6.5 PRC as a ELR antelope cartridge?

[codyadams]

As they say in court, "Asked and answered" (by IronHorsePilot)
Thanks. A picture truly IS worth a thousand words!

Eric B.

My only issue is that I used the 147 to take 12 or 13 animals from antelope to elk, and the bullet failed in 3 of those cases, I learned the hard way and nearly lost an elk. For a bullet to be deemed a good hunting bullet, it doesn't have to just kill something, an FMJ could create an exit like that if placed through bone or if it wasn't very stable, but it needs to do it consistently. I see 1 caribou killed with acceptable performance. Excellent!! I saw 1 elk killed with acceptable performance on another thread with the 135. Awesome!! Show me 15-20 more without a bullet failure, and I will get excited for sure.

 

[KyCarl]

I always thought my 6.5 X 248 would be great? So a 6.5 PRC should work just
about the same?

 

[Mram10us]

My 74 year old buddy used a 6.5x47 with great results. Prc is fine

 

[BrentM]

I always thought my 6.5 X 248 would be great? So a 6.5 PRC should work just
about the same?

Yeah same basic performance. The prc is slightly faster but close. I have both. Still playing with the prc load development tho.

 

[IronHorsePilot]

My only issue is that I used the 147 to take 12 or 13 animals from antelope to elk, and the bullet failed in 3 of those cases, I learned the hard way and nearly lost an elk. For a bullet to be deemed a good hunting bullet, it doesn't have to just kill something, an FMJ could create an exit like that if placed through bone or if it wasn't very stable, but it needs to do it consistently. I see 1 caribou killed with acceptable performance. Excellent!! I saw 1 elk killed with acceptable performance on another thread with the 135. Awesome!! Show me 15-20 more without a bullet failure, and I will get excited for sure.

No matter what bullet is used I'm sure there are potentials for failure. I can't think of a single bullet that has a guaranteed result in finding the animal. Shot placement is everything and being within your comfort zone. For me, being a PRS competitor and having the equipment I have, custom-built rifle, kestrel, high-end optic, etc, it would not bother me a bit to take a 1000 yard shot with my PRC on an antelope. Even farther for a bigger animal. Its what I do almost every weekend and half the time through the week. I am comfortable in my shooting and know my abilities.

Had a guy a the range the other day sighting in his rifle. Basic Remington 700 7Mag. I struck up a conversation about that being slightly overkill for the upcoming deer season here in MO. He says no, Im going on an elk hunt out in CO later in the year. He was saying that he's 2" high at 100 so he should be dead on at 200 and about 3" low at 300. I asked where he got this info and he said it's on the back of the box of ammo. I asked if he's verified any of this other than shooting 100 or 200 yards. He says no. This is a recipe for a lost animal. His plan is to just "estimate" his holdover or the Ol' Kentucky windage and hope for the best. This is not ethical hunting in my opinion. I offered to help him verify his data through one of the numerous ballistic apps I have and he politely declined. Oh well!.

Sorry for the long rant but there's not a bullet out there that will guarantee you find the animal. There's another thread I started reading about larger calibers making up for poor shot placement. There's some interesting reading on the opinions on that subject!

 

[KyCarl]

I have never shot an Antelope. But I have taken plenty of Whitetails most with a 25-06?
How do Antelope compare with a 200# Kentucky 8 point "hardiness" wise?
That 25-06 might work fine?

 

[BrentM]

Iron horse makes a good point. I've killed 7 wolves and numerous yotes with the 147 eld and had excellent results from 50-1000 yards. Being a smaller and thin skinned animals the potential for poor expansion is high. I've been impressed with the results and would imagine the affect on larger game would be good. Few pass through and all been fur friendly. Oddly 2 deer shot with the 140 vld hunting at 400 out of that rifle were pass through.

 

[codyadams]

No matter what bullet is used I'm sure there are potentials for failure. I can't think of a single bullet that has a guaranteed result in finding the animal. Shot placement is everything and being within your comfort zone. For me, being a PRS competitor and having the equipment I have, custom-built rifle, kestrel, high-end optic, etc, it would not bother me a bit to take a 1000 yard shot with my PRC on an antelope. Even farther for a bigger animal. Its what I do almost every weekend and half the time through the week. I am comfortable in my shooting and know my abilities.

Had a guy a the range the other day sighting in his rifle. Basic Remington 700 7Mag. I struck up a conversation about that being slightly overkill for the upcoming deer season here in MO. He says no, Im going on an elk hunt out in CO later in the year. He was saying that he's 2" high at 100 so he should be dead on at 200 and about 3" low at 300. I asked where he got this info and he said it's on the back of the box of ammo. I asked if he's verified any of this other than shooting 100 or 200 yards. He says no. This is a recipe for a lost animal. His plan is to just "estimate" his holdover or the Ol' Kentucky windage and hope for the best. This is not *Rule 1 Violation*al hunting in my opinion. I offered to help him verify his data through one of the numerous ballistic apps I have and he politely declined. Oh well!.

Sorry for the long rant but there's not a bullet out there that will guarantee you find the animal. There's another thread I started reading about larger calibers making up for poor shot placement. There's some interesting reading on the opinions on that subject!

I find the majority of poor performance is often shooter related, as you stated with the example of the 7 mag shooter.

There is no such thing as a bullet that always performs perfectly, but there are many that consistently perform better than others. I prefer Berger performance myself, but it's very seldom I shoot animals less than 300-400 yards, average range over 40+ animals with one of my rifles is over 600 yards. If my average range was somewhere under 300 yards, I would likely not be as happy with the bergers, and would look more towards bonded bullets or a mono.

 

[Greyfox]

I have never shot an Antelope. But I have taken plenty of Whitetails most with a 25-06?
How do Antelope compare with a 200# Kentucky 8 point "hardiness" wise?
That 25-06 might work fine?

Have shot both to ranges of 1000 yards and find them to be comparable in terms of "hardiness" and how they succumb to a well placed, expanding bullet.....even considering the difference in typical weight. Keep in mind that the heart/vessels of an antelope is tucked low and farther forward in the chest compared to the whitetails location. IMO, this factor may even up the weight difference.