W
west
Guest
I shot this goat yesterday afternoon. I spotted the buck during archery 4 weeks ago but was never able to connect. Day before rifle opened we spotted him again and decided to set my dad up on him opening morning. My dad was able to set up for a 300 yrd shot, but the goat wouldn't present a good broadside shot so he decided to pass. The following day i had to help my buddy from out of state take his goat to the proccessor and taxi. I couldn't get out of town till around noon. When i arrived at the area i had been spotting him it didn't take 2 minutes to pick him out. I was able to get 356 yds but it was downhill shot and he was nervous so i let him walk. I took chase trying to keep 1 hill between him and I. Once he would go over the hill i would hot foot it over crawl to the top and hope for a shot. Each time he was a little to far out. Finally i was able to get to the top of a hill that he was only 170 yds away from. I set up aimed and squeezed one off. I have no idea what i did ..it may have been buck fever, but somehow i put it right over his back. It was one of the most frustrating moments of my life. I could have kicked myself in the head. Naturally he ran off alot farther then i could chase him from hill to hill. I spent the next couple hours glassing the hills with no success. I got in my truck and started heading back for the highway when i spotted a couple bucks about 3/4 mile away. Through the spotting scope it was obviously him. he was back where i originally spotted him. The issue was he was 500 yds from anything i could use as a stocking point. I decided to leave my truck where it was and walk way around to a hill that was about 550 from the goat. I figured if he would head any direction it would be that way. As soon as i got to the hill it started raining and hailing like crazy. I was soaked. No jacket. Just a long sleeve shirt. The temp dropped way down to the 30's almost instantly. I was shaking so bad i coudn't hardly hold my bino's. After an hour of watching him bedded down and thinking that hypothermia was setting in he finally got up and started feeding my way. I dont' think i've ever seen an animal move slower. I started to get worried that he would not come into range before sundown. Just as i was thinking of backing out and coming back in the morning a little buck must have givin him the evil eye because he took off after this buck and chased him right at me. He settled down about 370 yds away and started to continue feeding at me. He found a spot he liked and it looked like he was going to bed down. I thought if i was gunna take a shot it needed to be then. I ranged him at 348 yds. It was a little farther then i would have liked, but i was prone and he was broadside. I practise 334 yds with my 308 all the time so i was pretty comfortable with the shot. I placed my crosshairs and squeezed one off. That was the loudest and most heartpounding thump i ever heard when bullet and animal connected. It went right through the shoulder sending him on a 30 yrd death run. The excitment and joy can't be measured. He is exactly 16" on both horns and comes to a very conservitive taping of 85 3/4 gross...85in exact green net. The pics looked better on the camera as i was taking them.
Pics from the archery hunt. I did not think he was as big as he ended up being.
"blaming guns for violence is like blaming spoons for Rosie O'donnell being fat."
Pics from the archery hunt. I did not think he was as big as he ended up being.
"blaming guns for violence is like blaming spoons for Rosie O'donnell being fat."
