I am going out to New Mexico to go antelope hunting in Sept. This is my first time hunting antelope or doing any big game hunting out west. I am using my Ruger M77 .270 Win. I have been practicing at 200 yards, it is tough to find anywhere to shoot farther, safely here in Indiana. I am using Federal Premium 130 gr. ballistic tips. Any advice would be appreciated.

aksrock.

Where in N.M are you going to be?

I would try to find a place to practice at least a 250 to 300 yard shot . Your 270 is plenty, with a 230 gr. bullet. I have a few friends that do guide for this hunt in the Nothern parts of N.M. The Pronghorn down South here are not as big as those in the North.

Would like to see though where you are going to be , so that as I may hook you up (free of charge with someone who might know the teritory a little better than you.) I am allways looking forward to meeting new peaple.

Just a thought.

hunter338

I entered velocity: 3060 f/s, ballistic coefficent: .435, and bullet grain 130 gr. into a ballistic program at www.norma.cc , and came up with these numbers. Set your rifle to hit 2.3" @ 100 yds. and you will not have to compensate (hold over) untill you reach 294 yds. At 200 yds. your bullet should be at 1.9". Your zero will be at 248 yds. If you set your rifle at 2.3" high at 100 yds., your bullet will never travel higher than 3" out to 294 yds. At 294 yds. your bullet will hit 3" below the line of site. The Maximum Point Blank Range (MPBR) on an pronghorn is 3". The kill zone is 3" above the line of sight and 3" below the line of sight if you aim at the center of the pronghorn's chest broadside.

If you set your rifle at 2.3" high @ 100 yds., you should be around 1.9" at 200 yds. When you get out west, check your trajectory so you can fine tune it.

This ballistic information is an estimate due to overridding circumstances, but it is a very good estimate of what is going to happen to your bullet in flight. Go to www.norma.cc , and see how the program works.

Good luck on your pronghorn hunt!!

when I went in Sept I took my 243 and that sucker did the job just fine. while it was practicing I was shooting at the furthest 400yrds. If you cant' shoot him any closer than 300 don't take the shot. really. It's better to get one in one shot and right then, than to wound him.

I hunted New Mexico in 2001 for "goats". Practice as much as you can at long ranges, take good optics and a range finder! Good Luck and have fun...

Dont complain about your rifle...Im hunting them w/ bow on 8/21