Antelope hunting

double

Twelve Pointer
I have a chance to go Pronghorn hunting in Wyoming this October and I am planning on taking it. It will be a rifle hunt and I am told mostly spot and stalk. I am going with two guys that have been a few times so they are putting together a list of what I should take. I was just wondering if any of you have been there done that and had any suggestions as to caliber scope size extras that might help etc etc.
 
TravisLH

TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
I would most definitely take a caliber thats fully capable at 600 yards minimum. Those guys a super skittish, we saw alot when i went but the closest i got was over 400 and my rifle/scope wasn't suitable for the shot. Another thing is dont forget a decent spotting scope for when the binos arent enough, or you just need a closer look.


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Price180

Price180

Spike
double,
travis is right on. The further you can shoot the better. If you are on private land they will probably be less skittish but public land antelope that have been ran hard will stay in that 300-500 yard distance. That being said I shot my first antelope at 100 yards on public land, so you never know, be prepared!
If you dont want to buy a spotting scope 15x bino's work great too! Make sure you have a range finder that goes out to 800. Your best shooting sticks/support rest.
Make sure you post pics and Good Luck!
 
FishHunt

FishHunt

Old Mossy Horns
Take a good pair of leather gloves and knee pads, you will be crawling around a lot. I wouldn't feel under gunned/scoped with my .260Rem and a 3-9 scope. I'd practice as much as possible at 300-400 yards shooting from a bipod, shooting using your backpack as a rest and shooting from a setting position using your knee for a rest.

<>< Fish
 
Downeast

Downeast

Twelve Pointer
I shot mine with a 257 Wby at 350 yards with no problem. I agree with FishHunt. I would practice, practice, and practice some more with whatever rifle/scope combo you decide on. Prone with a bipod, sitting, using whatever rests are available. And do it at unknown distances. If you have a place to safely shoot, get someone to put up some targets for you at unknown ranges and then try to make one shot hits. You will be surprised what a little 5 to 10 mph wind will do when you are shooting 300 yards or further. Regardless of whether you are succesful this fall, the time you invest in shooting your rifle will pay you back many times.
 
woodmoose

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
I've only bowhunted them,,,,but mind this year's winter - they are having a tough winter in Wyoming (snow levels and deep cold) and expect a lot of winterkill in many areas,,,,,,,,,
 
Blackwater

Blackwater

Twelve Pointer
I'll second the suggestion by FishHunt about taking some good gloves and kneepads for putting the sneak on them. The prairie portion of Wyoming is practically paved with small flat cactus which can make crawling a real challenge. I use a .243 shooting 95 grain Nosler Partitions at about 3100 fps and zeroed at 265 yards. Whatever you choose to shoot with should be fairly flat shooting, know what your point of impact is at all ranges as well as bullet drift at different wind speeds, angles and ranges. The wind almost always is blowing, changing only in direction and velocity. A good range finder would be beneficial and for longer shots a near necessity. The antelope are about the size of a medium NC whitetail with shorter legs and judging distances in the open prairie can fool you. A decent mildot scope will work for judging ranges if you have the patience to learn how to use it. I always get impatient with my addled old brain when trying to use the mildot for making snap judgements on distance and holdover.

Antelope is one of if not the best tasting wild game meats you can experience, and potentially one of the worst. It has to be taken care of right away in order to be good; kill it, gut it right away and get it cooled down right away, preferably skinning, quartering it and getting it on ice, though you will have to retain evidence of sex attached to the carcass so that isn't always possible to do both without being illegal. Hauling it around in the back of a truck in the sun and heat will render the meat not worthy of dog food, and if you're going to be there in mid October the rut will be in full swing and the bucks will be herding their does and chasing every other buck that comes close. I try to avoid bucks with a harem in October because they'll be pretty rank, looking instead for a solitary buck which has had his butt kicked a few times by other bucks and hasn't been in a scrap lately. If you're looking for a good set of horns that method usually won't get you anything longer than 13" or so, though I have seen bucks with longer horns get chased away by one with more heart and less horn.

Wyoming Game and Fish will often set up a check station along a public roadside and you are required to stop at every one you come upon whether you have harvested anything or not. If you are in WY to hunt you have to stop.

Good luck and have a good time. If this is your first time you'll likely never get the smell memory of the sagebrush or a dead antelope out of your head. RT
 
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Lonehunter

Six Pointer
I love hunting speed goats! I found out my eastern eyes sucked at determining western ranges! A good range finder is well worth the money.
 

manybeards

Ten Pointer
Fun chasing those Goats,but better get your non resident application in..... Tags are closely controlled and although many areas are 100% draw, you still have to apply.
 

double

Twelve Pointer
We are applying as a group and already have a private spot locked up as long as we draw which is probable for the area. I am trying to decide between 270 7 mag and 6.5 creedmore as far as caliber.
 
nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
double said:
We are applying as a group and already have a private spot locked up as long as we draw which is probable for the area. I am trying to decide between 270 7 mag and 6.5 creedmore as far as caliber.
Click to expand...
The two times I ever shot them it was just as a side note on a hunt that finished up early. Used a .243 and wasn't a bit undergunned.
 

apexhunter

Ten Pointer
Of the 3 calibers you mentioned I would opt for the 6.5 Creedmoor for a number of reasons. The 6.5 has amazing ballistics and is touted as a super long range cartridge as it stays supersonic much farther than many standard cartridges. It is inherently very accurate and being a short action cartridge the rifle will typically be lighter (much more comfortable to tote around all day).
If I were to build a pronghorn rifle (also usable for deer and other applications as well) it would be between 3 rifle choices depending upon budget:
1) Kimber Montana- extremely lightweight (5#2oz) and very accurate
2) Kimber Hunter- still lightweight (5#10oz) with many features of the Montana at a lower price (has polymer stock versus carbon fiber of the Montana but maintains lightweight barrel/action)
3) Ruger American- great value for an accurate piece
Another option would be a Savage with accutrigger but I don't have as much firsthand experience with them as I do with Kimber and the Ruger.
Atop either I'd put a Leupold VX6 3x18 50mm with the CDS system for dialing in long range shots.
This setup with a good pair of binos and rangefinder will be good for most any North American game and is great for Pronghorns out to 600 or more yards.
 
woodmoose

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
nccatfisher said:
The two times I ever shot them it was just as a side note on a hunt that finished up early. Used a .243 and wasn't a bit undergunned.
Click to expand...

yeap, in my opinion they are next to caribou with their desire to die once hit,,,,

but I've never shot any that were all high strung from running away from fools on 4 wheelers and trucks trying to "run them down" to get close,,,,,,,,
 
FishHunt

FishHunt

Old Mossy Horns
double said:
We are applying as a group and already have a private spot locked up as long as we draw which is probable for the area. I am trying to decide between 270 7 mag and 6.5 creedmore as far as caliber.
Click to expand...

Take the one that you shoot the best. Ballistics won't matter if you don't hit your target.

When you pick one out, I can set some random targets up on our farm and you can walk through as if you are spotting/stalking and see how many first round hits you get at varied ranges.

<>< Fish
 
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double

Twelve Pointer
I may give that a try Fish. I do not know which one I shoot best. As you know my last job gave me a few more choices in caliber. I used a 7 mag for years and love the 270 but really plan on buying a creedmore very soon. Most of my shooting recently has either been a 223 or a 35.
 
FishHunt

FishHunt

Old Mossy Horns
double said:
I may give that a try Fish. I do not know which one I shoot best. As you know my last job gave me a few more choices in caliber. I used a 7 mag for years and love the 270 but really plan on buying a creedmore very soon. Most of my shooting recently has either been a 223 or a 35.
Click to expand...

The .270 has worked for long range for a long time and is only better with today's rifles, bullets and powders. Look at the rounds listed here in one of Hornady's charts for their Superformance loads.
65-chart-1.jpg
 

double

Twelve Pointer
The superformance is what i have been shooting in mine. It seems to like it however i am not real impressed with how the sst bullets performed on the two deer I saw shot with them.
 
Blackwater

Blackwater

Twelve Pointer
FishHunt said:
The .270 has worked for long range for a long time and is only better with today's rifles, bullets and powders. Look at the rounds listed here in one of Hornady's charts for their Superformance loads.
65-chart-1.jpg
Click to expand...

Looks like the .270 and .280 have the best overall ballistics of the whole bunch. This just reinforces my decision to build the .280 a couple of years ago. I liked the .270 OK but wanted the option of a heavier bullet weight if going for large bodied game.
 
badlandbucks

badlandbucks

Ten Pointer
This thread has me all excited. I went to SE Wyoming in 2015 after pronghorn. I'm going to NE this year and back to WY in 2018. We went completely DIY. This is what I learned after going.

Do:
take a lightweight flat shooting rifle. Pronghorn are not hard to kill. You don't need a big caliber. One of my buddies took a browning .300 win mag. It sure thumped some antelope but he was worn out from toting the heavy thing around the prairie for 4 days. I took a Savage 25-06 shooting 117 gr handloads, zeroed at 200 yds. It is always best to be prepared for a long shot. I had practiced out to 500 yds. But out of 8 people the longest shot taken was 330 yds. I shot mine at 198 yds. a couple guys shot theirs at 50 yds, so don't think you cant get close to them.

take good optics. Binos with a wide field of view (I took some 11x45s) and a quality scope (I had a Vortex Viper 6-18x44). A spotting scope would have probably helped but we made due without..it was just something else to carry across prairie. and a good rangefinder is a necessity. ranges are very tough to guess at on that wide open terrain.

take kneepads...seriously. those little flat cactuses are no joke. and they are EVERYWHERE.

wear light comfortable shoes or boots. I actually hunted in some New balance trail runners. big bulky rubber boots will not work very well, and your feet will hate you.

take a decoy. It was pretty amazing how close we could get with no cover whatsoever stalking behind a big brown cow decoy. they work best with 2 people.

Don't:

shoot the first buck you see. It is hard to field judge pronghorn bucks at first. Once you see a bunch it gets easier to distinguish a big one. Generally look for mass wider than the eye, prongs that start at least as high as the ear tips, and length of horn after the prong (hooks). I was the last one in our group to kill one, but mine went 79", missing B&C by an inch. a 70" pronghorn is very doable on public land if you are patient.

Listen to people who say the meat is terrible. Pronghorn is hands down my favorite wild game. My wife agrees. although after watching how some guys process one in the field I can see why they didn't like it. Pronghorn bucks stink during the rut. if you have the ability to quickly hang them and skin, do that. I took one of those trailer hitch mounted gambrel poles. If you must process in the field and pack out, be very careful not to get hair on the meat. Put the meat in coolers with ice. If you bag the meat leave the bags open at least a little. a processor taught me that. if you seal the meat up completely it can't breath and bacteria will grow. I aged mine in the coolers until I got back home (5 days). meat was absolutely perfect.

That's all I can think of for now...
 
Helium

Helium

Old Mossy Horns
Ive been 2x DIY. It's a blast.

Spotting scope, binocs, leather gloves, kneepads and patience are definitely needed.

Ive shot em over 400yds and killed my largest at 10yds while he chased a doe right by me
 

JONOV

Old Mossy Horns
nccatfisher said:
The two times I ever shot them it was just as a side note on a hunt that finished up early. Used a .243 and wasn't a bit undergunned.
Click to expand...
I was thinking, they can't be very big. I've never been out west hunting but I can't imagine they typically get to be more than 125 lbs.
 
Buxndiverdux

Buxndiverdux

Old Mossy Horns
badlandbucks said:
This thread has me all excited. I went to SE Wyoming in 2015 after pronghorn. I'm going to NE this year and back to WY in 2018. We went completely DIY. This is what I learned after going.

Do:
take a lightweight flat shooting rifle. Pronghorn are not hard to kill. You don't need a big caliber. One of my buddies took a browning .300 win mag. It sure thumped some antelope but he was worn out from toting the heavy thing around the prairie for 4 days. I took a Savage 25-06 shooting 117 gr handloads, zeroed at 200 yds. It is always best to be prepared for a long shot. I had practiced out to 500 yds. But out of 8 people the longest shot taken was 330 yds. I shot mine at 198 yds. a couple guys shot theirs at 50 yds, so don't think you cant get close to them.

take good optics. Binos with a wide field of view (I took some 11x45s) and a quality scope (I had a Vortex Viper 6-18x44). A spotting scope would have probably helped but we made due without..it was just something else to carry across prairie. and a good rangefinder is a necessity. ranges are very tough to guess at on that wide open terrain.

take kneepads...seriously. those little flat cactuses are no joke. and they are EVERYWHERE.

wear light comfortable shoes or boots. I actually hunted in some New balance trail runners. big bulky rubber boots will not work very well, and your feet will hate you.

take a decoy. It was pretty amazing how close we could get with no cover whatsoever stalking behind a big brown cow decoy. they work best with 2 people.

Don't:

shoot the first buck you see. It is hard to field judge pronghorn bucks at first. Once you see a bunch it gets easier to distinguish a big one. Generally look for mass wider than the eye, prongs that start at least as high as the ear tips, and length of horn after the prong (hooks). I was the last one in our group to kill one, but mine went 79", missing B&C by an inch. a 70" pronghorn is very doable on public land if you are patient.

Listen to people who say the meat is terrible. Pronghorn is hands down my favorite wild game. My wife agrees. although after watching how some guys process one in the field I can see why they didn't like it. Pronghorn bucks stink during the rut. if you have the ability to quickly hang them and skin, do that. I took one of those trailer hitch mounted gambrel poles. If you must process in the field and pack out, be very careful not to get hair on the meat. Put the meat in coolers with ice. If you bag the meat leave the bags open at least a little. a processor taught me that. if you seal the meat up completely it can't breath and bacteria will grow. I aged mine in the coolers until I got back home (5 days). meat was absolutely perfect.

That's all I can think of for now...
Click to expand...

Good post. But I shot the first buck I saw because it was big enough for me. I was very fortunate because I didn't see a bigger buck that week. I wasn't hunting a very good trophy unit, but it had plenty of animals to chase. Antelope is excellent table fare. You can get close to them with some terrain and sneaking. I'm going to go again this fall if I draw.

 
woodmoose

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
all archery,,,all near Bill, Wyoming (between Douglas and Gillette),,,,,,


1st time

watermark.php



second time,,,,

watermark.php


they had a huge population explosion of rabbits and hares,,,,landowner asked me to bring "whatever you want" to shoot them,,,,,,took my Marlin,,,,,,

watermark.php



and my last trip,,,,2009,,,,,,,,reckon I need to go back,,,,,,,,

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seen this fellow in New Mexico,,,,,,,

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nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
They are excellent table fare unless you are in an area where it has been abnormally dry that year and they have been regulated to browsing sage brush. If that is the case tell me how good they are when you eat them they taste just like sage brush smells burning.

Both I killed were great but I have been out there and eaten, well tried, some that have eaten that crap. No thanks.
 
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Smitty010203

Twelve Pointer
Never hunted them personally but I have heard they A) Arent very hard to take down at all aka dont need a magnum caliber.. and B) are tough to get close to
 
darkthirty

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
I have some buddies that go and they all say sometimes it's more of a "shoot" than a hunt. It's almost too easy. Then the next year it's an extremely tough hunt. They have always filled all their antlered and antlerless tags every year they've been. Just some years are easier than others. 2/3 of the guys shoot 25-06's and swear by'em.
 
nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
woodmoose said:
all archery,,,all near Bill, Wyoming (between Douglas and Gillette),,,,,,





second time,,,,

watermark.php





And for the fellows that are wondering about the knee pads and gloves all they have to do is look in front of and right behind the antelope and THAT is the reason.
Click to expand...
 
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