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First Time Pronghorn

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horsey300 said:
Oooooohhhh so with a 10 twist, the slipperiest bullets I'd attempt would be a 95 nbt or 100 gr sgk, I KNOW that the 95 ssts and 100 gr prohunter work well but don't buck the wind so well, I'd check jbm for stability (he also has a bullet length list for you). Then I'd also suggest using something like this to help practice and figure out how far you SHOULD shoot:
https://www.effectiverangetargets.com/store/p3/Pronghorn_Antelope.html
Where at are you hunting? (If you don't mind).
Eta in the 6.5 the slipperiest splodiest bullets will work fine, such as the 123 sst, 143 eld, etc etc.
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Think and 87gr Vmax would work on speedgoats? I've got most of a box left, from when I still shot my .243. They worked well on our goats, which are 40-60lbs usually.
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys. Gotten wrapped up in some home repairs and your responses are helping me stay excited about this new challenge. Talking with a farmer this week about setting up a 3-400 yard strip of land I can shoot on to get some practice at those ranges. My rifle shooting has maxed out at 200 up to now.
 
Remember, they are curious creatures; if you can stay hidden and wave a flag or similar, they'll come close enough..............
 
LoonWulf said:
Think and 87gr Vmax would work on speedgoats? I've got most of a box left, from when I still shot my .243. They worked well on our goats, which are 40-60lbs usually.
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As long as we stick with the squishy bits and stay off the big bones, even an 80 gr varmint bullet will work, how does the 87 do in the wind? Similar to an 88 Berger?
 
I got better velocity out of the 87 Vmax than the Berger's, shot a little flatter and straighter too.
I was having relatively little issue keeping them on an 8" plate at 400 the one time i took them out
 
LoonWulf said:
I got better velocity out of the 87 Vmax than the Berger's, shot a little flatter and straighter too.
I was having relatively little issue keeping them on an 8" plate at 400 the one time i took them out
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Using a 10 twist? I know you had a 9ish for awhile? I've been calculating everything at current elevation but 0 f temp because I got too cocky one time....... Lol
Eta in my brother's howa and m70(that he stole from dad b4 I knew what was up) the 86s are ok in the summer but start having issues in the winter lol.
 
LoonWulf said:
Those should be blistering out of that rifle, stability should be ok as well.
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Looks like just about 1.2 at 0 degrees, I reckon they oughta wreck a rib cage and buck wind better than the 85 speers we'd been running, we should be able to find a favorite load just in time for a new barrel with a faster twist lmao! I think it will be an impressive amount of shock and awe on the speed goats, trick will be the nut behind the trigger though lol!
 
horsey300 said:
Looks like just about 1.2 at 0 degrees, I reckon they oughta wreck a rib cage and buck wind better than the 85 speers we'd been running, we should be able to find a favorite load just in time for a new barrel with a faster twist lmao! I think it will be an impressive amount of shock and awe on the speed goats, trick will be the nut behind the trigger though lol!
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U want that box of 87vmax I have? While not a berger, they might hellngiu decide if you want to pursue the weight some more.
 
LoonWulf said:
U want that box of 87vmax I have? While not a berger, they might hellngiu decide if you want to pursue the weight some more.
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I'll let @somethingbenign have first crack, it's not like I don't already have enough guns+loads if needed. If he's not interested though, I'd consider it, buddy has some shiny new Lapua brass and I picked up some staball, if he'll let me play, I'll take you up on it
 
Appreciate both you guys for offering and deferring. I sent @LoonWulf a message regarding them. I think I need to start waking up early before the wife so I can get some time to get rounds loaded without any other projects taking priority.
 
I've hunted pronghorns in Wyoming and South Dakota for several decades. My longest shot was about 275 yards or so.

Buy a pair of knee pads and sturdy leather gloves as you will be crawling out upon the open prairie to get within range. My .243 shoots 95 grain bullets by Black Hills Ammo best of all. Plan to skin and quarter your downed antelope quickly to cool the meat. Antelope venison reminds us of lamb.

TR
 
Well got around to talking to that farmer about shooting at longer (to me) ranges. He had no problem with it and once the crops are out he got excited about setting me up for a mile long shot. Amazing how things get out of hand. I'm going to buy a couple boxes of factory ammo just as a backup incase I suck at rifle loading and don't find an acceptable load or more likely I can't find components to finish testing. I'm thinking the 90gr ELDx precision hunter by Hornady, any other suggestions for a 1:10 barrel?
 
Vmax is a varmint bullet. I can't recommend it because in pronghorn country the wind always blows and if you drift onto a shoulder you're going to have a mess. I've even seen it with a Nosler ballistic tip at 80 yards from a 6mm.
stick with any reasonably constructed sp or hp. I've had excellent results in my rifle with the winchester plain box 100gr SP and also some long ago Sierra GK reloads.
 
somethingbenign said:
Well got around to talking to that farmer about shooting at longer (to me) ranges. He had no problem with it and once the crops are out he got excited about setting me up for a mile long shot. Amazing how things get out of hand. I'm going to buy a couple boxes of factory ammo just as a backup incase I suck at rifle loading and don't find an acceptable load or more likely I can't find components to finish testing. I'm thinking the 90gr ELDx precision hunter by Hornady, any other suggestions for a 1:10 barrel?
Click to expand...
I'm betting the eld won't stabilize, the tgks are on the ragged edge for my 9.25, I'd look at nosler custom 95 btips, federal premium sierra gameking 100 gr, federal premium 95 btips, etc, I like the ssts in a 10 twist but wind buckers they ain't. The federal Berger 95 would be on the edge of what I'd try.
 
horsey300 said:
I'm betting the eld won't stabilize, the tgks are on the ragged edge for my 9.25, I'd look at nosler custom 95 btips, federal premium sierra gameking 100 gr, federal premium 95 btips, etc, I like the ssts in a 10 twist but wind buckers they ain't. The federal Berger 95 would be on the edge of what I'd try.
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So just to be clear you are thinking the 90gr is too light or is there something else about it that would cause it to be unstable? I could try their 100gr interlocks, the BC is almost as high as the ELDx. Hornady is my go to with ammo simply because they are local to me, thought about applying to be their on site electrician at one point but that is a different story. Of course nowadays I just have to see what ammo is in stock.
 
somethingbenign said:
So just to be clear you are thinking the 90gr is too light or is there something else about it that would cause it to be unstable? I could try their 100gr interlocks, the BC is almost as high as the ELDx. Hornady is my go to with ammo simply because they are local to me, thought about applying to be their on site electrician at one point but that is a different story. Of course nowadays I just have to see what ammo is in stock.
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Too long for twist, I've nothing against Hornady, big fan, if they made a 95 sst with a boattail I'd run them instead of the btips in my 9 twisters, but I like that the flat bases will stabilize in about anything. The ogive of the eld makes it longer than the sst. The 100 interlock would be my first pick if we're staying with Hornady and if they don't work, spend extra time running the sst in lots of conditions to dope properly, I've been watching the lazy does out here and as long as nobody pressures them too hard, we'll fill at least 2 tags under 200 yards, but by dec Jan, they might be more skittish, use a ballistic calculator to dope the difference in elevation between where you practice and where you hunt and verify zero once you get out here. The sst is a great bullet for critters like these speed goats so if it's what you run, you'll not be handicapping yourself for terminal ballistics at all. In 95 or 100 weights, the h1000 and imr4451 has been a peach. If I have to throw a load together quick, I just grab h1000.
 
horsey300 said:
Too long for twist, I've nothing against Hornady, big fan, if they made a 95 sst with a boattail I'd run them instead of the btips in my 9 twisters, but I like that the flat bases will stabilize in about anything. The ogive of the eld makes it longer than the sst. The 100 interlock would be my first pick if we're staying with Hornady and if they don't work, spend extra time running the sst in lots of conditions to dope properly, I've been watching the lazy does out here and as long as nobody pressures them too hard, we'll fill at least 2 tags under 200 yards, but by dec Jan, they might be more skittish, use a ballistic calculator to dope the difference in elevation between where you practice and where you hunt and verify zero once you get out here. The sst is a great bullet for critters like these speed goats so if it's what you run, you'll not be handicapping yourself for terminal ballistics at all. In 95 or 100 weights, the h1000 and imr4451 has been a peach. If I have to throw a load together quick, I just grab h1000.
Click to expand...
Okay, I was understanding that bullet weight was the big factor when it comes to twist rate. Pretty sure the powder I picked up with my first box of interlocks was the imr4451 you mentioned. I'll have to check when I get home.
 
somethingbenign said:
Okay, I was understanding that bullet weight was the big factor when it comes to twist rate. Pretty sure the powder I picked up with my first box of interlocks was the imr4451 you mentioned. I'll have to check when I get home.
Click to expand...
It's really length of the bullet I can run heavier bullets ok, but too LONG and my 9 twists will have problems even down to the 90s (as I said, I'm pushing it with the tgk). Jbm has an online calculator, also a length list, idk if the eld would be on there, I can measure a tgk when I get home if you want to run the numbers, they have a similar profile, it won't be exact but it'll paint the picture.
 
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