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.

 

[kcm2]

Meat damage with my 300WSM on pronghorn was minimal with the 180 Accubond. Use premium bullets and meat damage won't be a big problem if that's the rifle you bring. A 243 is fine, I've taken them out to 400 yards with a 243 and a 6mm Creedmor without a problem, except for a bad experience with ELDX bullets.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

243 is absolutely perfect. Do some practice shooting prone at distance and you'll gain a lot of confidence, prone is the easy button and you're pretty much forced to shoot Antelope from prone position due to the terrain. I've shot them from 60 yards to 597 yards. Somebody else already said it but the further you can ethically shoot the more opportunities you'll have. I still always try to use the terrain features to get closure if there are any, but especially the late season there sometimes just aren't any.

 

[voltage]

Shoot what you shoot best. Meat damage difference between 243 and 300wm in the same hole is marginal at best.

On the antelope shots I have been a part of, the distances have been the following:
200
160
420
125
310
455
290
110
225
710
140
379
Interpret that however you want to. In my opinion, many antelope seem to have a 500ish yard bubble.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Interpret that however you want to. In my opinion, many antelope seem to have a 500ish yard bubble.

That's definitely the case from what we've seen. 500-600.

 

[EdP]

Regarding other gear, a good rangefinder is crucial, plus decent binos. 10X or higher. Regarding rangefinders, the ratings are for flat reflective targets like a stop sign or maybe a vertical rock wall. Expect half that distance on an animal.

A number of folks talked about practicing prone and you will sometimes have opportunities to do that off a daypack or bipod. Other times you may need to be a bit higher to clear grass or sage. Having shooting sticks or a bipod you can use from a sitting position is handy. Good leather gloves are also recommended. In some pronghorn country spiny stuff is everywhere. Some folks like kneepads too.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Regarding other gear, a good rangefinder is crucial, plus decent binos. 10X or higher. Regarding rangefinders, the ratings are for flat reflective targets like a stop sign or maybe a vertical rock wall. Expect half that distance on an animal.

A number of folks talked about practicing prone and you will sometimes have opportunities to do that off a daypack or bipod. Other times you may need to be a bit higher to clear grass or sage. Having shooting sticks or a bipod you can use from a sitting position is handy. Good leather gloves are also recommended. In some pronghorn country spiny stuff is everywhere. Some folks like kneepads too.

Very valid point. I have a Leica that's very consistent, range a 'lope 10 times at long distances and get good readings. My sons and friends have brought various others and many won't range an antelope past 400 or so and I remember my wife's Vortex was hitting one around 550, but if you repeatedly range it you'd get a wide range of numbers from 510 to almost 600. Antelope hunting really makes me appreciate the deal I got on that Leica many years ago.

Good gloves and knee pads are useful for sure. I had elbow pads too at one point but never used them again, pita. Had a little belly one year and ended up with cactus in my stomach, haven't figured out that one yet.

 

[EdP]

Yup, I belly crawled up a ridge to get behind some foot high scrub one time. I made my shot but was pulling barely visible pins out of my chest that evening. Hadn't even felt them go in.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I've killed many dozens with my .243. Be prepared to shoot 300+ yards. It can be tough to sneak up on those little buggers in certain situations.

 

[270-300]

This is a good thread.

I hunt them in sheep country in carbon county.

My first one was shot at 487 yards. My one last september was shot at 55 yards. Both with a 200 grain speer hotcor in 300 win mag.

This year i plan to use 22 250 with a 60 grain hornady spitzer.

I would say pick the caliber on the conditions you plan. If im in open windy flats i will pick 300 win mag. If im going to be somewhere tight rocks with heavy timber i often choose my 270 win with a shorter barrel and less magnification.

If you have one rifle that shoots and carries better than the rest use that.

Have some good optics. Its real hard to tell a bush in the wind from an antelope at 800 yards. Id recommend some 10x42 in atleast vortex viper grade. Im very happy with my fury 5000.

Good range finder is a must.

Some tripod optics. I sold my spotting scope after i bought 15x56 vortex kaibabs. Having significantly more field of view, in two eyes with super bright images makes it far easier to find animals. I dont need 60x to see an antelope at 2 miles. 15x cuts it fine. Of course the worse your eye sight the better optics you need for the same results.

Get a lightweight tripod. My vortex high country 2 is excellent. I stay away from the carbon fiber units due to weight.

If you can find a good water hole in a dry open area your doing good. The june berries are usually ripe end of august and they are some great eating. Bears like them too.

Here are some pictures from last years hunt.

These open ridges are great. At sunrise they will come up from the bottoms by the creeks. They like to bed near the tops. If you can get on the back side of a ridge you can get some close shots when they come over. Chasing a herd that sees you can be fruitless.

 

[BustedRagHorn]

I would also add practicing shooting in the wind will be just as important as getting comfortable with distance. If you are planning on longer shots I would look into an anemometer. Wind always blows in Wyo. Best of luck, it can be a lot of fun!