S
springbear
Guest
The story starts like any other once in a life time hunt; checking the draw results and seeing "Successful on Mountain Goat Tag". Then the "scouting" began.
First I had to figure out how to even know what a "good" goat looked like. I had never really hunted them, or even looked at that many. None close enough or I never cared enough to tell the difference between a Billy and a Nanny. So I did a lot of reading and looking at pictures and taking tests on various State Fish and Game web sites. Still never got to a 100% on Billy or Nanny, but I knew generally what to look for.
"Scouting" with my kids. Ended up doing more fishing and grouse shooting than anything, but we did see a few goats and got the lay of the land.
I returned home and made some calls to the Outfitter in the area and the Fish and Game Biologists. Then finalized the time frame for the hunt with my brother who would be going along to deal with the horses, help pack meat, and as it turns out beat the tar out of me in several game of cribbage.
The day to go came and we headed out, got to the trail head and made camp. We got up early the next morning to load the stock and were met with some rain. Little did we know that it would not stop raining for the next 4 days.
We made it to the location that the outfitter suggested was a decent camp site with stock and set up camp.
My brother giving the thumbs up in the rain...
We made a quick trip out that evening and actually found some goats between the clouds; I promply messed up a picture perfect stalk with a bad miss on a decent billy with my Bow.
The next day my brother headed back down the mountian to get some horse feed. It was still raining, and the fog was really set in, so I was in no rush to get out of camp and go hunting. I did get out by mid morning. I got to an area a few miles form camp that I thought should be a good sized canyon, but I could not see more than a few feet due to the fog and rain. I sat down and had some early lunch. The fog began to lift, then would close back in. At one point it cleared enough for me to do some glassing... GOATS!
Now how to pick out the billy, if there even was one.
looking through the spotting scope.
I decided that there were 13 goats in the heard and for sure one mature billy. There were a couple of possible billy's but only one that was a shooter. Now the decision was to shoot or not. I had my bow and rifle with me, but my brother was down the mountain still. I decided that the one that I was most sure was a mature billy was not in a postion to shoot. I had zero chance with my bow for a stalk, and if I shot him with my rifle, he would likely tumble seveal hundred yards, or worse yet, hang up where he was and there was no way to get up to him. So after a few hours of silent debate, I passed, and went on my way to look at some more "goat" country. All I found was more rain and fog.
That evening I returned by the same spot and stopeed and had a look. The goats had moved up the canyon some and were at least in a possible location for a shot.
He would come out and check on her, then go back and bed down. I had closed to about 180 yards so the shot was not going to be hard to make, if the fog, rain, and the goat all cooperated at the same time..
Eventually, another goat got up and moved off the cliffs to the "flatter" grassy area. I was pretty sure I would be able to retrieve him if he followed and I anchored him there. Well he followed her, but I was not able to take the shot and watched him scramble around the cliffs to the other goats. Now there were multiple goats in my scope, he helped in positively identifying himself by mounting a nanny. Soon as she cleared out of the way, I took the shot. I broke his neck and sent him cart wheeling off his rock and out of site... I was not so sure of the area he was down in since he had moved a few hundred yards down the canyon and back into some cliffs. I made my way over to him and found that the area was grassy, but not so much in the flatter department. I found him hooked up in some alder brush with his horns; about ten feet above a 200 yard drop off..
Got lucky with that I guess.
Spent the next day getting him out, and then another day in the rain packing camp up and getting off the mountain.
He is a respectable Billy with 9 1/2" horns and enough mass to push him over 50" B&C.
First I had to figure out how to even know what a "good" goat looked like. I had never really hunted them, or even looked at that many. None close enough or I never cared enough to tell the difference between a Billy and a Nanny. So I did a lot of reading and looking at pictures and taking tests on various State Fish and Game web sites. Still never got to a 100% on Billy or Nanny, but I knew generally what to look for.
"Scouting" with my kids. Ended up doing more fishing and grouse shooting than anything, but we did see a few goats and got the lay of the land.
I returned home and made some calls to the Outfitter in the area and the Fish and Game Biologists. Then finalized the time frame for the hunt with my brother who would be going along to deal with the horses, help pack meat, and as it turns out beat the tar out of me in several game of cribbage.
The day to go came and we headed out, got to the trail head and made camp. We got up early the next morning to load the stock and were met with some rain. Little did we know that it would not stop raining for the next 4 days.
We made it to the location that the outfitter suggested was a decent camp site with stock and set up camp.
My brother giving the thumbs up in the rain...
We made a quick trip out that evening and actually found some goats between the clouds; I promply messed up a picture perfect stalk with a bad miss on a decent billy with my Bow.
The next day my brother headed back down the mountian to get some horse feed. It was still raining, and the fog was really set in, so I was in no rush to get out of camp and go hunting. I did get out by mid morning. I got to an area a few miles form camp that I thought should be a good sized canyon, but I could not see more than a few feet due to the fog and rain. I sat down and had some early lunch. The fog began to lift, then would close back in. At one point it cleared enough for me to do some glassing... GOATS!
Now how to pick out the billy, if there even was one.
looking through the spotting scope.
I decided that there were 13 goats in the heard and for sure one mature billy. There were a couple of possible billy's but only one that was a shooter. Now the decision was to shoot or not. I had my bow and rifle with me, but my brother was down the mountain still. I decided that the one that I was most sure was a mature billy was not in a postion to shoot. I had zero chance with my bow for a stalk, and if I shot him with my rifle, he would likely tumble seveal hundred yards, or worse yet, hang up where he was and there was no way to get up to him. So after a few hours of silent debate, I passed, and went on my way to look at some more "goat" country. All I found was more rain and fog.
That evening I returned by the same spot and stopeed and had a look. The goats had moved up the canyon some and were at least in a possible location for a shot.
He would come out and check on her, then go back and bed down. I had closed to about 180 yards so the shot was not going to be hard to make, if the fog, rain, and the goat all cooperated at the same time..
Eventually, another goat got up and moved off the cliffs to the "flatter" grassy area. I was pretty sure I would be able to retrieve him if he followed and I anchored him there. Well he followed her, but I was not able to take the shot and watched him scramble around the cliffs to the other goats. Now there were multiple goats in my scope, he helped in positively identifying himself by mounting a nanny. Soon as she cleared out of the way, I took the shot. I broke his neck and sent him cart wheeling off his rock and out of site... I was not so sure of the area he was down in since he had moved a few hundred yards down the canyon and back into some cliffs. I made my way over to him and found that the area was grassy, but not so much in the flatter department. I found him hooked up in some alder brush with his horns; about ten feet above a 200 yard drop off..
Got lucky with that I guess.
Spent the next day getting him out, and then another day in the rain packing camp up and getting off the mountain.
He is a respectable Billy with 9 1/2" horns and enough mass to push him over 50" B&C.
