I have been invited feral goat culling. I've done it before many years ago.

I fancy having a go at brain tanning one of the skins.

The only problm I have is every billy that I've encounters has awlays carried with it a pretty stong smell. A couple were that strong we took the heads and left the rest for the crows and foxes.

Does anyone know how the taxidermy guys get rid of the smell?

Were you planning on leaving the fur on or off? I've brain tanned deer,elk and moose but always done it hair off. Without the hair I think the smell wouln't be too bad.

Head and shoulders?

The females don't smell.

I wouldnt bother tanning a billy goat skin - choose a nice coloured female . Just as nice to look at without the stink.

quote:

Originally posted by calgarychef1:
Were you planning on leaving the fur on or off? I've brain tanned deer,elk and moose but always done it hair off. Without the hair I think the smell wouln't be too bad.

Definately hair on.

quote:

Originally posted by new forest:
Head and shoulders?

Ya don't say................

quote:

Originally posted by TOP_PREDATOR:
The females don't smell.

quote:

Originally posted by muzza:
I wouldnt bother tanning a billy goat skin - choose a nice coloured female . Just as nice to look at without the stink.

Thanks for the tip guys. I'll see if we can't knock one over on our trip. A nice blonde!

Good luck with the cull, though I imagine the nanny's would be pretty heavy with young at this time of year.

Thank you. I would exopect they are if they haven't dropped already.

We're not going until the end of Oct. Just thought I'd ask now whilst it was fresh in the memory.

Tan it using a paste made up on Desiel and Bicarb of Soda not only will it tan the skin it will also take away the smell should it be a Billy.

Thanks for the tip

I have tanned ram hides using parafin in the past.

They were kidding in January this year. I saw several that looked a week or so old when I was out for billies the last weekend in Jan.
Did anyone else see that laughable video on fieldsports britain about them?

SWS- yes i watched that. Didn't like the spine shooting of the goats but apart from the usual bigging up the scopes/guns/clothes/car etc seemed ok to me.

I was slightly surprised by the sporting agents lack of knowledge on them.
Research shows that they've been feral for about 10,000 years, not the 100 that the agent suggests.
Broken horns being dangerous when they rut, is just nonsense. The dominant billies don't rut with the smaller ones. They don't need to. If you watch them doing it, its amazing how they sort out the pecking order.
And I would be amazed if a 7year old billy made gold. It looked more like a bronze to me.....

OK that is interesting as i don't know much about goats. Now you mention it i have seen some goats in peoples houses that were much bigger and gold or silver so yes i suppose your correct with that. I wonder if it will be cic measured and put into Shooting Times review...

Theres a good book on them by G Kenneth Whitehead. Contains lots of interesting information, including the fact that they introduced Bezoar Ibex to scotland to try to improve goat quality, and we even had Tahr on the west coast last century... such a pity!
If they do put that one in for measurement I'd be amazed if it placed highly.
I know of two that are much bigger then the current record that could be submitted this year.

Ok that sounds very interesting. I'll try and look up that book and buy a copy.

There was a good herd of wild roaming goats on the Dorset coast area for decades, up till the early 90's when various people shot them out.

quote:

Originally posted by sws:
Did anyone else see that laughable video on fieldsports britain about them?

I did. Worth a smile or two that one.

quote:

Originally posted by dorsethunter:
SWS- yes i watched that. Didn't like the spine shooting of the goats but apart from the usual bigging up the scopes/guns/clothes/car etc seemed ok to me.

The same bloke caused some controvesy with some film of his muntjac stalking a wee while back. IIRC.

Personally I view such videos as nothing other than prolonged advertising opportnities. Be it for scopes, rifles,clothing, or commercial shooting providers.

I particularly ejoyed the video where he got a right stomping off a heffer.

quote:

Originally posted by sws:
Broken horns being dangerous when they rut, is just nonsense. The dominant billies don't rut with the smaller ones. They don't need to. If you watch them doing it, its amazing how they sort out the pecking order.

The problem with billies with broken horns is they are never going to produce an even head. If you're selling goat shooting on the basis of producing trophies you're better off removing them from the group That way they aren't impacting on the food resouce whislst at the same time not providing a potential revenue stream.
[/QUOTE]

quote:

Originally posted by Jools:

quote:

Originally posted by dorsethunter:
SWS- yes i watched that. Didn't like the spine shooting of the goats but apart from the usual bigging up the scopes/guns/clothes/car etc seemed ok to me.

The same bloke caused some controvesy with some film of his muntjac stalking a wee while back. IIRC.

Personally I view such videos as nothing other than prolonged advertising opportnities. Be it for scopes, rifles,clothing, or commercial shooting providers.

I particularly ejoyed the video where he got a right stomping off a heffer.

There's a crowd of "celebrity type"shooters whom seem to be sponsered to advertise optics/guns/cars/camo and some outfitters have cottoned on and are letting these people shoot trophies for nowt as long as they get advertisement to from it i suppose.

I havnt watched the fieldsports tv for a year so what was the controversey about the Muntjac?

I know why they shot them (the broken horned ones), I was just highly amused at the justification for doing it.
I've seen a lot of good goats, but I've rarely seen one, if any with broken horns.
If your selling for trophies though why shoot a 7 year old when if you left it for 4 more years it would be something impressive?
I'm hugely sceptical of anything you see in/on those magazines or programmes.

quote:

Originally posted by sws:
I know why they shot them (the broken horned ones), I was just highly amused at the justification for doing it.
I've seen a lot of good goats, but I've rarely seen one, if any with broken horns.
If your selling for trophies though why shoot a 7 year old when if you left it for 4 more years it would be something impressive?
I'm hugely sceptical of anything you see in/on those magazines or programmes.

Just like most agents if your client doesn't shoot something, whether or not it is mature enough, means they don't earn any money.

quote:

Originally posted by dorsethunter:

quote:

Originally posted by Jools:

quote:

Originally posted by dorsethunter:
SWS- yes i watched that. Didn't like the spine shooting of the goats but apart from the usual bigging up the scopes/guns/clothes/car etc seemed ok to me.

The same bloke caused some controvesy with some film of his muntjac stalking a wee while back. IIRC.

Personally I view such videos as nothing other than prolonged advertising opportnities. Be it for scopes, rifles,clothing, or commercial shooting providers.

I particularly ejoyed the video where he got a right stomping off a heffer.

There's a crowd of "celebrity type"shooters whom seem to be sponsered to advertise optics/guns/cars/camo and some outfitters have cottoned on and are letting these people shoot trophies for nowt as long as they get advertisement to from it i suppose.

I havnt watched the fieldsports tv for a year so what was the controversey about the Muntjac?

Sorry. Having checked, the stir was about another presenter head shooting muntjac in order to test the effectiveness of a certain BT bullet. The commotion regarding Ian Harford was when he went Roe stalking and the lack of back stop on a sht he took at a roe doe. He claimed it was all down to camera angle.

What I do know is both Fieldsport Channel and Team Wild TV are first and foremost about product and or service promotion. Anything else is secondary. It all makes for a rather crappy 30mins of television. IMO

quote:

Originally posted by sws:
I know why they shot them (the broken horned ones), I was just highly amused at the justification for doing it.
I've seen a lot of good goats, but I've rarely seen one, if any with broken horns.
If your selling for trophies though why shoot a 7 year old when if you left it for 4 more years it would be something impressive?
I'm hugely sceptical of anything you see in/on those magazines or programmes.

When you have a film crew on a schedule and you have perhas lost a day or 2 due to the weather or uncooperative beasties you have to get something on film. You then build a story line up around what you have. Its called editing. I've seen film shot over 3 days edited to look like it all happened in the one morning. The continuity girl certainly earned her pay on that occassion.

The Vet approved way to remove skunk perfume from dogs is a mixture of hydrogen peroxide,baking soda,liquid soap. Do you think the goat smell would be removed with that ?