Thread: First blood and a proper trophy sized Billy

Good report dannyb. I think you billy is bigger than 18", if you are talking spread

Originally Posted by Mathias

Good report dannyb. I think you billy is bigger than 18", if you are talking spread

Yup we measured him up last night when I got home 29" @Mathias

That's a damn good head, well done.

I only ever got close to that once, years ago, up in Gisborne. We shot a huge old Billy with a nice double-curl, a real stunning head and a long shaggy mohair coat that would have been worthy of a full mount. Being young and ignorant we just took photos and left him. Fast forward 30 years and thousands of goats later, I've never seen anything as good since. Regret that now! Good on you for recovering him. Do him justice.

@planenutz any idea how old my Billy would be ?

That's a damn good question Dannyb.

It's hard to judge just from a photo but he would have to be a good 13 - 16 years old. Like all animals their environment plays a big part in their development and given the region you were hunting, the weather conditions that prevail in the area and the generally low food value he would need a good number of years to get to that length.

Try counting the growth rings. They're not clear in the photos but from what I can see he's had a few good summers.

As for the other head, probably late 30''s and definitely not worth wall-mounting.

Originally Posted by planenutz

Try counting the growth rings. They're not clear in the photos but from what I can see he's had a few good summers.

As for the other head, probably late 30''s and definitely not worth wall-mounting.

Ha ha that made me laugh. I’ve got the same problem.
@dannyb it is a good question that. The good billy I got earlier this year is now mounted and according to my mate whose shed its in, he reckons the goat was pushing 20 yrs though I haven’t seen what exactly he’s using to estimate that. The spread was 32”. The teeth were worn, for sure. And he had more like 200yrs of stink on him... another indication of a really old billy is just how long their coat is. When you get a real old boy they are not just shaggy but properly long like dragging the tips of their chest and belly hair along the ground.



I really enjoy hunting goats at our place and on the neighbouring properties. A great chance to use all that long range super sniper hunting prowess I reckon I must have by now... surely... well, maybe not.

But what I do know for sure is that if you want to hunt a trophy billy in the Central North Island you need to ignore the big mobs on farmland and go after the solo males in the bush, near the old scrubby pasture margins, best country of all is the old failed farms on the edges of the Whanganui National Park. I am 100% sure that the reason the trophy animals get that big is because they avoid open country with the rest of the mob.

(By trophy I mean anything really out of the ordinary, I don’t know exactly what the official measurements for a trophy grade goat are. I seem to remember it’s up around 40 inches. To me anything around 30 inches is a bloody good goat.)

Around our way there are several stunning heads, always on solo males who hang in the bush. I see them most often on the bike when I’m riding out to my best ground, usually the rear and disappearing into the timber with just a glimpse of massive spiral horns. To get a chance at them I must walk the track and use the wind because believe me you will smell them from 50-60 yards away while you’re still blind. That’s how me and my boys got the one in the photo above. I also think he was deaf because my boys are the noisiest stalkers on the planet.

In 15 years of hunting goats in this area I have never seen a head above say 20” inches on a billy that is hanging with the mob in the open country. The old boys are smart for sure they didn’t get like that I’ll for no reason, also I think it’s to do with age and competitiveness, they get tired past a certain age and can’t compete with the strong younger billies so they retire themselves from competition. When I look at the biggest heads we’ve got over the years they are almost always pretty clean and undamaged, not showing signs of recent fighting.

There’s a pure white one in the bush here that I’ve been after for 3 years now, he’ll be north of 35 inches guaranteed. I am very familiar with his rear end as it runs away down into impenetrable mongrel country and despite his colouring he just disappears... one day mate.

To make NZDA record book you need a DS of 100. Measure the spread in inches, double the shortest horn length (around the curve) in inches, double the smallest horn girth (at the base) in inches. Add all the scores together, that is the DS score.

Great result mate, a hunt to remember.....

Good write up , i've always looked past goats , theres quite a few decentish ones on one of the farms i hunt so you may just have inspired me to try for a trophy in between shooting deersies!!

@Flyblown this Billy was with a mob of young nanny's and kids and his horns definitely show signs of active fighting. He definitely stank up a storm and yeah his dreads were dragging on the ground for sure.
He may not be a record breaker but I'll remember the hunt forever. Just great to be out there actually hunting not just walking the rifle

@stug I am also in Oxford would you like to have a go at scoring him

Originally Posted by dannyb

@stug I am so in Oxford would you like to have a go at scoring him

Yep can do. I'll PM you my number

Originally Posted by dannyb

@stug I am also in Oxford would you like to have a go at scoring him

@dannyb - Make sure you let us know what he comes out at... I'd be interested to know. Stug might be able to give you a better guess at the age too.
@Flyblown - some good advice there, you're 100% correct. They don't get old by being dumb and the cunning ol' buggers are very rarely with the girls. They will often be within sight of the girls, but unless the ladies are in heat they tend to prefer their own company or the company of a select few of their mates. Often I'll see an old Billy with some younger lads... usually the old guy will let the young ones walk out in the open first, make sure it's safe, then slowly emerge behind them. Very rarely do I see them far from cover. Everything you've observed about the coat, about the smell - all spot on. I shot an older Billy a couple of weeks back that I smelt 60m further into the bush. He was hiding behind a big tree when I came up downwind of him and gave him a headache.

Over the years I've been outwitted by smart old Billies more often than I care to admit. They're a worthy game animal and finding a good head like the two presented here is the result of some good hunting and some good luck. Nice work, both of you.

Originally Posted by dannyb

@Flyblown this Billy was with a mob of young nanny's and kids and his horns definitely show signs of active fighting. He definitely stank up a storm and yeah his dreads were dragging on the ground for sure.
He may not be a record breaker but I'll remember the hunt forever. Just great to be out there actually hunting not just walking the rifle

Like I say @dannyb, anything around 30” these days is an impressive goat! It sounded like a proper hunt all right, complete with brown trouser moments on the climbs... working up a sweat and having to clench every now and then is the sure sign of a goat well earned!

@223nut nah I never wished for more than my single shooter even though my hands were freezing it just made me really concentrate on shot placement and wait for good targets rather than just spraying everywhere like a horny dog
Sure you could have a lot of fun and probably blaze twice as many goats in the same amount of time with an ar15 or similar I just don't know that it would've changed much for me other than maybe using twice as much ammo.
Actually next time I go I want to take my 7mm rem mag and try for some 700yd + goats just for fun