Have a mt goat hunt in planning stage. Outfitter says no to Barnes bullets and prefers a bullet that fragments such as hornady sst or a ballistic tip type bullet. Reason being they want to drop the goat quickly for good reasons. Having transferred most of my rifles to the TTSX my question is will the hornady GMX expand/fragment? I am thinking about using a 338-06 with this bullet in 180gr. I think an accubond of 180 gr
would be better but my attempts to buy them have all met "back order" or no order! Shots to be from 100 to 400 yards. Yes I have other options such as 338WM AND 300 wby but both weight 10+ lbs while the 338-06 is just over 7 lbs. what are your thoughts?

Joe,

I have some 338 180 ACB I'd be happy to send you if you do not find any somewhere else. You should be able to drive these about 2900 fps.

Mark

Any decent hunting bullet will kill your goat for you as long as you do your job.

IE placing the bullet where it belongs.

Mark, thanks for the kind offer I will get back with you soon. P dog shooter, aS to shot placement I appreciate the input but I take the approach of listening to my guide/outfitter first and then moving forward from there. As you probably know it is anchoring the goat where he stands versus following a blood trail over a thousand ft drop that motivates her choice of bullet. Thank you for sharing your knowledge as well.

I dont know what the issue is with Barnes.
I shoot 165 TTSX in my 308 and they have always worked wonders for me.

22 I with you on the TTSX bullets. However, when my scorecard reads 0 fer on billies and the outfitter in the hundreds I flinch! Just as I flinched on bullet selection on cape buff. Had super range results with 300 north fork sifts and Barnes solids. PH wanted woodleigh -guess what I changed to, yes 300 gr woodleigh in 375 HH for buffalo. Yep peers
four woodleigh and three hours later and superb tracking we go the buffalo. First three shots were cantered right to left and all were good! Would north fork dropped him at first shot we will never know. However I took seven plains game with 210 TTSX out of 338-06 and all one shot kills with all bullets left in space in the Bubye! One never knows but I do know I will not second guess experience over less experience! Thanks for the insight.

CEB raptors

Raptors? Is that the bullet you can shoot with or without the tip that is provided? That just sounds suspect to me! Guess I do not want to make a choice of with/without! Sounds interesting.

Female guide and no barnes bullets? Are you hunting with glacier guides?

Personally, I would change outfits. Nothing wrong with Barnes X's.

Not that big of a problem to switch bullets and you have plenty of time to do it.
Nosler makes a 210 grain Partition, Sierra has a 215 and a 225 if you can find them, I would stay away from the Hornadys SST's, Speer also makes .338 bullets. The GMX is comparable to the TTSX as it is a tipped mono metal bullet.
Last month I took my .338 WM to South Africa and killed quite a bunch of game with 225 Sierra's and have no complaints.
I took my Mountain Goat with 180 grain Sierra's out of my 30/06, my brother took his Goat with a .325 WSM and 180 Accubonds.
Find a bullet that your rifle likes to shoot and go kill a Goat, probably more important than what bullet is where you put that bullet. I imagine a lot of people shoot their Goats too far back and don't get the desired effect of a bang flop and in some country that means your Goat will make a death run over a cliff and bust his horns all up.
I don't see a big issue just shop for a new bullet and go kill your Goat, you don't need to create a bigger problem by shopping for new guides if they have a reputation of getting Goats.

Correct on the tips coming separate. You easily push them in if you like. The reason they come separate is some rifle magazine may be too short. Brass being lighter than lead makes for a bit longer bullet. The tip adds some down range speed due to BC it seems. Regardless of all that, tip or no tip, the carnage is far worse than any bullet i have ever shot. Was a nosler partition guy, then switched to barnes for many years. These have now replaced the barnes.

quote:

Originally posted by muygrande:
Raptors? Is that the bullet you can shoot with or without the tip that is provided? That just sounds suspect to me! Guess I do not want to make a choice of with/without! Sounds interesting.

Snellstrom thanks for the input. You know I have hunted for over 50 years and have never fired a Speer or Sierra bullet of any kind although I hunt and load with over 20 rifles. I find that confidence with a given bullet is almost if not as important as which rifle you choose. Ok let me throw in the obvious-shot placement-ok I get it! My mind tells me to go with the 180 accubond if I can get the accuracy I expect for this hunt. Heck half the fun in these new outings is the preparation and anticipation of the unknown.

try a berger hunting vld. a buddy killed a nice goat with a 168 berger vld hunting bullet. no exit and massive damage.

nothing will guarantee a goat won’t take the plunge. Id go with the TTSX and go for the shoulders

quote:

Originally posted by muygrande:
Heck half the fun in these new outings is the preparation and anticipation of the unknown.

I agree 100%!

Thebear, I have seen a lot of the advertisement on the Berger hunting bullet and even thought about trying it. However, I think I will try it on a s Texas whitetail or hog before I jump into it on probably at my age will be a one time goat hunt/shot! Thanks for the insight.

Years ago I began and ended a whitetail season shooting nosler ballistic tips in a great ole sako 7mm. POOR SHOT
PLACEMENT,thank you very much, as well as a flinch I developed from the big 7 got me to the end of the season last day last afternoon with an empty freezer. That last afternoon hunt a big wide mature 165 class buck that I had seen two days earlier stepped
Out at 100 yards facing me. I shot directly at the swirl in his neck and it was bang flop! However that bt had exploded on impact and never exited or penetrated more than half the depth of the neck ! Gave up the big 7 and ballistic tips that day and never looked back on either,BUT I do remember both when I look at the big 10 pt on my wall! True story!

quote:

Originally posted by muygrande:
what are your thoughts?

Nosler has the 180 Accubond gr in loaded ammunition, and it is currently in stock.

Ballistic Tips,Partitions,Interlocks,Hot Cores,Gamekings, etc they will all anchor your goat on the spot!

Redlander thanks for the headsup on nosler. I prefer reloads but long ago I shot the 225 partition nosler ammo in the rifle I plan to use and it shot good enough to kill a mtn caribou and a Yukon moose each at about 150 yds with one shot each. May be the ticket!

Yikes nosler really proud at over 4.00 a shot! No wonder there are no accubond bullets available to the reloader! I think I am getting the picture on the "shortage" and do not like what I see!

GMX definitely won't fragment but it will bust a whole lot of shoulder. Nothing wrong with the mono metals for goats. We are taking a 6.5 Creedmor for goats and sheep this year shooting 120 grain GMX with no worries.

quote:

Originally posted by muygrande:
... I take the approach of listening to my guide/outfitter ...

When I hunted my Aoudad in West Texas, my guide/outfitter kept telling me that Aoudad were hard to anchor, and to shoot him through the hips.

When I put a 168 grain TSX bullet from my .300 Weatherby through a ram's shoulders and he dropped on the spot, my outfitter said "You don't do what your guide tells you, do you?"

I smiled and simply replied, "Nope."

Guides see a lot of hunters and a lot of game shot. These hunters vary in hunting and shooting experience from first timers to experienced veterans. Many guides know very little about ballistics and bullets.

Bullet placement is more important for dropping an animal on the spot than bullet diameter or construction.

In the past 9 years, I have dropped 21 African, North American (including 2 bull elk), and New Zealand big game animals on the spot with TSX or TTSX bullets.

If I ever draw another Mountain Goat tag, I will not hesitate to hunt him with 168 grain TTSX bullets from my .300 Weatherby.

Shot my goat a couple of years ago. Shoot them through the shoulders and they drop on the spot.

The reason Aoudad are "hard" to kill is because American shooters try to shoot them like a deer behind the shoulders. And just like most African animals the vitals don't extend behind the the line of the shoulder so they are gut shooting them.

First choice to anchor a white goat size animal would be Nosler Ballistic Tip. Massive destruction on pronghorn and mule deer. Neither one took so much ad one step, and this bullet tends to be very accurate. Next choice would be Accubond. Also very accurate and although a bit tougher than ballistic tip, still not nearly as tough as the Barnes.

I like the TTSX and have taken maybe 30 animals in Africa with the 338 WM in 225 grain. Took 6 or 7 with the Accubond and didn't like the lack of penetration on the larger game - kudu on up. But would see it as well suited for the RM Goat. Have taken 3 animals (deer, pronghorn and hog) with the ballistic tip and will reserve that one for thin skinned and where meat spoilage is not an issue.

My two cents...

If I was to hunt a Mountain Goat, I would be using either a 308 or most probably a 300 Win Mag.

Most nearly any bullet would work OK.

However, most likely I would use a Nosler Partition...

Remington AWR in 7mm SAUM. 140gr. AB at 3,050 fps.

My shot ended up at 108 yards, angled down, tucked in right behind the shoulder and exiting the left front of the chest, just in front of the left shoulder. He barely took a half step and simply laid down.

What surprised me is just how big those goats are.

muygrande, sorry for the late reply. But better late then never. Been away hunting instead of forum surfing. Anyway, I too shoot a 338-06. The AI version. I have settled on using the Swift Scirocco 210gr. If you're interested let me know and I can give you my recipe. Just fyi. It chromos 2865fps and groups well under an in. On a ballistic calc that flies as flat as my 270 shooting 140gr BT out to 500 yds. Only difference is the 338 arrives with nearly twice the energy. Have shot two bull moose and a bull elk with this combo. Great terminal performance.

My solo hunted goat. Colorado 2012. .270 Weatherby 140 Sierra Game King.

In case you planning meant 2015 and not 2014. I don't have specific experience with the bullets you named.
But I did just complete my 3rd lower 48 mountain goat hunt, so I'm advising you with actual experience. In case you may have other unmentioned rifles, here is what I used. I would use any of these again without reservation:

1. 270 Winchester with 130 gr. Core-Lokt. NV

2. 300 WSM with 168 gr. Barnes Triple Shock. MT

3. 280 Ackley Improved (SAAMI) with Berger 168 VLD. Idaho

Good luck to you.

I shot my only goat with a .300 Win Mag loaded with Federal factory 180 gr Barnes TSX bullets. One shot did it.

7 Rem. Mag.. Early any good bullet Nosler etc.. Later Swift A, North Fork ...

I had good luck with an Interbond out of my 270 Win on my goat hunt.

Id have thought a .270 Win would be a fine choice for a Sheep/Goat..

Navuluks response screams experience.

WL

Goats are tough and suck up the lead. You want to anchor them so they dont blow of the cliff or ledge. I used a .358 Norma Mag with .225 grain spitzer.

I hand loaded 180 gr. Nosler Accubonds, 300WSM, that dropped my mtn. goat with one shot thru the shoulders. I have employed this load to take 12 plains game animals, a scimitar horned oryx, an aoudad and many deer. Only the Gemsbok in RSA took more than one to put down.

quote:

Originally posted by muygrande:
Have a mt goat hunt in planning stage. Outfitter says no to Barnes bullets and prefers a bullet that fragments such as hornady sst or a ballistic tip type bullet.

If your outfitter wants you to use an SST or Ballistic tip why not just use either of those?

Climbing up and playing in Mr. Goats neighborhood is going to be way more difficult than putting him down once you meet.

My goat taken with a 300 Win mag with 165gr Hornady Spirepoints. DRT about 75yds.

Someone mentioned a ballistic tip bullet for Mountain Goat. I could not recommend it. Goats are tenacious and are not easy to kill.

I would use either a good cup and core bullet or a TSX bullet. A bullet weight of 130 grains or more will do the job. A flat shooting 270 or bigger is a solid choice.

Matt

The 180 accubonds in your 338-06, if they shoot well, should be fantastic for goats or anything else. I know that elk don't like them very well out of mine. They seem to be on the soft side, but still penetrate and hold together well. You will definitely hear when they hit. Good luck on your hunt and take pictures.