Eating Longhorn Beef

[OpenSights]

The steer hasn't been roped for 120 days and has been getting barley on a regular basis.

Another question, how you guys killing beef?

22 between the eyes and bleed it out or should I use my 308 behind the ear?

[roper1]

Originally Posted by OpenSights

The steer hasn't been roped for 120 days and has been getting barley on a regular basis.

Another question, how you guys killing beef?

22 between the eyes and bleed it out or should I use my 308 behind the ear?

Draw an X between the eyes & the base of their ears. If unsure, aim just a bit higher. They have more sinus lower, more brain higher. You can kill them shooting too high better than too low. Older steer that's been roped a couple seasons might have more bone, use WMR if you have access.

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by OpenSights

The steer hasn't been roped for 120 days and has been getting barley on a regular basis.

Another question, how you guys killing beef?

22 between the eyes and bleed it out or should I use my 308 behind the ear?

357 158 gr hp (prefer Hornady), or 44 mag 240 gr jhp (prefer american eagle, or hornady critical defense). I've seen too many things go wrong with guys shooting a beef with a 22, or even a 22 mag that I've had to fix from a guy who thought that his grandpa used a 22 to kill beef so he can. Not fun gunning down a thrashing stumbling around animal that's spazzing out, and trying to escape.

308 is very likely to over penetrate behind the ear. Not enough to stop one properly. Either of the 2 I mentioned will in most cases stop in the hide on the far side of the neck if you hit bone. Personally, I like shooting right into the ear as it's easier to take the head off with a knife. But that'll depend on how comfortable you are with your gun, and if you want to save the skull, etc.

If you're really good, and they won't give you another shot, you can shoot them about 2 inches below the top of the head when their head is up and they're looking to try to climb the fence. That's an instant kill too. In polled animals, you can shoot the poll from the back and break the neck. If you're good, you only need about an inch or 2 of the poll showing.

[dfrobert]

Nope. There’s a reason they don’t serve the likes of Holstein or Longhorn in steak houses.

Stick to cattle that was bred to be prime beef. Angus, Hereford, etc.

[ronkaren]

there's no brain on the top part of the skull, shoot low enough. the main problem in killing the animal, is missing the brain. we killed lots with 22.
years ago a buddy of mine was worked on the kill floor at a plant in Calgary.
they used, at that time, a gun with a bolt in it, and kept reusing the bolt. he said it worked great, but if you shot too high, quit a commotion.

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by amosfella

357 158 gr hp (prefer Hornady), or 44 mag 240 gr jhp (prefer american eagle, or hornady critical defense). I've seen too many things go wrong with guys shooting a beef with a 22, or even a 22 mag that I've had to fix from a guy who thought that his grandpa used a 22 to kill beef so he can. Not fun gunning down a thrashing stumbling around animal that's spazzing out, and trying to escape.

308 is very likely to over penetrate behind the ear. Not enough to stop one properly. Either of the 2 I mentioned will in most cases stop in the hide on the far side of the neck if you hit bone. Personally, I like shooting right into the ear as it's easier to take the head off with a knife. But that'll depend on how comfortable you are with your gun, and if you want to save the skull, etc.

If you're really good, and they won't give you another shot, you can shoot them about 2 inches below the top of the head when their head is up and they're looking to try to climb the fence. That's an instant kill too. In polled animals, you can shoot the poll from the back and break the neck. If you're good, you only need about an inch or 2 of the poll showing.

Originally Posted by ronkaren

there's no brain on the top part of the skull, shoot low enough. the main problem in killing the animal, is missing the brain. we killed lots with 22.
years ago a buddy of mine was worked on the kill floor at a plant in Calgary.
they used, at that time, a gun with a bolt in it, and kept reusing the bolt. he said it worked great, but if you shot too high, quit a commotion.

My mistake in what I wrote. I knew what I was talking about, should have been clearer, but didn't say it properly. The last paragraph is talking about if the animal won't give you a shot from the front or sides. All you get to see is rear end.

Even with correct shot placement, I've seen too many using 22lr not kill an animal on the first shot, or the second, or the third. Better to use a gun with a better track record for killing.

For big Charolais and Angus bulls, 44 mag was hit and miss. Too much muscle. Head was pretty hard, and many times needed one or two more shots. All the shots were on the money. 45-70 was the cure for that problem.

[Okotok]

Read "Texas" by James Michener. Lots of reasons why longhorns fell out of favour as eating stock. Lots of interesting learnings back in those days though about Herefords dying because they didn't know how to paw through the snow to eat and keep themselves alive when they first brought them over etc. Some other interesting stuff about the introduction of barbed wire and how the tough longhorn bulls would defeat it with a lot of injuries to show for it. Not much if any real, quality longhorn stock left anywhere in the world.

[Travco1]

22 Hornet works good

[marlin4570]

30/30 best gun used! Did 3 last week!

[landowner]

Originally Posted by dfrobert

Nope. There’s a reason they don’t serve the likes of Holstein or Longhorn in steak houses.

Stick to cattle that was bred to be prime beef. Angus, Hereford, etc.

Had a friend who proclaimed after a longhorn steak “ I sat down hungry, and got up tired “ .

[TrapperMike]

Worked in packing plant for years. Used 22lr for cattle and 303 for bulls. As with everything you shoot, bullet placement means everything.

[sns2]

Originally Posted by TrapperMike

Worked in packing plant for years. Used 22lr for cattle and 303 for bulls. As with everything you shoot, bullet placement means everything.

This was the protocol on our family farm.

[ditch donkey]

This is an old thread, but I’m curious what the OP though about his longhorn beef? This guy, is going into the cooler on Wednesday.

[Battle Rat]

Longhorn is very lean so, just like wild game, you can screw it up by over cooking.
Great taste and high in protein.

[roper1]

Originally Posted by ditch donkey

This is an old thread, but I’m curious what the OP though about his longhorn beef? This guy, is going into the cooler on Wednesday.

He'd a been more fun to rope than eat be my guess. That kind of horn growth he might be 3, possibly 4.

[skidderman]

Put meat and a rock in boiling water. When the rock is soft the meat will be done. LOL

[KGB]

I bought a ground longhorn beef from a Farmer last year. It was very lean, just like we wanted and it was very tasty. It was excellent for hamburgers, I just added more onions, parsley and cilantro(blended into almost liquid consistency) and it was great! Nice and juicy, no flair ups no running fat… Will buy it again without any hesitation.

[stob]

Originally Posted by Dean2

I agree with Twisted Canuck - tried longhorn steaks and Ribs in Texas, not at all impressed. Tough, lean, very gamey. Tried it a couple more times in other places, same result. As far as I am concerned, Armadillo tastes better. I admit to being a Steak snob, triple A Alberta beef, Ribeye for number one, T-Bone for second and a good Sirloin is also never a bad thing.

You might want to try a couple of steaks from his animals before jumping into a whole cow.

x3... they remind me of Brahmans from OZ ... ain't worth the time or $$ to chew through ... some swear by them, me, not so much

[ditch donkey]

Originally Posted by roper1

He'd a been more fun to rope than eat be my guess. That kind of horn growth he might be 3, possibly 4.

He definitely has the best horns on him that I’ve ever had. He was 700 lbs in April, and I believe he’s coming on 2 years in the spring, but I’ll check his teeth when I skin him out.

[WinefredCommander]

Anyone I’ve ever heard buying longhorn only ever did it once. My favourite is braunvieh grass fed. Hands down.

[BlackHeart]

Originally Posted by roper1

Draw an X between the eyes & the base of their ears. If unsure, aim just a bit higher. They have more sinus lower, more brain higher. You can kill them shooting too high better than too low. Older steer that's been roped a couple seasons might have more bone, use WMR if you have access.

Did one steer with a 270 and the X method that failed. His head was down and enjoying a barley chop ration that had been put on the ground and shot was from standing and close. The result is the shot was perhaps a bit low and angled too sharp thru the top of his sinuses and missed the brain altogether. Don’t use a scoped gun as the barrel to bore difference has to be taken into account and when all is said not worth the potential issues.

Interesting was second shot was necessary and 1/2 cm higher and dropped stone dead.....but his head was up and looking at you.

So if you use the X method, crouch down, if his head is down and no scope. And I’d add 1 cm up for safety on your X estimated spot.

Also we normally have used a .22 on yearling steers without fail, but seen a neighbor fail on a big old bull he was turning into burger. He had to finish him with the 303 after the animal took off and went through his fences like butter.

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by BlackHeart

Did one steer with a 270 and the X method that failed. His head was down and enjoying a barley chop ration that had been put on the ground and shot was from standing and close. The result is the shot was perhaps a bit low and angled too sharp thru the top of his sinuses and missed the brain altogether. Don’t use a scoped gun as the barrel to bore difference has to be taken into account and when all is said not worth the potential issues.

Interesting was second shot was necessary and 1/2 cm higher and dropped stone dead.....but his head was up and looking at you.

So if you use the X method, crouch down, if his head is down and no scope. And I’d add 1 cm up for safety on your X estimated spot.

Also we normally have used a .22 on yearling steers without fail, but seen a neighbor fail on a big old bull he was turning into burger. He had to finish him with the 303 after the animal took off and went through his fences like butter.

If you were to take a set of 1/4" steel rods and run them through the bullet paths, you'd see that the differences in shot effect vs place is very important. When I started out butchering, I'd run a steel rod into every head after I took it off to see what exactly the bullet went through.

Ideally, from the front, you want the bullet to go through the center of the first neck joint. If it broke both sides, so be it. That gets you the bang/flop that most people like to see.

As you found out, the x method only works in certain head positions. I generally drew a line with my eye across the bottom of the ears and aimed for the center between the two. Head position mattered a lot less then. Sometimes you have to picture where the far ear is, but that takes a bit of practice.

If in doubt, fire it right down the ear canal.

22lr on a bull can be done. But the only reliable place to put that bullet is right down the ear canal. On big bulls esp, Charlois or Limosine, I generally liked using the 45-70. (there's a reason that they liked hunting buffalo with those guns) On other smaller animals, 44 mag in a carbine was the best. 240 gr american eagle jhp were the best of that lot. Hornady critical defense 240 gr was second best. Hornady American Gunner in 357 mag 125gr from a carbine was pretty effective as well. But that ammo was harder to come by, so I never used it for work. It's really effective on pigs that are hard to kill, such as mine.

All the guns mentioned have iron sights. Scope distortion is a big issue making shots that close.

[justsomeguy]

It all comes down to personal taste. some folks like a lean beef, others like a bit of marble in their meat.

Same applies to grass fed, we bought one a while back because everyone I know raved about them but they we're health nuts who were obsessed with low fat but still wanted to get the nutrients from beef. They would eat nothing but. I on the other hand found it too lean and not to my liking. To each his own as they say.

[lmtada]

Been eating Short Horn beef for decades. Father In Law, has small herd of Short horns and butchers a couple every year. Tastes okay to me. Shorthorn are a little smaller breed, with easy calving and maintenance.