Goat rifle

[Geewhiz]

This is an average sized BC billy.
The head on my axe is 10 inches.
He was 3 of those through the chest.


So...30 inches through the chest


Goats are not bullet proof, nor are they hard to kill. shoot straight, with a good bullet in any normal cartridge and youll be fine.


But the fact still remains.....4" of penetration isnt much....regardless of what you wife says....

You're telling me this distance is 30 inches on an average goat?

 

[Formidilosus]

This is an average sized BC billy.
The head on my axe is 10 inches.
He was 3 of those through the chest.


So...30 inches through the chest

Dude. Goats are not 30 inches wide. 100% that is three times how wide they are.

 

[Formidilosus]

You're telling me this distance is 30 inches on an average goat?

Of course man. See his horns are about as long as his chest is wide, and MTN goats with 30” horns are so common.

 

[JP100]

I dont know how wide they are, but I know the head on my axe IS 10 inches.
So how many axe heads is it through this billy? because it sure as hell is more than 1 haha

I did have a photo of a shoulder skinned off with my knife in it. I had a 17cm skinning knife(6.6 inches) and it could almost make it through the shoulder(skin off). So lets say the shoulders are 6-7 inches. Two of those is 12-14 inches, the chest cavity is another 8-10 inches. thats 20-24 inches, plus some skin and hair.

 

[Geewhiz]

I dont know how wide they are, but I know the head on my axe IS 10 inches.
So how many axe heads is it through this billy? because it sure as hell is more than 1 haha

I did have a photo of a shoulder skinned off with my knife in it. I had a 17cm skinning knife(6.6 inches) and it could almost make it through the shoulder(skin off). So lets say the shoulders are 6-7 inches. Two of those is 12-14 inches, the chest cavity is another 8-10 inches. thats 20-24 inches, plus some skin and hair.

You're talking bull elk dimensions


Probly got at least 250-300 lbs of bones out meat off of it?

 

[madcalfe]

Average goat 16-20”

 

[JP100]

You're talking bull elk dimensions


Probly got at least 250-300 lbs of bones out meat off of it?

Yea he was 500lbs on the hoof......haha

 

[JP100]

View attachment 570673
Average goat 16-20”

That makes sense

 

[Formidilosus]

View attachment 570673
Average goat 16-20”

20” is with full hair.

 

[JP100]

I think the simplest would be for those here with them mounted to simply measure the forms

Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk

 

[SW hunter]

20” is with full hair.

You're really sticking by that claim of 9 inches. Ive got a kid with a mildly neglected 4H goat thats over 9” wide.
You're both approximating. Its hunting and fishing we’re all exaggerating subconsciously.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I dont know how wide they are, but I know the head on my axe IS 10 inches.
So how many axe heads is it through this billy? because it sure as hell is more than 1 haha

I did have a photo of a shoulder skinned off with my knife in it. I had a 17cm skinning knife(6.6 inches) and it could almost make it through the shoulder(skin off). So lets say the shoulders are 6-7 inches. Two of those is 12-14 inches, the chest cavity is another 8-10 inches. thats 20-24 inches, plus some skin and hair.

it genuinely appears that you are confusing the height of the torso (bottom of sternum to top of body) with the thickness of the chest at the point where each rib is furthest from the one across.

Your axe head shows pretty clearly that the external dimensions on the ribs are right around 10", add whatever thickness you want for the shoulders (realistically somewhere between 2" (whitetail sized) and 4" (elk sized), and you're talking about an animal that is between 14 and 18" thick. excluding the fluff. There is nothing in your photo to indicate that the goat is 3 axe heads thick.

 

[idahodave]

You're really sticking by that claim of 9 inches. Ive got a kid with a mildly neglected 4H goat thats over 9” wide.
You're both approximating. Its hunting and fishing we’re all exaggerating subconsciously.

well said

 

[Decker9]

An average goat and an old coastal BC billy are in two very different leagues, just sayin.

 

[StupidLightweight]

Regardless of their actual dimensions, in my experience, goats are surprisingly stout. I've seen three mountain goats killed (one myself) and a pile of feral goats in New Zealand. Two situations stand out.

One was a broadside mature billy high on a ridge in British Columbia. My buddy shot him perfectly with a .280 AI, and he didn't even twitch. We all thought he'd missed. After another perfect shot, the billy walked off like nothing had happened and then fell dead over a snow cornice.

The next one was even more stunning. It was a feral goat my buddy wounded in the mountains of the South Island, New Zealand. I chased after him to finish the job and found the billy behind a rock outcropping, maybe 70 yards away, obviously hurt.

Being low on ammo at this point (because of all the goats), I carefully dumped three 120-grain pills into his lungs over a 60 second period. After each shot, I expected him to drop. Finally he did, but his heart/lungs must have been jelly. I get that he was wounded and therefore high on adrenaline, but man, that one was crazy.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Yep, they are usually impervious to kinetic shock. Of the hundred (+/-) American Mountain Goats I've killed, I've seen some pretty astonishing things in relation to how much physical punishment they can withstand.

 

[Formidilosus]

You're really sticking by that claim of 9 inches. Ive got a kid with a mildly neglected 4H goat thats over 9” wide.
You're both approximating. Its hunting and fishing we’re all exaggerating subconsciously.

“9 inches through the chest”. That means from rib to rib. I was being slightly factitious, however I showed a picture of a goat with summer hair instead of winter hair. Look at the horns, now compare the horn length to chest width- the chest is just slightly wider than the horns are long. Unless goats have 20-30” long horns…. There is a massive amount of exaggeration about how “big” goats are.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

There is a massive amount of exaggeration about how “big” goats are.

In relation to torso dimensions, namely chest width, I totally agree.

 

[Scorpion]

I used my guide’s 30-06 loaded with 180 A-Frames on the last day of my hunt. It dropped the goat in his tracks at 350 yards. I bowhiked up until the last afternoon.

 

[fatheadpr]

So I was lucky enough to win a British Columbia mountain goat hunt that will be taking place this spring. I currently have a tikka 6.5 creedmoor loaded with 140 grain Berger vld but the wife gave me the go ahead to get another rifle. Having never been around a mountain goat do you think I should get another rifle for a once in a lifetime hunt or should I just take the 6.5 creedmoor. The other rifle I was looking at was a Christensen arms fft in 300 prc

I have personally taken 5 Mountain goats at anywhere from 15 yards to 300 yards with my tikka t3x lite 6.5 x55 and 143 gr eldx bullets. patience and shot placement are key. i try to go high forward lung, halfway between the top of the hump and the elbow if standing, trying for the lung/shoulder combo. i have never had a goat stroll off a cliff on me and only required a follow up shot once to keep the goat from doing something foolish. on the other hand my hunting partner shoots a 300 short mag with 180 grain bullets and he almost always ends up needing a follow up shot. take that for what its worth. These are all BC goats taken not to far from williams lake. make sure you have a spotting scope and or good binoculars, if thats covered then a nice new 6.8 western would be my next purchase I am very interested in this round haha. ohh and every ounce counts in your pack when you are messing around up in the hills if you have never spent anytime in goat country.