If i remember right, CVC is going this fall with his .270 mnt. goat hunting.

I am using my .270, but I could make the argument for the .300 win mag.

I think the answer is which gun do you feel most comfortable and accurate with? That is the gun to use.

A good friend of mine a few years ago had a goat tag on Mt. Evans and he used his .270 with a Nosler bullet and had no problems with a one shot kill. However if it was me and I had access to the .300 it would be no choice. I would use the .300 for the added power.

If i can draw my nevada goat tag i'll be packing my hoyt and my 300WSM loaded 180gr accubonds taking out both front sholders first and both lungs second and what ever i need after that, Becuase im not afraid to cut it loose and like you are already thinking dont let it fall off a ledge/cliff! Also those goats have thick hides with long hair and its easy for the taxidermist to sew up the holes!

I used my .300 win mag with 180s on my goat and it did the trick just fine.

If it was me I would choose the .270 because of the sentimental conncection with it. I wouldn't argue about the benefits of the added power of a 300 to anchor the goat onto that nasty ledge though.

I used my .270 with 130 grain bullets and pancaked my goat from about 270 yards.

I don't know that you can pick the "best" caliber for goat.  I'd say the best one is the one you shoot best.  I will tell you this, that after you hit one, they will seek out the steepest, nastiest, highest cliff and launch themselves. 

I've only hunted goats with a bow and arrow, but I can tell you, that after they are hit, they will run to the nearest cliff.  I don't know if it's to get away from you or because it's instinct to avoid danger there, but each of the goats I saw killed, went for the cliffs.  Two of the goats we got with archery had to be taken out via climbing ropes.  It took us well over 8 hours to retrieve my goat with the use of rappelling gear.

So, I guess if I had my choice between two rifles that I shot equally well, I'd opt for the larger one that might anchor the goat where he is.  Either the 270 or 300 mag have the range and flat shooting capability to do the job.  Good luck and we hope to see pictures on this site.

there was a mountain hunter back in the day name Jack O'Conner. I think he hunted nearly exclusively with the 270.

i think it's an excellent caliber, and presents a good trade off between weight and power and recoil.

if you're hunting at high elevation (14k feet), you should learn how your bullet will be affected by the decrease in air density, and learn to adjust accordingly.

it's important to shoot your gun at all ranges as often as possible. practice frequently at your longest range and everything in between. take a lot of prone shots and some on a knee. learn where your points of impact are.

one well placed shot will do the job from almost any caliber. goats can be a 350 Lb animal though, which is tougher to take down than a 150 pound whitetail, but with todays bullet construction, i think the engineers have taken the guessing game away from us.