G'day Everyone.

Only a maybe at the moment but if you were hunting goats in bear country, would you take a lightweight 270wsm Kimber Montana or a fairly heavy ruger 338 win mag.
Obviously the Kimber would be appreciated in the terrain but the 338 would make me feel more comfortable with bears about!!

Thanks guys.

Cheers,
Mark.

I would go with the 270, I presume you are going guided so let the guide pack some heavier artillery.

Last time in BC there ware quite a few grizzlies and the guides didn't have back up. Oh, I forgot, they had pepper spray!!

Granted they had never needed it. That was until the hunt before mine.

Cheers,
Mark.

Shot my goat with a 350. Thought it might be a bit much for 'just' a goat but you'll be surprised at how they can absorb a hit. With all of that hair and muscle, they are harder to bring down with one shot than most would think.
Personally, I'd bring the .338. First off, you want that goat dead as quick as possible. They have a tendency to want to fall to their death and in so doing break off horns. Then there's the whole bear thing...

Chilcotin is a working professional BC bushman and knows his stuff, so, his opinion is worth listening to. Many come to BC and have no clue as to just how tough the foot hunting is here, so, a light rifle WILL be a bonus.

The Grizzly issue is best understood by simply realizing that, UNLESS you KNOW what you are doing, are a very fast and fine shot and are DAMM lucky, the difference between these two rounds in a fracas will mean squat. If, a bear really wants you, he will stalk you and jump you from behind, bite your cervical spine and this will happen SO swiftly that you will not come even close to getting off an aimed shot.

I have packed .338s here in BC Grizzly country for over 40 years, but, think about just how GOOD you REALLY ARE with it, then, consider days of hauling your tired azz up the never-ending steep mountains into Goat country and decide.

I would also ASK your outfitter just what the guide you will have carries and how many years of guiding in Grizzly country he has done. Most old timers here packed a .30-06 and I feel quite safe using this round and often have while working alone in remote Grizzly country for long periods...and would again.

IF, you truely CAN carry it AND shoot it, yeah, the .338WM IS a superb BC Goat-Grizzly round, perhaps the best, overall, but, a .270-150NP pushing 3K mv will put a major hurt on any BC game, Grizz, Goats or even a Sasquatch!

If it was me, I'd pick the 270 WSM with 130gr TSXs. I've been very impressed with that combo over the last couple years.

The 338 WM has no flies on it as a goat rifle either, especially if it makes you feel better about being in Grizz country.

When is your goat hunt? I prefer goat hunting in November, and if it makes a difference to your decision making, you'll seldom see grizzers in the interior of BC in November.

I've taken goat with a 300 WM and a 6.5 Gibbs. For the last 10 years, I pretty much exclusively carried the Gibbs after mountain game. When it comes to goats, IMHO, shot placement is way more important than calibre or energy. I'm also not an advocate of trying to "pin them to the slope" by breaking bones with a big rifle. It has worked better for me to whistle a well constructed bullet through the lungs and let them go lay down to die. Goats with broken bones invariably try to climb or go down into a steep bluff and fall.

Anyhoo, just my 2c Canadian. When it comes to goats, there are lots of opinions and most are probably just as valid as any other!

Cheers
Canuck