Thread: 22 mag for goats?

Good man.thanks for update on how it went.223 rules lol

Dam I was a bit slow. Going to say I shoot a fair few with 22mag, any heart lung shot side on is going put them down as long as you are't using the 30 gr TNT type loads, and at sensible ranges.
PS as those bush blocks getting tall or are the trees still small and not yet thined out.
Z

Better outcome for the goats using the 223 and you don’t have to listen to them scream ,I still remember the days before I had a gun license and went hunting with my mate and his bow and arrow for goats….his not very well placed arrows made the poor goats scream like a small child and scarred me for life I reakon!!

Once again it all boils down to shot placement and using a cartridge within its (and your) limits. You can make them scream using a 223rem too.

Originally Posted by The bomb

Better outcome for the goats using the 223 and you don’t have to listen to them scream ,I still remember the days before I had a gun license and went hunting with my mate and his bow and arrow for goats….his not very well placed arrows made the poor goats scream like a small child and scarred me for life I reakon!!

Goats don’t scream if they’re dead. As I said in earlier post if you’re a competent shooter the 22 mag is more than adequate for the job as long as you recognise it’s limitations, same as any caliber. Seen plenty of screaming goats after being hit with 270,3006 and various other heavy hitters. Lost count of numbers shot with 22 mag. but haven’t used it for years , 222 & 223 ammo as cheap or cheaper to run and offers more capability at longer ranges. Getting back to screaming goats, it wasn’t unheard of to tag the lead nanny and clean up the rest of a mob while they looked for guidance, go back and kill the nanny last. Not for the squeamish and frowned upon these days but was what it was back in the eighties.

Apparently they used the same technique for the big mobs of deer back in the day,gut shoot the lead hind and clean up the rest while confused with no leader.

I always found it best to identify the lead animal as best you can, then have a rough plan as to what which animal is best to shoot next each time.
Variables being dominance, sex, age and proximity to cover.
A short whiles observation can make a huge difference to mopping up more of the mob.

Yeah, it’s a number’s game. Always has been, always will be. Same as minimum shots per animal makes money or keeps you employed.

Originally Posted by ZQLewis

Dam I was a bit slow. Going to say I shoot a fair few with 22mag, any heart lung shot side on is going put them down as long as you are't using the 30 gr TNT type loads, and at sensible ranges.
PS as those bush blocks getting tall or are the trees still small and not yet thined out.
Z

@ZQLewis This is right on the edge of the paddock under some 100 year old macrocarpa trees. I fenced this off when I took over the farm to stop pregnant cows nibbling the macrocarpa and the young natives are coming back. These buggers stripped the young pururis, taraires and nikaus.

Originally Posted by Moutere

I always found it best to identify the lead animal as best you can, then have a rough plan as to what which animal is best to shoot next each time.
Variables being dominance, sex, age and proximity to cover.
A short whiles observation can make a huge difference to mopping up more of the mob.

One got away. The first was an easy stationary shot just inside the bush edge from about 75 metres. Then they broke cover and ran into the paddock across the face of the hill but they didn't see where I was hiding. The next two were running shots, and then I got the billy in the head when he stopped and looked around for where his girls were. One black one just kept on going and was out of sight before I got a shot away.

In hindsight, if I was using the semi 22WMR with a 10 shot mag instead of the bolt action 223 I reckon I would have got them all. The first shot was the longest.

22 hornet is good goat medicine

I remember reading an article a very long time ago about a goat culler. His main rifle a lever action 22mag

Originally Posted by blip

I remember reading an article a very long time ago about a goat culler. His main rifle a lever action 22mag

Possibly was but around top of Sth Is. was mainly Brno bolt and semi’s plus the odd cheap one made in Phillipines, can’t remember brand but they were reasonable shooters until their trigger broke.Stirling was name I couldn’t remember

Those stirlings were a pretty good work horse untill they broke

Mostly anecdotes about cullers and pros are exceptions and not the rule. Some are/were exceptional, most ordinary and some hopeless. The best dont/didnt piss around with oddball stuff or approaches, they just picked up their fairly ordinary gear and got on with it.