Thread: Wild cattle

I think that the temperament of wild cattle is a bit hyped here. A bit of wishful thinking wanting to be Peter Hathaway Capstick's. But any good stockman knows that quietly quietly catches the monkey. Hooling into stock of any class is a last recourse. Of course they are flighty but even that vid was hyped and wasn't a good example of how to handle them. Yes all cattle will fight the dogs - domestic cattle do if riled up (especially cows with calves).
With wild cattle I have just kept a wary on them when passing and let them be. Pretty harmless if you don't rile them. When mustering them staying back and guiding them in the right direction works better than picking a fight with them.
We farmed 1,100 contract bulls and I never had any trouble with them really. And mustered scrub cattle without a rodeo occurring.

Dont tread on their toes,they wont tread on yours,my old man use to say.

Mustered many of them as a teenager.the ONLY time we were in danger was when we were blocking Thier escape route or had them cornered..which is the same thing... Definitely have them wide berth in yards and always had escape route in mind for ourselves in the open. We had red Deven breeder visit our farm and they would have taken and included in stud some of our wild scrub cattle. They bred true to original breed .the jersey crosses had stripes like a staffy dog.

Originally Posted by Deanohit

As always the shot placement is key, I've sacked a few crook cows with the 223 using side on head shots.
And seen a bull and aggro cow soak up multiple .270s each.
These were farm animals, not some worked up wild beast intent on having a go.
I'd be going big unless there's a bit of distance between me and the cattle

Oh shit might have to see if i can borrow my mates 3006, but after reading a few replies here I think we will just target the deer and goats, mates got a thermal so we can avoid the cattle unless they come to us or can get a crack at them from a good rang

Originally Posted by Bobthewannabehunter

Oh shit might have to see if i can borrow my mates 3006, but after reading a few replies here I think we will just target the deer and goats, mates got a thermal so we can avoid the cattle unless they come to us or can get a crack at them from a good rang

Just shoot it. Really simple. If you have a reasonable caliber of say 7mm on some standard case, it will die. It doesn't sound like you are interested in a massive bull, and a yearling or two year old heifer is not that tough or aggressive. The bones are a bit bigger so aim for just above the heart and you will be fine and it will be great eating. No one said you have to get the whole animal out either. There is a lot of great meat on a heifer but there is also a shift load of stew. Target the sirloin and scotch ( backsteak), fillet, and the back legs from the knee up. You are talking less than 75kg of meat from an animal of those ages and two people will make short work of that.

By all means take more if you can, but likely most of it will be mince.

Originally Posted by Bobthewannabehunter

Oh shit might have to see if i can borrow my mates 3006, but after reading a few replies here I think we will just target the deer and goats, mates got a thermal so we can avoid the cattle unless they come to us or can get a crack at them from a good rang

Na mate you'll be right, my advice is just try and have a bit of distance, a bit of leeway incase it turns nasty.

I'd have no qualm shooting one at 200m with my 223, I'm less keen to try that at 20m.

If within 50m or so, use a boomer and shoot true

I would not trust a slug shotgun to stop a wild cattle at 50 meters or less. I would rather use a 308 with 180 gr bullets or bigger.

I would strongly recommend a heavy bullet with high BC for good penetration. 6.5X55 with 160 gr RN will work better than the high velocity stuff but it is not my choice.

45/70 would be ideal.

Originally Posted by Bobthewannabehunter

I've got a 270 with 140 gr but also plan on taking the shotgun with slugs as well as its in the bush, I think we may lay off trying to hunt them but be ready for if we do cross paths

In the early 1980s, as a 26 year old, I used to manage a tea plantation in South India. The workers called me in to shoot a domestic cow that had gone crazy and suspected to have got rabies.

I shot it in a thatched shack at 3 feet - shotgun with slugs in the forehead. It dropped like a rock and the hole in the forehead was about 3 inches and blood hosed out like a fountain.