Too much gun?

If you get access to a reloader without a doubt try out the Barnes X Bullet. Your 22-250 with one of those bullets could take shoulder dense bone out with ease. These bullets are 100% copper and will retain 95% on average. "Its all in the tip,"
and of course shot placement is a no brainer.

The 140 Barnes X would cook to, good flat trajectory. Then id these shoot well you could use for elk if you ever go after them.

Plus the X bullet will not blow up on contact, should save some meat.

What unit will you be hunting? Good luck,

Chad
 
What's wrong with pronghirn meat? The one I killed tasted and looked much the same as deer. A little stronger flavor.
 
Antelope is good eating, just depends on how it is cared for after the shot. I used to hate eating antelope until I was given explicit instructions on how to clean one I had arranged to take on my tag and give away.

1) kill antelope (cleanly with a well placed shot and with out running it all over the county)

2) I know this sounds strange but skin it! Don't gut it yet, skin it first and don't let the hair rub all over the meat while skinning.

3) Once it is skinned but not yet gutted wash it off. Obviously it helps if you have it hanging, therefore I use a device in my receiver hitch on the pickup (shaped like 2 "L"s one upside down and back to back) to hang antelope with when out on the sage prairie since trees are in short supply there.

4) gut the aminal.

5) wash out the insides and let it cool.

Resulted in absolutely the best tasting antelope I've ever taken. This method works and has for years. Others I've passed this onto who thought I was crazy but yet tried it swear by it too.

As for which gun to use, personnally, I'd use the 7mm Mag but loaded with the heavest, toughest bullet. That way there would be minimal expansion resulting is the least amount of tissue damage and you will end up with a pencil sized hole poked thru the lungs.

NOW!!! This is all predicated on your ability to hit a vital area! If you are gonna butt shoot the critter forget this advice! As a 470 Lott wouldn't work well in that case!

I have a close buddy who takes several antelope each year with a 458 Win Mag. using 300 gr solids! 45 caliber hole poked clear thru (duh!) and great blood loss but not much tissuer damage. Just don't shoot one in a group, you will be cleaning antelope for awhile if you do! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Try some 60 gr. nosler partitions in the 22-250, they'll bust a goat!federal factory loads them, they also load a 55 gr. trophy bonded that is reccomended for deer/pronghorn.
RR
 
Elkslayer already said everything I was gonna. Take the 7, hunt hard and get your meat cool FAST. A couple bags of ice in a cooler not a bad idea if it is very warm out.Crockpots and BBQ sauce help antelope out when its time to eat. Have fun.
 
You have touched one of my favorite topics, so hold on!

First- if it was my hunt I would take whichever rifle was lightest, and least concerned with dirt and scratches.

Second- shot placement will be more important than bullet composition, but sturdier is better.

Third- I take two ice chests, one with food, one FULL of ice. 1 box of one gallon zip-loc bags.Plan on skinning her right away, then instead of gutting, start boning and put into the zip-loc bags,throw out any food you have left and throw the meet on ice. Antelope is some of the best meat you will ever eat when handled properly, then prepared with the same amount of care. A few years ago I made some smoked sausage with it and gave it to people who said that antelope was not fit for dog food, and every one of them loved it and wanted more!! Just look for recipes that call for sage, then leave it out or substitute something else.

Fourth- (this is the most fun) hunt for a doe with horns!!!!!!!! This does two things. The first is that you have to get a lot closer, which makes the hunt take longer and is a lot of fun(those little horns can be hard to spot from a distance). The second is that by the time you get close enough to see the horns, the size of the gun won't matter as much. As long as you use a bullet that doesn't blowup, a shot right behind the shoulder will pass thru easily without much mess of shattered bones and bloodshot meat, the speed of the bullet should turn the lungs to mush and exit cleanly.

Fifth- is that if you want to, it will make for a beautiful addition to go with a buck shoulder mount (it realy gets peoples attention).
Hide and seek in the middle of a football field!!!!!!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Almost as much fun as calling a coyote into your lap!!!!!!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
I would definatly think about the weight of both rifles. If you have to stalk a pronghorn you may have to walk a very long ways and you will have to move to a position where you can stalk while staying out of sight. If your 22-250 wieghs 10 pounds than take the 7mm but if your 22-250 is light enough to carry and you are comfortable with it than I would seriously suggest taking 22-250. CATMAN
 
Originally posted by backwoodsboy223:
[qb]Wanted some of your opinions, since I have no experience with antelope. I am going on a doe antelope hunt in early march. The terrain is flat and fairly open, shots somewhere from 50-300 yards. I have access to 2 rifles: a 7mm remington magnum and a 22-250 savage. Now, the folks at the sporting goods store tell me that a 7mm will destroy an antelope to the point that the meat is not any good. I am a little leery using a 22-250, but I want the animal. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.
BWB
P.S. I have 140gr nosler ballistic tips and 160gr nosler partitions for the 7mm and 55gr hornady vmax for the 22-250[/qb]
Click to expand...
Hey Backwoods, as you know antelope are not thick animals. If you shoot the 7MM def. go with the ballistic tips. If you can stay away from the shoulders. If the heviest bone you are going to hit is a rib, I would not be to concerned about blood shot meat. You will be ok. Don't worry about the 22-250 being to light for antelope. I use a .223 up here in Michigan for White Tail. I limit myslef to about 175 yards. Its not a matter of not enough gun its a matter of proper bullet selection and shot placement. I would not shoot the V-Max. They are to fragil and would most likely come apart on the hide. I am a hand loader, I shoot the 53gr Barnes X-bullet out of my .223 and have not had to use a 2nd shot yet. You would be awe-struck when you see what that little .224 bullet will do to the boiler room. Besides you can shoot your .22-250 more accurately than your 7mag I would bet. No recoil = no flinch. Put the cross hairs where you want the bullet to end up and watch it all hapen through the scope. I have probably shot 13 deer with that .223, all shots were placed through the chest cavity. So don't be affraid to use your .22-250. Just make sure you have the proper bullet.
 
My relatives in Wyoming use 22-250's for antelope. They head shoot, but I would think as long as you are not using ballistic tips, hollow points, or A-Max you will be fine. In other words, use a soft point load. Like mentioned previously, go to Wal-Mart and get Rem 55gr PSP. Or you can order the Federal 55gr Trophy Bonded from Bass Pro Shop or many other internet sites. I have not seen the 60gr Partition in factory loads.......but I would love to know where I could. The very best thing to do would be to buy all the different factory loads you can find and see what your gun likes the best...but that can get expensive!

My 2 cents
 
If I had to choose between those two, I would choose the 7mm. Punch her lungs out and don't worry about the meat or if there is no wind, shoot her in the neck.
 
I have hunted Pronghorn in Wyo. many times with the 7mm Mag. No problem. In any caliber, shot placement is the key to preserving meat. A shoulder or hindquarter shot with any caliber on an animal like a Pronghorn will ruin a lot of meat with an exploding .22 cal bullet. And the 7mm will be much steadier in the wind to aid that shot placement.
BTW the meat of Antelope is great!!! Cool it properly, and don't let any hair get on the meat. It cooks up just like veal. I've had some of my best meals from Antelope.
 
Backwoodsboy.....I remember the first time I hunted speed goats, way back in 61. The wind blew like the breath (15 to 30 miles per hour gusts) from Satan's nostrils across the plains. I was hunting with a .270 caliber rifle back then and using the 130 grain bullets at the time.

I had a couple of shots at close to 400 yards and missed mind ya! Those critters were very spooky for some reason back then, we had a very had time getting close in to them. I had never at that point in my life shot anything so far away. I practiced at 100, 200 and 300 yards. The wind really blew those little bullets of mine around at 400 yards.

I began to wish I had brought my 300 H&H (used 180 Sierra bullets) mag along for such long shots. Now I would use your 7mm mag with 150 grain bullets (for wind bucking reasons) and don't look back. Stay off the shoulder shots, that is what ruins meat! You really gonna eat that thing?
 
Personally I think head shots are UNETHICAL! What if you miss and hit him in the snout or jaw? They will run away and die a slow painful death. The ONLY place to shoot any animal is in the lungs right behind the shoulder.

Also, I have shot antelope before and they tasted great. You just have to skin them and get them taken care of quickly. I would just use the Alaskan method. Sking them and quarter them without gutting, and get them cooled down in a cooler or freezer ASAP.
 
Dogcatcher 223,

I would be carefull with the Alaska thing. In Colorado you must take all edible parts of the carcass. The Tenderloins are part of that list. This Means That In some way or another you must enter the adominal area. If you do not, retrive the tenderloins, you can face Felony wasting charges. We have always ground skinned our animals then moved the skinned animal to a sheet for further processing. We always debone the meat and throw it on Ice then wash and cool once home.
 
Backwoodsboy.....I'd like to hear how supper ended up tastin? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

How many those critters did ya see?

Now better yet, how about the whole story from start to finish OK.......We are all a waitin for your episode to kick off on the forum. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Sorry guys, I was away for a while and I forgot to check this thread. You all want the story, huh?
On the first day of the hunt my buddy and I glassed a lot. About 5:30 pm we crawled to within 300 yards of a group of does, and my buddy missed with his .270. Day two he and I split up. I hadn't been glassing a herd for 20 minutes when I heard him shoot. I walked over and he had a real nice doe down. He shot her at about 50 yards.
I helped him get her into the truck, then I set off to try to fill my tag. I found a group of does mixed in with some cows and started to crawl. I didn't realize that there was a slight dip on the horizon, and I lost sight of them about 100 yards into the stalk. When I came over the top of the dip, there was the herd about 25 yards away from me. I set my rifle on my pack and was just zeroing in on a nice doe when suddenly they took off. I watched them run off and then headed back towards the camp. On the way back to the camp I saw my buddy come running out towards me waving at me to come quick. Not 500 yards from camp was a group of three does grazing near a big buck. My buddy grabbed his Leica rangfinder and we started to crawl to them. We got to about 125 yards when a pickup truck came skidding along the raod. I watched as they took off running. Suddenly my buddy tapped my on the shoulder: behind us there was one standing all alone. He told me that the Leica said 350, so I rested my rifle (7mm shooting 140-grain ballistic silvertips)on my daypack, put the horizontal wire on the top of her back, and squeezed off a shot. When I recovered from the recoil she was about 400 yards away and still going. My buddy said that he didn't see a hit. I said some nice words and was about to give up when she just piled up. The silvertip hit her in the lungs and made a mess of her insides, but the meat was in pretty good shape. THanks for the advice guys.
BWB
 
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