Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Antelope rifle

Just curious whats everyones go to rifle for antelope ? I only hunted them once with a Remington 700 in 300 RUM using Federal 180 grain Trophy Tips. But would like to plan a trip in 2016

25-06 will do.

Just about perfect, although I find .270 WSM and 7mm WSM work just fine also.

I like my .25-06, but for big game, I like just a bit more bullet wt. and diameter..

Whatever rifle you shoot accurately will do! 22cal minimum

223...



257 Roberts...



270 Winchester...



25-06...



300 WBY...

I've killed them with a couple of 257 Roberts using 100 and 115 grain bullets, a 270 with 130 grain and a 7X57 with 139 g. bullets. Have seen them taken with a 30-06 with 165 grain bullets, a 7MM-08 with 120 g. bullets and another 270 with 130 grain bullets. Nearly all were shot at 200 yards or less.

All of the above worked fine. Antelope are not large animals. Use something that you can shoot accurately with decent bullets and almost any cartridge will work. The power of a 300 RUM is not needed.

(Wind is almost a given when hunting antelope and it gives me fits. So I try to avoid long-range shots. I also pick bullets with high ballistic coefficients to better deal with the wind.)

If I ever draw another tag I'll use a 257 Roberts.

257 WBY

Off the top of my head I have killed antelope with

22-250 Rem
6mm Rem
250-3000 Sav
.25-06 Rem
6.5X284 NORMA
270 Win
375 H&H

Can't say any of these were bad choices

22-250...



243...

My favorite is a 25-06. Killed them with .270s and 7mms too without feeling "overgunned"

That looks more like counting coup.

.308 for me.

It's obvious none of the calibers Shrapnel recommended will work!

I've had good luck shooting my .243, seems to work just fine.

I've always used a 30-06 or a 243. I think a 25-06 would be perfect and have had one 'under construction' for the last 10 years. Good luck on your 2016 hunt, antelope is one of my favorite hunts.

I would think a 257 Weatherby would be hard to beat.

nah. BCs of the bullets are horrible. They fall out of the sky at 401 yards.

In the last 45 years of Antelope Hunting I have used Rifles in at least 15 calibers to kill Antelope.
Let me list them for you:
22-250 Remington
220 Swift
243 Winchester
6mm Remington
6mm Remington Ackley Improved
240 Weatherby
257 Roberts
25/06 Remington
270 Winchester
7mm Express
280 Remington
7mm Remington Magnum
308 Winchester
30/06
300 Winchester Magnum
My last Antelope was harvested with my Remington Model 700 Sendero in 270 Winchester.
I use the pointy flat flying Nosler 130 grain Ballistic Tips to Hunt on public lands (i.e. long range!) with this Sendero.
Lot of recoil in that 300 RUM with 180 grain bullets - that may slightly hamper your shot assessment?
My recommendation would be a 25/06 to 270'ish Rifle with lots of scope power (minimum 4x16) and flat flying Ballistic Tip bullets.
Good luck with getting a tag in 2,016!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I have used a .260 a lot on antelope, used a .243 this year and think it still makes them plenty dead. They are not difficult to kill and I believe shot placement is way more important then caliber. .223s seem to kill them plenty dead.

I think the aggressive nature of the hunter overcame him here and he forgot he had a perfectly good gun in his hands.............
At any rate it takes a fast man to chase down antelope on foot!!!!

Antelope are easy to kill. I suggest a 243 or larger simply to minimize wind drift. If you can shoot it well, it will kill one if you hit it right.

6.5 Swede. 130 gr Accubond at about 2800 FPS

280 AI
300 WSM

Dang it....you beat me to it.

NOTE TO SELF - You can't out run shrapnel!!


Jerry

Well keep it under 400 and you should be fine.

Older rifles work too, 25-35...

I usually use my 7x57, but once I used a .45 LC.

Before the bad winter of 2010/11 I used to love to hunt antelope.

Of course we have all done the drive around hunt but walking is way more fun.


I have shot less than a dozen bucks but have used a 22-250, 250 Savage, 25-06, 257 Roberts, 270 Win, 300 WSM, 300 Win mag and probably some other cartridges I can't remember.


A Kimber Classic Select(stainless) 84L in 25-06 would be an uber pronghorn rifle.

Obviously, I've never had the privilege to hunt the speed goats but....

if the opportunity presented itself I would use one of my trusty 270s but...

that just might be excuse for me to get a 25-06. The 25-06 has had many great revues for antelope hunting for a l o n g -time. With its medium size bullets, streaking fast, and flat trajectory, it is hard to beat.

It can be beat by larger cartridges, more powder, bigger/heavier bullets but they're NOT needed.


Jerry

Most recently, a 223 with Nosler 60 Solid Base bullet. About perfect for me.

50-70 Sharps...

Time to class this thread up.....

Hey, I had that naked lady on a set of truck mudflaps.

I said classy......



grin

257 Roberts...

That is one of the cooler bucks I have ever seen(the antelope, not you....).

Nothing but class...

25/06 or 270win. seem just right to me

Ed

Had a supervisor many years ago who went to Wyoming almost every year and used a 264WM. He would come back from his hunting trip and go on and on about his 264WM being the best thing ever for antelope.

Very nice goat you got there.

Shrapnel - we need the story here. Obviously, a 243 does not kill them so you had to chase him down?

Who cares about the antelope...Aviators, drink...

Yeah, but would something like that work on a grizzly?

True that. I think it is a quote from Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit", when he was talking about LaBeauf and his Sharps shooting a turkey;

"Too much gun"

A 25-35 may be much more than you need for antelope...

Don't know much about Lopes, but based on the pics I would say the 257 works the best...

As I get older the more I think we tend to use too much gun on almost everything, and fishing tackle thats too heavy on almost everything.
I haven't shot an antelope since 1992 with anything bigger than a .223


Course, Winchester didn't chamber the .223 in its classic lever guns


A .219 Zipper in a model 64 would just about be perfecto!

Not as good as a 222 mag in a model 1895...

Nice goat Sammo!

I've used the following on antelope:

Bow
.454 Casull
.50 muzzleloader
.25-06
.257 Weatherby
7mm Rem mag
.300 Weatherby

By far, most kills have been made with my .257 Wby, and it remains my favorite.

.243 Win/ 105gr VLD is hard to beat.

243Win and some manner of 85gn Sierra Circa 1987ish:



257Wby/100TSX 2008:



Going to try not to wait 20yrs before I go again, but the next time I do it'll almost assuredly be a lightweight 22-250/75A-max.

Horse1 that is great!

I have shot them with a 130 gr .270, 140 gr .280, a 100 gr 257 Roberts, but I think I have settled on a 243 pushing an 85 gr TSX.

Basically, personal preference. Fun to shoot, easy to carry and handles wind and range. I have truck hunted, but much prefer walking and stalking. Last few have been 100 to 125 yards.

Antelope rifle = whatever is in my hand when I have the opportunity to fill my tag!

.257 AI



6mm-.250



7-08



.243 Win

That's totally cool!

My choices have been slightly unorthodox. I've killed two with a Remington 760 BDL .270 Win. and two more with a Savage 110L .308 Win. When I go again I'd like to take a .243.

Major style points! Custer would be proud.

I have harvested them using a 6mm rem to a 416 wby. 2506 and 257 bee are my faves

Post deleted!

I've used a few. 30-06 with 150gr. Hornadys and 125gr Nosler BTs, 25-06 with factory 100gr Corelokt, 257AI and 117gr. HornadyBT. They all worked great, but I bought one of the $399 Weatherbys in 257Wthby and handload the 100gr TTSX at 3550fps. I must say it is one lope/deer killing machine. Best $399 I've spent in years!

Elk Country

Sharps 45-70...

Wouldn't that be 14 different cartridges, since the 280 and 7mm Express are the same, in 6 different calibers?

Never hunted antelope. Had no idea they were that hard to kill!!

M-1 Garand...

Just hit them where they live, and any cartridge within reason will work.

Tony.

I'm going on my first antelope hunt next year, plan on using my Weatherby Mark V Synthetic in .270 Wby with a Leupold VX3 4.5-14x40 on top! Undecided on which bullet to use, but probably just 130-grain Spitzer factory loads. I'll let you know how that works out!

Shrapnel - you at war with the antelope?

Lovin' the parade of rifles & pronghorns here! One of your photos though, looks like you're a mite bloody as well...

Oh, I have only shot two of the rascals. My .25-06 & 115 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips worked just fine.





They're fun to hunt. Stalking was more challenging than I anticipated. And they taste GREAT!

Regards, Guy

41 magnum will also work...

That boy on the right is a Tennessee red neck...no doubt bout it.

Between my late wife and I we shot over 200 antelope.. Saw or used everything on them from the .22lr through the .375 H & H and the .45-70.. Also killed a bunch with the .44 mag. pistol.. Our favorites started with the .270 on up.. Killed quite a few with the .25-06, but have come to like the .270 better.. My wife's favoite was a custom .7mm Rem. Mag.. I used or still use a variety.. This year a .44 mag., a .300 Sav., and her old 7mm mag..

Saying hitting them where they live is not considering the distances, and here the wind.. I can hit one where it lives with a .22 LR, but it might not die for a while..
The best shot I ever saw made was buy a good friend.. It was a dandy buck, about 400 yards in a very heavy wind.. He put a 165 grain Speer BT though the lungs. Using the hood of the truck for a rest.. Fired from his .300, the bullet dropped about 10 inches, but the drift was more than a foot.. Something to consider..

I like my .243 for everything up to elk, and I've used it on them before with good results.

took this guy right before the big blizzard of '13


nothin fancy, snuck up within 250 yards, waited for him to stand up and *pew* he ran two steps before going ass over teakettle.

And I shot one through the lungs with a 6mm... It was drinking at a small pond maybe 100 yards away.. Had a dead rest double lung, it ran over 200 yards before going end over end. Luck would have it I could follow it's flight as the county was perfectly flat.. My friend was not so lucky.. The antelope ran off a small hill immediately out of sight and was never recovered...

My go to Antelope rifle is my Remington 700 Classic in .264 Win Mag using a 120 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip.

Antelope are on my bucket list and hope to have an opportunity for a hunt in the next year or two. For what its worth, I would probably use either my 25-06 or 7mm-08.

Classic gold Shrapnel!



My brother(in the Bears beanie) and I about 25 years ago.

Very first big game animal, push feed M70 22-250.



Still wear the same vest and I know my mom has the beanie.

Lookin' good, Sam!

My wife and I have taken pronghorn with the .22-250, .220 Swift, .243 Winchester, .240 Weatherby, .250 Savage, .257 Roberts, .257 Roberts Ackley Improved, .25-06, .257 Weatherby, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5-06, .270 Winchester, 7x57 Mauser, .280 Remington Ackley Improved, 7mm STW, .308 Winchester, .30-06 and .300 WSM. They all worked fine.

It is odd that so many people make disparaging comments about how antelope taste...

I've only killed one. But him a little high and the 100 ttsx from my 257 wby sure made a mess!

Couldn't tell you how they taste, the outfitter "had a freezer go bad".

I have taken a few with .308, .30-06, .243, 6.5x55, 7SAUM, 7RM and 280AI.

Next few will be with .223, 9.3x62, 454 Casull and 338LM if only because I can.

They all deserve a speed goat even if they are non resident meat doe tags.

I've shot one. It is probably tied with elk as my favorite red meat. I thought I had just been lucky with the one I shot, I'm glad to hear it is more common.

The flavor was similar to our Georgia whitetail, but it was so much more tender. I'm going back next year for another.

I've shot them with a 243Win and 25-06(x2)-both all with Ballistic Tips, 95gr in the 243 and 115gr in the 25-06. They both worked great. The 243 was a Rem700 ADL in a McMillan and I sure enjoyed carrying it more than the 25-06 which was a Ruger 77R tanger. I tend to do more walking while hunting antelope than others. Ruger decided 25-06's should have magnum contour barrels during that time period and this rifle is way too heavy for my taste. It was my first centerfire rifle and I decided I had to use it for an antelope for sentimental reasons so it made the trip this year. It worked great on 2 of them but I will probably not carry it again. For a purely antelope rifle I doubt there is much that works better than a 243 with a 95 gr Ballistic Tips.

I love the flavor of the antelope I have eaten. My daughter who loves venison actually said she prefers antelope. She calls it 'sweeter'. My wife thinks it smells a little 'goaty' but likes the flavor once cooked. I think it does have a bit stronger smell which to me reminds me of sage. I think different people smell and taste in different ways and are influenced by their experiences. Since mine have always been shot in sage-maybe that is what I associate them with. Either way-one of my favorite animals to hunt and eat.

No doubt! It's always been funny to me how I've never heard anyone come down neutral on pronghorn meat; moose, elk, whitetail, yeah, but not pronghorn. People either rant & rave about how great it is or they talk like its on par with aoudad, coyote, and sweat-aged boot leather.

I brought a couple does home from Wyoming (previously pictured) this October & my boys (10 & 13) met me at the door with mouths watering.

I soaked some backstraps in kosher salt water overnight (I do this as a substitute for hanging them since we butchered them within hours of their deaths) and grilled them the following evening. The flavor was outstanding and the meat was so tender you could nearly chew it with your tongue!

I can't really imagine anything better from a flavor standpoint but also an overall experience standpoint. I mean a guy like me who has hardly hunted the west can get tags and go and see lots of animals, enjoy a challenging spot-and-stalk hunt, BE OUT WEST, and have the best chance available at bringing home meat.

IT JUST DOESNT GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT.

Pretty decent "Unicorn" buck I took several years back in Wyoming. Rifle was a .260 Kimber Classic shooting 120gr Nosler BT.