Wyoming Antelope Gear

[14jhudson]

The .243 is perfect. With the .300 win mag, expect meet damage. Even if you hit behind the shoulder, there will be bloodshot in the meat. That's why I quit hunting them with my 7 mag.

It's not hard to find an opportunity on antelope within 200 yards. But if you find THE antelope and he's posted up with his does and 20 sets of eyeballs at 400 yards, there is usually no getting closer unless you can back out and use the terrain to stay out of sight. But a lot of the time, he'll have chased them around to a new spot by the time you move in closer.

Or occasionally if you miss the first shot, or have a marginal hit at 200 yards, they will be 300-400 yards away before you get an opportunity for a follow-up.

Excellent! I assumed the .300 would be overkill and cause more damage than needed, but wasn’t sure if the .243 would have enough behind it to reach out effectively

 

[kcm2]

A 300 with premium bullets won't waste meat. You'll see far worse with the bullets that expand too much. I had an early lot ELDX in my 6mm Creedmoor that penetrated a total of four inches. Had I hit the shoulder of the ham, I would have lost the whole thing. Partition, Accubond or copper bullets (HDY, Barnes, E-Tip, etc) will be fine.

 

[LSL57]

This is an awesome thread to follow. I've been stacking points in Wyoming so good to read things to have to prepare.

 

[mad_angler]

One more tip... everyone says "be proficient out the 300-400 yards"... That is great advice. Just make sure that you understand what they are saying...

They are saying "make sure that you can reliably hit an 8" circle at x yards using field rests. You will need to practice with field rests to determine what "x" is for you.

I am from Wisconsin. In the past, I have made the mistake of thinking I was good to 300 yards because I could get good groups at 300 yards from a shooting bench with bench equipment.

Another note... Prone position will probably not work for antelope (or at least you can't plan on it). Even a little bit of knee-high grass will eliminate the prone position. Look at the pictures in this thread. For most of them, prone will not work. I make this note because prone is the easiest thing to practice at the range and think that you are set. But it will probably not work. For 300-400 yards, you will probably be seated with a front rest and your backpack as a rear rest. To be "proficient" at 400 yards, you need to be able to hit an 8" circle from that position with whatever equipment you will carry with you to the field..

 

[benconfused]

For glassing antelope, do you guys often find yourself standing or sitting? Asking regarding tripod height when factoring in what to take. (I'm hoping to get a goat tag for this fall as well).

 

[Jack321]

For glassing antelope, do you guys often find yourself standing or sitting? Asking regarding tripod height when factoring in what to take. (I'm hoping to get a goat tag for this fall as well).

My first goat hunt. I brought my spotter. My 2nd and 3rd, i just used 10x42s

Binos are good enough.

Sometimes I would carry a tripod, other times my trekking poles with quick stix that I could rest my binos on while sitting.

I find theyre pretty easy to spot, unless theyre lying down.

The nice thing about Antelope is they're out all day. Its not like muleys, white tails or elk that it the first and last hours of daylight. Antelope are out all the time.

Also, in WY there's many antelope. You blow a stalk, walk over the next ridge and you will see more. Fun hunt for sure.

 

[3855WIN]

Best antelope advise I ever got was to bring lots of bullets. Shoot the .243.

 

[Ikmclean]

Make sure to have a good knife, the environment they are usually in and the way their hair holds onto dirt/dust dulls a knife quick

 

[OldGuy70]

For glassing antelope, do you guys often find yourself standing or sitting? Asking regarding tripod height when factoring in what to take. (I'm hoping to get a goat tag for this fall as well).

I use 15x binos when I’m driving around searching for herds. Once I start walking/crawling I’ll take my small pack with some 10x binos with rangefinder, ammo, a smaller tripod, and what ever else I might need for a few hours. Bipod is on the rifle. A lot depends on the area you hunt, but as most have commented, it’s rare to have an easy prone shot. I try and find some brush or rocks to get behind or closely beside and set up on the tripod, usually about sitting or kneeling height. As stated before, most shots will be 300+, just know your ability and what distance is practical for you.

 

[Saluki91]

FWIW, my load-out list would start with:
1 - The best binoculars I could afford
2 - The best tripod I could afford & suitable hardware for easily moving between my binoculars and rifle

As for rifles, bring the two you shoot the best. <<cue voice of experience>> Bad things can happen when traveling. Nothing sucks worse than broken equipment on a trip-of-a-lifetime. I'd rather have a back-up that I am intimately familiar with than a guide's hand-me-down.

Have fun!!!!

 

[mountaineer]

I hunt them in western SD and have been able to get within 100 yds several times, but there is some topography and fence lines to crawl behind. I shoot them in the neck to save the meat but at longer distances I would go for the chest. Have used a .300 wsm and 25-06. Knee pads and gloves are a good idea unless you like to pick cactus out of your knees and hands, which I usually end up doing.

 

[kcm2]

Sage or no sage? If sage, I'll agree with the tripod or quad sticks (my favorite). If no sage, a good framed daypack like my old Kifaru Spike Camp or a taller one, would be fine. Use it between the stays to get above some vegetation or use it with a coat in it for a dead low prone. That way you have you water and stuff all in one spot. YMMV but this has worked for me with dozens of pronghorn.

 

[Onehorse]

Couple questions about antelope gear recommendations for Wyoming:

What’s the realistic range to shoot? I’m from KY, so farthest shot I would ever take on deer would be 200 and that would be across the entire fields I hunt.

What caliber would you recommend to shoot? I have a 30-06, 243, and a 300 win mag. I assume the 30-06 and 300 would be overkill, but this will be the first year I’m preparing to hunt western.

Also any scope recommendations for the 300 win mag would be great. Just won the gun in a raffle and need to get a scope for it.

First, my credentials: I have been hunting pronghorns for over forty years and have killed two dozen. (I don't get drawn every year.)
Regardless of what you hunt, the "realistic range" is ALWAYS determined by your ability. If 200 yards is comfortable for you, that's YOUR realistic range and stick to it. The good news is 200 yards is a very reasonable and doable range for antelope. I would say that most of my antelope have been killed at under that distance. The last one was 157 yards, and the closest was about 40 yards. I find that the most fun in hunting goats is stalking as close as you can rather than shooting as far as you can. (Wounding anything sucks, especially when you could have gotten closer.) Just because you are hunting antelope, don't fall into the trap of assuming you need to take ridiculously long shots (that you've never taken or practiced before)!
You are already in possession of rifles that are more than capable of doing an excellent job on antelope. The .243 would be fine as antelope are not hard to kill. Those 30s are not necessary for actually KILLING an antelope, but since it's often windy in antelope country, one of the 30 calibers might be a better choice. Pick the one you shoot best, and don't give caliber another thought.
As for a scope, I have used either a 3x9 or 4x12. I like scopes with ballistic reticles because they are faster to use than twisting turrets, but that's me. Usually, when hunting goats, I crank the power ring all the way up and forget about it. Bring good binos and a range-finder.
If you have any more questions or just want to chat about antelope, you may PM me. They are my favorite animal to hunt and ... they taste great!

 

[Muleyczy]

Whichever you shoot best. Don’t get caught up in over thinking it. Antelope are fun to hunt. Go have fun, makes adjustments and do it again

 

[wytx]

Spotting scope on a window mount can save you miles on the boots, you'll know if it's worth stalking or not. We never take the spotter in the field but use one in the truck a lot.
Bipod on the rifle instead of a tripod you have to carry around.
.243 is fine, try some heavier bullets though- 100 gr or so.

 

[buffybr]

I killed my first antelope in the early '70s with my .30-06. I moved to Montana in '75 and have hunted them most years since. I built my .257 Ackley in '77 and put a Leuold 6X scope on it, and it has been my primary antelope rifle. I've shot a few with my .22-250, .308 Win, and 7mm RM, and have hunted with guys using up to a .300 Win mag.

My longest shot on an antelope was 351 yds. Once while sitting still in sagebrush, with my young Son and my golden retreiver, we had a buck and several does follow a fenceline and walk to within 20 yds of us.

There is often a lot of prickly pear cactus in antlelope country and as was previously mentioned, leather gloves and knee pads should be part of your hunting gear. My Leatherman tool has been handy for removing cactus thorns from me or my dog in the field.

I usually have a spotting scope in my vehicle, but don't carry it with me when I leave my vehicle. For years I used my 8x23 or 9x25 pocket binoculars then for some years my Nikon 10x42 binos and a Bushnell rangefinder, but now I use Vortex 10x42s with their built in rangefinder.

Probably half of the antelope that I've shot I shot from prone. I have a bipod for my rifles, but I've never hunted with it. The last few years I've used my Primos 41"-65" trigger Sticks which also double for a walking stick and have a camera attachment of selfie pics.

I always dress my animals in the field where they fall. I usually leave the hide on to help keep the meat clean and to reduce the dried outside meat that I would trim off when I butcher the animal. Unless it's hot, like it sometimes is during antelope season, then I remove the hide and put the quarters in tight plastic bags in a cooler with ice.