.

We are delighted with the idea of hunting an area that has produced some nice bucks in the past. Gordo drops off as we crest the ridge. A buck an his girl friends have been spotted moving across the rolling terrain. Leaving Gordo to intercept the herd with his 270 filled with plastic tipped bullets we continue toward the low country.

Jr and Jeff depart the clown car, do a radio check and head toward a deep wash that provides great cover for a stalk. Old cottonwood trees tap moisture and provide a green contrast to the yellow grass. Roger and I continue up the road that follows the tree lined wash and I park the machine where the road crosses into the neighbors " No Hunting" property.

While I am putting on my backpack and picking up the 300 Savage pistol, a T/C G2 topped with a Burris 3x12 and now loaded with 125 grin Ballistic Tips.Roger has already spotted a thick horned antelope working some does. A check with the range finder says 275 yards but they are very close to the ranchers herd of horses.

The sex fest takes the buck and his ladies back up the hill and we attempt an open ground stalk. After a failed attempt to connect with his 25 270 WSM we latter decide that Roger's scope has a problem. As we lay in the tall grass wondering what the F went wrong a smaller buck with the classic heart shaped horns comes over the hill to see what all the excitement is.

I place the soft gun case on top of my backpack in an attempt to get above the grass. The buck is facing directly at me at about 200 yards when I tell Roger i am going to shoot. Latter I think of the book titled "Death in the long grass". At the shot I do not hear and impact, the buck moves to my left and is about to go over the hill when he stops broad side. The single shot pistol has been quickly loaded and at the shot a resounding pop comes back. The recoil masks his departure, but Roger says he is down.

After picture taking and field dressing activities I turn on the radio to discover our taxi services are required. Jr and Gordo have bucks down. We have permission to drive off the two tracks to retrieve our game and Roger heads off to get the Rhino.

By the next afternoon all five tags are filled and no back strap or hams were damaged during this adventure. Yes Roger had to borrow the infamous Blue gun to bag a beautiful buck in a most scenic area of weathered stone and a mini arch.

Note: Both my shots hit the buck, destroying heart and liver. The rifle boys were all one shot kills, four with those mean plastic tipped bullets.

Bill

 

[MrMister]

Note: Both my shots hit the buck, destroying heart and liver. The rifle boys were all one shot kills, four with those mean plastic tipped bullets.

Obviously shot placement here was key.

What would the same round do in a back-strap or both hams?

Not trying to argue 80x80 just feel BT bullets are for varmints.

 

[80x80]

It was fun to have 25-06 bring up the Ballistic Tip suggestion and MrMister counter opion. Good stuff for campfire debates fortified with an appropriate beverage.

Over the past twenty two years my son and I have taken 44 buck antelope plus filled a number of doe tags. Shoot a hole in the proper place with most any bullet and you have a dead critter, shoot off a leg and you now have a problem.

Over the years we have shot bullets from red, green, yellow, black boxes and even a few rounds of factory ammo. Rifles used over the years include 6BR, 6MM Rem, 243AI,257R, 25-06, 7-08, 280, 300 Weatherby and the 338 Win. Jr has taken one buck with iron sights on an FA 357 Mag. Plus we have used a number of long range pistols including the 23LVP, 219 DWQT, 6BR, 243AI,7-30Waters, 6.5 Grendel, 30-30, 300 savage, 35 Remington. Might even add the 41Mag on our upcoming doe hunt,

Six hunters, eleven tags, we will be busy.

Bill

 

[2506]

I have a 6mm-225 Winchester 14 inch barrel for my T/C Contender that I would like to try out on antelope if I could ever get to the other side of the world from where I live in TN. It will do 2650 fps with a load of 30 grs Varget and a Sierra single shot pistol 80 gr bullet and shoot 1/2 inch groups @ 100 yards. I have killed one deer with it at 100 yards and it did a number on it. I am getting ready to go to East NC for deer hunting in 3 weeks. Unlimited doe tags again this year.

 

[80x80]

2506

Living in the Salt Lake City, Utah area puts us about 500 miles from the ranch in north east Wyoming. You are a long ways away. We did meet a couple hunters that had made the trip from back east.

A few years ago I wrote a little story for the IHMSA News,Silhouette shooting paper) about my first antelope kill from the "credmore position". On my back with the pistol pressed to the side of my leg. The title was "Credmore in the cactus". Made a 406 yard kill with a 6BR pistol shooting 80 grain Speer bullets. Did not notice until I stood up that my shooting hand was covered in quills, OUCH!!

I had put on a great stalk on a mountain heard but when I peeked my head over the rocky knob they were off heading down hill. But one doe stopped, she must have been the blond. I assumed the position, held on the top of her back and let fly. I saw dust fly but it was just the bullet traveling through her heart and then hitting the ground.

I did have a cold beer after that shot. Your 6MM would work fine on the " high plains drifters".

Bill

 

[MrMister]

80x80,

I'll be in the Heber City area for the Central General season.

We may get a chance to have that beer after all!

I missed opening weekend here in Kalifornia, my kids weren't feeling well. Next weekend it's game on!

Happy hunting everyone.