Range of your Goat Kill(s)

[Yellowknife]

Saw another one killed this year. We passed on 300 yd shot (bad angle, and goats would have been able to run out of sight immediately), backed up and re-positioned to about 150 yds above them. Per standard MO, it sucked up several lung shots and took an amazingly long time to expire.

 

[armedhiker]

The one I shot in 2016 was spotted 400 yards out and he worked his way to 300 yards and I was getting ready to take that shot when fog rolled in and I lost all vis for about 45 mins and when it cleared up he was 75 yards away.

 

[Catchfish]

8 yards

 

[as.ks.ak]

8 yards

That statement needs pictures and a story!


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[Catchfish]

That statement needs pictures and a story!


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When i get a chance I will try to do a write up it was a few years ago and those pics should be on a computer someplace

 

[as.ks.ak]

When i get a chance I will try to do a write up it was a few years ago and those pics should be on a computer someplace

Still waiting on this story!!


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[as.ks.ak]

I’ll update my response as well. 290 yards laying prone.

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I’ll update again....305 yards. .338 win mag. 250gr Core-lokt .

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[Coveyleader]

15 yds for the first, about 20 for the 2nd. Both down in seconds.

 

[OXN939]

Saw another one killed this year. We passed on 300 yd shot (bad angle, and goats would have been able to run out of sight immediately), backed up and re-positioned to about 150 yds above them. Per standard MO, it sucked up several lung shots and took an amazingly long time to expire.

Interesting thread here with some very valid ballistic points made.

So, for those of us who are into shooting copper monos, it seems like speed would be towards the top of the priority list for goats so as to ensure the greatest amount of expansion as quickly as possible. Anyone got experience with this?

 

[AK Troutbum]

Interesting thread here with some very valid ballistic points made.

So, for those of us who are into shooting copper monos, it seems like speed would be towards the top of the priority list for goats so as to ensure the greatest amount of expansion as quickly as possible. Anyone got experience with this?

I've killed all mine (5 now I think), using Barnes TTSX ammo, and they've all pretty much just piled up where I shot them. This past season was the only exception, he jumped up and ran about 15 yards or so before expiring. The longest shots have only been a little over 200 yards, so no experience with long distance goat kills.

 

[Montero]

Colorado goat if that matters but shot with a 300 WSM, Barnes LR 175 grain at 174 yards distance as 12,000ft. elevation. one shot high shoulder.

 

[pgsalton]

I've shot 11 mountain goats - 8 with a rifle and 3 with a bow. All of the bow shot goats were under 20 yards while the rifle shot goats tended to be in the 200-300 yard range. Longest at 399 this year! I have also helped people shoot a lot of goats (lost count), but on average 200-300 is about where it generally occurs. I do remember a goat hunt where a buddy shot a goat at under 10 yards with a rifle.

I personally think goats are a pretty easy hunt, but with a high probability of something going badly wrong. They are white and easy to find, and not all that aware of what is up. Super easy to stalk. And yet when you do shoot one badly the goat tends end up in really bad places. Like super scary!

I've shot goats with 270 win, 260 Remington, 308 and 300 win mag and the worst result was with the 300 win mag. And best results with the 260 Remington! I think it is all about bullet placement and in terms of difficulty to kill goats really are no different than a sitka blacktail. They are nowhere near as hardy and hard to kill as an elk.

Finally I tend to use soft point hunting bullets - core lokt, federal soft point, federal fusion, and Sierra game king have gotten it done for me. (but with the 300 win mag I used Trophy bonded bear claw with poor results).
Patrick

 

[buckchaser]

120 meters with 140 grain 7mm-08 last August. Billy went down immediately.

 

[Grizzly Ridge]

I posted on the Optics board to get a bit more traffic regarding a scope choice for my upcoming hunt. I'd love to get some quick answers here regarding some of the mountain goat kills you've experienced. Some of you guys have seen many.

1. What was the range?
2. Set-up (off-hand, kneeling, prone, backpack rest, bipod, etc.)

As much as I love to bow hunt, I'm carrying a rifle on this hunt.

laying prone bipod 350yards

off hand 80 yards

laying prone bipod 375 yards

 

[Tmoorhead]

I posted on the Optics board to get a bit more traffic regarding a scope choice for my upcoming hunt. I'd love to get some quick answers here regarding some of the mountain goat kills you've experienced. Some of you guys have seen many.

1. What was the range?
2. Set-up (off-hand, kneeling, prone, backpack rest, bipod, etc.)

As much as I love to bow hunt, I'm carrying a rifle on this hunt.

both of mine have been with a bow, 17 yards standing and 28 yards standing

 

[alexanderg23]

So here’s a visual. This was done a few years ago for deer, and while there are relatively minor differences between a 250lb deer as depicted and a goat, the implications are exactly the same. Three bullets- a 180 Barnes TSX, a 180gr Nasler Accubond, and a Hornady 178gr AMAX were used to illustrate the differences in wound size/tissue damage between a “tough”, “medium”, and “soft” bullet. The three overlays are from those three bullets impacting calibrated ballistic gel through a barrier. Hundreds of deer being shot has proven the wound patterns to be nearly identical in live animals to the test shots shown.


The shaded overlay is the permanent crush cavity- actual tissue damaged and destroyed by the bullets.



180gr Barnes TSX










180gr Nosler Accubond






178gr Hornady Amax










It’s not hard to understand which bullet creates the narrowest wounds, and therefore kills the slowest ON AVERAGE.

That's a cool visual, and I bet pretty accurate for that shot. I just don't want lead sprayed throughout my meat. Now do that visual on a frontal shoulder shot and I be that AMAX explodes on the shoulder and the Barnes smokes it and exits by the rear ribs.

 

[Britt-dog]

I posted on the Optics board to get a bit more traffic regarding a scope choice for my upcoming hunt. I'd love to get some quick answers here regarding some of the mountain goat kills you've experienced. Some of you guys have seen many.

1. What was the range?
2. Set-up (off-hand, kneeling, prone, backpack rest, bipod, etc.)

As much as I love to bow hunt, I'm carrying a rifle on this hunt.

167 prone off rocks 7/08
178 prone off pack .284 win

 

[Ftguides]

Of the 20ish I've been apart of, 90% are in the 150-250 yard range. Goats do erratic things when hit, even hit well by big bullets. Make sure you have a good idea of your recovery options. Prone off packs, bipods, and rocks are the norm.

If you "just can't" get sub-350yd from a mountain goat, you probably just enjoy long range shooting. Closing distance on them is not the most difficult, particularly from above.

 

[Porthunter]

Finally get to post about my first hand experience, picked up a 6.5PRC last year as I for one am of the opinion many people to over gun themselves for medium sized game.

Took my first billy at 860 this past week. Probably could have made a climb into a spot that would have put me at +/- 550 but there was no real spot there to get a set rest.

Where we were, was able to fully prep, set up, lay out mats, build a snow slope, use a dry bag filled with snow as a rear bag, and spend as much time needed dry firing and preparing. So it made more sense to go from there(as I've taken the gun out past 1000) than to try from 550 after a climb and a tough set up.

143g Eld-x did the trick

 

[Flojoe]

#1 - 260yds, half-contorted shooting up-hill off my pack.

#2 - 180yds, sort of prone off some rocks using my bino harness as a rest.