Pronghorn rifle
- Thread starter Jimmy_grayson
- Start date
I agree 100%! I never hunted them, don’t know much about them other than we don’t have them up here hahaha… are they tough animals in term of being hard to kill? Is there a minimum caliber by law? I assume that magnums are not needed other than for there flat shooting?!?
Man I would love to go down where they live and go for a hunt!
Whatever you can shoot best of the two. I like the wind resistance of high BC 7mm bullets vs. 6mm but that's a "me thing". I've had the privilege of taking two, one fell to a 7mag (wayyy overgunned!) the other was a .257 Weatherby with 100gr Partitions - absolute lighting.
Alberta minimum caliber laws will mean a 6mm is the smallest bore size. 243 should work fine. I built a 240 Gibbs for this very purpose many years ago. It really was overkill. A 243 or 6mm Rem would have worked just as well, though I wouldnt have had the fun of the build. Really, a 6 BR or similar would do the job. Shots can be long (none of mine were), so keep your down range energy levels in mind, and practice as far as you can keep all your shots within a small paper plate. Fwiw - dan
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Congratulations and good luck. In my experience speed goats are smaller than you'd expect. About the size of doe whitetail or smallish mule doe. They aren't very muscular or thick, but for what they achieve in speed, they aren't wasting any energy.
I would choose as flat shooting a cartridge as possible to avoid having to hold over more than necessary, especially if the animal is hard to range. Pick a bullet that will expand and lose energy quickly. There isn't much mass to slow the projectile and the terminal ballistics have to work.
I would choose as flat shooting a cartridge as possible to avoid having to hold over more than necessary, especially if the animal is hard to range. Pick a bullet that will expand and lose energy quickly. There isn't much mass to slow the projectile and the terminal ballistics have to work.
I used a 280 AI last year for my one shot/one kill. Our party also used a 243 and a 270 Win with the same results.
Honestly a 243,257/25-06/270 or anything akin to those is a perfect choice.
Leave the 338 at home as they don't attack.
Honestly a 243,257/25-06/270 or anything akin to those is a perfect choice.
Leave the 338 at home as they don't attack.
It’s generally Fairly windy in pronghorn country and shots can be long. Back in 2010 I shot my antelope at 500yds and was surprised how much the bullet drifted. I swore I would never take a 243 antelope hunting again. I should be drawn again next year and I will be taking my 257 wby or 6.5 prc
FWIW I used my 7mm mag with 140 gr ballistic tips. If you have a gun you already are familiar with and can hit the kill zone out to 400 yards use that. BTW those buggers run reeeealy fast and they are not all that big . I witnessed a great old friend drop them at full run. He used an old model 88 in 308.
As stated, both will work. Use that which you have most confidence in.
If equal for both to you, and distance and wind may be a factor, that 140 gr bullet in the 7mm-08 may be a better option than that 100 gr bullet in the 243.
A buck may only weigh 120 bs on the hoof, and do not require a lot of power/bullet weight for penetration like on larger game. A range finder is a great tool to ensure adequate range determination, so you do not misjudge the distance on this smaller than deer target. Easy to over estimate distance and over shoot the antelope.
While more than necessary, I took my 7MM STW on my first antelope hunt, and it worked fine. as it is the rifle I have the most experience shooting with past 300 yards (out to 500). I used my compound bow on my next two antelope. Will be using my 250AI on my next antelope rifle hunt.
If equal for both to you, and distance and wind may be a factor, that 140 gr bullet in the 7mm-08 may be a better option than that 100 gr bullet in the 243.
A buck may only weigh 120 bs on the hoof, and do not require a lot of power/bullet weight for penetration like on larger game. A range finder is a great tool to ensure adequate range determination, so you do not misjudge the distance on this smaller than deer target. Easy to over estimate distance and over shoot the antelope.
While more than necessary, I took my 7MM STW on my first antelope hunt, and it worked fine. as it is the rifle I have the most experience shooting with past 300 yards (out to 500). I used my compound bow on my next two antelope. Will be using my 250AI on my next antelope rifle hunt.
LOL, I only hunted them once years ago, spent time with my weatherby vanguard .270 at longer ranges (shoots 270 win ammunition) as it's an accurate rifle.I used a 280 AI last year for my one shot/one kill. Our party also used a 243 and a 270 Win with the same results.
Honestly a 243,257/25-06/270 or anything akin to those is a perfect choice.
Leave the 338 at home as they don't attack.
Two days before going the scope on the rifle started acting weird & losing it's zero so I tossed my Ruger M77 boat paddle 338 in the truck.
Whacked a medium sized one first morning out a couple kms from the truck at about 250 yards.
While gutting the thing out I saw a much larger one through my spotting scope probably a 1000 yards away.
I laid down in the grass and waved the white backside of a printed air photo in the air off & on and he trotted right in to me a 150 yards away.
I should have been way more patient about what I was doing out there.
I'm currently a priority 12 for trophy antelope so I should probably give it another try fair soon.
the bigger one giving me a look see
