New Mexico Antelope Hunt Recap/Antelope Rifle build

[cb4128]

After hunting with 2 of my buddies for years for antelope who religiously carry their 240 weatherbys, and my FIL swears by his for South Texas whitetails, I decided to put together one as well.

I wanted a semi-heavy setup that I could shoot suppressed, but also get the speed from the Weatherby case. I built a 300 win mag last year in a very similar setup and feel it's the perfect balance of weight and ease of carry for me - usually the gun without scope/rings weighs between 7.5lbs and 8lbs, depending on the stock fill and if I got an adjustable cheek piece.

A lot of our shots on Antelope are pretty quick, so having a heavier gun for more forgiving accuracy on quick shots, plus being able to spot your own shot through the scope in awkward shooting positions is a plus.

Full parts list included the following:

Defiance Tenacity Action
Bartlein 3B barrel with 1-7.5 twist (intend on shooting 105-115gr bergers) finished at 24"
Triggertech Special Trigger
McMillan Pinnacle Stock with Edge Fill (modified A3 Sporter stock made for McWhorter)
Hawkins Obernorf bdl bottom metal and internals

I live in North Texas and have had good luck with Alamo Precision Rifles in the past, so I used them for the build. I can also drive all my parts to them and it's done in 2-3 weeks every time.

Sure enough, 3 weeks after dropping off the parts, I picked up my assembled and cerakoted rifle and brought it home to set it up and mount the scope.

I decided to use my direct thread Deadair Titanium Suppressor as well, instead of a lighter weight option, to further increase the weight a bit. I finished the build off with my favorite hunting scope - Swarovski X5 3-18x50 with the 4wx MOA reticle and Hawkins rings.

I went with a spiral flute on the barrel that matched the twist on the bolt body of the action and think it turned out really cool looking. I also purchased stencils online and did the paint job at home on the stock with Brownells Alumahyde paint. I've used it before and it holds up pretty well if you let it cure for several days - especially if you leave it out in the 105* Texas heat! There's 3 colors of paint but the earth brown paint didn't come out as dark as I thought, so it's hard to see. I went with black, coyote and earth brown

I had H1000, IMR 7828 and H4831sc that I planned on using for this rifle but started with the H1000 and the 115gr bergers for initial break in and pressure test. More on that coming in the follow up post but attached is a picture of the setup.

 

[cb4128]

I was able to get 150 pieces of new Norma brass for this rifle and started with H1000 and the Berger 115gr VLD's. Below were my chrono results loaded at .040 off the lands, which appeared to be popular for this bullet from my research. I never found pressure but I was towards the top end and really wasn't getting the numbers that I was hoping for with that bullet...

50gr - 2,903 fps (clean barrel)
50.5gr - 2,836 fps
51.0gr - 2,883 fps
51.5gr - 2,894 fps
52.0gr - 2,920 fps
52.5gr - 2,956 fps

Next I tried the 90gr Swift Scirocco II bullet, based on feedback from a buddy raving on their performance in his 240wby. The hardest part here was trying to figure out where to seat the bullet in relation to the lands - as this chamber has too much freebore for this bullet to get anywhere near the lands. I went with the load data straight from my load manual at 3.100" COAL and used H4831sc as I have a good amount and it was towards the top end of the speed according to my manual as well. Chrono details below:

52.5gr - 3,195 fps
53.0gr - 3,194 fps
53.5gr - 3,227 fps
54.0gr - 3,280 fps
54.5gr - 3,313 fps
55.0gr - 3,388 fps
55.5gr - 3,404 fps

I decided to load up 55.3gr at several different lengths to accuracy test.

3.0980" COAL - horizontal stringing, about 3/4" at 100 yards
3.0950" COAL - only fired 2 shots, were 1.5" apart - all horizontal
3.0920" COAL - 2 touching, 1 a 1/4" high - a 1/2" group but still wasn't driving tacks like I really wanted

*I decided to use this as a backup load, in case I wouldn't have enough time to get another bullet dialed in before my New Mexico Antelope hunt.

My BIL with the same reamer had a really good load with the 105gr Berger VLD's. So, I opted to try those out as well with H1000, again at .040 off lands. Below were those chrono results:

54.5gr - 3,077 fps
55.0gr - 3,135 fps
55.5gr - 3,167 fps
56.0gr - 3,182 fps
56.5gr - 3,232 fps
57.0gr - 3,246 fps (started flattening primers)
57.5gr - 3,297 fps (increased extraction pressure - flattened primer)

I called the 57.5gr about max in this rifle, so backed off to the 55.5-56.0gr node and loaded up some to test at distance at .040 off.

 

[cb4128]

At this point, I was 3 days out from my antelope hunt, so I decided to bring my 6mm creedmoor as a backup, in case I wasn't comfortable with how the 240wby was shooting.

Every year on the way to New Mexico, a few of us go and stay at our ranch and shoot steel in different field positions to get ready for this hunt. We have steel animal targets from 250-800 yards and it is usually very close in temperature and elevation to where we actually hunt in New Mexico.

First, I shot my 90gr Scirocco load and went straight to 777 yards, which from this setup was our furthest shot distance. I had a good idea of the velocity and my dope at that distance, so when my first shot went about an moa high - I pretty much knew this load just wasn't going to cut it. I went ahead and fired 2 more and sure enough it was in about an 8" circle.

I let the barrel cool, spotted for my other buddies to get dialed in, then went back to the 240wby to test the 105gr vld load.

This load from my initial testing had the same point of impact as the Scirocco load, but 1 moa left. I dialed that into my windage turret and held about 3/4 minute of wind and shot a 3 shot group at 440 yards at a coyote target. Those 3 went into a 2" group in a nice triangle - which I was very excited to see!

I let the barrel cool, then went straight out to 777 yards to get my dope dialed in as far as we could shoot. My first shot went right over the top of the elk target. I took off 1 moa from my estimated dope and sent another round down range - DEAD CENTER. Heck ya, let's see if I can do that again...loaded up another round and it hit 1" higher than the previous round, almost the same splash in the steel. I had to go down to the target and take a picture since that is just about as good as I can shoot (attached).

Now I was confident in the 105gr vld load and shot several other in between distances to confirm my dope. Now all 3 of us were dialed in and ready to head out to New Mexico for our annual hunt.

 

[cb4128]

The hunt started out with the high chance of rain, but since none of us had ever actually hunted Pronghorn in New Mexico in the rain, we didn't think it would actually happen...Well we spent all day on opening day in rain gear and soaked to the bone with very few antelope buck opportunities.

One of our buddies connected in a break in the rain on his first antelope at 280 yards and we at least had some meat on ice. We were all exhausted but hopeful we could get a break in the weather on Sunday and make it happen for the whole group of 5 of us.

We hunted hard until about 1pm but only had 2 opportunities on bucks and 1 of the guys decided to take a legal buck before lunch so he could head home at a reasonable time. In the past 4 years, the latest we had hunted was 3pm on Saturday for all 5 of us to tag out, so this was definitely a tough hunt.

At this point, 2/5 of us had tagged out and both of those guys decided to head home to West Texas. I had spotted a huge buck on the neighbors property that gave me hope for the rest of the afternoon and decided to stay and hunt until dark.

We hunted the rest of the day and only saw does on the ranch we had permission to hunt. With about 15 minutes to hunt, we started cruising across the prairie to get to 1 last spot to check before dark and it happened. 2 does came over the rise being chased by a shooter buck. They all stopped to check us out and I got my opportunity at 454 yards and made it count. He was slightly quartering to us, so I aimed for the point of his front shoulder and sent it. I watched him go right down in the scope, like you turned off a light switch!

High fives, hugs and a few prayers were exclaimed and we drove over to the area where he saw him go down. Little did we know what we were about to walk up on...the biggest antelope I've personally ever seen on the ground. I had no idea he was so big, all I honestly saw in the scope was wide and he was a shooter. Frankly, I wouldn't have passed up any buck on the last day in the last 15 minutes of the hunt.

I couldn't be happier with the way the bullet and rifle combination performed on this hunt. It was one of the hardest, but most memorable hunts I have had in the last few years. Not to mention the meat will be fantastic as it was cool for this time of year, around 85* and we were able to get him cleaned up and on ice very quickly.

We all were so excited, we had to put a tape on his horns to get an idea of the score - we are not certified B&C scorers but we came up with a low 80's number! After getting home and taking him to the taxidermist, he was green scored at 82 2/8" - by far the biggest antelope I've ever shot and the largest our group has ever taken in 5 years on this ranch.

Thanks for following along this long read, and good luck to everyone else in the woods this fall!

 

[Rick Richard]

The hunt started out with the high chance of rain, but since none of us had ever actually hunted Pronghorn in New Mexico in the rain, we didn't think it would actually happen...Well we spent all day on opening day in rain gear and soaked to the bone with very few antelope buck opportunities.

One of our buddies connected in a break in the rain on his first antelope at 280 yards and we at least had some meat on ice. We were all exhausted but hopeful we could get a break in the weather on Sunday and make it happen for the whole group of 5 of us.

We hunted hard until about 1pm but only had 2 opportunities on bucks and 1 of the guys decided to take a legal buck before lunch so he could head home at a reasonable time. In the past 4 years, the latest we had hunted was 3pm on Saturday for all 5 of us to tag out, so this was definitely a tough hunt.

At this point, 2/5 of us had tagged out and both of those guys decided to head home to West Texas. I had spotted a huge buck on the neighbors property that gave me hope for the rest of the afternoon and decided to stay and hunt until dark.

We hunted the rest of the day and only saw does on the ranch we had permission to hunt. With about 15 minutes to hunt, we started cruising across the prairie to get to 1 last spot to check before dark and it happened. 2 does came over the rise being chased by a shooter buck. They all stopped to check us out and I got my opportunity at 454 yards and made it count. He was slightly quartering to us, so I aimed for the point of his front shoulder and sent it. I watched him go right down in the scope, like you turned off a light switch!

High fives, hugs and a few prayers were exclaimed and we drove over to the area where he saw him go down. Little did we know what we were about to walk up on...the biggest antelope I've personally ever seen on the ground. I had no idea he was so big, all I honestly saw in the scope was wide and he was a shooter. Frankly, I wouldn't have passed up any buck on the last day in the last 15 minutes of the hunt.

I couldn't be happier with the way the bullet and rifle combination performed on this hunt. It was one of the hardest, but most memorable hunts I have had in the last few years. Not to mention the meat will be fantastic as it was cool for this time of year, around 85* and we were able to get him cleaned up and on ice very quickly.

We all were so excited, we had to put a tape on his horns to get an idea of the score - we are not certified B&C scorers but we came up with a low 80's number! After getting home and taking him to the taxidermist, he was green scored at 82 2/8" - by far the biggest antelope I've ever shot and the largest our group has ever taken in 5 years on this ranch.

Thanks for following along this long read, and good luck to everyone else in the woods this fall!

Nice lope

 

[Bob Wright]

Way to go! A very nice pronghorn!

 

[Wedgy]

Very nice !! And great looking gun also

 

[lancetkenyon]

Great buck! I love NM pronghorn hunting.

 

[Homebrewer]

Outstanding. That is a shooter for certain.
Great write up of your hunt too.

 

[KsKevin]

Nice goat and loved the whole story. Thank you for sharing with us.

 

[Boatmanxxx]

After hunting with 2 of my buddies for years for antelope who religiously carry their 240 weatherbys, and my FIL swears by his for South Texas whitetails, I decided to put together one as well.

I wanted a semi-heavy setup that I could shoot suppressed, but also get the speed from the Weatherby case. I built a 300 win mag last year in a very similar setup and feel it's the perfect balance of weight and ease of carry for me - usually the gun without scope/rings weighs between 7.5lbs and 8lbs, depending on the stock fill and if I got an adjustable cheek piece.

A lot of our shots on Antelope are pretty quick, so having a heavier gun for more forgiving accuracy on quick shots, plus being able to spot your own shot through the scope in awkward shooting positions is a plus.

Full parts list included the following:

Defiance Tenacity Action
Bartlein 3B barrel with 1-7.5 twist (intend on shooting 105-115gr bergers) finished at 24"
Triggertech Special Trigger
McMillan Pinnacle Stock with Edge Fill (modified A3 Sporter stock made for McWhorter)
Hawkins Obernorf bdl bottom metal and internals

I live in North Texas and have had good luck with Alamo Precision Rifles in the past, so I used them for the build. I can also drive all my parts to them and it's done in 2-3 weeks every time.

Sure enough, 3 weeks after dropping off the parts, I picked up my assembled and cerakoted rifle and brought it home to set it up and mount the scope.

I decided to use my direct thread Deadair Titanium Suppressor as well, instead of a lighter weight option, to further increase the weight a bit. I finished the build off with my favorite hunting scope - Swarovski X5 3-18x50 with the 4wx MOA reticle and Hawkins rings.

I went with a spiral flute on the barrel that matched the twist on the bolt body of the action and think it turned out really cool looking. I also purchased stencils online and did the paint job at home on the stock with Brownells Alumahyde paint. I've used it before and it holds up pretty well if you let it cure for several days - especially if you leave it out in the 105* Texas heat! There's 3 colors of paint but the earth brown paint didn't come out as dark as I thought, so it's hard to see. I went with black, coyote and earth brown

I had H1000, IMR 7828 and H4831sc that I planned on using for this rifle but started with the H1000 and the 115gr bergers for initial break in and pressure test. More on that coming in the follow up post but attached is a picture of the setup.

I'm Digg'n that paint job!

 

[Boatmanxxx]

Wow, good for you! Nice goat!

 

[JuddL]

Great write up, really enjoyed it and congrats on your stud of a speed goat!

 

[JRS3]

Epic stuff. I totally dig the rifle. A .240 WBY is on my bucket list and your build is fantastic.