antelope Rifle?

[nwwanderer]

Many years ago my Dad with his early model 70 30-06 snuck on a bedded buck near Kaycee, WY.  Took the shot and the buck rocketed off on the typical 5 mile circle.  While he was watching, wondering what happened I took another nice buck less than a mile away, again bedded at less than 100 yards with my 243.  While dealing with my buck the original 'miss' was on a path to come very close.  We stayed put, set up and all of the does blew by at about 50 yards.  No buck.  We back tracked a few yards and there he was stone dead and dry as a bone.  The first shot had nicked his carotid and he had run at least five miles before bleeding out.  The moral of this story is watch the goats after the shot!

[GoldTip]

I've shot a few antelope back home in Montana.  I've used 240wby, 25-06, 30-06 and 300winny.  All got the job done quite well, none seemed like over kill or underkill.  Shots were between 50 and 380 yards.  Longest shot was basically a tie at 373 or something in that neighborhood with the 25-06 and 380 with the 240wby.  Both bucks dropped at the shot.  Shoot whatever you shoot best, but if you just wanna get a new gun, I'd focus somewhere around the 25cal.

[sakoshooter]

I suspect that a 257Roy would be about perfect.
 

A .257 100 grain at 3600 ft/second is pretty tough to be beat.  You can sight it in to be 3" high at its high point, and still only be 5" to 6" low at 400 yards.  There are not too many other calibers that can compete with that.

Antelope are easy to kill.  They can be hard to hit.  Distances after often north of 300 yards.  The more accurate your gun is, the better.  The flatter is shoots, the better.

Bob33,
257 Roberts or Weatherby? What are you loading to achieve 3600fps. Just curious.

[Bob33]

Definitely a Weatherby to get 3600 with 100 grains.  That's not too difficult to achieve: the factory 100 grain is rated at 3570.  Many 257 shooters I know like RL22 with a 100 grain TSX: 70 to 72 grains.
http://www.weatherby.com/_docs/Weatherby_catalog_ballistics.pdf

[sakoshooter]

Thanx Bob. That chart shows much faster velocities than any of my reloading manuals. That's why I was curious.

[engelwood]

I shot my lope in 2008 with a 300 WSM at 332 yards. Did the trick without a problem. Dad shot his that year at 235 with the same gun. I think you can shoot them with almost anything legal and you'll be in good shape. I'd just take the most accurate gun you have and roll with it.

[bearpaw]

I suspect that a 257Roy would be about perfect.
 

agreed....

[gasman]

Ribka and I took 8 out of 10 lope with my .257 bob durring our 2010 hunting trip.

 

[bearpaw]

Ribka and I took 8 out of 10 lope with my .257 bob durring our 2010 hunting trip.

 

Any of the 25's are darn good guns....  of course I can't think of many bad guns.