Purpose built Pronghorn rifle

[Hornhunter32]

OK, U twisted my arm,the KID

What does it weigh? What barrel contour? Nate Dagley is building a 300 Norma Imp. for me.

 

[sp6x6]

7.2 oz,ABS Wrap medium,would have to measure,not as many choices typical in wrap.Bare rifle

 

[mcseal2]

For a lighter weight stalking gun I'd go with a 6mm or 6mm AI with 105gr A-max or Berger VLD hunting

OR

A 264WM with a good high BC 130 or 140gr bullet it likes. That's what I will be taking west this fall, my girlfriend will be shooting my 6mm. I haven't found a load that shoots well with the 140gr Berger after lots of experimenting with powders and seating depth but it shoots 140gr accubonds really well so that is what my turret is built for. I love the terminal performance of them on muleys and whitetail so I'm sure they will work fine on goats also.

 

[redneckclimbing]

Just my opinion-7mm SAUM AI on a long action (room for seating depth), some of you 6.5 guys run the numbers on a 180gr. Berger doing 3000+ fps and you will really be impressed with the wind numbers, not to mention the elevation.Better barrel life that all of the 6 and 6.5 magnums mentioned, and in a pinch you can still shoot factory ammo.I almost built this my self but really wanted something that fit in a short action, so I went in a little bit different direction. I have a buddy that is planning on this as soon as his 7 RUM barrel is gone.Like someone said earlier, "shooting in the wind is all about experience and you don't want to have to set back the shoulder just as soon as you are getting your gun figured out."

 

[MachV]

The 264WM wouldmake a good rigg or just put a 7WSM barrel on the Savage
Whatever you put together get it out in the wind as much as posible to practice with it!!
I've built and bought a couple of goat guns but end up prefering my old M77 Ruger in 7 Mag......Its light enough to haul around all day and back with a goat in the backpack and after 25 years it just plain getserdone.

 

[Nimrod]

The 264WM wouldmake a good rigg or just put a 7WSM barrel on the Savage
Whatever you put together get it out in the wind as much as posible to practice with it!!
I've built and bought a couple of goat guns but end up prefering my old M77 Ruger in 7 Mag......Its light enough to haul around all day and back with a goat in the backpack and after 25 years it just plain getserdone.

I have been getting some pretty fair results with the .300WSM and the 180 Nosler BT, been keeping my eyes open for a 7mm WSM barrel too. At just under 8 1/2 lbs. I should be able to carry the Savage a ways. I have a brand new shiny 7mm Mashburn reamer sitting here, I'm waiting on a set of dies and will have one of those up and running. I haven't been having real good luck with the 7mm RM accuracy wise, once I get the velocity up the groups expand a bit much for my liking.

I will have a .264 WM in the near future, just can't decide on a barrel contour/length yet.

Bob

 

[Elkhunter1983]

Looks like you have plenty of advise on here on what rifle to build. Pretty much all of the suggestions on here are enough gun and then some for antelope. I have hunted antelope for a long time and have guided a few hunts as well. I have seen everything from 243's to 300's take down antelope in the same amount of time. Just depends where you hit them. It all depends upon what you prefer and your method of hunting. If you are going to get out on foot all day long, you might go with a lighter route. If you are hunting and glassing out of the pickup, you might consider a heavier rifle.

I would be careful of the mag rifles on the chance you get a closer shot, antelope are very soft tissued creatures. I have seen some mag's blow through an antelope without enough ample tissue to expand enough for a quick kill.

2 years ago, I killed an 82" buck from 300 yds. Last year I took a hunter out in the same area and he killed an 80" buck from 550 and all of this was done with the old fashioned 30-06. The bergers both made it all the way through with lots of damage on the exit wounds. Both bucks were killed with some very stiff winds. Just depends upon where you hit them.

The gun that seems to be the most popular between me and my group of hunters for antelope is probably the 25-06 but that doesn't make it the best antelope gun by any means but its something we prefer because of the success we have had with it over the years. So whatever you are comfortable with will work for goats.

 

[Nimrod]

The gun that seems to be the most popular between me and my group of hunters for antelope is probably the 25-06 but that doesn't make it the best antelope gun by any means but its something we prefer because of the success we have had with it over the years. So whatever you are comfortable with will work for goats.

Haven't thought about this thread in a while, but it's funny you should mention the .25/06, I think that's the gun that will be making the ride to Wyoming this year. I have a good load worked up with the 115 grain Nosler BT. I'm still working on the purpose built rifle but I am just not there yet. I started playing with the .25/06 to have something to shoot while I was piddling with the other stuff and the more I shot it the better I liked it. It won't have the range of the big 7s but I'm not confident enough to take advantage of the extra horsepower yet anyway.

Bob

 

[Southwind]

Here's mine - 27" 8 twist fluted Lilja, Holland lug, Greybull Precision stock. 140 grain vld's and h1000 just over 3100 fps.

What contour is that?

 

[Hawkeye Pierce]

I like the 7mm short magnums, but I don't know if you would need the extra power to get one down. Im having a .260 terminator built this spring for goats and others. Its a hard choice, but that's what is great about it we have choices.

 

[Greyfox]

My goat rifle is also my mule deer, and whitetail LR rifle. It has served me very well for over eight seasons with a few dozen antelope and as many whitetail and mule deer taken as far as 1200(antelope) yards. At 10.5 pounds(with scope), it carries well, but is also stable enough for the long technical shots. It's a 6.5x284 pushing 140 High BC bullets at 3000FPS. This power range is more then sufficient for antelope and you future range requirements. Light recoil will enable spotting hits. Given your actions and budget, I'd go with a 6.5, either 6.5x284/6.5PRC/264WM. For barrel, 26" heavy sporter or a bit heavier. .75-.8".

 

[lancetkenyon]

7.5 years after the start of this thread, there are so many more offerings in both cartridges and bullets to specifically pursue pronghorn.

I just built a fast twist 25SST to push the 131s @ 3230fps for pronghorn next fall. Should hammer the speedgoats. Also building a 6.5SS w. 20" 1:7.5" for the 144 Hyb or 150 SMKs to use with a suppressor. Taylor and I should be set next August.

 

[MachV]

In 2012 I still used the old Ruger in 7mag
Since then a tikka 6.5 sweede and cz527 6.5 Grendel have been used. Not really any better or worse results....they just beat me up less ;-)

 

[JMW67]

OK fellow antelope enthusiasts, help me build a rifle just for pronghorns. I have a couple of stipulations but after that pretty much anything goes. The stipulations are, it must use either a 700 Remington, M70 Winchester or Ruger #1 action, between .25 and .30 caliber (inclusive) and it must fit in a Pelican/Storm 3300 case (max length about 48"). Other than that I'm pretty much open, lets say a budget of $1000.00 for the parts not including a scope or mounts. I already have the actions listed and scopes/mounts. I will most likely do the work myself as time permits. I am currently working with a 7MM Remington Magnum and a 7MM Ultra Mag but am open to pretty much any standard or wildcat cartridge.

What would you pick and why?

Bob

take a look at necking down the 270 weatherby mag to 6.5 with the berger 156 should make a cool rifle roy should have done it years ago