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Hi guys im pretty new to hunting i have been invited to shoot some goats. i have a savage mk2 22lr it shoots around 1.5 inch at a hundred yards with supersonic winchester power points will this be fine or if not i have a old shotgun that i could probably shoot some buck shot through. Whats your opinions ?
I've shot hundreds of goats with a .22
Just make sure you get as close as you can.
And be prepared to follow up with a second shot.
Cheers
Pete
were about do you shoot them like behind the ear or something ?Quote:
Originally Posted by P38
A head shot would be nice but that's not always possibleQuote:
Originally Posted by anthony
Try for the heart if you have no other choice.
And use the power points you have mentioned
Cheers
Pete
I have used velocitors on a couple of goats before I had a centre fire rifle, did the business. Though I would be considering trying slugs through the shotgun if you have time to see how they shoot, and if your shotgun would be ok with slugs.
im not sure how it would fair, is a old baikal side by sideQuote:
Originally Posted by Guypie
Dont use your shot gun as it probably wont like slugs. Stick with the 22. Ive shot heaps of goats with a 22 and the best way is to stalk in close and put a bullet into the head. Stalking in close will
also give you more fun and its good practice if you move onto deer etc.
get as close as you can as said good stalking practice and if you are waiting for a good shot to present itself youll be learning about your target animal by watching it sometimes ive passed up shooting and animal just to be satisfied to watch it a and learn from it
youll need a special permit to use a 22rf if your hunting on doc land as well
Buy a cheap centrefire. Norinco Bushmasters or SKS's are good enough for starting out.
Very sensible reply to an OP who honestly states he is new to hunting/a tyro.Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve123
id keep my eye out for a Remington 788 for a first centerfire mines a tackdriver
I tried going after goats with a 22 ONCE. Centrefire's more humane and way less frustrating.Quote:
Originally Posted by zimmer
cheers i didn't know, that lucky its private landQuote:
Originally Posted by northdude
In our younger days we shot hundreds of Goats down Awakino and found them ok so long as you were close no more than 50 odd yards and hit them in the head or neck. Body shots like lungs and heart tended to have them run a bit and it paid to get a few more rounds into them.
If you can afford a centerfire like a 222, 223 or similar you will be good to go. If the 22 is the only option go for it but pick your shots don't stretch your barrel that's when you will end up with wounded animals. Power Point is good ammo for the job.
cheers, thinking of getting a sks in 223 for the goats if i feel like the .22 is not enoughQuote:
Originally Posted by Mooseman
A bolt action will be better for a new shooter
And probly safer too.Quote:
Originally Posted by faregame
Iv used a 22 a few times not ideal I found that if you are with other guys that have higher powered rifles they tend to start shooting a lot sooner than the man with a 22 !! , 22magnums are pretty handy on goats 100 meter shots , but ud probably get more use out of a 223 etc if you are wanting to shoot a deer or 2 down the track.
Personally, I wouldn't. Not saying it can't be done, but I've seen too many possums get up and walk away after being shot in the neck/shoulders to even try it.
top of the neck is a good spot at under 50m.. close to the ear :thumbsup:
practice on rabbits first.
If i could come with you i would lend you my 223 and give you some ammo i got given 250 rounds so a bit to burn:D
I always like to hit a goat in the head with my .22, like most big game animals they are hard to kill. This one was front on. http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...pspxzqflrr.jpg
Take your time and make sure each shot is well placed. When culling I use a bigger calibre, chosen based on potential ranges.
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...psh6zvb4tj.jpg
.243 would be my pick, gives you more options with range and other bigger species, although the .223 is cheap to run up close...
They're a great animal to learn to hunt on, I personally don't enjoy eating them.
A billy with gonads that size would be both poor eating and unpleasant to process. Nothing like billy goat piss on ya..
I just use them for catfood but my hunting buddy gets me to harvest a young nanny occasionally for curries. He reckons they're primo
I shot quite a few goats as a teenager with a rimfire but you get too many that refuse to die quickly. Nothing more pathetic than a wounded goat bleating- sounds like a baby. Get a .223 is my suggestion.
i have used the young animals for roasts and curries. very similar to lamb, but zero fat. not a good thing in my opinion, but certainly not bad eating.
strangely ( to me ) the Indian drivers i work with in my weekend job prefer the stinky old Billys, tastier apparently . .. i cut them up at arms length and bag them so i don't stink out the truckQuote:
Originally Posted by 6x47
R.
young goat slow roasted at a very low heat over an open fire, just coals, is a delicacy. Follow through with baked spud, pumpkin, parsnip etc.. made in heaven.
Yep the old .22s a bit on the light side for goats, even a .303 with exarmy ball amo has a hard job knocking them over, goes straight through . A .223 or .243w would be the way to go and with a centre fire cartridge you can get the empty cases reloaded.
I've shot plenty of goats with 22lr and even with high powered airguns (PCP). Good shot placement and a close in stalk is the key, they drop very well with a side on brain shot. I used to shy away from eating the stinky Billy's but decided to curry the last few and they were delicious! Even the back steaks on the BBQ were good with no hint of Billy flavor.
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps2vt01va5.png
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps55ahyva7.png
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...pszlkwlqvy.jpg
That first pic is really cool, I love the colour combo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mintie
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
IF you intend to shoot at 100y/m, definitely do not use a 22. Firstly, it loses about 35~45% energy, secondly there is so much drop and inherent inaccuracy you cannot guarantee good shot placement.Quote:
Originally Posted by anthony
If you intend to shoot goats at 100, I would say a 223 is minimum.
Someone suggested SKS, the problems with SKS are that:
1. unless you do some (basic) modding, stock SKS is not accurate, I hear 3 to 4 MOA is common.
2. you will be shooting open sight, which is hard to do a headshoot at 100 even for a good shooter. Or spend money on a SKS mount to put on a scope.
by the time you do the mods and added a decent scope mount, it is not cheap anymore.
Most of the goats I’ve shot were taken with an old semi auto .22 marlin 49DL. I’ve also shot a handful with a 22mag, 223, and 22-250. I don’t recall having used any heavier calibers but that’s beside the point really, anything from a 243 up is guaranteed to skittle goats with authority.
Small game hunting author Brad Parkes did a lot of recreational goat hunting with a .22, often in the pursuit of trophy billies. He was a big advocate of using solids rather than hollow points, with the theory being that maximum penetration was required given that goats are at the upper limit of what a .22 can handle. I never did test his theory because I just used whatever ammo I had lying around, which was normally Winchester power points.
Brian Burdon (another author) was at one point a professional goat culler in Northland and he had good success with a fully suppressed ruger .22 running subsonics. I think the reason he got away with using such a light caliber was because he was shooting them pretty much at point blank range (par for the course when you are culling goats bailed by dogs in dense Northland rainforest). He also successfully used a 22mag, 222, .30M1 and a 7.62x39. He was a big fan of the BRNO semi auto .22mag, and also of a mini 14 which he re-chambered to .222!
My own opinion is that the .22 is too light for goats. Sure, it’ll do the job on yearlings and nannies without a lot of fuss at close range but mid-to-large billies are a different kettle of fish, particularly in more open country where it’s harder to stalk in close. My pick would be a 223 or 7.62x39, both mild calibers which aren’t too excessive at close range but still have plenty of punch for those 200yd shots. A 243 is a good option too especially if long shots are common. My 2c anyway!
Wouldn't say a 223 is minimum you could use my 222 and 22 hornet will handle them within 100m quite easily furtherest kill with the 222 on a goat has been 373m measured with a range finder
I've shot a few goats over the years. Yes a .22lr will kill them with a good shooter behind the rifle...but there are far better choices to be made.
If it's a home kill situation I wouldn't hesitate to use a .22lr, but for hunting I'd recommend a centre fire.
These conversations are like asking if a Suzuki swift is a good vehicle to tow a horse float with.
Yeah, I agree these 2 calibres are far more accurate/consistent than 22LR at 100m. I am sure there are other calibres that are also smaller than 223 but will do the job, for example Ruger 204.Quote:
Originally Posted by northdude
My two cents - these other calibres are more of the 4th or 5th gun candidates. For those who want to graduate from 22LR, get a 223 as the second rifle is the better all-around choice (and the third rifle should be a 7mm08/308 or larger). Also because 223 is so widespread you have far wider choice of rifles including the very cheap (balkai and norinco for example) and the very mainstream, it is much easier to physically fondle several different mainstream 223 offerings in your local shop. These other ~22 centrefires are all very good calibres, but I think you need to be somewhat experienced to know exactly why you buying one.