Shotguns on goats

[Archie]

Wondering people's views on the best 12g loads for goats? Possibly smaller pigs as well? Probably been asked before so apologies for any repeats. I've only shot rabbits before with a shotgun so I'm not sure what to buy.

[bladeracer]

I'd go with slugs.

[duncan61]

OO/SG and pattern the head area and they will be dead before they hit the ground and very good to eat

[bladeracer]

OO/SG and pattern the head area and they will be dead before they hit the ground and very good to eat

Surely you'd have to be very close to put a slug pattern on the head?

[Archie]

Thanks. I have a few boxes of BB I picked up at some point and I was a bit worried that they weren't sufficient. Sounds like probably not.

Any suggestions as to chokes? and if I go with slugs, I assume I just fit C and IC?

[duncan61]

I did a fair bit of goat shooting with a shotgun out of Meekatharra and if you are chasing them in a car you try to get parallel with them and hit them in the head area for eating purposes.If you belt them from behind they go down but most of the back is badly bruised which is fine if you are just going to wipe some out cos they are messing up the water troughs.If you want one for eating you need to not damage the back half.The station owners would get us to go to a few wells to clean them up when the numbers got too many.We were about 30-40 metres and the 9 balls in OO/SG messed them up real good.I am not sure what you mean by having to be close,By pattern I mean point in that direction one of them balls will hit it and knock it down.usually 2-3 would hit.I am going to google the pattern of OO/SG at 30 metres I will be surprised if its much more than 18 inches out of a 28 inch barrel full choke

[bladeracer]

I did a fair bit of goat shooting with a shotgun out of Meekatharra and if you are chasing them in a car you try to get parallel with them and hit them in the head area for eating purposes.If you belt them from behind they go down but most of the back is badly bruised which is fine if you are just going to wipe some out cos they are messing up the water troughs.If you want one for eating you need to not damage the back half.The station owners would get us to go to a few wells to clean them up when the numbers got too many.We were about 30-40 metres and the 9 balls in OO/SG messed them up real good.I am not sure what you mean by having to be close,By pattern I mean point in that direction one of them balls will hit it and knock it down.usually 2-3 would hit.I am going to google the pattern of OO/SG at 30 metres I will be surprised if its much more than 18 inches out of a 28 inch barrel full choke

Yes, I would consider 30m to be very close

[duncan61]

BBs are a heavy load for geese,A bit cruel for use on medium game cos you will wound them pretty bad but unlikely to kill out right unless you are hunting and get 20 feet away and blast them in the face.Shotguns lose energy very quickly depending on shot size I would not go lower than SSG on goats so why not get OO/SG and do the job.First time I did this goat culling there was a few of us and we got line abreast and slowly stalked in to the drinking trough and got quite close before they spooked and I was impressed with the performance of OO/SG you can still drop them at 100m but have to terminate them quickly.We had a young guy with a .22 LR single shot who liked to run around doing that.I have got within 20 feet on my own using a tree line for cover in the middle of the day when they are shaded up.Chasing in a car is the best way.There is some really flat country out that way and goats are not known for their speed or stamina

[bladeracer]

BBs are a heavy load for geese,A bit cruel for use on medium game cos you will wound them pretty bad but unlikely to kill out right unless you are hunting and get 20 feet away and blast them in the face.Shotguns lose energy very quickly depending on shot size I would not go lower than SSG on goats so why not get OO/SG and do the job.First time I did this goat culling there was a few of us and we got line abreast and slowly stalked in to the drinking trough and got quite close before they spooked and I was impressed with the performance of OO/SG you can still drop them at 100m but have to terminate them quickly.We had a young guy with a .22 LR single shot who liked to run around doing that.I have got within 20 feet on my own using a tree line for cover in the middle of the day when they are shaded up.Chasing in a car is the best way.There is some really flat country out that way and goats are not known for their speed or stamina

Why didn't you use rifles and take them from longer ranges instead of spooking them?

[duncan61]

We had a 30/06 and .222 Rem and an assortment of .22LR All this gear belonged to the Contractor I was working for and sometimes he would come over the compound where all the crew were staying and ask who wanted to go goat shooting on a Sunday.I was ex full time Army he was in the A res and the other plumber had done territorial which is English A res in a para regiment.The young guy was our apprentice and sometimes a few others would come.This bloke got me into shooting and my first firearm was the greener shotgun that I used the station property letter for.He had a trap gun skeet gun 5 shot browning and my favorite the 4 shot berretta.The plan is to go to certain wells which as you probably know are the old windmill that you can see for miles and a tank and drinking trough there is usually a fence line and sometimes a holding pen and a few trees around dismount load up and work your way in.Blast crap out of them for a bout 2 minutes then do a count I got 9 once.Some times they run straight at you and I have knocked one down at just over 100m.We probably got just as many with the rifles the para guy loved the .222 and the boss could drop them as specks in the distance with the 30/06 in the late afternoon we would swing on the last watering hole for the day and hose them down.Then go back for a goat BBQ and get rolling drunk.this was in 94 and I think a lot of the stations now farm them for the middle east so they are stock but back then it was all sheep and wool.

[bladeracer]

We had a 30/06 and .222 Rem and an assortment of .22LR All this gear belonged to the Contractor I was working for and sometimes he would come over the compound where all the crew were staying and ask who wanted to go goat shooting on a Sunday.I was ex full time Army he was in the A res and the other plumber had done territorial which is English A res in a para regiment.The young guy was our apprentice and sometimes a few others would come.This bloke got me into shooting and my first firearm was the greener shotgun that I used the station property letter for.He had a trap gun skeet gun 5 shot browning and my favorite the 4 shot berretta.The plan is to go to certain wells which as you probably know are the old windmill that you can see for miles and a tank and drinking trough there is usually a fence line and sometimes a holding pen and a few trees around dismount load up and work your way in.Blast crap out of them for a bout 2 minutes then do a count I got 9 once.Some times they run straight at you and I have knocked one down at just over 100m.We probably got just as many with the rifles the para guy loved the .222 and the boss could drop them as specks in the distance with the 30/06 in the late afternoon we would swing on the last watering hole for the day and hose them down.Then go back for a goat BBQ and get rolling drunk.this was in 94 and I think a lot of the stations now farm them for the middle east so they are stock but back then it was all sheep and wool.

That makes sense if you didn't have centrefire rifles to equip everybody.

[duncan61]

If cost is a factor solids and stuff vary a lot in price.The cheapest solids I ever had were PPU about $12-$13 for 5 at the same time 25 OO/SG were about $18-$20 I think I paid about $35 for a box of OO/SG a few months ago I will have to check the box.hope this has helped you decide how to go

[on_one_wheel]

I've shot goats vith 00 sg and ic chokes, they dropped on the spot from 30m - 50m

[wrenchman]

try different brands you will find not all brands will shoot the same from your gun my shot gun does not shoot brenneke slugs well at all

[bigpete]

I'm going to give my 6 ball buck shot loads a go on goats soon. 6 x .375 cal balls at once. Patterns inside a goats chest out to 30m. Plenty good enough

[<<Genesis93>>]

I cant see the need to hit a goat with a 400? 500?gr slug... they are 'relatively' small game... SGs (Small Game who'd a thunk it) would be more than adequate at half the cost or less, and the 9 x33cal shots are serious business at the receiving end...

[bigpete]

The need ? There's no "need" involved really. Except the fact that if all you've got is a shotgun then maybe you'll extend your range a bit over SGs with a slug

[wrenchman]

a shot gun will do fine i have shot many deer with it many guys hunt with them here and it is the only gun they have they bird hunt small game hunt and deer hunt with the same gun

[Archie]

Well in the end I didn't see any goats on that trip anyway, and as for the shotgun it only got used to finish off a not-particularly-well-shot pig someone didn't quite miss with a 308, so I haven't got a field test to report. But thx for the info, hopefully I will get a chance to put it to use on another trip.

[duncan61]

It opened a good subject