Steyr + Quigley/Ford + Berger = One Antelope Buck

[ADMIN]

The idea for this hunt started almost two years ago. A fellow retired police sergeant, Frank Miller, got interested in long range shooting especially when the Best of the West Shooting Range opened not far from his ranch. We started talking antelope hunting since he had already taken an antelope in New Mexico and Wyoming a few years back. He purchased a new Savage LRH in .260 Rem. for the possibility of a hunt. One day I was thumbing through the "Safari Times" and ran across an advertisement that got my eye. It was in prime antelope country, northeast New Mexico and only about a ten hour drive from my ranch. The outfitter, Ross Hastie, of Tucumcari was the owner of Red Dirt Trail Outfitters. He answered all my questions and was also interested in long range hunting. Frank reviewed the web site and I called some references, which all had glowing reports. Can you ever trust references given by the outfitter? In this case they were right in all details. Read More...

This is a thread for discussion of the article, Steyr + Quigley/Ford + Berger = One Antelope Buck, By John Johnston. Here you can ask questions or make comments about the article.

 

[CRaTxn]

CONGRATULATIONS...on your first sage goat...better to lose some stringy shoulder meat than open the paunch in warm weather where those "juices" taint the tenderloins and hams. Not as much meat as one might think but if you shot it around irrigation pivots it should eat better than a sage only diet. Glad you had someone to share the experience with...thank you for your service old protect and server.

 

[olsingleshot]

Thanks for the kind words. So far the meat has been good. It seems to have a little less "wild" taste than venison. It was fun and I learned a lot. The outfitter was great.

 

[olsingleshot]

A slight correction: my hunting buddy Frank has reminded me that his shot was 239 yards, not 139. Either way it took the antelope right to the ground.

 

[Railroader82]

This is an awesome story! I got my first speed goat last fall. It was awesome! My Dad was with me and we both killed two apiece. I was really interested in the performance of the Quigley Ford. I'd love to have one but I'm gonna need to do some saving.

 

[olsingleshot]

It is a great scope and in the middle price range. I could go on and on about them. They are made in Canada and only the tube is made in China. The problem I had was my own. I should have known to turn the magnification all the way up. This is typical of all second plane scopes. However, look for Q/F to come out with a first plane scope, which means all reticle holding points will be good no matter what power you have the scope on.

Antelope hunting is a lot of fun especially for those of us who like longer shots.

 

[Railroader82]

I've always been fuzzy about which focal plane is the best but I believe you have set it straight. If this is the case a reticle in the first plane would be the way to go. In all of my hunting experiences from squerrills to antelope few rarely stick around for much thinking to go into the shot! I'm sure you'll agree.

 

[Railroader82]

Something that really caught my eye was the fact that you used the 25-06. This is what I used and it has become my favorite since I bought my Browning BAR. Also you used a 115 gr bullet which I believe has the best of both worlds for the 25 on medium game as far as velocity and weight are concerned. I also used the remington premier ultra-bonded corelokt factory ammo (115gr) for my antelope. Remington only makes a seasonal run of it for the 25 which is crazy because its always sold out. I've only got a box left!