Feral goats are the most accessible big game in Australia — widespread, numerous, and huntable on private land across most of the country. Here is everything you need to get started.
Why Goat Hunting?
There are an estimated 2.6 million feral goats in Australia. They are present across most of inland NSW, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia, on both private and some public land. Landowners are generally welcoming — goats are a genuine pest that competes with livestock for pasture. As a result, goat hunting offers the most accessible entry point to Australian big game hunting, with minimal licensing complexity in most states and no defined season.
Getting Access
The approach is straightforward: contact landowners directly, explain you are an experienced hunter (or a learner under supervision), that you have appropriate firearm licensing, and that you will leave the property in the same condition you found it. Offer to bring the carcasses out and leave them with the station if they want the meat. Most landowners who have goat problems are happy to have you.
Directories of hunting properties exist online for all major states. Local firearm dealers are often the best source of current access recommendations in a region.
The Hunt
Goats are not trophy animals in the conventional sense — they are accessible, practical quarry. They have reasonable eyesight, very good hearing, and an excellent sense of smell. They are not as challenging as deer, which makes them ideal quarry for developing field skills: shot placement, reading terrain, glassing, wind awareness.
Effective methods include glassing from elevation in the early morning, ambushing water points in dry conditions, and vehicle-based mustering then stalking on large station properties.
Calibre and Shot Placement
Any centrefire calibre from .243 upwards is appropriate. The heart-lung zone is large on adult goats — ethical shots to 200m are straightforward with a properly zeroed rifle. Head and neck shots reduce meat damage but require greater precision.
Gear
Light, quiet clothing in an earthy tone or open-country camo. Goat country is often hot and rocky — boots with a stiff sole protect feet on broken ground. Sunscreen and a broad-brim hat are not optional. Browse our hunting gear range and our outerwear — both built for Australian conditions.
