Best Caliber? Modest Recoil for Antelope at 300/400 yards

[JohnnyFlake]

Which caliber would you recommend, for taking Antelope, at a max range of 400 yards, with modest recoil in a bolt gun? Why?

 

[horsemen61]

6.5 creedmoor

 

[horsemen61]

The why is because it has excellent balstics moderate recoil and with the new ELD X bullets you should have no problem at all with it to that range making an ethical shot/kill

 

[Cannibul]

.260 Remington.

Same bullet at the 6.5 stuff and brass can be made from .243 or .308 brass.

 

[Art Eatman]

A fair number of antelope have been killed in the over-300-yard range with the .243.

 

[Varminterror]

Assuming you're talking about Pronghorn in the US - which is not actually an antelope - rather than African or Asian Antelope species...

If so, then you don't need much gun to kill speedgoats to 400yrds. Hit them with a 243win and they'll drop. Nothing wrong with 260 or 6.5, but don't need that much bullet when the task is so easy, and don't need any specialty bullet like the ELD-X to get to 400yrds (although the ELD's are remarkably cheap).

Guys get caught up in fads and forget how easy it is to shoot 400yrds, and how easy it is to kill antelope.

.260 Remington.

Same bullet at the 6.5 stuff and brass can be made from .243 or .308 brass.

And will fly faster than the creedmoor, although at 400yrds, it really doesn't matter.

 

[redneck2]

.243. That's what I used. DRT

It's pretty much basic physics. Bigger (heavier) the bullet and the higher the velocity the greater the recoil. If I were going any bigger, it would be a .25-06. But, it has more recoil.

 

[JohnnyFlake]

The .243 seems to be liked a lot.

Is the .270 or 6mm to much, for what I am looking for?

 

[Cowhide Cliff]

7mm-08

 

[Varminterror]

Is the .270 or 6mm to much, for what I am looking for?

There are very few "wrong answers," but there are answers which are "more right."

Too dead isn't real, but too much powder use and too much recoil for a given task is. .270win for 400yrd is a bit much on powder and recoil, but it's an option. 6mm Rem is relatively obscure, so I wouldn't buy one for the task, but if I owned one, I'd happily use it.

.257 Roberts is one of my favored cartridges for short range pronghorn. .25-06, 270win, and 7-08 are my favored rounds for them at longer ranges.

If you own the 270 or the 6rem, you'll be well suited to use them. If you're starting from scratch, there are better options.

 

[mshootnit]

For me hands down it would be 257 Weatherby with 117 gr. bullet.
High velocity for flat shooting, fast to target means less time for wind drift. 117 has good sectional density in .25 bore and plenty of knock down when it gets there. Very moderate recoil. This is a very proven combination.
110 Accubond, I should mention would be a very good choice too.

 

[swampcrawler]

For me hands down it would be 257 Weatherby with 117 gr. bullet.
High velocity for flat shooting, fast to target means less time for wind drift. 117 has good sectional density in .25 bore and plenty of knock down when it gets there. Very moderate recoil. This is a very proven combination.
110 Accubond, I should mention would be a very good choice too.

Same for me. Recoil really is unbelievably mild. And the Vanguard rifles are quite nice and reasonably priced.

Ammo is expensive and not super common which is an issue for a lot of folks.

As others have said, a speedgoat isn't exactly on par with a Cape Buffalo in terms of toughness. I'm sure 243, 308, 7-08, 25-06, etc would also do well.

But for me, the 257 Wby would be the ticket.

 

[horsey300]

The .243 seems to be liked a lot.

The .270 and 6mm would work but if you're buying a new rifle, .243 would be great! If you really want something with more killing oomph without recoil the .308 spawn already mentioned will work too but you won't need em. With a 90-100 gr ballistic tip or Interlock or Sierra, you'll thump anything you can cleanly hit out to 400 yds for pronghorn size. 250sav 257rob and 25-06 could do the job but not any better than a 6mm 100 gr pill moving out at 2900+ mv on a 20" bbl. Follow up shots are quick with a .243 too. And then you can go to lighter loads for targets and varmints.....but then you'll have a problem of a different sort, you'll find yourself making more excuses to go shooting. If you already have the 6 rem with a fast enough twist (I think that one came 1:9) then you're already set to do everything that .243 does. That 6rem isn't the most common or most thought of, but it'll work just fine.

 

[Captcurt]

For me hands down it would be 257 Weatherby with 117 gr. bullet.
High velocity for flat shooting, fast to target means less time for wind drift. 117 has good sectional density in .25 bore and plenty of knock down when it gets there. Very moderate recoil. This is a very proven combination.
110 Accubond, I should mention would be a very good choice too.

I have run the gamut of small to medium bores the last 50 years. Shot a 270 for 20 years. Tried a 260 and right now I am in the Creedmoor phase. I have taken over a dozen animals with the Creedmoor with several in the 250- 300yard range. Works swell with a range finder and a Vortex Dead Hold Reticle. Probably took 14 or 15 head with a 243. All were one shot kills but shot nothing over 150 yards. If I had to pick one caliber for long range Pronghorn or deer, especially if I don't have my rangefinder along, it would be the 257 Weatherby. It is about as flat shooting as anything short of an STW, is mild on the shoulder and the Accubond does work very well.

 

[browningguy]

Anything from 243 Winny to 270 Winny, 25-06, 6.5 Creedmoor, 260 Remington. There are a hundred answers, find the rifle you like first then just pick any of those rounds.

 

[CraigC]

Give me a 6.5 through .308 over the .243 every time.

 

[Risky buisness]

243. Sure, you can use some other larger rifle caliber, what's the practical point of it? For around 40 years now, I've very effectively taken Antelope and other larger game animals with one. Average Antelope...125 lb, 100 gr Sierra boat tail ~ 3000 feet per second a very nice low recoil solution. Additionally, here where I'm at, long range varmint applications abound, so, a little lighter projectile a bit faster, and there you have a perfect setup again, same rifle ergonomics, slight difference in FPS, outstanding performance. Yea, you can pursue them with anything really, makes sense to me to be very familiar with one platform doing several jobs, and a lighter caliber rifle is really of more use, to me at least, as I'm not always hunting big game.

 

[JohnnyFlake]

I do not have either a .270 or 6mm, I was just asking. The .243 does seem to fit my needs, however, now there is talk of the .257, that sounds very interesting as well.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

For long distance accuracy I like my 6.5mm Swede. There is just some type of synergy with that 6.5 bullet. It is amazingly accurate in all of the forms I own including the Swede, the Jap, and the Carcano. I have long been a fan of the 6mm Remington as it was the first center fire long gun I purchased but the recoil on it is not to be called mild.

 

[CraigC]

243. Sure, you can use some other larger rifle caliber, what's the practical point of it?

After some bullet failures, no fan of the .243. For big game, I want more mass. There's no "practical" reason not to.

As a .243 hunter, are you always waiting for that perfect broadside shot? Do you completely avoid quartering shots? Do you avoid hitting shoulders?

 

[Holmes375]

Prairie goats are a medium game animal easily taken with a variety of flat shooting rifle calibers. Been hunting them for many years here in Wyoming primarily with a 25/06.

Estimating range is a downfall for many hunters unfamiliar with the wide open terrain thus I heartily recommend and rangefinder. Wind is often present in antelope country and a hunter should be familiar with reading it at distance. Good binoculars are a real plus.

Many rifle/cartridge combos capable of taking the goats at distance. A 243 will do just fine and can be had in a nice light rifle package without being a recoil problem. Take your pick, know your load and practice distance shooting from field positions.

 

[horsey300]

After some bullet failures, no fan of the .243. For big game, I want more mass. There's no "practical" reason not to.

As a .243 hunter, are you always waiting for that perfect broadside shot? Do you completely avoid quartering shots? Do you avoid hitting shoulders?

Absolutely not, I've taken antelope with a fast .22 cal and that was a bit tricky comparatively. I have seen "bullet failures" with other people's "larger massed" rounds several times, yet I've also witnessed a .243 with proper loads shatter spines, obliterate chest cavities from multiple angles, break shoulders, and have found no reason to call it impractical even on a large muley. Perhaps you're unlucky. At 400 or less, I can't remember any deer or antelope complaining about the difference between the .243 and the .300 win Mag, out past 500 THEY seem to prefer a 22 lr....

 

[Dog Soldier]

We have more "Goats"/Antelope here Wyoming than people. These are very thin skinned light boned animals. Many "Goat" hunters use the .223 or the .220 Swift. The .22-250 is all so popular. These fast expanding bullets can drop the animals very fast. Larger calibers often pass through with little expansion.
Residents take several animals per year. You can use what ever caliber you choose. But a heavy recoiling elk rifle is not necessary.

 

[Water-Man]

6.5x55 SE. Why? Check the ballistics.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I've killed more pronghorn than I can count with a 30-06.

Big magnums like 7mm mag do way too much damage, you can waste a lot of meat. .270 is a good choice.