Pronghorn Rifle
 

I have never had the chance to hunt a pronghorn. I may in 2007. I hear a 2506 is a good choice. What do you guys think? What would you recommend? Thanks in advance.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

The 25-06 is a very good choice as is the 270, 280 and 7mm-08. Just to name a few. Any flat shooting rifle from 25 caliber on up would be my choice. I have taken a few with the 6MM Rem as well.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

270 is a fine antelope cartridge.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

You would be hard pressed to find a better lope round than the 25-06.It fit's nicley in between the .243 and the .270 for goat shooters.
BBJ

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

anything from .25-06 to .280 would be a great cartridge. I think the specific gun model matters more for antelope than the cartridge choice. Course it depends on how far you're wanting to reach.

My personal choice would be the 7mm WSM. With the right load you can get it dropping less than 12" at 400 yards with 2k ft/lbs!

Pretty impressive.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

25-06 is a very good round. My brother-in-law hunts elk with is as well.
I would recommend two things however.
1) Use a bullet with rapid expansion. I'll never forget the goat I shot with my 7mm RM using 150gr core lokt's. Shot it three times and he kept walking. Finally dropped. I thought I had missed or my barrel was bent. When I gutted him out, you could cover all three shots with a tea cup! No damage, all went right through!

2) Practice long range shooting. 200 to 400 yards. Know your balistics (drop and windage for whatever round you choose). I see you're in IL and probably don't need to shoot at those distances. Goats can be under a hundred, or out to 400. And I can just about guarantee it will be windy.My longest shot was 385 yards. Dropped like a wet card table.

I love antelope! Right next to my mashed potatoes.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Yeah, It seems to work for everything:D:D:D:D

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Brutal..no 308? and by the way, who's that pic on your avatar, she's pretty hot:D

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

I have taken a couple with my 7mm rem mag and it performed admirably but having said that if I was buying a rifle for antelope it would be a .25-06.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

I asked him that, he said it's "My dream girl, who will remain nameless.:D"

When I first saw it, I thought it was a picture from CNN and it was a policewoman from India or something. I think a .308 would be impractical, more gun than neccessary. A smaller bullet would be better.
I would say a .25-06 or a 7mm-08. If all you're going to do is deer and lope hunt, than a 25-06.It can also be used as a varmit rifle. If you want to hunt elk later, use a 7mm-08.
I think a 7mmWSM would be way too expensive. Since it's still a wildcat cartridge and isn't produced that much. 25-06

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Thanks everyone for the input. Is there a particular brand of 25-06 that you like? Bolt action?

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Mine is a Ruger and I have been happy with that one. Be sure to get a 24 inch or longer barrel. The SPS would be a good choice IMO.(Remington 700)

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Remington Model 700 SPS.

(It is bolt-action, and so is the Ruger James B mentioned.)

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Yeah I have heard that the 25-06 is a great deer/lope round however I'll stick with my 270 wsm.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

There are plenty of good bolts for the 25-06,Remington,Ruger,Browning,Sako are some.I have owned Ruger's and Winchesters in the 25-06.The Rem 700 CDL looks to be a good rifle and even though it's a single shot don't look past the T/C or the Ruger #1's.
I have 2 25-06's right now one is a stainless Ruger M77 on houge stock and timmey triger topped with a 4-16 x 40 scope and the other is a Ruger #1-B with great wood and a trigger job toped with a 3-9 burris.Both are tack drives and mild recoil.
My guns like the 117 gr load from Federal,but I will be trying the 110gr accubond this weekend for deer.
BBJ

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

The .308 would work great out to about 350 yards. It drops a little much at 400 yards.

I will be using mine on lopers.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

You can get great .308 loads from 150 gr to 180 gr.

I don't consider anything offered in a factory rifle orin the Federal catalog a "wildcat". They offer 6 different loads for it.

A "wildcat" would be something like a .280 A.I. where you have to fire form brass and can't get factory ammo etc....

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Barrel length isn't really a concern. You only lose about 100 fps per 2" less than the factory barrel test length.

Shorter barrels are actually more accurate than long barrels, in general.

This goes against the conventional wisdom, I know.

However, shorter barrels are more rigid than long barrels, and are less suseptable to "barrel whip" or the harmonics that harm accuracy.

This is a relatively new thing that people and gun manufactures are just starting to realize, but snipers and bench rest shooters have known for quite some time.

In general, a short action mated to a short barrel will be more accurate than a long action mated to a longer barrel. Rigidity is the key and shorter systems are more rigid.

Of course you can build a bench rest rig with a 30" barrel that will out shoot a short barrel rig but all things being equal the shorter rigisinherentlymore accurate.

I'm not trying to start a tangental argument so if you disagree you can just research it for yourself.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

If your stuck on a 25-06 I would go with a Remington 700 CDL.

If you aren't stuck on 25-06 my personal choice would be a Remington 700 Titanium in 7mm RSAUM or 270. but then againI like to be different. :D

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

I just wanted to point out that the 25-06 is only available in the 700 SPSS (SPS stainless).

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Thanks guys, this gives me plenty to start with!

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Brutal, are you just trying to increase your post count or what?:D

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Nope! I'm just trying to make sure I cover all the bases and the man gets as much info as possible! :)

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

I would go with the .270 WSM. They are catching on fast. MV out!

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

If it's economy you're looking for, don't ignore a Savage. They make many models in 25-06. Very accurate gun right out of the box. They seem to all come with a 22' barrel however if that is a concern. (Not for me.)
Also, I would stay away from the packages because you will want to get a scope with variable optics going up to at least 12X if not higher. Spend your money on good optics.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Thanks for the info on the 308 Brutal. I have a 270 WSM but recently shot my friends 308 and I loved it. I also like the fact that there are so many different loads out there for it, great versatility.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Thats exactly why I bought a 25-06!! 100 grain bullet, laser like trajectory.....what more could you want?

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

A 270 WSM. Has the same trajectory with a 130 gr. bullet but over 600 more ft/lbs of energy

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Brutal - I have killed Goats with a 270 WBY mag with 130 grain handloads which would be better yet in your "on paper statistics = the only way to evaluate" way of thinking. With all aspects considered, the 25-06 is JUST as capable and is more pleasant to shoot than the short mag or WBY mag,especially with a cost savings whether you look at ammo or loading components. They are both great choices for the job IMO. Antelope are not tough.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

It seems that Kimber now makes a .25-06 in their Model 8400 rifle that looks pretty sweet. I don't know how well they shoot. I think they cost somewhat more than the bigger name firms's rifles. I think a .25-06 is just about perfect for deer and pronghorn antelope. Dead is dead. I don't know that any other cartridge is going to produce deader deer or deader pronghorn antelope than the .25-06 when constraining your shots to reasonable ranges -- for example 400 yards or less.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

Don't put words in my mouth. I never said 25-06 was a bad choice. Far from it. 270 Weatherby is very comparable to 270 WSM so I guess you proved my point for me.

The physics don't lie.

I could kill antelope consistently with a .243, that doesn't make it the best choice.

I was simply pointing out that "more you could want" is the same trajectory with more energy. It's always better to have omph if you can get it without sacrificing alot.

No need to get testy.

RE: Pronghorn Rifle
 

The numbers I gave above are at 400 yards. 270 WSM drops -15 and has 1800 or so ft/lbs. About 600 more than .25-06.

That being said I agree. Dead is dead especially with lope. You could do worse than a 25-06 but you could also do better. I'd use it.