No expert here, but in a couple of low to mid-point units in central wyoming that I feel ar epretty representative of the terrain I've seen antelope in across much of the state, all our shots have been under 300 yards. Most hovering on either side of 200. My wife had a super cool stalk on the nicest goat we've shot in 2022--what I would consider a respectably representative antelope just from having driven around a lot of wyoming--and shot it at 170 yards on publicly accessible land in a 1-point unit half-way through the season. I have had a couple of "opportunities" at 500+ that we passed, but in no cases was it "necessary" to take those shots in order to have a successful hunt. I could see if you were really picky and after a specific animal that a longer shot might become more likely/necessary...and as a first-time antelope hunter you should know that in most of the cases I've experienced "being really picky" is almost the whole point of antelope hunting, your hunt will be over too soon if you arent. That was a very hard thing to wrap my head around coming from an area with extremely low deer density, where if you pass a shot you very likely eat your tag. At a minimum you should have the opportunity to be picky about the SITUATION you want to take an animal in, ie a good spot, stalk, etc, even if it isnt a giant animal. To me the trophy is the whole situation of the hunt, not so much the horns. By that measure, given its a OK unit, you should be able to choose the distance you want to take an animal at, and if you blow a stalk or two that may actually make it a BETTER hunt...but I would try to at least be proficient from field positions to 300 yards to avoid feeling under-prepared. Having shooting sticks or a pack to shoot off of is also helpful, as sometimes there is sage or grass high enough to prevent getting prone.
