# Antelope with iron sights



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I committed to taking a Wyoming antelope this year with iron sights. My choice of rifles was the Model 1916 Newton in .256 Newton. Any of you that read my thread on that firearm know what a challenge it's been to get the venerable 6.5 caliber rifle in shooting condition and build some reloads for it.

My reloads would be 120 gr Sierra Pro-Hunters loaded with enough IMR4350 to chug along at a meager 2700 fps. After a lot of practice I could hit a clay pigeon almost every time at 165 yards; a milk jug most times at 275 using a rest. I have hotter and "farther" loads but with my eyesight "closer" would be better and I always preferred a "hunt" over a "shoot" anyway.

With only one antelope tag, mine, three of us went out early yesterday, opening morning, to an area with some hills and gullies, offering, I hoped, some close range shooting.

The antelope for whatever reason were crazy wild and Holy Cow they didn't stop running until about 9:00 a.m and by that time it was hot, over 60°. Finally a doe and fawn stopped around 265 yards away and I shot...and missed...and shot.....and missed again, both shots terribly high. So I gave it up and went back to town and the shooting range.

I discovered at certain times, certain angles, the sun's reflection obscured, fuzzed out, the "V notch" in the rear sight and I would pull the front bead up in order to see it. A full bead at 265 yards is about 4 feet I learned!!

"This stuff is all too complicated. Tomorrow we're going hunting, not shooting." I told my brother.

So the next day at daybreak we went back to the same place. Parked the truck out of sight and up wind 400 yards from a small pond. We quietly walked in and made a ground stand in some big ole greasewood bush near the watering hole. 30 minutes later it was over. A mature doe antelope came in to drink and I waited until it was about 55 yards away and then put it to sleep with that old Newton.



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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Congrats. There has to me a good amount of satisfaction taking an old gun/caliber, tweaking it, working up a load and killing an antelope inside hail-mary range with it. Good work Goob!


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## Springville Shooter (Oct 15, 2010)

Goob, you have a way of making things cool. Congrats.------SS


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

congrats goob! what haven't you killed goats with?!


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## Cooky (Apr 25, 2011)

Way to put the old girl to work again after all those years. It looks like all the heartache of learning to load that beautiful old thing was worth it.


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## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

Nice Job Goob!!! cool you give everything a shot.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

2nd darndest thing I've ever seen. Well done Goob.


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## willfish4food (Jul 14, 2009)

Super cool Goob!


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