My 2020 White Goat

[dapesche]

Well I feel like a bit of a goof posting this story but I always appreciate everyone sharing their stories so I will share mine...it's also an nice journal entry for me so I can look back on this hunt.


Why do I feel like a goof? Well the few huntingbc goat stories shared from this season have been backcountry epics with a huge amount of effort. My hunt did not feel like that. Thanks to my hunting partner, an LEH draw and some pre-work my hunt ended up being more straightforward than most.


I've been hunting for 3 full seasons now, and I have always seen myself as a 'meat hunter' and I guess that helped me rationalize killing an animal. This goat hunt made it clear to me that I love the challenge of the hunt. Obviously we all like the full freezer after a hunt, but one situation I found myself in this November definitely opened my eyes to what I really love about hunting.


The LEH:
I screwed up the entire application process from the start and in the end it's the only reason I got a goat. I applied for the wrong zone. My old hunting partner is a jaded LEH applier and figures that draw is rigged and he has no hope of drawing anything so he'll apply for hunts with the highest odds for animals that most don't want to chase or eat. That was my intro to the LEH so I too applied for turkey in 2019 and won the draw but I really didn't want to run around in the snow to chase a turkey, but hey 'I won the draw'. This 2020 draw, I put in for goat because the odds were good, but I think deep down I wanted to have the option to hunt a goat. Well the draw was made and I won. Looked at the map and realized I had screwed up on the location...dumbass. I decided I wasn't going to hunt it because it was in the middle of nowhere and I didn't know the spot. I was more focused on elk.


Fast Forward to September:
My old hunting partner connected me with a younger guy from his work. Randomly we both shared the same hunting spot so it was the perfect neutral ground to go hunt together. We had one previous hell hike/scouting mission together to see if we could hunt together and it worked out great. We went into our spot and killed a big ol' bull. (I'll likely share that story too at some point). During the pack out I brought up my LEH win and that I had no plan to hunt it because I didn't know the area and I didn't want to interrupt my elk hunting. ... he informed me that he never hunts goats in September and that he and his family are hardcore goat hunters.


At this point I feel obligated to hunt the goat because I applied for the LEH and have now found out that people really like hunting goats, which was news to me. I felt like a dick for applying with really no intention to hunt the animal and I won't ever be doing that again.

[dapesche]

October Deer Hunt / Goat Scout:
So I went radio silence regarding the goat hunt and it wasn't till late October that my hunting partner started messaging me about the hunt. I still wasn't wanting to hunt an animal for 'sport' so I agreed to head out to see what goat hunting was all about. I joked with my wife that if I saw a mule deer I was shooting it, even if it scared the goats away.

We made the drive out into the boonies and I had my spotting scope and 8x42s along for the ride. I was told to stop in a spot and we started glassing across a valley. I will tell you right away that 8x42s are useless for picking apart a slope. If you're thinking about a sheep or goat hunt, 12x42s were way more useful. My partner has 12x42s and he found goats quickly. Once you know where the goats are, finding them with 8x42s is doable but you'll never be able to make a call on whether to go for an animal or not.

So I pulled out my spotting scope and we watched these goats on the hill side. The biggest goat was a nanny with it's kid, and we figured it was a fairly young billy with them too.



So I thought seeing this goats in their natural habitat was pretty incredible. I ended up coming back to the spot a couple more times, once alone and once with my old hunting partner just to see the goats....lots of gas wasted.

Early November: I'm hooked
So my hunting partner's father in law loves his goat hunting so I encouraged him to come out. It was the last weekend of Mule Deer season so we headed out looking for deer in the same spot where was saw the goats. Saw a bunch of deer tracks in the snow but no luck. As we were heading back we got out the spotter and had a peak and there were three billies in the spot. New billies to the area, and no the nanny with the kid and the juvenile billy. We sat there and watched for a while and they (my hunting partner and his father in law) were saying that the billies weren't big which was cool with me as I wasn't going to hunt them.



We watched them walk out of the spot and my partner recommended we just go for a hike up into the area so I could see what it was like up there just in case I did decide to go after one. So the in law heads back up looking for a mulie and we start hiking up. This is the part that got me hooked.



So if you have hunted goats and sheep, you'll know what I am talking about. What you see through the glass looks entirely different once you are on the slope. I chose a route up the slope that was wrong and I ended up getting cliffed-out except for a bare, icey granite face that had a small notch on it. I ended up crab walking along that notch and across that face until I got to a spot where I could jump to some grass that had brush for me to hold on to. It was a hair ball experience that the father in law didn't want to watch. I guess he returned from his mulie hunt in time to see me playing in the cliffs. He said he couldn't want. I later found out that my hunting partner fell down a 20+ft cliff dragging his goat down the mtn face one year and the father in law was watching it all through the binos.

It was that experience that really hooked me. Makes you feel alive and humbles you damn quick.

We got up to their beds and it was pretty cool to see where they hung out. They move through the gnarly terrain like it's nothing.

[albravo2]

Great story so far!!

[dapesche]

Access Issues:
So mid-November brought so snow. I quickly realized the my new focus and passion was great hindered by snow...shit! I drove the next weekend to see I had access to the spot. I did not. There was not. I was buried in about 40cms of snow.

My wife is starting to get tired of my hunting, which started Sept 1st and now is lasting into later November. She is pretty incredible but I let her know that I wouldn't be strictly goat watching I had my whitetail tag with me. So I head out and saw that my road had been plowed. How F'in lucky am I! I get up the road as far as I can and it was looking good but it was sloppy and I almost got stuck so I tucked tail and headed back down to hunt deer.


I spot a couple does and Elmer Fudd it for a while hoping a buck would be dogging them. No luck so I head home soaking wet but stoked that I still have a chance.





The Hard Work Starts
So it is coming up on the final day of the season. I leave work early on the Friday to check the road for access. It's been plowed again and with the temps dropping the road is firm and I head up. The spur that I need to access is not plowed though. I got out of the truck, threw up the binos, and spotted a goat walking off the face. Being new to this, I figured it'd wait for me to get my spotter out for a better look so I methodically got everything set up to have a closer look. He had different plans and I saw the back of his head as he walked off. I say 'he' because I was the big dirt spot on the his rear quarter with my binos.

I am now choked because (1) I wasn't able to get my spotter out in time to judge him and (2) It is a long freaking way up and that snow-covered spur and it really reduced the hiking time.

I sat in my truck and had that feeling of defeat. It was 630ish in the morning so I could get back to town and be ready to work....
I forced myself out of the truck with my loppers in hand as I knew so cutting was going to be required to get this done. I started setting in a trail through the 30-40cms of snow. This was brutal but I got it down. As soon as I hit the slope and the timber I started cutting a route through the nasty spots. I cut all the way up to the face of cliff that we had to move along in order to get off the mountain as we knew coming from the other side of the face was not an option.

I think I spent 8 hours breaking and cutting trail.

[dapesche]

Buzzer Beater Goat:
So I got home on Friday and let my hunting partner know that we were good to go for Saturday.
I picked him up in the morning and let him know the plan on the drive.

1. Of all the goats we saw, this goat was by himself and he seemed to be sensitive to my truck. I would get dropped off quickly in the dark and my partner would head to an alternate glassing spot
2. As I hiked up, he would spot a goat
3. I would shoot the goat.
4. We would celebrate and go home

Easy!

Here we go...
So I get dropped off and start my hike in the dark.
Fortunately the alternate glassing spot is open so my partner gets set and waits for sun to come up as I hike
I get to the end of the logging road and hold there. It is that early morning grey light without contrast. Nothing has been spotted yet but my partner has proven to be excellent at glassing so I make the call that I'll keep heading up slope based on the assumption that (1) he'll spot a billie and (2) it'll be spotted before I spoke it.

Well the sun is rising and the contrast is improving and he spots this guy:



Now I have no idea what a big billie looks like, but my partner does and he knew this was a big billi but he didn't phrase it that way to me He didn't want to ramp me up and it was a great call.


.... To Be Continued.

need to go get some dinner for the fam. Will try to finish this up after dinner.

[todbartell]

what a sight!

[Firstblood]

That thing is a beast, excited to hear more.

[dapesche]

Top Of The Mountain:
So that big guy is almost on the top of the mountain. I am about 500yds down slope of the cliff wall trail that I cut. The billie is another ~150yds above the highest spot that I cut too on top of the cliff face.

I start chatting with my partner over the handhelds were were using. I was standing in the thick timber that grew out of the creek drawn coming down the face of the mountain. Standing there and hiding as that bill had an excellent vantage point.

There were two options to get up to him and we discussed them quickly. I didn't commit to anything as I knew it would be dangerous both ways. Fortunately, I cut my trail through the timber knowing that I'd need to be sneaky. There was one spot that I cut which brought me to a small clearing that would have given me a shot at a goat that was in the bed by the trees (see picture above) with the two billies bedded. I cut that trail because it a shot opportunity but it was also the safer route.

Unfortunately, the safer route to the right was now the exposed route and I was concerned about getting busted before I even had the chance at a stalk. I had to go left of a tree that put me above about a 20-25ft cliff and there wasn't much to grab. It was a fairly steep transition at the bottom of the cliff but there was also a bunch of of alder....so it'd hurt a bunch falling off but it wouldn't kill me.

I started up the pitch using my collapsed treking poles like ice axes and digging in hard with the toes. It was a bit of a pucker-fest but I got through it and met up with my trail again and got up to the base of the cliff.

Tight against the cliff the billie couldn't see me. I checked the left route to the top of the mtn and it looked steep, exposed and, in my opinion, it was a guaranteed bust because it was deep snow and no trail was cut. The other side of the mtn was probably more gradual but it was out of my partners view and I had no idea what was back there. I let my partner know that stalking in was not an option and that I would try calling him.

On a Rope:
So we laughed about this after but I set out on calling in my goat like any good elk hunter would.

On Friday there was a lone track that just passed through the zone and headed out the other side. Today, there was the same lone track and that same billie so I figured he was just chilling on the top of the mountain waiting for a nanny to show up.

I walked my trail to the first bed by the tree and when I got up there I saw his fresh bed from the night was all dug out. So I started kicking the ground like I was digging out his bed. Kicking dirt off the cliff to make noise, thumping the ground hard with my boot and just scraping loudly at the ground.

I call my friend to ask if the billie was doing anything and the answer was nah, he just got up and is standing there.

So I move up to the cliff face trail again and start working over to the next set of beds. When I get to the beds I find a big dead branch and snap it off the tree knowing the billie will hear it. I check back in with my partner for an update and he said the goat was moving to the right towards the route down to where I am and I guess I just said 'it's working' and got back to making noises.

My partner got to see some action too as I guess the billie was trying to get a look at the beds from the top of the cliff. As he tried to get the best view possible he had to jump to a different spot. Well he jumped, slipped and almost off the cliff above me. The billie backed off and started working toe the right and down the mountain. I kept making noises by rattling brush together like something was nibbling on it.

Checking in with my partner, it was obvious that the billie was coming down to the beds. I started to get set.

The Shot:

The wind was horrible. Thermals were up and the wind was at my back. It was blowing right towards the billie's only entrance onto this bench. It was a 10-15ft deep rock outcropping that came across the cliff face.

I tried to get far enough below the billie's entrance route in the hopes that my scent would stay low enough. I set up in the shade below a tree that grew out of the slope and then upwards. My pack was tossed down in the curved base of the tree and I started getting comfortable for a shot. My hope was to shoot him broadside as I walked down and across the entrance. Everything felt good.

As I stood there, my partner was giving me updates on the billies progress. The billie would show himself on the cliff top as he looked for goats and then would work back, out of sight as he moved down what I can only assume was his well beaten path.

What was really cool for me is that I could hear him progress. Anytime he came close to the cliff he'd be kicking some rocks and I'd hear them come cracking down. Pretty surreal to be able to track him without seeing him.

So my partner and I spoke for the last time after he confirmed without a doubt that the billie was coming in and that it'd be radio silence from here.

I waited...and I waited. Felt like at least 10 mins for something that was going to be a minute or two. So I figured I'd kick some more dirt. With the steep slope my line of sight changed as I dropped down to kick the dirt. As I kicked, I saw 4 white legs that had been hidden by a tree branch when standing in my shooting position. I was cursing loudly in my head. A big thank you to all the podcasts that recommended setting up in the shade on a sunny day as that saved my ass, but it also heated out the goat and he hung up. So the billie, instead of coming around the face and walking down the outcropping, he just walking straight out to the further point of the out cropping. That's where he was when I kicked the ground like an idiot

I will always remember the sight of that billie hung-up, standing broad side on the edge of that cliff. It was his right side without that dirt mark on it and it was a sight to see. Problem was that I was ****ed. He had me pinned but couldn't see me. If I moved I would be in trouble, so I just kept watching him and waiting for him to come down the path to me.

Deep down I knew he wasn't going to come down so I had eyeballed what would have been a better spot for the shot. As soon as the billie turned to walk away I moved to that spot and made a lot of noise as I did it (hoping that he'd want to look). He did stop and gave me a quartering away shot. I put one in the boiler room from 40-50yds. After that shot, he squared up to me and I hit him frontal and he dropped dead, fell off the 30ft cliff he was perched on, skipped down another 20ft cliff and then tumbled down the mountain for a while. About 100 to 150yds of tumbling later he laid to rest. Thankfully he didn't get hung up on some of the small cliff benches.


Success!:
Well my partner and I were hooping and hollering across the valley. We both played a huge role in the success so that was great moment to share.

I dragged the billie down the mountain. This was a mission and it involved me doing some tumbling too. I worked down the mtn and my partner worked up and we found a good spot to dress him up. When my partner got eyes on the billie he was all smiles because (1) we were successful and (2) it was a big ol billie.

He was wondering WTF I was doing as he figured the billie was standing broadside exposed on that cliff for 10 mins. I explained what happend...

You can see what I had to drag him down as well as the bottom part of the cliff that he worked down.







Rifle and Ammo info
Tikka t3x 308 Synthetic SS. Shortened barrel with a muzzle break and a leupold vxii 4-12-40 on it.
I was using 150gr Federal Trophy Copper's and I managed to recover a bullet.
THANKS TODBARTELL for helping with my ammo choice.

[dapesche]

In Conclusion:
I had no intention to getting a mount done. Figured I'd make a blanket with his coat and then euro mount him.
On the hill side I admitted that was a bit of a disservice to him and that folks would think I'm nuts for not doing a proper mount. Fortunately my partner had caped out a sheep in late August so he did a bang up job while I quartered the goat out.

I went to get my Compulsory done and Lino noticed the billy had essentially no front teeth left. He had never seen that before and figured this would have bene one of the billie's last winters. That made me feel better as I only wanted to kill an old guy. Lino also figures it is one of, if not the biggest, billie he has seen in his studio or while he was guiding. He's all smile and chuckling because it's obvious that I don't understand the quality of animal I was lucky enough to harvest, and he is happy for me.

So he's telling me all this and I am starting to feel like a bag of shit for wanting to euro this guy. Again, on the mtn I was second guessing my euro decision so I have decided to see if a mount is possible. It's at the tannery right now so I am hoping for some good news in regards to mount options.


The billie measured 10" inches (I jotted down 10 1/8") on one side and he is likely missing a quarter inch or so of length on that side. His other side is broken more and measures under 9" (8 6'/8"). Guess he has some mass the in the horn as well. With deductions Lino figures he won't be 50" but that there is a good chance he would have been a B&C record....not that it really matters right, but I know some folks like knowing the inches.

Lino said he might have the guy that does the local scoring put the tape to him so it'll be neat to know what he was before he broke. I wasn't out there on the mountain trying to get the biggest goat. I think it's pretty unreal that my partner and I were able to put a plan together and harvest a billie of this caliber. What an experience.

To think I almost didn't even hunt for a goat. Between my hunting partner's passion and a Steve Rinella podcast where he spoke about waiting 22yrs to hunt a goat somewhere south of us, it showed that I was taking the opportunity presented to me for granted. We're definitely lucky to live and hunt in BC.





Appreciate you reading my story
I am glad we have a forum to share stories like this. It'll be nice to reflect on as I get older.

hopefully the spelling wasn't too bad as I probably should've put it in MS Word for a spell and grammar check.

Cheers!

[Kos]

Great read and such a beauty goat congratulations man!