Hey Rip,
As far as I am concerned, the .25-'06 has antelope written all over it. Yeah, you can kill 'em with larger cartridges and smaller cartridges. When you get serious about antelope, and they are my favorite big game animal, the BIG .25s, the .25-'06 and the .257 Weatherby will really reach out there and swat the goats.
Actually, I've killed a number of Montana mule deer and a few big northern whitetails (Alberta) with the .25-'06 and it is a sure killer on them, as well.
My bullet of choice is the 100-grain Ballistic Tip and my Pac-Nor barrel simply dotes on 58.0 grains of RL-22. Muzzle velocity is very slightly over 3,500 fps. Sighted 2" high at 100, it is a long ways out there before it requires significant holdover.
The load is probably hot, but I can fire a single Winchester case ten times and the primer pocket is still tight. No extraction problems. Safe in my rifle, but you should work it up in your individual rifle barrel. There, now I said all the legal stuff.
Typically, I shoot goats about 5" to 6" behind the shoulder crease, to save the shoulders. The entrance hole is one-inch with a one-inch ring of bloodshot. The exit hole is two-inches, with a one-inch ring of bloodshot. The heart is almost always de-bagged by the passage of the bullet (happened four times out of four goats we shot this year) and the lungs are total dogmeat.
I simply cannot think of a better antelope combination. If we draw Montana goat tags again next year, the .25-'06 and 100-grain Ballistics will be precisely the combination we will use.
Frankly, and lots of very experienced hunters will disagree, I've had much better killing with the both the 100-grain Hornady Spire and the 100-grain Ballistic than the various 117- and 120-grain bullets. Heck, you can totally penetrate a big northern whitetai, from midline (at the diaphram) to the far shoulder with the 100s and they are DEAD.
Anyway, you wanted my thoughts.....and you got 'em. Love the heck out of the .25-'06, my friend.
Steve
