Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Antelope Rifles

Planning on hunting antelope in Wyoming this year. For those that have hunted antelope: what set up did you use- cartridge, bullet? Also, what is your average shot distance?

Last Wyoming goat hunt: 257 Wby Mag, factory 120 grain Nosler Partition, 304 yards. Bang flop.

Shots could be anywhere from 50 to 450 yards. Average maybe around 200 yards.
(I haven't hunted Wyoming but grew up hunting pronghorn in eastern Montana where the terrain is similiar)

I'd be happy to go hunting with my 257 Roberts, 270 Win or 300 WSM. Pretty much any (big game)bullet should work provided you hit 'em in the right place. I've taken them with a 55 grain soft point and 22-250 all the way up to a 180 grain from a 300 Win.

Personally I'd go for a lung shot as pronghorn aren't that big and a shoulder hit could ruin alot of meat. That and it's not like you have to anchor them on the spot, easy to watch them do the 100 yard death run out in the open country.

A rangefinder and bipod might be a good idea but certainly neither is required.


Have fun out in WY!

Last two years in our group:
All equipped with bipods and variable power scopes with max power of 9-14, distances are off the top of my head, they are written down somewhere.
.30-06 125 gr Ballistic Tip about 220 yards
.325 WSM 150 gr Speer 300 yards
.270 100 gr Hornady 600 yards
.270 100 gr Hornady 200 yards
.300 Win Mag 168 TSX 550 yards
.300 Win Mag 168 TSX 400 yards
.264 Win Mag 100 Ballistic Tip 250 yards x2
.325 WSM 220 gr A-Frame 220 yards x2

in have to go with the 257 wby and 100gr nosler balistic tip

I've shot a grand total of 1 antelope - 130 gr, 270. Shot 2 mule deer on the same hunts - 130 gr, 270. Dad has used a 7RM with 139 Horn pushed fast.

If I was going again, I'd probably grab the 25-06 in the cabinet, with 100 Partitions, or the 7SAUM with 140 Partitions. I didn't find them particularly hard to kill. Heck, locals use 22 cal centerfires.

I've shot most of mine with a .257 Roberts, though I have killed several with my .280, and a few long ago with a .30-06 and a .25-'06. And maybe half a dozen with three different 7x57's.

They are pretty easy to kill if you hit them right with about any hunting cartridge -- and very difficult to kill if you hit them badly or with a poor bullet.

Great hunting and even better eating, done right... .

Dennis

We rifle hunted antelope for 10 years straight in Montana and 1 year in Wyoming killing 2 a piece (Doe/fawn) each year. We used .220 swift, .243 win, and a 22/250. Using a well constructed bullet the kills where more than human. Sometimes they'd run a semi circle but dropped within seconds after the shot. Thing is these guns are fun to shoot. all good out to 400 yards.

When I'm not using the bow for antelope, the setup is:

Wby. MkV, .257 cal. Fibermark
3.5x10 Leupold scope
100 gr. Barnes TSX bullets, at 3700 fps MV.

Average shot distance for the past 3 or 4 goats has been around 300 yd., longest was 490 yd., closest was under 100 yards.

JRC280-lope hunting is a very nice way to spend a couple of falls days. I'm sure you'll find it enjoyable and the table fare is top notch.

What do you own and use for rifles at this time?

Thx
Dober

For starters, you cant use a 22 centerfire for antelope in Wyoming...so anyone recommending them for Wyoming is steering you into a ticket/fine.

Secondly, I think SamOlson is giving you some great info. pretty much exactly my experience.

That said, I've killed a total of 55 antelope in my life, all in Montana and Wyoming. Farthest shot was 402 yards, closest was 32 yards (archery). Average shot distance has been somewhere around 160 yards. I've personally used a 22-250 and 55 grain soft points(in Montana) and wasnt that impressed with it, shot a pile of them with a 6mm rem. and 100 grain old style nosler solid bases, shot a pretty fair number with a 30/06 and 180 grain partitions, shot one with my wifes 25/06 and the old style nosler solid base in 120 grain, shot 2 with a 50 caliber muzzleloader with 295 grain powerbelts, and finally shot a fair number with a 7mm rem. mag. with 160 grain partitions. Seen them shot with a pile more calibers like the 270, 300 wsm, 300 win, 243, 257 wthby, 223, 308, 338. to name a few that I can remember, but all worked just fine.

If I were to buy a rifle strictly for antelope today, I'd lean really hard toward a 25/06, 257 weatherby, or any of the flatter shooting .25's...a 270 would be my next pick.

But, like Sam said in his post, you dont really need anything special.

243 and up with a 100 grain big game bullet'll do the trick

the flatter the better

Any caliber smaller than .23 is illegal

shots can be as close as you can sneak up on 'em and/or as far away as you can see 'em with the naked eye

The rifle you shoot the most accurately out to 350 yards is the best antelope rifle you can use. Of course that rules out all the .22 cals. in WY. My experience with the 22-250 and lopes is similar to BuzzH, so you aren't missing anything. I say the rifle you shoot most accurately because there is a lot of air around antelope and it's a lot easier to hit than the antelope.

The old Bert Popowski book on antelope hunting from the early 1960's includes lots of stories of using the .222 Rem, quite successfully. I have never hunted big game with anything smaller than a .24 bore, so I leave any comments on the .22 centerfires to those who have.

.25-06 is probably the ultimate goat gun.

People get too hung up about the range. Most of the time there is some topography that allows you to get to 300 yards (or the goats have been hunted a lot, and they bust at 1000). You may need to crawl to get to 300, but you can do it. What people often do not adequate prepare for, however, is the wind. A Wyoming-class crosswind can turn your 400 yard sure thing rifle into a 100 yarder.

A friend of mine from NC showed up to hunt goats with me, he brought a 30-06 with 180 gr bullets and a 1.5-5x Leupold. He did fine, but would have been happier with a 150 gr bullet and an 3-9x scope.

They are lots and lots of fun to hunt, but Dennis is wrong, they are not better eating.

I have a 243, 270, 280,and 30-06 and know that these will all do the job. Just wondering what type bullets were the best. Was thinking of switching to Barnes and go lighter for more speed but the ballistic tips are very accurate.

You absolutely do not need a Barnes. Antelope are light boned and small. Any non-varmint cup and core will suffice. For the cartridges you mention, bullet construction/performance will only really matter on a poorly placed shot, and in that case shock will help you out more than penetration.

I have killed a bunch with BalTips over the years, probably more than with any other single style. They will do fine.

25-06 for me. It's like the cartridge was made for antelope. I'm building a new .257 Roberts and it's a toss up for me which is better.

Having said that I would use anything from a .243 on up to whatever I could shoot well.

Yep, no need for pricey bullets, even at very fast velocities for the cartridges you have.

I would actually tend to go with 100's in the .243, 140's in the .270 and .280, and 165's in the .30-06. They will shoot plenty flat, but also drift less in the wind and shoot up less meat than lighter bullets if you happen to shoot a little close to the shoulder. But then I am weird, since if I do hunt pronghorns with a .300 magnum (something I have done on occasion) I typically use a 180, just because they shoot flat but don't shoot up as much meat as the typical 150.

The only antelope I shot died just fine with a 100gr pill from a .25-06.

Hmmmmm...

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