The perfect Mountain Goat Gun ??

[Red_Mist]

I went sheep hunting with a savage LRH in .338lm it was well over 15lb..... tge biggest issue wasnt the weight... it was how ungodly long it is. I snagged on tree branches all the time.
But nan once you get that beast up the mountain... its hard to beat having the ability to take ethically take game at the better part of a klick.

That said... next time i hump up a mountain after one of the critters that play on them: .300 wsm ... and i hope to locate it in the form of the unicorn: a savage lightweight hunter.

15 lbs ! That's a third of my pack weight. We'll every hunting situation is different so you gotta do what's gonna work for you. Animals past 200 yards are gonna be pretty much impossible to recovery where I hunt. I hear you on barrel length as I used to have a 375 H&H and sold it for a 375 ruger .... Nice goat gatehouse....as I found the shorter barrel better in thick bush.

Amazingly, thirty years ago we fudds hunted with 10-11 pound rifles all the time, even in the mountains! A light rifle weighed 8 pounds.

The Chadwick ram, the largest sheep ever shot in North Ameriaca, was taken in the BC mountains in 1936 by a 61 year old hunter with a 404 Jeffrey rifle that weighed over ten pounds.

Ted

That's good perspective and for sure go hunt with what you can but I think there's better options out today in terms of rifle weight.

 

[H4831]

The standard way to distinguish between male and female goats, is by the curvature of the horns.
The goat picture on post 40 here, is a perfect example of the even curve, from base to tip, of a male goat.
Female, on the other hand, have horns that go nearly straight for most of their length, then the last bit curves quite sharply.

 

[torontogungal]

Hunted them with a Rem model 7 (18.5" bbl) in 308 win that paw glass bedded that weighed in a little over 6 1/2 pounds carrying a Leupold 2-7x33 scope on it.
Hardly noticed that gun slung on my back it was so light.
It'll reach out a long way for a goat with 150 grain nosler petition or accubond bullets.
A remarkably accurate rifle for such a light wandy barrel.

 

[ratherbefishin]

65x55 swede,high SD, moderate recoil ,flat shooting and accurate.Virtually same ballistics as a 270 after 100 yards.All you have to do is hold it straight..

 

[medvedqc]

Amazingly, thirty years ago we fudds hunted with 10-11 pound rifles all the time, even in the mountains! A light rifle weighed 8 pounds.

The Chadwick ram, the largest sheep ever shot in North Ameriaca, was taken in the BC mountains in 1936 by a 61 year old hunter with a 404 Jeffrey rifle that weighed over ten pounds.

Ted

Ted,

i still know a guy close to your place using a 300 win mag that weight 13 pounds and he got some sheep with it. the late Jim built it and he s using only foot no atv ...

there is still some guys that do not know what lightweight means ....

Phil

 

[Boomer]

Amazingly, thirty years ago we fudds hunted with 10-11 pound rifles all the time, even in the mountains! A light rifle weighed 8 pounds.

The Chadwick ram, the largest sheep ever shot in North Ameriaca, was taken in the BC mountains in 1936 by a 61 year old hunter with a 404 Jeffrey rifle that weighed over ten pounds.

Ted

Thirty years ago, maybe I could of managed a 12 pound rifle in the mountains, although the breathing thing at high elevations has always created an interesting dilemma for my sea level lungs. I do recall working on a survey crew, and packing a 150 pound load along miles of cut line and thinking little of it. Forty subsequent years of easy living, and I'm looking for a rifle that weighs closer to 5 pounds than 10, a tent that isn't made of 20 oz canvas, and a canoe that doesn't weigh 100 pounds. If I'm ever dumb enough to follow Ardent up a hill, I doubt if my .375 Ultra will tag along, despite Mr Chadwick's wonderful experience at my age, 80 years earlier.

 

[kamlooky]

I'm still waiting fur sling-shawt ammo that will kripple a grizzly at a mere 100 yards.
Then dem dare mountains might nawt be such a chore.
Enjoy yer youth .......... you......you........yung whipper snappers.

 

[Rpipe1]

Alrighty, new to hunting here. Just wondering why everyone wants a light gun for mountain goat hunting. Keep in mind, BRAND new to hunting.

 

[LordEvilPepper]

These pictures pretty much sums it up.... That is the top of a mountain.... above the snow line. There was no trail to get there, just a 4 hour hump up a crag with parts so steep; while standing up, holding on to roots and rocks in front of you, one had to keep your arms hugged in close to your chest less risk go over backwards.

Having that 15 LB LRH that is around 5 feet long... made a hard trek much much harder.

 

[Kevan]

Great post and pictures Lord Pepper, Thanks for sharing with us.
You are a better man than I, this old buzzard never could have done that as much as I would love to go on a Sheep or Goat hunt.

Again, Thanks..

 

[carverk]

I realy shood get out this year take my Winchester low wall in 6.5x55 out for gout
The low wall is the nices rifle I have ever packed I'm glad you guys overlook them or prices would get out of hand haha

 

[hotshot]

Stay with a 6.5 for precision accuracy, lethal killing energy and enjoyable to shoot.
257 calibres have excessive recoil and noise...clumsy long action...and bullets with low BC

 

[Rpipe1]

Wow thanks for the great pictures, I wish hunting was like an apprenticeship and someone would take me on those kinds of hunts haha!

 

[Boomer]

These pictures pretty much sums it up.... That is the top of a mountain.... above the snow line. There was no trail to get there, just a 4 hour hump up a crag with parts so steep; while standing up, holding on to roots and rocks in front of you, one had to keep your arms hugged in close to your chest less risk go over backwards.

Having that 15 LB LRH that is around 5 feet long... made a hard trek much much harder.

What a tough mother! 5000'?

 

[Iron Sighted]

Wow thanks for the great pictures, I wish hunting was like an apprenticeship and someone would take me on those kinds of hunts haha!

My advice if you live near mountains is to not let not having a mentor hold you back. Go climb some of those peaks, even if you see no goats or sheep you get an incredible workout and stunning views.

Where are you located anyways?

 

[Bowron]

I love my Kimber 84L in 280AI. Its proved to be extremely accurate out to 600 yards (that's as far as I have shot) and suprisngly easy to shoot for a gun sitting right around 7lbs. Being a huge Tikka and Remington fan, I'm now wanting another Kimber.

 

[LordEvilPepper]

Wow thanks for the great pictures, I wish hunting was like an apprenticeship and someone would take me on those kinds of hunts haha!

"Laforce outdoors" outfitting.

Hes a good friend of mine, infact he was the one that took those photos lol. he now works with novice hunters, not only setting you up to get the animal, but teaching how to get game on your own.


that hunt was in the Willmore park. the next day after those pictures were taken was a huge rain storm that turned into a blizzard....
we were up another peak getting soaked, sitting in a sheep cave waiting out the rain... Mid afternoon and I could feel the temp drop about 4 or 5 degrees in less than 30 minutes,
I told sam "man I think this is going to turn to snow we need to get off the mountain"
We waited another 30 minutes, temp kept dropping so we quickly picked our way down; made it to camp and started to pull pole.
By the time we hit camp it was hovering around 0, Within an hour of setting off from camp, it was snowing. it was ankle deep by the time we made the truck 2 hours latter and we were both hypothermic after getting soaked all day, going hard down the trail with full packs and then getting tromped in snow.
It was a hard drive out,and complete white out on the highway.

 

[MiG25]

Amazingly, thirty years ago we fudds hunted with 10-11 pound rifles all the time, even in the mountains! A light rifle weighed 8 pounds.

The Chadwick ram, the largest sheep ever shot in North Ameriaca, was taken in the BC mountains in 1936 by a 61 year old hunter with a 404 Jeffrey rifle that weighed over ten pounds.

Ted

Didn't Chadwick only wound the ram and the guide had to go and finish it off?

 

[babine_lake]

Glad to hear you drew a tag, I love to hunt goats. Take whatever rifle you shoot the best. As some have pointed out, goats live in tricky spots and if one is poorly shot and runs a few hundred yards, or even ten yards, it might be impossible to retrieve. I drew a goat tag in the Kootenays again this year as well. My last goat was shot with a 280 Remington and died almost instantly. The last goat a saw shot was hit with a 30-06 - same result. Any reasonable caliber, with a reasonable bullet, well placed will work fine. Certainly your biggest priority should be getting in shape and learning to judge goats. I know very experience goat guides whom have shot nannies by mistake, probably why they don't outright ban the shooting of nannies. My last goat hunt was similar to one of the other posters. We watched it for a while and felt confident it was a mature billy. When I shot it and we walked up we were astounded that it was in fact the best billy any of us had ever been on. The difference between an 8 inch and a 10 inch billy is very hard to determine at 300 yards after a week of straight up climbing and popping Advil to ease our sore knees. Most of us could use to lose ten or fifteen pounds which would do a lot more good then obsessing over the lightest possible rifle, which might save you two or three pounds. Also, bring hiking poles. I used to tease a hunting buddy when he hiked with poles but I tried it and they save the knees big time. Good luck this year, might see you out there.

 

[hemmonsm]

25-06 or 257.