Rackmastr
10-18-2013, 03:07 PM
Hey All,
Well...figured I'd sit down and do a write-up of a hunt I did yesterday near home. Was one of the toughest day hunts I've ever been on, and being solo didnt help one bit!
This dream to kill a mountain goat goes back to the days of living in Alberta. Tags are near impossible to draw and I've always been intrigued by them. I guided a goat back in 2002 over in BC and it fueled my desire for one even more. A couple years ago, I was hosted by a BC resident to go with him and a buddy on a Stone's sheep hunt with a goat tag in my pocket. We saw a few billies but nothing I wanted to kill when sheep was the priority. By the time that hunt rolled around, I knew I was moving to BC so the pressure was 'off' a bit.
Fast-forward to 2012 and I moved to BC. The main reason we moved was to pursue hunting and outdoor passions. I wanted to live in the mountains and working for the federal government made the move a reality. We had a baby premature and spent a month in Vancouver in the summer. Needless to say, the fall of 2012 was a very limited hunting year and I spent a lot of my time off with my family that fall. I did chase goats in a GOS zone and had a shot opportunity, but the distance was long and the terrain was very rough for a safe retrieval. I shot my first BC animal, a little whitetail buck to end the season.
2013 has been a great year so far. I decided to push hard and try and make some hunts happen. I drew a grizz tag in the spring and managed to kill a great bear on a great hunt with new friends. This spring I applied for a handful of tags and drew a mountain goat tag in an area I had done some research in. I went out opening day and counted over 30 goats between 2 days of hunting while looking for sheep. I didnt really want to kill a short-haired billy so passed on the chances in hopes of killing an October goat.
A northern Stone's sheep backpacking trip at the beginning of October was a great adventure. Saw a couple bands of rams with nothing legal, and a ton of critters. Will post some pics of the trip later as I'm still getting caught up.
Yesterday, I made the decision to try and get out and fill my goat tag. Since I had no one who could make it for the hunt, I decided to go solo and push hard to see what I could get done. I left the house at 6AM and made the drive out to my zone. A pair of waders helped me cross the river in the pre-dawn light. I hiked for about 35 minutes before spotting my first billy. He was in the trees and disappeared before I got a good look at him. His positioning wasnt right for a stalk, and I didnt know how big he was so decided to leave him and keep hiking.
A bunch of kilometers and a few hours later, I stopped to do some glassing at what I had decided would be the furthest point I'd go for the day. It was nearly 1130 when I spotted 3 goats way up high in the snow on a ridge. Through the scope, the billy looked good, and I remember thinking how promenent his glands were behind his horns. I unloaded all the 'unneccessary' gear from my pack and started the trek upwards.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a297/Rackmastr/IMG_4216_zps001230d5.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Rackmastr/media/IMG_4216_zps001230d5.jpg.html)
At 350 yards, I saw the goat on the skyline and verified it was the Billy. It was a high uphill angle and I'd only have time for one shot, so I decided I'd leave him and try and get closer. I didnt want to risk having him get hit and make it to the other side before I could anchor him. The wind swirled every direction which had me second guessing my choice!
I kept going upwards and thought I had busted the goats off the ridge. I caught sight of the back of one goat at 100 yards or so, but could not verify which one it was. While I was finding a position to get settled in, the billy peeked out from over a rock ledge at 85 yards. I pulled my rifle up, but with the steep angle I couldnt get behind my scope. I still had my pack on which made things very tough to get steady. He was looking right at me which made movement near impossible. I unclipped my pack and kept the one shoulder strap looped around my left arm so my pack wouldnt slide down the hill. The billy turned and the Nanny/kid popped over the ledge and looked at me.
A short few seconds later the Billy appeared to the left of the ledge in a nice little saddle. I quickly got on him and shot him rbetween the shoulders. He stood there motionless as I reloaded, sending another his way. This caused him to turn and the nanny and kid started to scramble. I shot a third time quickly, folding him. He started to tumble down towards me as I reloaded. For a brief moment, I thought about trying to stop him from tumbling down the mountain as he headed down the hill, but that thought was quickly replaced by common sense when I realized how fast he was going by the time he got to me. He passed me at 5 yards or so and continued down towards a big cliff I had hiked around to get to the group. You guessed it...he bailed right off that cliff with tremendous speed.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a297/Rackmastr/IMG_4224_zpsc30170fb.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Rackmastr/media/IMG_4224_zpsc30170fb.jpg.html)
By the time I got down to him, I had already come to the conclusion that my goat had been busted up and in horrible condition after his fall. Very ironic as I had passed opportunities to kill goats in 'bad' spots where they would tumble or fall in the past. I was pleasantly surprised that he hadnt busted off anything and other than being dirty with some torn skin and a torn ear, he was in great shape. All the bones in his face were broken and he had nearly bit his tongue off and both of his lips were peeled back a few inches.
The long pack back to the truck by myself was grueling. I was home by 10PM though and I had my goat!!
Enjoy the pics!
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a297/Rackmastr/IMG_4283_zpsfbc531e7.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Rackmastr/media/IMG_4283_zpsfbc531e7.jpg.html)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a297/Rackmastr/IMG_4262_zpsd5390cdc.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Rackmastr/media/IMG_4262_zpsd5390cdc.jpg.html)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a297/Rackmastr/IMG_4330_zpsd57d1019.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Rackmastr/media/IMG_4330_zpsd57d1019.jpg.html)
Well...figured I'd sit down and do a write-up of a hunt I did yesterday near home. Was one of the toughest day hunts I've ever been on, and being solo didnt help one bit!
This dream to kill a mountain goat goes back to the days of living in Alberta. Tags are near impossible to draw and I've always been intrigued by them. I guided a goat back in 2002 over in BC and it fueled my desire for one even more. A couple years ago, I was hosted by a BC resident to go with him and a buddy on a Stone's sheep hunt with a goat tag in my pocket. We saw a few billies but nothing I wanted to kill when sheep was the priority. By the time that hunt rolled around, I knew I was moving to BC so the pressure was 'off' a bit.
Fast-forward to 2012 and I moved to BC. The main reason we moved was to pursue hunting and outdoor passions. I wanted to live in the mountains and working for the federal government made the move a reality. We had a baby premature and spent a month in Vancouver in the summer. Needless to say, the fall of 2012 was a very limited hunting year and I spent a lot of my time off with my family that fall. I did chase goats in a GOS zone and had a shot opportunity, but the distance was long and the terrain was very rough for a safe retrieval. I shot my first BC animal, a little whitetail buck to end the season.
2013 has been a great year so far. I decided to push hard and try and make some hunts happen. I drew a grizz tag in the spring and managed to kill a great bear on a great hunt with new friends. This spring I applied for a handful of tags and drew a mountain goat tag in an area I had done some research in. I went out opening day and counted over 30 goats between 2 days of hunting while looking for sheep. I didnt really want to kill a short-haired billy so passed on the chances in hopes of killing an October goat.
A northern Stone's sheep backpacking trip at the beginning of October was a great adventure. Saw a couple bands of rams with nothing legal, and a ton of critters. Will post some pics of the trip later as I'm still getting caught up.
Yesterday, I made the decision to try and get out and fill my goat tag. Since I had no one who could make it for the hunt, I decided to go solo and push hard to see what I could get done. I left the house at 6AM and made the drive out to my zone. A pair of waders helped me cross the river in the pre-dawn light. I hiked for about 35 minutes before spotting my first billy. He was in the trees and disappeared before I got a good look at him. His positioning wasnt right for a stalk, and I didnt know how big he was so decided to leave him and keep hiking.
A bunch of kilometers and a few hours later, I stopped to do some glassing at what I had decided would be the furthest point I'd go for the day. It was nearly 1130 when I spotted 3 goats way up high in the snow on a ridge. Through the scope, the billy looked good, and I remember thinking how promenent his glands were behind his horns. I unloaded all the 'unneccessary' gear from my pack and started the trek upwards.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a297/Rackmastr/IMG_4216_zps001230d5.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Rackmastr/media/IMG_4216_zps001230d5.jpg.html)
At 350 yards, I saw the goat on the skyline and verified it was the Billy. It was a high uphill angle and I'd only have time for one shot, so I decided I'd leave him and try and get closer. I didnt want to risk having him get hit and make it to the other side before I could anchor him. The wind swirled every direction which had me second guessing my choice!
I kept going upwards and thought I had busted the goats off the ridge. I caught sight of the back of one goat at 100 yards or so, but could not verify which one it was. While I was finding a position to get settled in, the billy peeked out from over a rock ledge at 85 yards. I pulled my rifle up, but with the steep angle I couldnt get behind my scope. I still had my pack on which made things very tough to get steady. He was looking right at me which made movement near impossible. I unclipped my pack and kept the one shoulder strap looped around my left arm so my pack wouldnt slide down the hill. The billy turned and the Nanny/kid popped over the ledge and looked at me.
A short few seconds later the Billy appeared to the left of the ledge in a nice little saddle. I quickly got on him and shot him rbetween the shoulders. He stood there motionless as I reloaded, sending another his way. This caused him to turn and the nanny and kid started to scramble. I shot a third time quickly, folding him. He started to tumble down towards me as I reloaded. For a brief moment, I thought about trying to stop him from tumbling down the mountain as he headed down the hill, but that thought was quickly replaced by common sense when I realized how fast he was going by the time he got to me. He passed me at 5 yards or so and continued down towards a big cliff I had hiked around to get to the group. You guessed it...he bailed right off that cliff with tremendous speed.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a297/Rackmastr/IMG_4224_zpsc30170fb.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Rackmastr/media/IMG_4224_zpsc30170fb.jpg.html)
By the time I got down to him, I had already come to the conclusion that my goat had been busted up and in horrible condition after his fall. Very ironic as I had passed opportunities to kill goats in 'bad' spots where they would tumble or fall in the past. I was pleasantly surprised that he hadnt busted off anything and other than being dirty with some torn skin and a torn ear, he was in great shape. All the bones in his face were broken and he had nearly bit his tongue off and both of his lips were peeled back a few inches.
The long pack back to the truck by myself was grueling. I was home by 10PM though and I had my goat!!
Enjoy the pics!
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a297/Rackmastr/IMG_4283_zpsfbc531e7.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Rackmastr/media/IMG_4283_zpsfbc531e7.jpg.html)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a297/Rackmastr/IMG_4262_zpsd5390cdc.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Rackmastr/media/IMG_4262_zpsd5390cdc.jpg.html)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a297/Rackmastr/IMG_4330_zpsd57d1019.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Rackmastr/media/IMG_4330_zpsd57d1019.jpg.html)