A Few Goats

[EigerWand]

In New Zealand there are quite a few feral goats.
Not majestic mountain goats like you have in the States. But a worthy quarry
These are Capra hircus.
Some goats live on public land up in the mountains ( no charge for hunting permit from the Department of conservation, available all year round) but there are more on rough hill farmland, where you need permission from the farmer. They eat and damage native forest and farmers sometimes consider them a pest, competing with their stock or sometimes they will round them up and sell them for meat -a handy extra income stream from marginal land.
This is a typical goat hunting area. Pretty easy country.
Goat Country 600px91kb.jpg

resting goat 500px90kb.jpg
This is a dead goat, shot with the Grendel from 229m. It ran downhill for about 50 yards, then stood unsteadily for a while, lay down and didn't get up. This is a medium sized billy. A lot of feral goats have this patterned, chocolate coat but they vary hugely.

Here is the Grendel with a pair of goats.
It has a legacy fibreglass stock and I've made a palm swell with epoxy putty.
The gun always felt awkward as the stock was too short for me.
2 goats 500px95kb.jpg

A small goat, a kid really.
The gun has its carbon fibre stock and a spare VX-1 3-9x40 I used on it for quite a while.
Kid goat and gun 500px90kb.jpg

Goats are usually not all that big, so the Grendel is just right.
I shoot more goats than anything else.
goat 500px94kb.jpg

This is the current set up.
I've put cheap plastic camo tape on the suppressor and on the scope to hold inner tube rubber sun shades in place.
It's a VX3i 4.5-14x40.
The tape by the butt covers a couple of plastic home made spacers that were a bit rough.
Goats and Grendel 400px912kb.jpg

We eat some goat meat, specially if there's no venison in the freezer, but mostly I bring back the meat to feed the cats. Two cats eat about a goat each month so I have to go out regularly.

[Klem]

Eiger,

Where do you hunt? It'd be pretty tourist-quiet with Covid.

[Ymountainman]

They look tasty to me

[PVBoom]

I would think there would be a market for the horns and skins also.

Looks like its time to make some goat curry.

[tdbru]

EW,
nice post. tell me more about your Grendel. What action? barrel? barrel length? trigger? what brand stock? what load or ammo were you using for goats? about what is the mass of these goats? 25kg? barrel looks custom, what twist rate? interesting. and well done.
-tdbru

[LRRPF52]

[EigerWand]

Eiger,

Where do you hunt? It'd be pretty tourist-quiet with Covid.

Hi Klem, These goats were in the Waikato region. My other favourite goats hunting place is the Rimutakas. In recent years I've hunted a mostly in the Kaimanawas, Ruahines and Kaimais (for deer).

Tourist traffic is light but there are a few backpackers still, that were here at Lockdown in March. They could have left months ago of course but are doing the rounds fruitpicking for money and hiking when they can afford it. Kiwis are going crazy getting into the hills, eating out at restaurants, cafes and generally touristing in their own country while they can. Our thoughts are with you guys.

[EigerWand]

tdbru and LRRPF52, it's a Sako vixen 6mmPPC rebarreled with a Shilen; the stock is a NZ made Southfort with a couple of mods and the suppresor is also local brand DPT modular "overbarrel" but I've taken out all the optional modules as the Grendel has so little powder it doesn't need it. For hunting, I need an over barrel one because I fall over so often I'd bend a muzzle forward one.
Details of gun. Details of the load (123 ELD-M with 8208 in Lapua Brass)

[EigerWand]

YMountainman and PVBoom, indeed curry and stews are best for goat meat, I find. It's tender enough but the legs are quite small so to get a decent feed you need to cut up a whole leg which includes quite a few tendons and means a long slow cook of say 2 hours is the best. And even the backstraps are fairly small so they go into casserole chunks more than steaks.

[Klem]

Hi Klem, These goats were in the Waikato region. My other favourite goats hunting place is the Rimutakas. In recent years I've hunted a mostly in the Kaimanawas, Ruahines and Kaimais (for deer).

Tourist traffic is light but there are a few backpackers still, that were here at Lockdown in March. They could have left months ago of course but are doing the rounds fruitpicking for money and hiking when they can afford it. Kiwis are going crazy getting into the hills, eating out at restaurants, cafes and generally touristing in their own country while they can. Our thoughts are with you guys.

Eiger,

Very good, sounds like you hunt the middle of the North Island. I'm in WA where we have no community transmission thanks to a hard border. Like you it's holidaying in our own state which is as large as western Europe so it's not much of a restriction. I've been hoping over to Fiordland every year now to walk the Routeburn. Ran into a couple of hunters on the track last year who were hoping to nail a deer. It was early and I didn't hear any shots but it wouldn't take long to get out of earshot and their rifle was suppressed. I shoot roos, foxes and feral cats. Plus of course rabbits when there's nothing else. There are a few areas of wild pigs but they are elusive and the guys who target them have the full gear using dogs with wireless collars. There are wild dogs and camels further east but it's a multi-day mission to get out there from the coast (I have never done it).

Looking forward to the travel bubble and get over there.

[Stinky Coyote]

Awesome, great pics and rifle!

[EigerWand]

Hi Klem,
I thought that's where you were but couldn't find a location of Twin Peaks across the ditch so guessed you were in the other WA.
Anyway, hopefully you guys will get over here soon. Vic and NSW have done bloody well.
Americans are welcome here, just have to do 2 weeks transit in a 4 star hotel.

[Old Bob]

EigerWand... Have you hunted Sambar deer? I just saw a hunting show on the tube of a guy hunting Sambar in New Zealand. Impressive looking animal!

[sundowner]

Great story and pictures , thanks for sharing .

[LRRPF52]

tdbru and LRRPF52, it's a Sako vixen 6mmPPC rebarreled with a Shilen; the stock is a NZ made Southfort with a couple of mods and the suppresor is also local brand DPT modular "overbarrel" but I've taken out all the optional modules as the Grendel has so little powder it doesn't need it. For hunting, I need an over barrel one because I fall over so often I'd bend a muzzle forward one.
Details of gun. Details of the load (123 ELD-M with 8208 in Lapua Brass)