Wyoming Antelope Gear

[14jhudson]

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.

 

[Bcleck90]

I’m far from an Antelope expert but this is my experience over the years.

Any of those calibers will work. Pick the one you shoot the best.

I would get comfortable to 300-400 yards if possible. I’ve never shot one that far, but 150-300 yards is going to be realistic.

 

[MuleyFever]

The farther you are comfortable shooting the more opportunities you may have. However, if you are patient its not too hard to get within 300 yards most of the time. Take the rifle you shoot the best. The last 5 my wife and I killed were 100, 200, 100, 250, 300 yards.

 

[Hoosker Doo]

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.

 

[Rich M]

Ive only been twice. Shot opps between 25 and 350 yards.

 

[Jack321]

Of all the hunting Ive done with Goats, any "deer hunting" rifle will be adequate.

Don't over think it.

Antelope are awesome and fun to hunt and make excellent table fare.

Ive seen them shot with anything from 243, 308, several 30-06's, 6.5 Creed, 300 Win Mag. And seen them shot from 65-345 yds. And any rifle from cheap Savage Axis', Savage 110s, Rem 700s, Ruger m77s, Tikka T3X's.

The 300WM was shot with 150gr Winchester XP bullet and didnt spoil any meat compared to any of the other calibers. Theres zero differences shooting a 308 or 30-06 at 65 yds compared to a 300WM at 200-300 yds or vice versa other than the speed at which the projectile is traveling. Speed is what makes the bullet expand. And modern bullets are designed to work fine from 0-500+ yds.

I would recommend being comfortable shooting out to 400 yds.

Id also get comfortable shooting in windy conditions, becaues WY the wind can whip around quite brutally.

This past Oct, my dad had his 308 and had a very nice goat with about 15-20 does at 400 yds crossing in front of us at 300. We crawled up to a knob and were belly crawling to get in position in shin high grass. I was shocked that the does in the group busted us immediately as we just barely crested the knob. Wind was howling, cross wind shot. The buck didnt care at all. But the does got uneasy and started to herd off, getting as close as 300 yds. This was the last morning of our hunt and I was trying to coach my dad to pull the trigger. He could never get in position nor comfortable and they trotted off.

I was a bit ticked and kinda got on my dad for the missed opportunity because I REALLY wanted him to connect.

We left and went and grabbed lunch. Came back around 2pm and found the exact same herd, same buck, in the same place bedded on the downwind side of the hill. This time, my younger brother went with my dad and crept up behind them and set up in a little valley behind them and waited them out while I watched on from 600 yds away keeping an eye on the herd allowing them to creep along. They got 65 yds and the buck got up and fed down the slope across from my dad. At 65 yds my dad was ready and waiting as he crossed broadside and the rest is history.

My dad felt vindicated for not pulling the trigger at 300 yds and possibly making a bad hit in the wind or pulling the shot. I felt better and glad my brother was with my dad because I dont know if I would have had the patience to wait it out.

As for a scope, a 3-18x will work just fine. Lots of options for any budget.

My first goat was with a 3-9x40 Leupold VX1 and my 30-06, Rem 700. Worked beautifully.

Again, any deer rifle with modern bullets, 400 yds and pretty much any scope will work fine. Same with binos. My older brother had $150 Vortex Crossfires and my younger brother and I had Swarovski NL Pure's and my dad had Redfield Rebels. Rangefinders from Leupold, Vortex to Fury RF binos.

Again, dont need to over think it.

You'd probably be better off just practicing with whatever your comfortable with.

 

[wytx]

Your .243 should be fine, maybe see if it likes 100 gr bullets.
Get a bipod for your rifle.
Sometimes a spotting scope on a window mount can save some boot time.
Rangefinder will be useful too.

 

[EdP]

I took my first two with a 6mm Rem, ballistic twin of the .243. Distances were 402 yds and 500 yds. The ballistics of the .243 or 6mm are better (less drop) than the .30-06. Antelope are not big animals so the .30-06 and .300 WM are overkill. I had just moved from Ky a couple of months before the first hunt and had only been able to practice out to 200, but making a 400 yd shot was no problem in light wind. If your rifle is accurate and you know the MV and bullet BC the drop is very predictable for known distances. It is definitely best to be able to confirm though. Published BCs can be optimistic.

I hope you have researched what it takes to get a tag. Western hunting regulations are very different than eastern regs. Everything you need to know is on the Wy G&F website but it takes some rooting out.

 

[6mm Remington]

The 30-06 and 6mm Remington or in your case the 243 are both great antelope cartidges. Practice lots and have fun. Antelope are great spotting and sneaking in on foot. A lot of fun and one of the best wild game animals to eat. Antelope and elk are two favorites. Take good care of that meat!!

 

[grfox92]

243 shooting Hornady ELDM or ELDX. Get proficient within 300-400 yards, you should have plenty of opportunities, getting close isnt terribly difficult in the sage brush.