Why do goats get people’s goat?

First goat I shot was over a decade ago. A lovely billy with a new rifle in the Galloway hills. He was stood on a ledge surrounded by a small group and there was no real way of getting any closer, but he wasn’t really going anywhere. It was an uphill shot some distance off sticks.

Said goat dropped, then I remember thinking, damn how do I get that off, then like something from a YouTube video, the goat started to slide down then off the edge and dropped to the bottom and proceeded to roll down the hill.

Got to the goat, and the horns were in tact. I distinctly remember a musky smell on my coat from carrying the goat back to the truck.

Fast forward a week after butchering , I decided to boil out the scull and horns.

I had an old gas burner that wasn’t really the best, so decided to drill out the jets. School boy error no1,it was like some kind of F14 afterburner ,mistake no 2 I did the whole thing in the doorway of my shed on a windy day.

Well, I turned my back and the rubber hose came off the gas burner and went off like a scalded cat, bloody thing sprayed the inside of my shed door with flames. Everything I had hanging on the back of the doors was engulfed in seconds, coats, boots, waders and a fly vest full of flies went up in seconds. I ran to get the hosepipe which was too short so had to spray the fire with my thumb like a **** before remembering the week old goat head bucket of water to douse the fire.

The goat still has a squint on one side with the heat and the tips are a bit charged.

I found the meat very similar to venison, delicate and very flavorsome. In fact, the hinds I had the same day you could not tell the difference if you put both together side by side. I had a few young kids too which were equally delicious done in a curry goat.











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How about that - something learned every day. Good on you Acm.

I met a microbiologist today.

He was a lot larger than I expected.
I’d imagine if you take China & India out of the equation things look quite different!
 
They are wild. More so than fallow, sika, muntjac and cwd. Goats were well established long before those species came to our shores.
The main thing that makes them different - and seemingly less "sporting" to the unenlightened - is that their defence mechanism is not to flee, like deer, but to get themselves into an inaccessible place. For example, halfway up a sheer rock face. Obviously it's relatively easy to shoot them when they're in such a place (provided that you can find a suitable vantage point to shoot them from), but the real challenge lies in extracting the carcass. That's what makes stalking goats so different and so interesting.
What would a typical carcass weigh?
 
I am trying to convince the wife that a couple of billys would be a great addition to our Valais flock. However, they would not be given names (apart from chop or canon maybe) and would only be temporary residents!!

She is not buying it at the mo!!
 
Mature billies 22kg on average, had some at 35kg
Ok, sort of roe buck sized then - I will typically carry 2 or 3 cwd in my deer sac after a shoot, so that’s 25-40kg depending on how fat they are, although my ground is relatively flat!!
Would be interested to stalk some goats on that basis.
I also want to do wild boar but would need to shoot a tiddler else I wouldn’t have anywhere to stick it!!
 
So what's the smell actually from on a stinking goat ?
It doesn't taint the meat?
I'd love to get hands on some try it
And have a go at them myself with rifle

Paul
 
They pee over themselves to increase their aroma. Old billies can have a bit of a taint to the meat.
 
They pee over themselves to increase their aroma. Old billies can have a bit of a taint to the meat.
Not got that close to a billy but my rams certainly have a ‘rammy whiff’ to them - sort of a bit cheesy and pungent, but not rank.
 
So what's the smell actually from on a stinking goat ?
It doesn't taint the meat?
I'd love to get hands on some try it
And have a go at them myself with rifle

Paul
It's a combination of things. Scent glands, urine, etc.
Domestic billy goats smell much worse than the wild ones, and a mature domestic billy is pretty much inedible.
It's a very persistent odour, that will cling for years. For example, a leather collar worn by a domestic billy goat I once had was still stinking many years after I stopped keeping goats.
By comparison, the smell of the wild goats - even a mature animal - is very mild.
 
I’ve found domestic goat meat far stronger than wild goat meat, even mature billies. As I said earlier, in the rut the billies are to be avoided.
 
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A think there’s a herd of wild goats 🐐 up on Cheviot
A mate of mine shot a few Billys good few years ago big buggers in there shaggy coats
I shot a bundle above Catcleuch reservoir back in the 80's. They were just pulling up young trees one after the other.
 
As a rule of thumb I never took meat from any larger than my GSP. The back legs only, as the backsteaks were about the same size as a matchbox in section - hardly worth the effort.
 
Kid goat is one of the nicest meats out there,like a cross between venison and lamb
I’d have it any day over lamb
Split the shoulders and roast on the bone
Unreal 🤤🤤🤤
 
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