Caliber for Pronghorn....

[grouse]

QUOTE:
"In October 2017, U.S. Special Operations Command tested the performance of the 7.62x51 NATO, .260 Remington, and 6.5 CM cartridges out of SR25, M110A1, and Mk20 sniper rifles. SOCOM determined that the 6.5CM performed the best, doubling hit probability at 1,000 meters (italics mine) increasing effective range by nearly half, reducing wind drift by a third and having less recoil than the 7.62 NATO rounds…"

6.5 Creedmoor vs. .308 Winchester | Field & Stream

Both the .308 Winchester and the 6.5 Creedmoor offer all-around performance for a variety of hunting and shooting applications, but there can be only one winner. Petzal weighs in and compares these two cartridges for accuracy, recoil, and effectiveness on

www.fieldandstream.com

The w
260 and 6.5 are virtually identical. Would love to see the article

 

[Maol]

Put up a white flag they will notice and stay hidden and quiet, those prong horns are curious and will come to investigate. Any center fire will do but I prefer a .270. Old cowboy trick..

Yep

 

[HRM Johnny]

Or better by far, use this as an excuse to"need" another gun and get a 257 weatherby or .25-06 .

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[HRM Johnny]

@lancetkenyon, I really enjoyed the pictures. Thanks for the post; and thanks for the pictures.

 

[Loonsrcool]

The stars aligned, I drew a antelope tag in unit 33 in New Mexico. As this units west boundary is maybe 10 miles from where I live, I know the area well. Hunt coyotes in an area that has a good population of animals, so that is where I'll start. Shots could go from 200- 800 yards so caliber choice is wide open. I have in Savage custom bbl's a 6XC, 6.5X284, a Browning A bolt in 7mag, Custom Rem 700 in 300 RUM, and a Savage long range hunter in 6.5 Creed, as well as a AR 10 custom in 6.5Creed. I wouldn't consider any of them if they weren't capable of sub 1" 100 yd groups, and have shot all of them to 500 meters....trying to balance out bullet weight/energy of each choice for shots that might reach 5-6 hundred yards....I shoot competition out to 500 meters twice a month, so I am practiced at 200,3,4,and 500 meters (547 yards). Any input would be great...rsbhunter

I have hunted pronghorns in Montana for many years. Most often I used a 25-06 Ackley. Given the options in your posession, without hesitation I would choose the 6.5-284. My father used that caliber for many years successfully on pronghorn, deer, and elk. Good luck on your hunt!

 

[Wild_Bill]

The 6XC wears a Zeiss conquest (old model) 6.5-20 with a custom calibrated elevation dial.....the 6.5x284 will be wearing a Sightron SIII 10-50 Moa with dial turrets. The only reason I almost jokingly mentioned the 300 RUM is that with Berger Hunting VLD's at 3150 fps, it shoots INCREDIBLE !!! I have 2 Savage Model 12 target actions with a custom 28" Krieger and one with a 26" Patriot Valley Arms bbl in 6mm Norma Dasher that won't shoot as tight at 500 yds as the RUM does....picture below, was from a couple years ago, but had 2 groups at different times that shot under .750 at 500 yards...second group I took it out, shot only one 3 shot group, and it was .750.....rsbhunter

You just answered your own question. If that shoots the tightest for you use the 300

 

[Hoss50]

338 lapua...

Not really. 257 weatherby

 

[Short Case]

I've been reading these post over and over trying to make up my mind on what I should build
for a Pronghorn-White Tail rifle. I started thinking 6.5/270 wsm with 156 Burger bullet, but that's just to much bullet, I think I'm going to build a 6mm sst with 125 g. Matrix, the 125 is a 1.402 long bullet it has a .687 Base to Ogive and a longer nose than the Berger. I think I can get around
3200 fps out this setup which should be a flat shooting round.

 

[Salmonhead]

As others have said, any one of those rifles will do the job well on an antelope. I would choose which ever rifle you shoot the best at the furthest distance you plan on shooting. We have shot antelope from 40 to 650 yards and have killed them with rifles from .223 rem through 338 RUM. Any 6.5 or 7mm is a well rounded choice, but your ability to shoot a particular rifle is way more important than the headstamp.

 

[436]

Agree... they are not hard to kill, just hard to hit, shoot what you hunt with well.

 

[OldHunter59]

The stars aligned, I drew a antelope tag in unit 33 in New Mexico. As this units west boundary is maybe 10 miles from where I live, I know the area well. Hunt coyotes in an area that has a good population of animals, so that is where I'll start. Shots could go from 200- 800 yards so caliber choice is wide open. I have in Savage custom bbl's a 6XC, 6.5X284, a Browning A bolt in 7mag, Custom Rem 700 in 300 RUM, and a Savage long range hunter in 6.5 Creed, as well as a AR 10 custom in 6.5Creed. I wouldn't consider any of them if they weren't capable of sub 1" 100 yd groups, and have shot all of them to 500 meters....trying to balance out bullet weight/energy of each choice for shots that might reach 5-6 hundred yards....I shoot competition out to 500 meters twice a month, so I am practiced at 200,3,4,and 500 meters (547 yards). Any input would be great...rsbhunter

Go with the 6xc or 6.5x284. The 6.5 Creedmoor is similar to 308 in that it is only efficient to about 3-400 yards for hunting. I shoot 700-1000 yards weekly with two different rifles in 6.5 prc with 124 or 130 grain bullets, both have great bc and will take antelope to 1000 yards easily. I hunt antelope yearly (I love the taste of the meat). Last year I harvested one at 646 yards, one shot, with 6.5 prc 124 grain lead free.

 

[dogz]

Get That thing quartered and on ice ASAP.

THIS!

 

[Deleted member 118518]

The stars aligned, I drew a antelope tag in unit 33 in New Mexico. As this units west boundary is maybe 10 miles from where I live, I know the area well. Hunt coyotes in an area that has a good population of animals, so that is where I'll start. Shots could go from 200- 800 yards so caliber choice is wide open. I have in Savage custom bbl's a 6XC, 6.5X284, a Browning A bolt in 7mag, Custom Rem 700 in 300 RUM, and a Savage long range hunter in 6.5 Creed, as well as a AR 10 custom in 6.5Creed. I wouldn't consider any of them if they weren't capable of sub 1" 100 yd groups, and have shot all of them to 500 meters....trying to balance out bullet weight/energy of each choice for shots that might reach 5-6 hundred yards....I shoot competition out to 500 meters twice a month, so I am practiced at 200,3,4,and 500 meters (547 yards). Any input would be great...rsbhunter

6.5X284

 

[antelopedundee]

.25-06 .25-284 6.5.06 or 6.5-06AI would be my choices. Every goat I've ever taken has been with a 6.5-06 or 6.5-06AI.