How much thump does your bullet need while hunting

No I have never rented a jet boat, hence my being skeptical it can be done. I am familiar with their use in northern BC though lol

I have spent more time in pink mountain and dease lake than is suggested by most doctors. I don’t think of either as a hot location to launch a jet boat for a sheep/goat hunt. Some much more obvious ones come to mind

Hoyt I hate to say it but you might be right lmao
 
No I have never rented a jet boat, hence my being skeptical it can be done. I am familiar with their use in northern BC though lol

I have spent more time in pink mountain and dease lake than is suggested by most doctors. I don’t think of either as a hot location to launch a jet boat for a sheep/goat hunt. Some much more obvious ones come to mind

Hoyt I hate to say it but you might be right lmao


i also believe there is much better places to go for a goat or sheep hunt, but I went though all the regions in BC and made a list of every single zone that had both an GOS season for goat and sheep, then I know the area of BC that I wanted to go exploring and check out. Atlin was high on the list of places I want to see but its a far drive and I only have 14 days. so the next most wanted to go spot by me was back to the Stikine river and I want to see parts of the province a lot of people don't see, where the iskut and stikine meet is a pretty remote spot that I can bet not a lot of people have been to. its more for the adventure then anything

He Lives near telegraph creek on the way to Glenora, he fishing the river commercially with his boat and he also offers different river tours. one of them happen to be called "the Alaskan border tour" he takes you down to the border shows you around you go to shore and have lunch then you go back up. ill get the rushed version and dropped off near the Iskut instead of going the whole way to the boarder. so maybe more so the "Great Glacier Tour"

also I may have miss spoke of the jet boat, I now believe that was someone else I had been talking too. it is a boat though haha

"Glenora to 2 mile (just above Telegraph Creek)... 25 mile round trip, 2 hours boating/running time.

Glenora to the Chutine River...up the Chutine River a ways(depending on water level). 30 miles round trip, 2.5 hours boating/running time.

Little Canyon Tour... 70 mile round trip, 4 hours boating/running time.

Great Glacier Tour... 200 mile round trip, 7 hours boating/running time/9 hours total with stops & short walking trail into Great Glacier.

Border Tour... 220 mile round trip, 8 hours boating/running time & about 10 hours total with stops & short walking trail into Great Glacier.(FYI, you do not cross into the border but you do get to see it from the boat, so no passport is needed)"
 
Last edited:
No I have never rented a jet boat, hence my being skeptical it can be done. I am familiar with their use in northern BC though lol

I have spent more time in pink mountain and dease lake than is suggested by most doctors. I don’t think of either as a hot location to launch a jet boat for a sheep/goat hunt. Some much more obvious ones come to mind

Hoyt I hate to say it but you might be right lmao


Jet boats have been much more expensive in my experience. You can charter a float plane into a lake much cheaper than running a jet boat. Again we must assume hunt duration.
 
i also believe there is much better places to go for a goat or sheep hunt, but I went though all the regions in BC and made a list of every single zone that had both an GOS season for goat and sheep, then I know the area of BC that I wanted to go exploring and check out. Atlin was high on the list of places I want to see but its a far drive and I only have 14 days. so the next most wanted to go spot by me was back to the Stikine river and I want to see parts of the province a lot of people don't see, where the iskut and stikine meet is a pretty remote spot that I can bet not a lot of people have been to. its more for the adventure then anything

He Lives near telegraph creek on the way to Glenora, he fishing the river commercially with his boat and he also offers different river tours. one of them happen to be called "the Alaskan border tour" he takes you down to the border shows you around you go to shore and have lunch then you go back up. ill get the rushed version and dropped off near the Iskut instead of going the whole way to the boarder. so maybe more so the "Great Glacier Tour"

also I may have miss spoke of the jet boat, I now believe that was someone else I had been talking too. it is a boat though haha

"Glenora to 2 mile (just above Telegraph Creek)... 25 mile round trip, 2 hours boating/running time.

Glenora to the Chutine River...up the Chutine River a ways(depending on water level). 30 miles round trip, 2.5 hours boating/running time.

Little Canyon Tour... 70 mile round trip, 4 hours boating/running time.

Great Glacier Tour... 200 mile round trip, 7 hours boating/running time/9 hours total with stops & short walking trail into Great Glacier.

Border Tour... 220 mile round trip, 8 hours boating/running time & about 10 hours total with stops & short walking trail into Great Glacier.(FYI, you do not cross into the border but you do get to see it from the boat, so no passport is needed)"


Unless he is a licensed packer/transporter he can't transport legally transport hunters. Might want to make sure of that.

The only jet boat transporter I knew of was Riverjet Adventures which I'm not sure is still in operation.
 
Unless he is a licensed packer/transporter he can't transport legally transport hunters. Might want to make sure of that.

The only jet boat transporter I knew of was Riverjet Adventures which I'm not sure is still in operation.

That may through a wrench in it. Ill have to ask about hunters opposed to hikers ( the convo was before i lived here and it was about camping/hiking/exploring)

Also as stated in my post above
"I may have miss spoke of the jet boat, I now believe that was someone else I had been talking too. it is a boat though haha"
 
To pay someone to jet boat you somewhere would also detract from the stupidly expensive “ road hunting” experience of hunting from jet boat on the way to your destination. You haven’t lived until you’ve braced yourself to hit a bar or shoreline and start opening fire

I mean, one would assume

:nest:
 
To pay someone to jet boat you somewhere would also detract from the stupidly expensive “ road hunting” experience of hunting from jet boat on the way to your destination. You haven’t lived until you’ve braced yourself to hit a bar or shoreline and start opening fire

I mean, one would assume

:nest:

Agreed, especially with mediocre calibers.
 
I dont have experience in mountain hunting or in many 6.5 cartridges nor more than "40 decades" of hunting like hoyt lol but energy figures aside animals arent any more tough now than than old days of black powder rounds. Sure theres likely less opportunities at game now but bullets and rifles are way better.
Years ago i had a conversation about sheep cartridges and a buddy brought a sheep out to the farm. At 400 yards my 2506 with 117gr interlocks laid it flat before the rifle settled back down on the bipod. Bullet went clear thru both shoulders. Now my 2506 was shooting faster than your 6.5 but if it still has the velocity to cause the bullet the expand id say youre good to go. Id try for a high shoulder shot to anchor a goat so it doesnt run off the mountain but what do i know. Other than if carrying your custom built rifle makes you happy than do it. You live once. Drink the good whiskey and hunt with the gun you want to. If you miss a chance at an animal because you brought a rifle that limits you oh well thats hunting. If you are successful using that rifle. Itll be that much sweeter
I mainly archery hunt i know all to well what its like to watch a trophy walk away because i couldnt get a few more yards closer

Ps. We need some pics of this custom rifle
 
Years ago i had a conversation about sheep cartridges and a buddy brought a sheep out to the farm. At 400 yards my 2506 with 117gr interlocks laid it flat before the rifle settled back down on the bipod. Bullet went clear thru both shoulders.

Now I know that I have been accused of having poor reading comprehension, so I just have to confirm; you saying in order to test your hypothesis on cartridges for mountain sheep hunting you shot a domesticated sheep at 400 yards?
 
Brybenn, i would post pics of it but right now its all over canada and fully disassembled. my barreled action is packed for shipping to the stock maker in Newfoundland, the walnut blank is in Newfoundland, my mag is in Nova Scotia being finished, I have other parts on the way to Nova Scotia for CCH, I have the barrel rib and butt plate on the way from Manitoba, and I'm still looking for a grip cap and something to use as the fore stock cap.


There is a thread on the rifle in this section, the rifle went from a diy/parts bin build to involving some of the most skilled people in their trades in Canada.

so the thread is long winded and I changed what I was doing a few times in it as the project evolved into a something it didn't start as. I hope all said and done its under 4k and finished for this summer its been over a year in the making so far.

here are the pics of the blank though
51737335872_a6a53a6359_o.jpg


51737335847_61e0996702_o.jpg


51737335837_818ce4d090_o.jpg


51738153626_1d09e20574_o.jpg
 
Last edited:
Brybenn, i would post pics of it but right now its all over canada and fully disassembled. my barreled action is packed for shipping to the stock maker in Newfoundland, the walnut blank is in Newfoundland, my mag is in Nova Scotia being finished, I have other parts on the way to Nova Scotia for CCH, I have the barrel rib and butt plate on the way from Manitoba, and I'm still looking for a grip cap and something to use as the fore stock cap.

when the stock is roughed out Chris is going to send it to Wayne for finishing in Nova Scotia, but before Wayne finishes it the metal bits need to go to Brian in Alberta for engraving before going to Oskar for CCH, so Wayne can install the finished parts on the stock he finished.

There is a thread on the rifle in this section, the rifle went from a diy/parts bin build to involving some of the most skilled people in their trades in Canada.

so the thread is long winded and I changed what I was doing a few times in it as the project evolved into a something it didn't start as. I hope all said and done its under 4k and finished for this summer its been over a year in the making so far.

here are the pics of the blank though
51737335872_a6a53a6359_o.jpg


51737335847_61e0996702_o.jpg


51737335837_818ce4d090_o.jpg


51738153626_1d09e20574_o.jpg

That blank is beautiful English walnut (Juglans Regia), possibly from Turkey or the Caucasus. Can you share with us where you got the blank? And also who the stockmakers are?
 
its English walnut

and the 2 stock makers are very busy and the only way I got my rifle squeezed in was Oskar called in a few favors for me (I didn't ask him too, he just that nice of a guy) nether could commit to making a stock for me before next spring as they are so backed up, but they are going to split the work and fit me in in-between jobs and on free time.

the blank came from Chris Dawe in Newfoundland, he has Gary Flach's stock duplicator and is roughing my stock out on it.

then Wayne Doucette is doing the finish work, checkering and inlays

Oskar kob is doing/done the CCH and Brian Frank is doing the engraving.

Wayne, Oskar and Brian's contact info is here https://oldguns.ca/restoration

Chris Dawes site is here http://stillwaterrestorations.ca/
 
i know this old , but i was reading though my old threads today and started reading this one, I thought id update this.

i didnt bother buying another rifle that i wasnt going to have much time shooting before heading on the trip and the 6.5x53R wasn't done on time so I ended up taking my 303 British on that trip.

i had a scope (vortex diamondback) but it was bumped pretty bad so i took it off and used iron sights.

i got the goat (8" billy), me and my daughter had a great trip, didnt see any sheep though.

I definitely would say, i was pretty limited though. if i was able to shoot 400 yards i would have got a goat on day 2 (and 3,4 5,6..... we saw loads of goats but none were very close and if they were they were nannies or kids), i ended up getting this billy on day 10, we flew out the next morning (less then 24 hours after i got the goat)

150gr .312" bullet at 2500 fps did the trick. first one though the heart and second through the spine, i was so worried when it stopped rolling it would run away so i shot him a second time, after skinning i realized he would have been dead for sure with one shot, he had no heart left

52308414107_934d9cfaf7_b.jpg


52309139471_8f60be5b28_b.jpg


52308413832_692c6148ed_b.jpg
 
Outstanding!
Goes to show ( once again) that the Lee Enfield /.303 British combination is anything but dead, and certainly is capable of getting the job done!
Cat
 
Last edited:
Looks like you guys had an awesome time! The old .303 does the job still, I mean the velocities it pushes regular cup-and-core bullets should result in a pretty dead animal. Plus that's a nice looking Lee-Enfield and there's something to be said for tradition.

257 Weatherby

You should still absolutely do this though. These things are hilarious. 100gr TTSX @3550 is absurd. Mine is a bit of a heavyweight but it would be the first thing I reach for if I had the chance at sheep or goat.
 
Evanguy,

Very cool stuff! Way to go you two, and that stock is going to be muy classy!

As far as thump, for the topic of the thread, if it shuts down the heart/lungs and causes blood pressure to drop fast, that's good enough for me. Most respectable centerfires will do that just fine.
 
Congrats on your successful mountain hunt with your daughter, and the harvest of a billy!
Always a great adventure, whether a goat is harvested or not. Just awesome being in the mountains!

And your new build looks very interesting; love to see the finished product!

As to your original question:
The original energy figures recommended by the old gun writers and guides was:
1000 ft lbs of energy for deer sized game
1500 ft lbs for moose
2000 ft lbs for elk and large bears, and of course this energy figure is the legal requirement with a min. 175 gr bullet, at the animal, for bison in BC.
Today the figure for elk has been adjusted to 1500 ft lbs...and I think that this has a lot to do with the newer bonded and mono-metal bullets performing more reliably than the older cup and core bullets of years gone by.

Having taken 3 goats, while not many, I can tell you that they are tough, but still die from a well placed bullet in the vitals.
I have used 7mm Rem Mag with 165 gr SGK at 15 yards, a 270 Win with 140 gr Ballistic Tip at 115 yards, and a 7MM STW with 160 gr SGK at 30 yards. The first was a 10 1/2" billy and took a follow up shot to finish the billy once I got around to where I could get a follow up shot when he got into the cliffs after the first hit in the vitals, and was more of an insurance shot to ensure he was dead or died quickly with undue suffering, and to provide some shock to move him so he would come of the bench he was laying on. Never a bad idea to put in an insurance shot on a tough animal like a mountain goat (or any other animal you may not be 100% confident that the first shot was immediately lethal).
Would I hesitate to hunt a goat with a smaller, less powerful cartridge; no. I would just ensure that I limited my shot distance to that which provides sufficient velocity for reliable expansion, and sufficient energy to provide a quick, clean kill, and that which I am confident that I can accurately place my bullet in the vitals. I would use my 6.5x55 or CM without hesitation. I am building a PRC to add the the mountain rifle battery, just for the extra energy...and just plain want one! LOL...although the 7MM STW provides plenty, and is a favourite rifle that I have used lots, I still have a fondness for the 6.5s. And want to build more on-game experience with.

Everyone talks about having to take 400+ yards shots on mountain game, and this may happen for many...but in my experience having taken a number of goats, sheep, and caribou on the mountain or in the alpine, my longest shot to date has only been 300 yards. (Just took a nice young caribou bull at 43 yards with the 6.5 CM up in the wide open alpine - have taken 3 in the same spot over the past 25 years with the longest shot being 150 yards) And after 38 years of hunting big game throughout BC and Alberta, a bit in Saskatchewan, and now New Zealand, my average shot distance is still just 137 yards. But then again, I always try to get as close as possible to take my shot...and archery hunting over the past 20 years has also helped this practice.
 
Back
Top Bottom