? on Promghorn hunting

[AckleymanII]

The last antelope I killed was at 430 yards, 223 with a 55g Winchester SP with a Muzzle velocity of 3100, he flopped on the spot.

Way back, I used 7 Mags, then 270's, then 25/06's, then 243's trying not to blow the buggers up, I really like antelope jerky. Goats are not hard to kill, just hit them right.

 

[1holeaddict]

I agree 100% with the above post.. The 4 that i have taken were all with a 7MM Mag and 7MM Ultra Mag. Growing up with Dad carrying a 300 weatherby all his life for PA Whitetails i was brain washed that you needed Horse Power to kill. As i got older i started handloading and testing smaller calibers on game. All of my magnums sit idle in the safe and i have become a short action lover. 243 win, 7mm-08, 308 Win, 300 WSM, and 300Saum are my go to guns. The only long actions that i reach for is one of my several 30-06's and when bear hunting the 35 Whelen.
If the young man has an accurate 308 or 30-06 and a good scope he will be fine. A 30-06 with a 168 gr ballistic tip will reach out farther than he will be comfortable shooting. If not your 260 or 7 Mag would be my next choices.
Now my question.. How much trigger time has the young man had at long distances? Practice is going to be much more important than caliber selection. A good range finder and knowing what the selected firearm does in real life at distances beyond 250 yards. I have been in 30-40 MPH winds out in the plains.

 

[rjtfroggy]

Now my question.. How much trigger time has the young man had at long distances? Practice is going to be much more important than caliber selection. A good range finder and knowing what the selected firearm does in real life at distances beyond 250 yards. I have been in 30-40 MPH winds out in the plains.[/QUOTE]

I really don't know but it something I will be trying to ingrain into both him and his father.
They can shoot out to 150 in the back of their house but longer ranges around here are far and few. He still has a couple of weeks of school left so not to much time left in the day for practice.

 

[rjtfroggy]

Just about any 6mm, 25 cal does the job 243, 6 creed, 6 rem, 6-284, 25-06, 6x6.8, 6x45, any 6.5 variation as well. They are not hard to kill. I use a 6x6.8, 90g bullet.

In your list you have 6x45 do you honestly feel it is enough? If so I can put one together ( have barrel) for him and then not worry about recoil with the benefit of having good to excellent accuracy on a light weight Savage platform.

 

[msinc]

...….I am also willing to go show both him and his father how to reload for better accuracy...…...

That's all I need to hear...hell I even have Bushmill's you can drink. I have a couple thousand rounds of 223 to load up, when can you be here??
Here is my choice, a sharp broadhead, a blind and a waterhole complete the deal {most of the time, some luck helps too}….
If you gotta use a gun a 243 is hard to beat. Best of luck to him!!!!

 

[STOMP442]

Like said above, anything really will work. My wife and I went on our first Goat hunt last year. She was able to harvest a nice one at just under 900 yards with a .260 Ackley Improved and a 140 Berger. I was really surprised at how soft and tender they are. The combo we used was probably a bit too much gun even then considering the hole it left. It is addicting though not to mention delicious. We already have plans in motion to go back again this year to do it again. I would say to spend the money and do it right. Get a nice rifle in an easy to shoot easy to load for caliber and put a decent optic on it and start practicing. He can always use it back home too.

 

[ebb]

One hole has it right, practice is the most important thing. before my buddy and I went we shot twice a week for months. We went for lopes first and elk when we were finished with the lopes. So range sessions had the big elk guns to master also. I took a 25-06 for the goats, and a 338win mag for the elk. The 25-06 was jus right , but while in Wyoming I saw lots of different rifles. we spent the night in Douglas WY next to some hunters from Kentucky that thought lopes were bionic , they hunted them with 300 win mags. Tell your friend that the goats will know all about you long before you know lopes are in the AO. We got behind a ridge and walked for a mile or more before we belly crawled up the ridge, I just let my head go above cover so I could see and still 450yds away all of the antelopes were looking right at me.

 

[Brians356]

It is not totally necessary to shoot long range for antelope. Stalking is still a 'thing' and most are shot within 250 yds. in my neck of the woods.

Or "flagging".

Last pronghorn I helped kill (my buddy's tag) we spotted it about 400 yards from our vehicle, a lone "bachelor" in a high saddle between a couple of knobs. He stood facing us, just staring intently. My buddy took his rifle (Ruger No. 1 in 25-06) and started flanking the goat's position, climbing up and behind a rock outcrop on the right side of the saddle. I gave him about ten minutes to get in shooting position while the goat watched me. Then I put my hand at the top of my head and started waving at the goat like "Moe" of The Three Stooges, "flagging" him without a flag, just my hand. Sure enough, he started walking straight to me, pausing to snort and paw the ground, even stomping a bit. I worked him this way to about 100 yards from me, and abreast of the outcrop my buddy was hiding behind. His shot was angling down from about 130 yards. Here are a few pics, showing part of the saddle and the rock outcrop position, and the two main characters. Not a trophy, but meat in the freezer.
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[Brians356]

Hunting water holes can be effective in dry areas.

The only pronghorn I've taken was over a water hole. Rifle season in Nevada is in the last week of August. Water holes at that time are few and far between in the high desert. The goats must get water every day, and will usually try to hit the water either at first light in the morning, or just before dusk. From camp I saw the animal walking across the dry lake bed I was camped beside, heading for the muddy water at one edge of the dry lake. I walked about 1/8 mile to my scouted position on a hill about 230 yards from the water and somewhat above it. 250 Ackley Improved, 100-gr BT off a bipod.

In Nevada the bow hunters often build a blind out of rocks and sagebrush within 30 yards of any water they can scout. However, you need to camp nearby days or even a week before the hunt to "claim" the water hole. I've been involved in a dispute that erupted when a hunter arrived where my friend had already set up his blind. The latecomer was upset, saying it was "his" water hole, even though it's on BLM land. I felt sorry for him, but he got edged out by a day.
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[pertnear]

The 4 I've shot succumbed to a .270 Win pushing 130 gr Speers. Furthest was 340 yds. Closest was 200 yds.

 

[people]

NO HARM JUST CANT SEE LIKE I ONCE COULD THATS WHY I USE CAPS

I am a fan of all caps. All my business stuff is all caps. It is much easier to read.

 

[Brians356]

I am a fan of all caps. All my business stuff is all caps. It is much easier to read.

Much easier to write, anyway. If it's easier to read, you'd think Gutenberg or the millions of publishers and educaters since might have caught on by now. Why even bother with punctuation?
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[Brians356]

The 4 I've shot succumbed to a .270 Win pushing 130 gr Speers. Furthest was 340 yds. Closest was 200 yds.

More than one writer (FWIW) has declared the 270 Win the perfect antelope / deer cartridge. My backup rifle on all hunts is an old M77 roundie in 270, backup because it's not the most accurate in my vault but reliably shoots 1 MOA and is medicine for anything that can't eat me. With its thin 22" barrel, slick action, and patina, it's my choice for any mountain scramble or extensive walkabout hunt.
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