whats the best sheep/goat caliber

Dogleg said:
When hunters are actually writeing a cheque and showing up, you can almost bet that they will be carrying a .300 of one stripe or another. It doesn't seem to matter much where you go.

It isn't that smaller guns won't work, but what will they do better? It doesn't seem to matter where you go, better than half of client hunters use a .300. By B&C records the .300 tops the chart for just about every every NA species.

30-06 bullets at .270 velocity; what's not to like? :cool:
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i have seen more 300 wsm in the bush over the last five years, alomost 3 to 1. its a short fast 30-06 whats not to like about it? the 30-06 has been killing rams and billies for 105 years now.
 
The only sheep that I have shot was with a .308. My outfitter thought it was quite "light" for the job! I had originally thought I would bring my 25-06 but the outfitter vetoed that idea. I think far too many hunters carry rifles much bigger than is actually necessary, until that seems "normal" - then you get to the ridiculous situation where an outfitter thinks a rifle that is fully adequate for moose is too "light" for sheep.

Goats on the other hand, are tough to anchor in one spot from my very limited experience. A 25-06 might be just a little light for goats in some situations.

The other significant factor that encourages many hunters to carry "too much gun" is that sheep country is also grizzly country. A 25-06 might seem light for grizzly if one had a reason to shoot a problem bear.
 
The only sheep that I have shot was with a .308. My outfitter thought it was quite "light" for the job! I had originally thought I would bring my 25-06 but the outfitter vetoed that idea.
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A bighorn sheep outfitter that I know, and have hunted with in the past keeps a rifle in camp in case a clients rifle gets lost on his way to Alberta. That rifle, is a Remington model 7 chambered in 243win. The outfitter is one of the most respected bighorn sheep outfitters in Alberta.
 
The way I see it... If you can write a cheque for thirty grand for a shot at a smelly old goat with big horns, you cant show up with a plain olde 30-06 can you?.:D

What would youre friends say?.:confused:

It would have to be a short mag of around thirty cal.:slap:

Even Jack O knew a twenty eight was better than a twenty seven.;)
 
Huntin' Gun said:
Jack Oconnor was well known for being a sheep hunter. He was also well known for liking the .270 win. Now I don't think that's a coincidence. Although, if he were still alive today, I bet he'd be all over the .270 WSM. Put that in a nice light rifle and then you'd have what I would call a perfect sheep gun.
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Ever read an old book by o'connor? theres more than one story of him firing four or five shots at an animal before bringing it down.... .270 wsm is a great cartridge i just don't think the magazine holds enough shells for his taste...
 
Riflesmith said:
Well if you are a paying hunter and this may be a once in a lifetime hunt I think it would be hard to beat a fast, flat .30 cal. I love the .270 cal rounds but if I were paying 30,000.00 plus for a stone or desert bighorn I would want as much punch as possible.

I hunted goats this past fall in B.C. and was unsuccesfull. I was in on two stone sheep kills though. One hunter used a 7mm mag and the other a .300 win mag. THe guy shooting the 7mm mag new his gun very well and smashed his ram once. The dude with the custom .300 shot 6 times!!!! On each hunt I had my crosshairs levelled on each ram.

The lesson is simple what ever you choose know exactly what your gun is doing out to 400yards like SK hunter is saying. Myself at the time because I was hunting goats I was shooting a .300 wsm on a borden action with 150 gr ttsx's at 3100 fps I was certain I could get the job done out to 400 yards.

I feel if you are going to sweat you nuts off climbing to get a good animal you may as well carry a caliber strong enough to anchor the animal no matter what the animal or angle. Because if you don't you trophy may be lost or damaged. And if you are a paying hunter like me you don't want that.
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A 270 win with 130 gr or higher will anchor a sheep as well as a 30 cal unless you shoot it in the arse, if you feel you can't do it with a round like the 270 you shouldn't be hunting.
 
crazydave said:
A 270 win with 130 gr or higher will anchor a sheep as well as a 30 cal unless you shoot it in the arse, if you feel you can't do it with a round like the 270 you shouldn't be hunting.
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Well considering I have never shot sheep or a goat my opinion probably counts for ####. I agree 100% the .270 in any form will get it done. In fact when I go back to finish what I started with a goat I will be taking the light weight .270 wsm I bought yesterday. With your permission of course.

In fact we all know the calibers listed will all do the job under most circumstances with good bullets and lots of practice. Heck the .30-30 has killed a pile of sheep but I wouldn't want it if I had a shot at a stone sheep 250 yards away. Again I am paying for the hunt. So getting back to he OP's original post. For ME the ultimate sheep goat round is still in the fast .30 caliber arena.
 
That 25-06 with a Banes TSX would be the finger of god when pointed at a goat / elk / caribou / deer / yeti. Get'r done and post pics!
 
This is a great post and I have a couple of questions for the experienced sheep/Goat hunter.

From what I read here the 25-06 has a following. I have read this as well. Why then is the 257 Weatherby not more popular ? All things equal, wouldn't the 257 Wby push a 117 grain bullet 400 fps faster than a 25-06 ? This would mean a flater shooting bullet and make the 400 yrd shot easier ? Maybe my thinking is wrong here ?

How come so few 7mm's. I would also think the 7mm Rem mag or 7mm WSM to be popular for being flatshooting.
 
jacky said:
All things equal, wouldn't the 257 Wby push a 117 grain bullet 400 fps faster than a 25-06 ? This would mean a flater shooting bullet and make the 400 yrd shot easier ? Maybe my thinking is wrong here ?
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The only thing that makes a 400 yard shot easier is practice with a rifle your comfortable and proficient with.
 
hakx said:
Get'r done and post pics!
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This goat fell 217 yards and broke 2 1/2 inches off in the fall, along with some serious face damage. Cost $400 to fix the horns and face... and this goat cannot be officailly scored since the horns were damaged. The bases are 6"/6 1/8" with 9 7/8 length on the unbroken side. For reference the guy is roughly 270#. 300wsm with 165gr tsx, shot at 187 yards.

goat1.jpg
 
jacky said:
All things equal, wouldn't the 257 Wby push a 117 grain bullet 400 fps faster than a 25-06 ? This would mean a flater shooting bullet and make the 400 yrd shot easier ? Maybe my thinking is wrong here ?
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.257 Wby is a great choice, but isn't quite that much faster. My Ultra Light .257 with 26" tube was a hair over 300 fps faster than my old Remington .25-06 with a 24" tube IIRC. Even at that, the .25-06 at max loads was firing 100gr at nearly 3300 fps! That's gonna fly flat enough for any shot I could ever take. And the Remington was a lot cheaper, you could bed it in a feathery stock and mount a lightweight scope for way less than just the cost of the Weatherby and not be too far off in weight.
 
I wanted a 257 wby but then saw the price of ammo. 25-06 is my choice for antelope and deer and coyote and varmit. I may take a black bear with it. I may never hunt a sheep but in case I get the chance I know I have something. I'm just as comfortable with my 25 as I am with my 300 winmag. I just love my 25 and to fill the gap I have a 300 savage and a 308 both pumps open sighted. Thanks for the replys all.
 
Longwalker said:
The only sheep that I have shot was with a .308. My outfitter thought it was quite "light" for the job! I had originally thought I would bring my 25-06 but the outfitter vetoed that idea. I think far too many hunters carry rifles much bigger than is actually necessary, until that seems "normal" - then you get to the ridiculous situation where an outfitter thinks a rifle that is fully adequate for moose is too "light" for sheep.

Goats on the other hand, are tough to anchor in one spot from my very limited experience. A 25-06 might be just a little light for goats in some situations.

The other significant factor that encourages many hunters to carry "too much gun" is that sheep country is also grizzly country. A 25-06 might seem light for grizzly if one had a reason to shoot a problem bear.
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i ve seen hunters using .243 in grizzly country and they sleep well in their tents and are still alive to talk about ... grizzly are not hidden behind every trees but that s may be the subject of another thread (we certainly need another one on that subject lol ...)
 
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