.308 Goat Load Request

[milkybar]

Hi all. Just got back from a goat shooting trip and was using my pig and deer load of 150gr Speer SP with a very light 37gr of 2206. Accuracy is great and pigs and deer drop without any drama's. I knew the load was not best suited for goats, they obviously worked well if you got em in the shoulder but with running shots if you hit them a bit far back they only drilled them. b4 I go on my next trip I was going to load some rounds just for goats and was thinking of 110gr sierra's. It does state that they are varmint use. There will also be texas heart shots taken so I dont want them to blow up on the ass of the goat, pretty much I need the best load and projectile so the animal can be taken with minimal suffering. Any comments and advice would be much appreciated. Cheers Guys

 

[T.R.]

This is my ,308 load for 'lopes:

- 125 grain Sierra bullet
- 51.6 grains of WIN 748

TR

 

[eldon519]

I would think a 150gr hollow point or ballistic tip in place of the SP might give you what you are after without having to change your point of aim/point of impact.

 

[milkybar]

Do you think the 110gr hollow points would be too light considering they will be shot at all angles when on a cull.

 

[lefteyedom]

The problem with shooting Lopes is the wind, distance combo. I have shot them from 5o yards out to 450 yards in winds from claim to 45 mph (a Wyoming light breeze). They are not hard to kill, just sometimes hard to hit.

Go heavy on the bullet weight, high BC (.500) and get a god range finder and wind gauge.

In my 308 I used 180 grain going about 2500 fps. (out of a 26" barrel Sendro)
(for the record I keep a 25/06 for Lopes and Prairie Poodles)

 

[Jim Watson]

I don't know how big these goats are, but I would not care to shoot one in the butt with a 110 grain VARMINT bullet.

Your load of a 150 gr JSP and 37 gr AR2206 is far below even the book starting load and you may not be even up to .30-30 or 7.62x39 ballistics.
I would put in some more powder and get those softpoints to open up.

 

[swag]

Gday, Obviously you're loading, not using store bought, just thought i'd throw in that on my last hunt I used Federal .308 130grain Law enforcement "tactical" for goats and the small statured pigs of this area(50 kgs max). "tactical" is not my thing, the packaging almost put me of, glad it didn't, much more dramatic performance with this hollowpoint than the heavier bullets I normally use.

 

[milkybar]

True, I dont know where I got the 37gr figure from. I knew at the time the max load was around 45gr, my bad. (or stupid). Ill use the rest of the loaded 150gr for pigs and deer as they work well on those and are already loaded. When I do my next reload for pigs/deer I'll recheck my data and make sure of the numbers. In regards to the goats, I too believe the 110gr are a bit light but wanted to double check with you guys, one of the chaps on the cull used the 130gr feds and the worked well, others had speer 130gr and sierra 125gr. either way when I load them up I will have to triple check the numbers. The goats are anywhere from kid size right up to the biggest of billies. Thanks all for your advice (and for making me check the 37gr load data).

 

[moonzapa]

I would load Hornady's 168 grain A-Max bullet. It's a bit heavy for antelope, but it has a great b.c. and it performs very well at long ranges, bucks the wind as well as any of them. I know, everyone says it's for match shooting, but my experience with this bullet proves otherwise. Try a box and see! Good Hunting!

 

[milkybar]

Hey SWAG, with a starting post of "G'day"you may be from OZ?

 

[Fatelvis]

I would go with heavier (155-175) bullets with better BCs. Goats are easy to kill, they dont need rapid and extreme expansion of a fast bullet, they just need to hit home, reguardless of wind. And make no mistake, a 175 bullet will go from stern to bow on a goat. Cant get any better penetration than that!

 

[milkybar]

The goats are a light bodied Aussie feral goat. Possibly resembling a small fallow deer of crotch height. I rang a mate yesterday and the team that shoots the parks in the east are only allowed to use speer 130gr hollow points to limit any drilling of animals therefore limiting the amount of projectiles that continue into the distance. I reckon I'll go for them one's. cheers all for your advice. Happy hunting and be safe, with out safety we may have nothing.

 

[swag]

Yeah you picked that up, sydney based, get out to the Warrunbungles once or twice a year, up Malcom Naden way once or twice as well, one big trip to Bourke if the missus really lets me slip the leash.

 

[milkybar]

Wow your doing alright. Im a once or twice a year deer man around Gambier way. once piggin at cobar if Im lucky and two or three for goats in the flinders. Gotta love a girl with a loose hand. happy hunting m8.