Trying to get ready for the hunt i won.
What caliber would you pick

25.06
243
220 swift

25-06

243

Ok y?

Also have .308

.257 Weatherby

Zim

.243. Light. Easy to find ammo. Antelope are made of glass. Easyish to find ammo if you dont reload. And its not hard to get in relative close distance if you try hard enough.

243. You put it in the boiler room you don't need a big gun. The fun is sneeking up on them to get under 250 yards.

This

25 -06 or 308 either one. everyplace I ever been where there were antelope it gets windy. easier to shoot with wind with those two. 308 can shoot a heavier bullet and 25 06 is fast. 220 swift is fast but light bullets blow around so easy

any of them will work just fine in the hands of a capable hunter and shooter

25-06

Ill ask but doubt i could find one buy, but i did need a new rifle

it would definitely be between the 25-06 and the 243 90+gr bullet

after that it would come down to the rifles themselves

yes 25-06 will give you a little more power

but what kind of hunt is it , if you have to carry that rifle many miles and the 25-06 is a bull barrel beast and the 243 is med or light couture I am more likely to take the 243

if the rifles were same and had the same optic the only difference was long action vs short action .257 vs .243 then the nod would go to the 25-06 and the next thing I would be doing is figuring out if I zero at 200 what does 100 look like , I might be able to run a 225 or 250 yard zero if it isn't more than 2 inches high at 100. then how far can I stretch it , can I get 300 , 350 , 400 and what are my hold overs

what is my range with wind
time to go shooting in the wind and see what my actual effective range is given conditions learn what it shoots like in the wind.

375 R.U.M.

prairie dogs to elephants. kills em all door nail dead

Ok green
2506 bdl heavy contour old redfeild 3x9
243 model 70 same scope
220 swift ruger red pad light barrel even oldee scope
308 short barrel ruger 3x9 Leopold
Only 2 weeends till the hunt and not much time to hit the range all shoot 1 inch high at 100 yards

dont you have a go to rifle????????????????????????????????????? with no time left use that one

Ya 2 different 300 win mags lol and ars

they would work.

That they would but the issue there is only have 2 boxes of ammo that its sited in for and they are going on a desert sheep hunt. And that ammo isn't available

Kinda thought it would be fun to go old school and back to the 80s

300 win is a great caliber. My Rem 700 has over 30 animals under its belt everything from bull elk, to Axis to black buck antelope. Still has the Simmons Aetec I bought with it in 1998 when I had No money. Great gun

I can't imaging a antelope hunt that doesn't involved a bunch of walking
I am a sucker for a 308 , make is reasonable to carry and good optic bonus

the 243 as a second choice , depending on how the redfield is and the barrel contour it could go first

I like Danny have a Go To do most anything Rifle it is a 308 with a 2-7 vortex , it is always ready to walk out the door with 15 rounds and sighted in for 200 yards I keep another 50 or so rounds loaded for it with components to for more.

No particular reason . First gun was a 243 .

I run a model 70 .270 now on all 3 , antelope , deer , elk .

What ever you choose I'm sure the antelope won't care ......lol

I'm no expert but I run my .270 at 2-1/2 " high at 100yrds so my 0-300 range is a no adjust .


Your caliber and ammo May differ of course


Good luck on your hunt , sounds like a blast and no better wild game than antelope IMO

I’ve killed many antelope with the 3 listed. They are all adequate. The 220 is probably my favorite of the 3 listed. Flat shooting and very fast.

I have all 3 rifles and have shot goats with both the swift and .243.

If you do your part the .243 will do you proud.

WS

I have hunted them one time and used a .243. Had no problems with that caliber.

.25-06 is what I'd take. It gives you more killing range than the others.

The .243 should work, but will limit your range.

The Swift is unsuitable for big game, imho. It's a varmint/furbearer round.

Now I'll duck.

Jim

Shot them with .270, .243, and Muzzle loaders. If you want the hunt to last a while, I'd take the latter. and a .243 for backup.

I kinda agree with you and if this unit didn't have the potential to produce a really good lope id take the 220 and shoot a really well made bullet inside of 200 yards at a nice meat buck.
Leaning towards the 2506 if i can find some more ammo

264 win mag.

I've shot lopes with 6mm. Rem., .243 Win. And my favorite now 7mm Rem mag 130gr bonded bullets. They float and no meat damage with bonded light fast bullets.

I used a 308, but any of those rifles should do you just fine. The goats are not that big and tough, and they go down easy. Good luck in your hunt

I've taken 2 with a 6mm Rem, one at 500 yds and one at just over 400. Used 100 gr Sierra Gamekings. The bullet/cartridge combo was very effective and the .243 is a ballistic twin to the 6mm so would be a good choice. As James said, the .25-06 will give a bit more range so is a good choice too. Other things being equal, whichever rifle is easier to carry is what I would choose. I don't think the Swift is a good choice because it won't buck the wind as well and has a higher risk of losing an animal with a less than perfect shot, plus less effective range.

.223 and 22-250 is a common round out here the bigger rounds can do more damage then needed.

Think ill replace the scope on the 2506 if there is some ammo available or i find a new rifle when I go to town today.. whish i would have found out I won this tag last Friday as there was a gun show in town to go try to find a new rifle last weekend.

Just found a pre 64 model 70 in .270 so i think i found my new rifle if its in good condition

Load some 100 grain Nosler Partition bullets for your .243 Antelope meat is great. Shoot them in the lungs. Minimal damage. You can eat meat right up to the entrance and exit wounds.

I've never hunted Antelope ,having said that I've got a .257 Roberts that I've used on whitetail that Id bet would make a dandy Antelope round.

I shot goats with a 25 06 and my 22 250 they all ended up In the freezer.

I've been on exactly 1 antelope hunt, with a grand total of 1 antelope taken, I used a 243 with 100 gr. corelokts, 2 1/2" high at 100 yds with a 6x fixed scope... 330 yards, antelope was dead before it hit the ground....So If anyone was to ask, yeah, a 243 is great!, lol

My buddy used a 7mm mag and made a mess of things, had to follow the poor thing a mile and I think it finally dropped by exhaustion...In his hands the 7mm was a terrible choice...

Any reasonable caliber would work, trajectory is easy, its the wind doping that makes things interesting.

Thats the sum of my extensive goat hunting experience....

That pre-64 M70 in .270 will be a fine rifle for lots of game, including antelope.

If he calls back

270 or 30-06 idk lol

Just got back from a pawn shop tour found a couple rugers 6mm and 243 a browning abolt in 270 and a new Remington 22250.

I’d like to have that Ruger 6mm wrangler!

It was tang safety and red pad

Sounds like a good one!

Yep

Yep

Antelope are to hunting, what bluegills are to fishing.


It's a rare centerfire that won't work well.


The 6BR is surgical.

25-06 with 100 grain Nosler ballistic tip hunting bullet. Not the ballistic tip varmint bullet.
Kills like struck by lightning!!!!! Perfect antelope and deer medicine on the prairie and in the hills.

2506 with 115 grain Winchester power points is taking the trip. Vortex 6x20x50 diamond back scope

That is how I was shown to place shots on our small Sitka Blacktails.

I am taking my 25/06 to Wyoming in October. Didn’t draw a pronghorn tag, but got a mule deer carcass coupon. I had already selected the caliber to use on both.

Longbow, but that’s just me!

This is what you need..

There you go: a nice Number One.

Jim

Any of them will work. 220 Swift may be light for most big game, but antelope are fragile, more like shooting varmints that big game. If you use it I would go with a heavier, longer bullet (if it has the rifling to stabilize it) to help buck the wind, and not of the fragmenting type. But honestly a 22 mag would work great if legal, even 22 long rifle if you could get close, so about anything you pick up will kill them, just what you can shoot the best in the conditions is what I would choose.

Note, all my antelope hunting has been with a bow, so my opinions are from secondhand experience, I've not shot one myself with a rifle although I have seen others do so.

That how i normally hunt them last one was 4 years ago, there is a 3 year waiting period here in Nevada after you draw a tag. I won this one so it won't effect my points and draw. But bowhunting them is why i dont have an antelope rifle set up.

I do now tho 25.05 Bdl the 6-20 x 50 vortex shooting 115 grain Winchester power point mostly because thats the only ammo there was lol

Thats the way to hunt them.

I'd use a .284 Winchester ha ha sorry I just had to . Either the .25-06 , .270 will do a great job on antelope the .220 swift would do well also whatever you are comfortable shooting .
Back when I guided deer and antelope hunters the clients had to first shoot a 5 shot group at 100 yards then hit the gong at 400 yards .
The .257 Roberts was mentioned that and even the .243 or .6 mm are good choices as well it boils down to which your most comfortable shooting .

Have fun and a good spotting scope and pair of binoculars are just as important .
Allan

I cant help but wonder what you did about clients that couldn't pass your shooting test?

good read thanks guys