Minimum energy to take game

Backcountryrealtor17

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Going on an antelope hunt in a few days and was wondering what minimum energy you guys are willing to shoot to. For reference I’m shooting a 6.5 Creedmoor and the 500 yard energy is 1543 ft lbs. how much lower are you willing to go? Thanks


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Jbehredt

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For reference a 44 mag has roughly 1000 ft/lbs at the muzzle. Nobody would hesitate to shoot an antelope point blank with one. That said, there’s a lot to the question you’re asking. It’s generally simplified with the latest generation of projectiles with a minimum expansion velocity rather than an energy number. What bullet are you shooting and what is your muzzle velocity?
 
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I remember reading 800 ftlbs for deer sized animals, but I think that is irrelevant.

What's important is your bullet construction and at what velocity ranges it is designed to impact at. That's what should determine your range after knowing what your personal effective range is.

Probably best to ask in the Antelope sub forum.
 
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I have never considered energy in killing game, although I know most do! I figure if I was standing next to an anial I could stab it in the lungs with an ice pic and kill it. I figure as long as my bullet can penetrate the chest it will kill it. I used to read about 1200lbs energy being a minimum for guys who think about it. I would say your creedmor should kill antelope as far away as a guy can make a hit!
 

Reburn

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Energy is inconsequential data. The only thing that truely matter is the minimum expansion velocity for your given bullet of choice. When in doubt stay over 1800 FPS minimum for lead core and 2000 fps for monolitic copper.

I hope you have practiced a bunch. 500 yards with western praire wind can be no joke.
 

Wrench

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Another thing that's often overlooked is when shooting over 600ish yards the animals don't respond to the muzzle report and ive had several 7-900 yard elk go down and other elk came and laid with the dead one.
 

brsnow

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I don’t pay attention to energy so long as velocities are high enough for expansion
 
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I agree with many of the other posters about minimum velocity for expansion as this is the ultimate factor for me. But to answer you question, MY general rule of thumb is... you need 4x the body weight in ft/lbs for a good clean kill. Again, this is just a generalization but has worked pretty well for me for most of my life.
 

Marble

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There's plenty of energy with that round.

I would be more concerned with ensuring my ability to hit the target at various ranges out to 500.

A good bullet made for hunting through any of the modern cartridges used for deer and antelope will suffice.

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Fullfan

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Goats are small and die easy. Daughter and I killed them with a .243 and a 25-05 at ranges out to 350.
 

JRMiller

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Energy is inconsequential data. The only thing that truely matter is the minimum expansion velocity for your given bullet of choice. When in doubt stay over 1800 FPS minimum for lead core and 2000 fps for monolitic copper.

I hope you have practiced a bunch. 500 yards with western praire wind can be no joke.
^This exactly
 

Reburn

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Antelope die just the same as deer, sheep, elk. I have seen plenty of guys try and shoot way beyond their abilities at goats, wound them and they run off just like deer or elk. Front legs flopping or gut shot. Hit them right and they die right. Hit them wrong and they run off just like anything else.
 
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