Antelope rifle recommendation

I have hunted Wym goats for several years and have used all the rifles you have listed and others. Of the rifles, the 260, 6.5 Creed and 6 Creed work extremely well. Very low recoil and have the ability to reach way out. This year I even used a 6 BR with 10-15 mph full value winds, no issues on taking goats past 500 yds. My favorite choice is the 6 Creed, very similar to the 243 win.

Not disagreeing with you FEENIX. Seems like there is always some inconsistencies in how these bullets react depending on a variety of variables. I attached a picture of the wound channel. The shot was high in the shoulder just a shade over 450 yards.

CLP said:

Not disagreeing with you FEENIX. Seems like there is always some inconsistencies in how these bullets react depending on a variety of variables. I attached a picture of the wound channel. The shot was high in the shoulder just a shade over 450 yards.

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Holy crap that's huge hole. I too am not disagreeing with you, I just never experienced it. Broken two ribs exit wound is the worst I have done with Berger does far. I normally go for a heart/double lung shot ...



... approximately 7-9 o'clock area.


This WT does was taken with 175 Matrix VLD out my .270 AI. It was heart shot but nearly field dressed it.


The same .270 AI load harvested this doe, shot on the front chest area, no problem.

Bring 2 rifles of your choice. Hunt with 1 one day and another the next day.
Antelope are small and easy to kill with a good shot.
Or if you plan on spotting from a vehicle, use the 6,5x284 for long shots and the 243 for anything under 4-500 yards.

WyoHunter1 said:

Bring 2 rifles of your choice. Hunt with 1 one day and another the next day.
Antelope are small and easy to kill with a good shot.
Or if you plan on spotting from a vehicle, use the 6,5x284 for long shots and the 243 for anything under 4-500 yards.

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Yep, that's an excellent point. Even though I am less an hour away from home, I always have a back up rifle in my truck.

FEENIX said:

Yep, that's an excellent point. Even though I am less an hour away from home, I always have a back up rifle in my truck.

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Totally agree!

Here is a 7 WSM hit at 135 yds using an Amax and the 2nd hit is 435yds with a 260, using an Amax. Both in Wym.

We've used a lot of different guns! shoot what your conferrable behind. Heres my wife with a 25-06 christenson arms

I wrote a story for Longrangehunting.com called "September's Sabbatical" (Page 14 of the article section on this website.) that was about my buddy, Skinner, his grandson, along with my son and I hunting Wyoming antelope in 2015.

On that trip Skinner carried a 25-06, his grandson used a .243 shooting 75 grain Hornadys, my son used a 243 shooting 100 grain Partitions and my 260 Thompson Encore was loaded with Remington 140 Corelocts. They all worked fine.

Skinner made the longest shot with his 25-06, but that was under 200 yards. His grandson ambushed a group on their morning migration and got a double at under 80 yards. My son and I made like coyotes on our hands and knees and crawled within 60 yards of all four that we shot.

The trick with the crawling thing, we discovered, was to never go directly towards them. Zigzag through the sage, and go slow. In each case the herd watched us come the entire time, but we never made any quick moves. They just watched. Seemed they were fatalistic about it . . .

My vast experience with Antelope is 2, but if I were to pick... 6.5-284 with 140s of some type. I shot my last one with a 6.5-284–the one in the pic.. and a 25-06 with my first...both did the job!

As mentioned about sneaking and crawling. I will help if you wear some plastic knee pads like motorcycle pads or soccer pads and some something for your forearms.
I have never worn any but every year during and after hunting I wish that I had.
You can spend the next year picking cactus out of your knees and wrist if you don't.
Ask me how I know.

Having hunted Wyoming antelope at at long range for several years, my favorite rifle is a 6.5x284 Cooper loaded with 140/142g bullets,,...furthest distance on a doe antelope, 1188yards, DRT.

WyoHunter1 said:

As mentioned about sneaking and crawling. I will help if you wear some plastic knee pads like motorcycle pads or soccer pads and some something for your forearms.
I have never worn any but every year during and after hunting I wish that I had.
You can spend the next year picking cactus out of your knees and wrist if you don't.
Ask me how I know.

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This is so true! The first sneak we did I put on construction worker knee pads which worked very well, but forgot the gloves. Grrr!

Without the gloves I quickly found a couple of rocks a little bigger than my fists to use in keeping my hands off the ground. They worked very well. This was also something that slowed our progress and kept the antelope from being spooked.

We did not have rifle slings attached to our rifles, so picking them up and carefully advancing them, while letting go of a rock to do so slows forward progress a lot.

The critters were there looking at us each time we looked up. They were there when we go to our shooting position, too!

WyoHunter1 said:

Bring 2 rifles of your choice. Hunt with 1 one day and another the next day.
Antelope are small and easy to kill with a good shot.
Or if you plan on spotting from a vehicle, use the 6,5x284 for long shots and the 243 for anything under 4-500 yards.

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Almost exactly what I'm thinking. 260/6.5-284 for beyond 500 and the 243 for up too. Alot will depend on wind. No plan on shooting from a vehicle rather from a bipod possibly close to one.