Feral cattle

[flashman]

Hi been given a job to be paid in half a side of beef , butcher friend needs me to drop 6 feral cattle , ok sounds easy ,but u be lucky to get with in 150 to 200m , what 30 cal projectile would u recommend ,I have speer 150g hot core ,speer grand slams 150 gr as there ars not a big selection in my LGS ,or buy self 20 premium hunting round .........ok any suggestion.. Im using a howa in 308win

[bigpete]

Go the grand slams I reckon

[animalpest]

Grand Slams but they will both work if hit in the right place.

[Blr243]

I only shot one in the chest with an arrow , sneak right up behind it bare foot as it fed into the breeze. At 5 m it turned broadside and I fired. It was down in five steps Just goes to show what a tiny broad head in the right place can do. All other cattle have been in non hunting scenarios have been brain shots with rifles close range in or close to yards ...if they are so far away you are only goin to get one shot and the rest will bolt away immediately......anything other than perfect shot placement at long range and you are looking at tracking a wounded beast for a long way and a potential disaster ...I can’t see a great deal of difference in results with the equipment u have mentioned. But if if it were me I would be not worrying About the ammo too much , and putting a ton of effort into how am I going to get within 50 m so it can be done right guaranteed. I think that’s what you need to work on. It’s hot now , water maybe, ambush ? And in the heat meat spoils fast . Can u get an animal to a cool room real quick ? ....35 years ago a couple of blokes I know planned the same thing . It went wrong, I was only a kid and I don’t think i was told the full story but I’ll never forget having to butcher all that rotten meat .... it was disgusting and should have been dumped. I think they were just not wanting to waste the animal

[flashman]

Ok Speer Grand slams it is this is a big jump from foxes and goats ,a couple of things play on the mine don't know the lay out of the property ,and can not predict weather conditions ,never done feral cattle before ..? There will be a portable cool room on site as well hope it all goes to plan will be taking the handy cam with me ..........

[Peter988]

I had to do a couple some years back. Just headshot them with the 222. Just have to get close enough.

[flashman]

Yes I though of that 2 use my 223rem ,thinking 308 will do a better job ,better to go over gunned then under......

[Bill]

Flashman do you know where the cattle like to camp ?

[flashman]

Simple Answer NO , going to try and get a weekend swag camp and have a recon will know more after that , we will have a drone too and get a over view also, mate HI- tech never though I be using a drone ....

[flashman]

Just watch a Newzealand video on cattle culling he was using a .22 wmr but he up close and they we pended

[animalpest]

308 is better than a .223 as the smaller calibre may not penetrate on a frontal shot.

Just remember the brain (for frontal shot) on cattle is at a cross drawn between the base of the horns and the eyes. That is higher than most pictures describe (ears to eyes).

[Tilb004]

Shot a bull with 22-250 at about 40m with 55 gr sp no probs,but definitely use 308 at that distance .

[flashman]

Yep 308 it Is, getting gear ready for a weekend tip to have look ,should be interesting , Thanks for all the input..........

[bigpete]

Good luck with it. Been 20 odd years since I've hunted them

[flashman]

Well thanks Bigpete ,will let u know how we went and will have pics.............

[Bill]

Bugga the pics we want drone footage of the stalk and charge

[bigpete]

Well thanks Bigpete ,will let u know how we went and will have pics.............

I'd like that

[deanp100]

If they are true feral cattle( being smart, tough and ready to run) then you are never going to get 6 at once without trapping them in yards. If you can get them in yards any gun will do. Even if you found a way to knock 6 your mate will need to be on his game to butcher them all at once. If you have to chase them around shooting them it will not be ideal for meat quality. Attracting them and then trapping with lick blocks, and portable yards maybe worthwhile. Are they some old jersey cows that no-one cares about anymore or are we talking 1 million acres and 6 true outlaws.

[Blr243]

Deans onto it. Working smarter not harder

[Die Judicii]

Fer cattle,,,, specially if not in yards,,,, definitely go the bigger heavier caliber, do yer homework well, but above all never forget that bullet placement
is absolutely paramount.
Boiler room shots may destroy some of the meat, but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Brain shots may be instantaneous, but so easy to miss the sweet spot.

[bigrich]

Is a 45-70 a caliber for consideration, or would a 30-06 with heavy for caliber projectiles be a better thing ? Better penetration out of the 30-06 I’m thinking

[animalpest]

A 45/70 would work fine. I have dropped them with a .44 mag. But a 30/06 may be better for longer shots out to 200.

[bigrich]

A 45/70 would work fine. I have dropped them with a .44 mag. But a 30/06 may be better for longer shots out to 200.

As you’ve alluded to, the 06 has range. I’m considering letting my 45-70 guide gun go as it doesn’t do the “all round “ duties like a 06 can. Woodleigh do some nice heavy for caliber bullets for the 06

[Communism_Is_Cancer]

Love the 45/70. Nothing with 4 legs and fur in this federation will still be standing within 150 yards.

[bigrich]

Love the 45/70. Nothing with 4 legs and fur in this federation will still be standing within 150 yards.

The 06 can do that at double the range. To be back on topic a 06 with a heavily constructed projectile would be more useful to the OP in his situation than a shorter range 45-70 whilst having bore size and energy may not have penetration as range increases. This statement is more for a discussion than claiming it to be fact .

[deanp100]

If shooting these for meat is the goal , then head shots should be the target. It’s no good talking about penetration than belting a shot through the ribs into the shoulders as they run away. You might get the first one, and put a round into the second one another 60 yards on as it runs away and then you will be trimming out all the damage and blood clots. We need to hear from the op about what the place looks like and how wild the cattle are.
If they don’t really want to eat them, or are happy to hack a few legs off then it’s open slather.

[bladeracer]

Hi been given a job to be paid in half a side of beef , butcher friend needs me to drop 6 feral cattle , ok sounds easy ,but u be lucky to get with in 150 to 200m , what 30 cal projectile would u recommend ,I have speer 150g hot core ,speer grand slams 150 gr as there ars not a big selection in my LGS ,or buy self 20 premium hunting round .........ok any suggestion.. Im using a howa in 308win

Bullet design really won't matter with head shots, just use whichever bullet gives you the tightest 200m group.

As somebody else mentioned, good luck butchering six cows in the field in one hit. Might be better taking one each morning and spend the day sorting that one out properly before taking the others. If it's farmland you have to dispose of the carcasses properly, you can't generally leave them to rot. Burying them, burning them or composting them are all viable options to avoid having to cart them away - a dead cow is not an easy thing to manipulate in the field. We generally compost them, burying them is too much work. But you want to move or lure them into the area you want to butcher them, and drop them there, you don't want to be trying to move them when their legs don't work.

[Oldbloke]

Love the 45/70. Nothing with 4 legs and fur in this federation will still be standing within 150 yards.

The 06 can do that at double the range. To be back on topic a 06 with a heavily constructed projectile would be more useful to the OP in his situation than a shorter range 45-70 whilst having bore size and energy may not have penetration as range increases. This statement is more for a discussion than claiming it to be fact .

That's why someone invented it back in 1906. LOL

[Communism_Is_Cancer]

Love the 45/70. Nothing with 4 legs and fur in this federation will still be standing within 150 yards.

The 06 can do that at double the range. To be back on topic a 06 with a heavily constructed projectile would be more useful to the OP in his situation than a shorter range 45-70 whilst having bore size and energy may not have penetration as range increases. This statement is more for a discussion than claiming it to be fact .

That's why someone invented it back in 1906. LOL

I think gun Jesus said it was 1903 but was adopted in 1906? I will have to rewatch the video.

[Oldbloke]

Wikipedia says your right.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/.30-03_Springfield