Antelope and range gun

My idea of the perfect long range deer rifle would be a 24" Rem700 in 25/06 in a good fiberglass stock with a VXIII 3.5x10 w/B&C reticle.

We don't do that type of shooting here in NB, I had to settle for a 257Roberts with a 2x7 w/LR reticle.

.
 
I have both a 257 Roberts (with a 2-7 on it) and a 25-06 (with a 6-18 on it) ... both Remington 700's.

If I lived/or regularly hunted out on the flat-a$$ed prairies, yep, I'd have a 257 Weatherby too !

All 3 "quarter-bores" ( .25 cals. ) will do VERY NICELY on antelope ...
 
Last edited:
The last three antelope I have taken have been with a T/C Renegade using round ball. I have also used a 45-70 with black powder load, 30-06 and a 243. Everyone seems to believe they must use a very fast flat trajectory gun but any caliber from 30-30 up can do the job. I know of quite a few successful antelope hunters who use muzzleloaders and/or archery equipment. Rather than depending on a particular caliber I advise pronghorn hunters to learn what their gun will do.
I would bet more on the hunter who can use his .308, 30-06 , 270 etc than someone who is depending on a few hundred feet per second extra velocity to carry the day.

The time the original poster plans on spending at the range will do more for his success than any particular caliber or load.
 
3/4" bore or .750' is a bit big for antelope, I'd go with the "Poison Slinger", it's only .50/90...someone questioned the 90 grs. of BP in the 40/90 Sharps.....while not popular for sillywets, the .40 cal. 3 1/4" case does make an excellent hunting round and was kinda like the "magnum" of it's day" in the 1880s.
 
Read the original post ... he's " already ordered " a .257 Weatherby ... and just looking for assurance that it will work on Antelope.

the answer is " unequivocably, YES ! "

A good compound bow will work too ....
 
ben hunchak said:
3/4" bore or .750' is a bit big for antelope, I'd go with the "Poison Slinger", it's only .50/90...someone questioned the 90 grs. of BP in the 40/90 Sharps.....while not popular for sillywets, the .40 cal. 3 1/4" case does make an excellent hunting round and was kinda like the "magnum" of it's day" in the 1880s.
Click to expand...


That was me. I was just pulling your chain a bit. I've never shot one of those but it sounds interesting. For hunting such a round could be very interesting but I can see why it may not be overly popular when shooting a full match. I know a guy that used to shoot a 50-140 at silhouette matches. Certainly not everyone's cup of tea.
 
ben hunchak said:
3/4" bore or .750' is a bit big for antelope, I'd go with the "Poison Slinger", it's only .50/90...someone questioned the 90 grs. of BP in the 40/90 Sharps.....while not popular for sillywets, the .40 cal. 3 1/4" case does make an excellent hunting round and was kinda like the "magnum" of it's day" in the 1880s.
Click to expand...
I have to figure out how to hit those silly wets a week sunday first. Ill start out with a 45/70 sissy gun this time round lol
 
Range

The range is only so that I can develop the ability to actually hiyt something with it. In the past Ive hunted for antelope in areas with barb wire fences and plugged a couple as they tried to go under the fences.
 
Hell, 14 power is more than enough for antelope. Much more, most days the heat waves mess your picture up anyway. Yeah, they can get warm fast and make a lot of noise for a small caliber, but like the .270 W'by they're ALL accurate. Maybe the most accurate factory chambering ever. Plus, they're like the .270WSM in that they don't really seem to care what you stuff into them for feed - they tend to put all kinds and weights of bullets scary close together, even when you mix and match in the same clip. It'll do the job just fine, even though like Bartell I like the .270 a lot more. As far as burning it out that's bull. You'll get at least 1000 - 1500 rounds out of it depending on the loads you use and 1000 rounds is a whole lot of years worth in a hunting rifle. .264 Mag got the same bad rap, but in a 26" bbl and new powders you couldn't ask for a better 6.5 than the .264, one of the world's greatest all-time game killers with the 140 gr. thanks to the ridiculously high SD. Just don't understand why the morons who decide what will be marketed as factory chamberings don't wise up and bring the .264 back. I'd own a real good one real quick and lose a few I have now that I wouldn't ever use again.
 
I had one, had to sell it off as I was sincerely afraid that I would melt out the rifling. It was just too much fun to shoot. The buddy that bought it usrd it for elk that year, one shot and lights out! I wouldn't recommend it for elk, but this guy can keep the bullets in tight and knows just where to put them. He obviously also knows how to wait for the right shot. Hre has, however, talked himself out of using it for moose, for that he uses a 7 Rem Mag.
 
Hre has, however, talked himself out of using it for moose, for that he uses a 7 Rem Mag.
Click to expand...

I find moose much easier to kill than elk,and if they aren't hit properly,they usually don't go far before laying down,whereas an elk may travel a long ways if not hit properly.
 
T3

I picked up a Tikka T3 stainless .308 today at wholesale sports so I should have a couple where I could plug all day. Im in love with T3s.:dancingbanana:
 
So long as you hit them in the right spot almost any centre fire will do. I wsed a 7mmRM on my book antelope manyyears ago. I chose it for the long distances and flat shootng.
 
sbtennex said:
Just don't understand why the morons who decide what will be marketed as factory chamberings don't wise up and bring the .264 back. I'd own a real good one real quick and lose a few I have now that I wouldn't ever use again.
Click to expand...

Remington currently chambers the M700 Sendero SFII in 264 WM , Ruger is also chambering it the Hawkeye M77 later this year, no idea when this would be avaible in Canada. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom