Wild Goats?

SteveOh

Well-Known Member
Hi fellas.

I have to ask this because for years I have wanted to shoot Wild Goats in Scotland.

It started years and years ago when I was listening to an old keeper who had worked in the highlands telling a romantic tale (which I'm sure it was) of this great big fabulous billy... stood a the top of a high ravine.... he shot it of course. but he did say that it could scratch its arse with a flick of its head......

Has anyone had any experience shooting goats in Scotland?
And if they have, do they still have contact details for the estate/stalker.

Thanks fellas.... :D
 
Never done it personally but I know South Ayrshire Stalking used to, but stopped after two visits. The reason being is I'm told that with a large percentage of the goats you could walk right up to them as you can with your average sheep before pulling the trigger which was found to be way to unsporting. Apparently very few highland goats had a fear of man and so offered very little challenge.

MJ
 
hi, I have to agree unless the goats have been shot very hard they'll be unworried about people. If you stalk them as you would a highland roe, you'll almost get to touching distance. I know one guy who describes it 'like shooting sofas'. Still if you've never done it before, then why not. There's also a good number in North Wales and I saw in the press a company from the midlands was offering it. It was in the local paper i.e as a horror story, gunmen from all over Britain are descending on North Wales to murder innocent goats, type of thing...
 
I`ve "stalked" them in Scotland and culled them in North Wales and I`m sure if I thought realy realy hard I could think of something less sporting and easier to shoot.



Nope I can`t think of anything easier.!!!!
The only good thing I found about shooting them, was I could carry six at a time, 3 in each hand.
 
I agree, there are a LOT of them in Ireland but they present no challenge whatsoever often allowing you to shoot the entire herd.
 
I have stalked them in the Highlands and can honestly say that the Billies are not the most challenging although the terrain was challenging enough in itself. The nannies where different altogether, with good sense of smell and there was always one in the herd that was looking out for trouble. I think it is like everything, if they are used to seeing people about and no harm comes to them then they are going to be easy. The goats that we went after generally lost a relative every time they saw a human and so where a little wilder.

I highly recommend it though. In the right part of the world at the right price, it can be great.
 
Nothing wild about Scottish Goats. Even when hunted a great deal they are about as dumb as a box of rocks.

However a big Billie does make a nice mount, although they stink to high heaven when you first skin them. They are not found common place over Scotland, and they seem to suffer high mortality in prolonged wet cold winters. I have guided clients on a number of occassions for Goats, and I have to say that apart from the terrain they live on (usually steep cliffs, scree slopes, etc) they are no real challenge.

But this is my personal view.
 
I have only had the one trip and as I was puffing like a steam train for most of it, the goats probably wondered what the hell was coming over the mountain!!
You definitely smell the billies before you see them!
 
I know nothing about wild goats but if you want easy, go to france to shoot wild boar in an enclosure, where they have just been shipped in and are fed close to the high seats. not challenging not sporting and not fun(other than the drive there).
 
Don't know why they haven't really reverted to a wild state...I mean the wild boar have done so very easily since escaping from farms, even in areas where they are not regularly pursued.

It is a bit of a quirky hunt though, but I wouldn't pay for it and certainly not the prices I have seen quoted by some estates (£150 a head!).
 
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