.270 Win enough for a Mountain Goat?

[NoDakfarmin]

Hey Guys, another question for your consideration. Like you’ll I have many rifles of all calibers including a lot of wildcats but I’m currently having a 270 built to Jack O’Connor specs by Leroy Barry at CCC gunstocks. I plan to you is on a Dall sheep hunt I have in 28. But I’m considering using it on a MG hunt I have in August. Is an ol pre 64 walnut stocked 270 have enough knock down for a goat or is it the species that need to make sure I drop it where it stands with my trusty 7 Dakota or 30-338?

 

[Maverick1]

What are you thinking? A .270 for mountain goat? No way will it have enough "knock down" for a goat - because we all know how important having enough "knock down" is! The bullets will just bounce right off.

.270 will work just fine. Mountain goats are like whitetail deer in weight. 125-300 pounds.

 

[MTNGUY]

There was a photo of a nanny in the .223 thread that was killed with a 73 eldm out of a .223. I think your .270 would be fine.

 

[HornPorn]

the projectile is probably more important than the caliber. Sounds like a lot of guys use bullets that are too tough and pencil hole the goat, then wonder why it takes 4 shots and ran off of cliff. Goats are not wide..wait for a broadside shot and put a ballistic tip, eldx, sst, or other cup and core bullet right behind the shoulder

 

[ozyclint]

270 has plenty of wallop factor for Goats

 

[NoDakfarmin]

the projectile is probably more important than the caliber. Sounds like a lot of guys use bullets that are too tough and pencil hole the goat, then wonder why it takes 4 shots and ran off of cliff. Goats are not wide..wait for a broadside shot and put a ballistic tip, eldx, sst, or other cup and core bullet right behind the shoulder

130 or 145/150 would you say? I know the 130 is the tried and true so I’m leaning that way but never been on a Goat hunt before.

 

[HornPorn]

130 or 145/150 would you say? I know the 130 is the tried and true so I’m leaning that way but never been on a Goat hunt before.

I would see which one your rifle likes the best (accuracy at 300+ yards). In my 270 it likes the 140gr Ballistic tip the best. Do you reload?

I do have to say I might not want to take a wood stocked rifle on a Aug goat hunt as you can be getting rained on the entire time if coastal area. Or are you inland?

 

[207-12A]

Goats are tough. I've put a shot on one only once during my time in Alaska. Three .270 145 gr. Hornady Precision Hunters at 140 yards, from a good rest. I'm confident all three were hits, but that's solely upon the sound of impact. At least one (guessing the first) was boiler room, as you can see in the second photo. It ran a little over 500 yards and cliffed itself out in an unrecoverable spot, then died within an hour. Hindsight is 20-20 but I'm guessing I should have broken a front shoulder instead of aiming for lungs/heart as is my standard. I would take the same shot again - he was nowhere near any unreachable cliffs upon the shot - but next time I would either bring a larger caliber or aim to break a shoulder.

 

[NoDakfarmin]

I would see which one your rifle likes the best (accuracy at 300+ yards). In my 270 it likes the 140gr Ballistic tip the best. Do you reload?

I do have to say I might not want to take a wood stocked rifle on a Aug goat hunt as you can be getting rained on the entire time if coastal area. Or are you inland?

Yes I do reload, plan on find which one it
Shoots the best. And I’ll be coastal and if O’Connor hunted the world with wood guns I can too

Goats are tough. I've put a shot on one only once during my time in Alaska. Three .270 145 gr. Hornady Precision Hunters at 140 yards, from a good rest. I'm confident all three were hits, but that's solely upon the sound of impact. At least one (guessing the first) was boiler room, as you can see in the second photo. It ran a little over 500 yards and cliffed itself out in an unrecoverable spot, then died within an hour. Hindsight is 20-20 but I'm guessing I should have broken a front shoulder instead of aiming for lungs/heart as is my standard. I would take the same shot again - he was nowhere near any unreachable cliffs upon the shot - but next time I would either bring a larger caliber or aim to break a shoulder.

Valuable experience thank you!

 

[TheGrayRider]

A.270 is definitely enough rifle. I used my .270 Winchester mountain rifle at around 200 yards on this mid-season hunt. This billy didn’t travel very far. Mountain goats are sure fun to hunt.

Kodiak Island, Alaska. September 2017. Unit 474. Beautiful country and terrain that very few people ever get to see! Still blessed, grateful, and thankful for that opportunity and privilege.

Enjoy your upcoming mountain goat hunt, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.

 

[gaphunter]

The .270 is definitely capable for mountain goat with proper shot placement, especially at typical hunting ranges. The larger calibers like the 7 Dakota or .30-338 offer more power, but if you’re confident in your .270 and its range, it should work fine. Stick with what you’re most comfortable with, but the .270 is a solid choice if you’re up for the challenge!

 

[schmidty3]

I have no experience, nor do I ever plan on doing a goat hunt as that's just way too out of my wheelhouse....

But ive heard it mentioned that goats really aren't that thick. And gained a reputation of being tough so guys have upgunned and used solid coppers for more penetration....but by doing so they aren't getting the bullets opened up in the thin creature....further perpetuating the cycle of misinformation that they are tough.

Worth researching further...but if it was me I'd probably be shooting a berger. Something devastating and more likely to KO the thing.

 

[grappling_hook]

I shot my first moutain goat with a .270 shooting a 150gr Nosler Partition. Worked great.

After that, I went down in caliber to 6.5mm shooting 140gr ELDMs for the next couple of mountain goats, and one that my son got while out with me. This year I haven't decided whether to stick with 6.5mm again or drop down to 223. I'll probably go with whichever I've been shooting most often when the season rolls around.

 

[Jimss]

I’ve been on around 20 goat hunts over the years. A 270 may work but there is a better chance a goat will take a death leap off a cliff and end up a bloody mess with rips in the face, broken horn, etc. if you want a better piece of mind that a goat will drop before heading off cliffs and taking a blood bath use a 30 caliber!

Mtn goats are one of the toughest critters in North America to put on the ground and they live in cliff country.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Goats are tough. I've put a shot on one only once during my time in Alaska. Three .270 145 gr. Hornady Precision Hunters at 140 yards, from a good rest. I'm confident all three were hits, but that's solely upon the sound of impact. At least one (guessing the first) was boiler room, as you can see in the second photo. It ran a little over 500 yards and cliffed itself out in an unrecoverable spot, then died within an hour. Hindsight is 20-20 but I'm guessing I should have broken a front shoulder instead of aiming for lungs/heart as is my standard. I would take the same shot again - he was nowhere near any unreachable cliffs upon the shot - but next time I would either bring a larger caliber or aim to break a shoulder.

Did you get ropes and get the goat out? Or did the eagles get him?

 

[Short Track]

I used .270 ELD-X on a Sheep. Texas heart shot. The entire side of the sheep blew out, like popping a ballon. My original plan of a full body mount went out the window. So it's a shoulder mount.

 

[207-12A]

Did you get ropes and get the goat out? Or did the eagles get him?

He died on a small platform that was a about a 12" wide path 30 yard long distance from reachable. A long way down and sheer cliff above. Maybe get-able with a really advanced climber who knew how to set anchors. But I'm a knucklehead. I checked with ADF&G about helo-recovery and they didn't exactly bless it off, but I knew a guy and went and we looked anyways from the air 2 days after the kill. Just really no safe way to get him. Thought about doing some sort of anchor system to at least get out to the spot and then rolling him off, but with that kind of fall there's really no recovery. ADF&G has a process for unrecoverable animals so I filed for that.

 

[Hnthrdr]

He died on a small platform that was an about a 12" wide path 30 yard long distance from reachable. A long way down and sheer cliff above. Maybe get-able with a really advanced climber who knew how to set anchors. But I'm a knucklehead. I checked with ADF&G about helo-recovery and they didn't exactly bless it off, but I knew a guy and went and we looked anyways from the air 2 days after the kill. Just really no safe way to get him. Thought about doing some sort of anchor system to at least get out to the spot and then rolling him off, but with that kind of fall there's really no recovery. ADF&G has a process for unrecoverable animals so I filed for that.

Damn man that is a heart breaker for sure!

 

[drdrop]

My one experience with mountain goat: 200 yards, one shot .270 with a monolithic bullet that hit both shoulders. The goat tipped over without another step. I firmly believe in a bullet that will retain mass and do damage to both shoulders, especially with a species prone to heading to a cliff after getting shot.

 

[MoeFaux]

I heard an interview with the founder of Gunwerks (Aaron Davidson) where he mentioned (as others have above) that goats are narrow animals, so a bullet that expends its energy quickly is preferable to one designed for penetration. I would lean toward Bergers, SSTs, or Nosler BTs, but I imagine that any softer cup and core that your rifle likes will do the job.