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Post by PA Hillbilly on Apr 3, 2008 16:54:23 GMT -5
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Post by padogger on Apr 3, 2008 20:17:25 GMT -5
WOW
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Post by mtwolfsbane on Apr 5, 2008 14:06:41 GMT -5
I have to admit that was some spectacular shooting. But... Antelope are my favorite big game animal. They have eyes like 8x binoculars, can run at over 60 miles an hour. They are not a large animal, the bucks are only about 3 feet high at the shoulder, and a big one only weighs 125 lbs. Pronghorn are unique in the world. They are not true antelope as you would find in Africa, and Anteleocapra americanus really has no close relatives anywhere. No they are not "Goats", although the Rocky Mountain Goat, (not really a goat either but closer to a Bighorn Sheep), is thier closest relative. They are a true American species, and the fossil record shows that at one time there were 3 types including a very small species about the size of a coyote, that had 4 horns. The reason they are so fast is they evolved running from extinct American Cheeta and a Long legged Hyena native to Pliestocene America. They are a spectacular animal supremely suited to the great plains. They have oversized hearts and lungs, and their esophagus is as big as an elk's. They run with their mouths open gulping down huge volumes of air. Their leg bones are tiny, about the size of an average mans finger in diameter, but are far stronger than the legbone of a steer so that the legs can take the stresses of superspeed travel and hit things like prairie dog holes without breaking. They survive conditions from 120 degrees fairenheit in the summer to 70 below zero in the winter. They are constantly exposed on the prairie as there is no trees or forests for them to shelter in. They lie in the sagebrush for their protection, and eat it in the winter to survive. They are fatally curious and if something catches their attention they will walk right up to it. I know hunters that have used a bright colored feather tied to a stick to call the antelope right up to them. I have hunted antelope for many years, and contrary to popular belief, you do not have to shoot into the next county to get one. I took the largest antelope buck I have ever taken last year, at 100 yards. I have not had him scored, but the main horns are almost 17inches with a diameter of nearly 5 inches. My wife took a doe out of the same herd at less than 25yards. The longest shot I have ever taken at an antelope was not quite 300 yards. I have seen them take hit after hit from high powered rifles and keep running. A 223 is all you need for them but I see guys out there year after year with 300 ultra mags. Those rounds just tear an antelope in pieces. Not to be a downer, but as impressive as those shots were, I do not count those guys as hunters, they have no respect for an animal that has survived since the last ice age. If you want to shoot long range, stick to the range or go to prairie dogs.
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Post by tntsd on Apr 8, 2008 22:30:56 GMT -5
I can't disagree with a word you said mtwolfsbane. I like to hunt them too. And I don't like having to walk to the next county to start tracking, so I generally like to get them within 100 yds before I will shoot. Altho I did hunt them last year with my .45-70.
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Post by mtwolfsbane on Apr 10, 2008 16:22:11 GMT -5
Thanks tsnd,
45-79 is a fine caliber, I use one for black bear. Big slow moving bullet, great knockdown. I like the 405 grain solid. Shooting out of my Marlin Lever, it is just the ticket when you are in close cover.
One guy I know has a Sharps 45-110 in a Shilo arms reproduction he used for antelope. Works pretty well at pretty good range. Those slow moving bullets don't have the same kinetic energy the smaller faster bullets do, so they don't do the same kind of damage.
Basic physics, if you double the size of the projectile, you double the energy. If you double the speed you quadruple the energy.
My gripe is with the guys shooting the super high velocity magnums that are far too much for a little antelope. When you can cut them in 2 or tear off the hindquarters when you hit them, that is a bit much.
Not what I classify as sport, or hunting either.
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Post by PA Hillbilly on Apr 10, 2008 17:25:58 GMT -5
I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers mtwolfsbane, I never thought of it they way you do. You've opened my eyes a little. I was surfing on youtube & found these videos. I was amazed at the length of the shot.
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Post by mtwolfsbane on Apr 10, 2008 22:14:56 GMT -5
Hey Hillbilly,
No harm no foul. I didn't take offence, I just wanted the members back east to understand what a Pronghorn Antelope really is.
I would have probably written about any other Game Animal in the same vein. (Excluding canadian grey wolves).
I see a lot of stuff on You-Tube that does put a knot in my knickers, this wasn't as bad as those.
I teach Bowhunter Safety classes for the Montana Fish and Game, and one of the things that is hardest to convey to the students is sportsmanship, and how slob hunters hurt the whole hunting community.
I was very impressed with the marksmanship of those individuals in the clip, but if you really want to impress, get within bow range of an Antelope in a fair stalk, That is really tough!
I hear folks out here talking about Pronghorns in a demeaning way all the time, our hunting regs don't help as there are times you can take 3 or 4. It becomes less of a hunt, and more of a slaughter. This winter, some morons, (this is a family site after all, so I am controlling my language), took their semi-auto rifles and shot over 20 antelope just south of where I live. Didn't kill all of them, so the wounded ones got to suffer for hours in the sub-zero cold until someone found them and called the FWP to kill the wounded. They didn't even take one steak off the ones they did kill.
I would like for everybody to have the chance to hunt this unique animal, and I just try to convey a modicum of respect for them. They are really special animals.
After all, we are HUNTERS. We take a stand for our heritage and the respect for the animals we hunt. Hunters are the reason we have such unbelievable populations of game animals, for everyone to enjoy. Our license fees and the taxes we pay on sporting equipment support habitat and protection of this invaluable resource. If we do not stand up against those who would damage our sport, it wouldn't be much of a sport would it?
We could just stay home and watch football.
This is a great board, with good people as far as I can tell. I am only telling you what you already know. Hunters are the backbone of this country, the citizens that make our wildlife programs work to make us the envy of the world.
Good Hunting Hillbilly. Come west some time and I will introduce you to the spectacular speedster of the plains.
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Post by PA Hillbilly on Apr 11, 2008 3:32:28 GMT -5
I might try to take you up on that.
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Post by mtwolfsbane on Apr 11, 2008 11:17:17 GMT -5
You are welcome anytime. Always happy to show off the spectacular big game we have here and share the experience with other hunters.
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Post by tntsd on Apr 11, 2008 16:49:24 GMT -5
I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers mtwolfsbane, I never thought of it they way you do. You've opened my eyes a little. I was surfing on youtube & found these videos. I was amazed at the length of the shot. You didn't ruffle my feathers. I don't mind folks that can shoot like that doing it. It is just the 99 yahoos that will see the video, run to the store and buy the biggest, meanest, magnum they can find. Buy a box of shells and wonder why they can't hit anything after going straight from the gun shop to the 'hunt'. After all the shop bore sighted the scope so it is dead on ain't it?
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oldgun
Target Shooter
Posts: 7
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Post by oldgun on May 23, 2009 5:27:23 GMT -5
Wish they wold stick to targets, as far as I'm concerned that is just killing for the sake of killing not at all could it be called hunting. Just my opion, take it or leave it? I'll leave it thankyou.
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