Mountain Goat with a 6 Creedmoor or 6.5 Creedmoor?

[Mammoth Steppe]

I'm hoping to go after a mountain goat in 2026 using my 6.5 CM and my buddy is looking to use his 6 CM.

I'm pretty sure either cartridge has enough for the goats but I'm hoping to hear some accounts from those that have hunted one with either of these cartridges. Good or bad, how did it perform?

I'm told goats are pound for pound one of the toughest of the North American game animals and can soak up a good amount of lead. Being able to drop it relatively on the spot is important so that it doesn't take a nose dive off the side of the mountain. A guide told me typical shot distances could be in the 300-400m range.

I'll be using a Sako 6.5 Creedmoor with a 20" barrel. Should I go for the 143gr ELD-X? Barnes 129gr LRX? Something else?

 

[Jimss]

Good luck! Beg, borrow, or buy a 30 cal and you won't be questioning if your rifle is good for elk, mtn goat, moose, and other big game critters! How much is your hunt, airline tickets, etc running you?

 

[Mammoth Steppe]

Good luck! Beg, borrow, or buy a 30 cal and you won't be questioning if your rifle is good for elk, mtn goat, moose, and other big game critters! How much is your hunt, airline tickets, etc running you?

I own plenty of 30 cals but bought this rifle specifically for a "mountain rifle" for this kind of hunt. I was originally planning to bring my Ruger M77 in 338 WM as my do-all western game rifle, but since I'm going specifically for goat I assumed the 6.5 would be sufficient.

Costs are still to be determined.

 

[Steve O]

Eh. I think that tough monicker mostly comes from guys using “tough” bullets. I’ve only taken one and there was no drama and it was with a plain old 140g core lokt; but it was out of a .264 WM.

 

[ckleeves]

Mountain goats aren’t really tough, the problem is they are about as thick as Coyote thru the chest and guys feel the need to shoot them with bullets that would pass thru a moose north to south due to how “tough” they are.

My wife shot a mature Billy with a 6 creed and it died very rapidly. One shot, on its feet for a few seconds tops.

 

[Taudisio]

Don’t you know, they are covered in shale armor!

Op, I would take my 6 creed if I were going on a goat hunt.

 

[Antares]

I’ve taken two goats with 6CM/108ELDM. Neither one took a step. Works fine. I’ve also taken goats with .223 and .308, but 6CM is what I plan on continuing to use in the future.

 

[Antares]

Good luck! Beg, borrow, or buy a 30 cal and you won't be questioning if your rifle is good for elk, mtn goat, moose, and other big game critters! How much is your hunt, airline tickets, etc running you?

Good god, when will drivel like this stop being repeated? 30 cal what? 300BLK is a 30 cal… How many goats have you taken, 6/6.5CM or otherwise?

 

[Scorpion]

Either cartridge will be fine, even borderline ideal depending on the rifle.

Goats are really thin across the back/shoulders compared to other ungulates. A fast expanding bullet would be optimal.

I killed mine with the guide’s 30-06 on the last day after striking out with the bow. I dropped it in its tracks with a 180 A-Frame. Far from what I’d consider the best cartridge and bullet combination for that hunt but, it worked perfectly.

 

[IDVortex]

Both are fine, and with a good bullet both will kill. EXO guys have killed goats with a 6cm, and so have others. They've been killed with .243 and .223.

The range you'll be shooting a goat from is most likely be around 200-300 yards if that. Dont over think it. Just practice a lot so you know you're confident in which ever cartridge you take.

If I can ever draw my ID goat tag. Illl be taking my 6arc on the hunt. Even if I can afford to go up to BC on a guided hunt I wont worry on using a 6arc. Just practice.

 

[Clarktar]

My last two have been with a 106 gr 6mm bullet. Works great. It's LESS about cartridge and MORE about bullet choice.

I also took one with a ,30-06 shooting accubonds. I recovered all four bullets in the offside hide and all were shoulder, neck placement. All four were over 80% weight retention.

I like bullets that fragment after a few inches of penetration.

 

[mtnbound]

I'm hoping to go after a mountain goat in 2026 using my 6.5 CM and my buddy is looking to use his 6 CM.

I'm pretty sure either cartridge has enough for the goats but I'm hoping to hear some accounts from those that have hunted one with either of these cartridges. Good or bad, how did it perform?

I'm told goats are pound for pound one of the toughest of the North American game animals and can soak up a good amount of lead. Being able to drop it relatively on the spot is important so that it doesn't take a nose dive off the side of the mountain. A guide told me typical shot distances could be in the 300-400m range.

I'll be using a Sako 6.5 Creedmoor with a 20" barrel. Should I go for the 143gr ELD-X? Barnes 129gr LRX? Something else?

Both cartridges will do the job. Even if you get a shot that destroys the CNS, there is no guarantee it won't roll off the edge. In your 6.5 CM, 130 TMK, 143 ELDX, or 147 ELDM would be my first choices; then I would shoot them and go with the one that was more accurate in your rifle.

 

[Bulldawg]

Coming from someone that is not a Mtn Goat hunter, but I did read the .223 TMK thread, and if you do, you'll understand that there are many people on this forum that would say that a 6.5 would be overkill for a Goat.

I'm no ballistician, but if you go into it with *limited* ego and preconceived notions about what hunting cartridge looks like, it makes a lot of sense to me that *ALMOST* all cartridges are more than capable in dealing death quickly and efficiently to game animals in America as long as bullet choice, velocity, and distance are accounted for.

So, all that to say, I'll give my unexperienced but personally confident opinion based upon what others have been able to prove a few times over. both of those cartridges are going to work great if you put in a quality bullet such as a TMK, ELDM or others that are similar in their makeup and how they react on game and keep the distance of shot less than when the bullet will drop below 1800 FPS. Then practice a lot so you can hit what you shoot at, some would say a couple thousand rounds in a year leading up to the hunt.

 

[BAKPAKR]

Well, I used a 30 cal on the only goat I have taken. I guess I should note that it was a 10” 30-30, so it didn’t have nearly as much wallop as a 6CM or a 6.5CM. If I ever draw another goat tag, I wouldn’t hesitate to use either of those cartridges.

 

[IDVortex]

Well, I used a 30 cal on the only goat I have taken. I guess I should note that it was a 10” 30-30, so it didn’t have nearly as much wallop as a 6CM or a 6.5CM. If I ever draw another goat tag, I wouldn’t hesitate to use either of those cartridges.

10in 30-30? Do tell....

 

[BAKPAKR]

10in 30-30? Do tell....

T/C Contender I bought to carry in case I couldn’t get within bow range. I didn’t get within bow range…

 

[Chris in TN]

Don’t you know, they are covered in shale armor!

Op, I would take my 6 creed if I were going on a goat hunt.

Yep.


You'd better bring something to wallop 'em good and make it through that shale coating.

Alternately, yeah, just take your 6cm or 6.5cm and whatever TMK/ELDX/ELDM/BTHP shoots well in it.

 

[MT_Wyatt]

I've witnessed a 7mm 140 gr nosler BT (ie tapered jacket cup and core, poly tipped) rake through longwise on a mountain goat (in front hip to enter, out in front of opposite front shoulder). Quick kill, rolled into a tree, no real movement from there. Goats have a large mid section, but as others have said, very narrow vital areas. Planning on taking 6CM after any goat tags I end up with...

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Duncan ghilchrist wrote about using his 257 Robert’s to kill goats back in the mid 1960s. He didn’t have access to the bullets we have today.

You’ll be fine with your 6 or 6.5.

 

[Jimss]

I hope your billies don't do a death dive off a cliff and you are patient enough to wait for a shot to shoot him when he's not surrounded by cliffs. If he breaks or loses a horn and ends up with a red coat while tumbling down the mountain you may wish you used a 30 cal. What happens if the only shot you are presented with has a giant cliff below? Are you going to shoot?

Mature billies are built like miniature buffalo. They have extremely thick, dense bones, thick hide, thick hair, etc. I've been on several goat hunts where hunters wished they used a 30 cal.