Antelope hunters.....help me choose a caliber

I use a .250-3000 Savage....chambered in a scoped Savage 99 levergun. The last 4 Antelope I've taken, fell to this rifle and cartridge. All were standing about 270 yards away when hit.

The first Antelope I took, was with a 25-06.

A flat-shooting cartridge makes compensating for longer distances easier. Above all...your rifle must be accurate!!!

Good luck with whatever you choose
 
.243 to .270 cal in your favorite brass set up to shoot distances at your skill level. Too much gun is a bad thing. Antelope are very good eating and I have witnessed 1/2 of an antelope unedible because of poorly placed shots from too much gun. Long shots in wind are not unusual. I use a .25-06 and have been very satisfied with the performance. Have fun!
 
25-06. Loaded with 115 to 120 grain bullets between 2900 and 3000 fps and you have long range goat-getter. Would work great on deer too.
 
I never hunted antelope but I would think a 7mm-08 would be the perfect round for your youngin'. I am wanting to get my little brother a deer rifle and have been looking at the 7mm-08 or the .308. My wife shoots a .243 and the recoil between it and my .308 is hardly, if at all, noticable. I am sure the recoil is apples to apples on the 7mm-08. I am surprised it hasn't been recomended yet. Ammo might be hard to find, I don't know.

MO Boy /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
25-06 w/100g NBT's at 3400fps is hard to beat for a great antelope getter.

I"ve only killed 2 antelope, drawing tags in oregon are like winning the lottery.

The first antelope I killed was in Wyoming at roughly 300 yards with a 300 Win mag and 180g NBT's. Dropped him like a rock with a high shoulder shot.

2nd antelope I killed was down in wagontire unit in Oregon. Brought the 25-06 w/117g Sierra Gamekings @ 3050fps at the time. Shot my antelope at 550 yards through the shoulders and was DRT.
 
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What surprises me is, lack of votes for the .260.......



+1 on that Don!

I had a little Kimber in 260. Wasn't using it so I sold it to this young lady (actually her dad). They sent this photo back. The smile tells it all.

DSC00486-1.jpg
 
I am not one to dispute this, but I can hardly crawl under a 3 strand fence and have never seen a Antelope crawl under one. It would seem pretty difficult with their horns to manage this. I have found many Antelope strung up in a fence trying to go over it. Many bow hunters use a handkerchief to wavy at Antelope to bring them in, could this be a illegal call?
Jim
 
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I use a 7mm mag 139g - 165g depends on the wind. Its usually long range running shots. They are very curious animals and you may coax them in even by wavying a white cloth. Some desparate hunters will run them up to a fence, then take there shot, as Antelope do not jump fences, at least not very sucessfuly. A 243 will work ok at the low end. If you are glassing them with 7x they can see you as good or better, and they rely on there speed as there defence. Hope this helps.
Jim


I gree that anything from a 243 Win up will work just fine. You want the most accurate bullet you can find. You want to be careful with white cloth though. Here in Oregon, that is considered baiting and Mr. Gamewarden is not going to be laughing if he sees it.
 
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I am not one to dispute this, but I can hardly crawl under a 3 strand fence and have never seen a Antelope crawl under one. It would seem pretty difficult with their horns to manage this. I have found many Antelope strung up in a fence trying to go over it.



I live on a 28,000 acre ranch with literally over a thousand antelope. During the spring and early summer when I make the 10 mile dirt road drive to get to pavement to go to town, we'll push 20-50 antelope off the road. Let me ASSURE you, they duck under the fences. Only RARELY have I seen a 'lope jump over and that was a young buck pressured into a corner. They will jump cattle guards, but even then, they usually duck under the fence next to the guard.

Every now and then a buck will get hung up in a fence. Most of the time, their horns will break off but sometimes the 'lope hangs up and dies. I cut a nice buck loose a few years- he was NOT very grateful /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif as he tried to hook me a couple of times, but I finally got smart enough to cut the wire next to the closest post and off he went. Bucks usually either push their nose under first and then just lay their heads back and go, or sometimes hook their horns under first and then their heads. It seems to depend on how pressured they are.

Here're some pictures:

I took this one with a regular ol' point 'n shoot digital camera. He's about 125 yards off. See that dark line behind him? That's a small canyon and I regularly take bucks by glassing the slope on the other side and marking the spot with a yucca or something, then going down the canyon and popping up carefully on the rim. There's some curve to the downslope and you can leave the rim and move 50-200 yards closer by using the technique described below.

Aug_pronghorn_crop-1.jpg


Here's a spot where 'lopes have been crossing under:
april_scrape1.jpg


They tend to cross at the same spot and I've seen them running along a fence, nose to the ground, until they find a spot and then under they go.

Anyway, on the rifle... I've taken a few with .22-250, several with .243, and a couple with .280. The .280 is overkill and the .243 with 85 gr bullets is just about right. The .22-250 killed 'em dead but I like the extra bullet weight of the .243.

We have 9-12 private land hunters every year and I've guided a fair number of those. Not one of the guys I've guided has had to take a shot over 200 yards and that includes the two 17" and several 16" bucks we've taken. You can move in- it just takes patience and clever use of the terrain.

One thing I like to do is walk until you can just see their horns- in the first photo above, that'll be about 500-600 yards. Then using your binoculars as eyes, get down and go forward on your knees until you can see horns again. You'll be another 100-200 yards closer. Still using your binocs, crawl until you see horns again. Then flip around on your back, get your stuff together and sit up- you'll probably 100-300 yards away at this point and you sometimes even back-crawl another 30-50 yards. If there's a draw, 2-track road, or any kind of cover at all, use it.

Another tip is that if you're in the area before them, they're a lot less cautious. I've put guys in LAWN CHAIRS, covered 'em with camo cloth and had 'lopes walk right past inside 200 yards. So, if there's a saddle or pass where they travel, get up there and wait.

Here's a good one: /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

MartinAntelope.jpg
 
I know I'm not normal /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif, but I used a Contender 30-30 carbine. 125 gr BT will shoot out to 250 or 300 yards. If you stop and think a little, most antelope can be stalked to that range.
 
All I have used is my .220 swift. I like to eat the antelope and not blow the heck out of it. 55 gr Vmax works just fine and I have never had one take a step after the shot.
 
I have hunted and killed Antelope with a .243, 7mm Mag and a .300 WSM. All three are excellant calibers. Flat shooting and have the ability to reach out there. My favorite Antelope cartridge is the .243 and would work very well for a young hunter.

Antelope are well versed at going under fences. I have seen them navigate under a fence at near full throttle. They very rarely get hung up but usually leave some hair behind. As far as going over a fence, they can and will jump a fence. Make no mistake about it. Antelope are very capable jumpers, they just, more often than not, choose not to. It seems that jumping a fence is a learned behavior. If they learn to go over a fence in areas where it is necessary along an escape route, they wont hesitate. To say they never do would be a big mistatement. I have seen thousands of fence crossings like the one in the picture that NM Highplains posted. Some used so often that its almost like a tunnel. They much prefer going under but they will jump as well.

Not sure who said Antelope are not very tough but I disagree. They have a cardio vascular system that is second to none. I have seen them take tremendous hits with big caliber rifles and still run a long way. They really have no where to go in the wide open so they are almost always recovered after these death runs but an Antelope can take some serious punishment without going down right away. Especially for a relatively small animal. Pound for pound, I think they are one of the toughest big game animal in North America. They certainy dont get the credit they deserve in the tough department.
 
I shot a bunch with a 6 Remington with the 85g Sierra and 95g Partition. I thought that the 270 was way over kill, and the 25/06 border line.

The last one that I shot was at 430 yards with a 223 loaded with 55g Sierra BTHP, droped in his tracks.
 
Just went out to WY in Oct. and my son's were shooting a 243 and a 25-06. Both calibers are great for antelope. With what you are saying about the 25-06 being a bit much for him, I'd maybe go with the 243 then.
Here in Nebraska where we hunt, I have yet to shoot over 200 yards as the land we're on allows for close stalks. Because of this, I have used the 22-250 with great result.

"I use a .250-3000 Savage....chambered in a scoped Savage 99 levergun." - You lucky dog! Great caliber for a great gun!
 
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It seems that jumping a fence is a learned behavior.



That's probably the case. I wonder- are you in barbed wire or sheep fence country? In the case of a sheep fence, jumping would be about the ONLY way they'd get over, would it not?
 


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