Mountain Goat Advice

[7mmWSM]

Just put in the LEH, including one for mountain goat along with a buddy of mine. We'll be going into region 5 Sept. 1-5. I have never hunted goats, and was hoping I could get some advice from those of you who have. We have lots of backcountry/alpine backpacking experience, so gear is not so much the problem as knowing where the goats are going to be that type of year, what they are eating, times of day etc. Any pics would be great to get the juices going. thanks in advance, I can't believe how helpful everyone is on this site!

[Gateholio]

#1 Win the LEH tags

:)

[Alpine85]

I'm sure there is a bunch of guys here that will be able to share some tips with yah. Last season I went after goats for the first time, learned some new things forsure. I'm not sure what kind of hair your looking for on a goat, I waited till second week in October in hopes of long hair. The area we hunted was the north side of a mountain, never did see a goat in our area. We glassed on to the southern sunny slopes of another leh area and counted a number goats. The one day we watched the goats feed and follow the snow line down the mountain, once the mountain was covered with snow the goats feed back up to the top 25% of the hill. I'm sure there are a few people that could greatly expaned on what I said.

[7mmWSM]

Gatehouse, odds are 2.1 in our area so I think one of us should get one.
Alpine, we doublechecked our area for south facing slopes as we had heard this was key as well. The area is comprised of a rather long south facing ridge so I think we are ok. As to the hair, I would be happy with almost any billy that hits the ground with hair on it. First timers are easy to please!

[Gamebuster]

Which R5 hunt are you guys in for? Yohetta..Zone?

[7mmWSM]

Gatehouse, odds are 2.1 in our area so I think one of us should get one.
Alpine, we doublechecked our area for south facing slopes as we had heard this was key as well. The area is comprised of a rather long south facing ridge so I think we are ok. As to the hair, I would be happy with almost any billy that hits the ground with hair on it. First timers are easy to please!

[ape]

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o154/apester3/Goathuntingpics008.jpg
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o154/apester3/Goathuntingpics007.jpg
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o154/apester3/Goathuntingpics006.jpg
How are those to get you going? These where taken at approx 10-12 ft away. Who says you have to make a 200 yrd shot. After the pics they walked by me at about 6ft. I could have slit all thier throats. Good luck and have fun.

[Mtn Wonderer]

Goat hunting, I took my first goat last year ,beautiful animal.

This what I learned,

1. a goat that is on it's own is harder to judge whether it is large or not so large than one in a group. Sometimes nannies hang out solo as well as billies.

2. Be careful where you shoot a goat and where it might run, they don't usually just keel over when shot. From what I read and experienced. a shot that would anchor a deer, a goat is likely to travel couple hundred meter before it take to the ground.

Also goats can be on terrain where they can fall consider distance.

My first encounter with a goat up close: I was in a Bar in Glacier, WA. after climbing Mount Baker, a guy comes in looking for some climbers says he shot a goat and it fell on a inexcessable ledge.
Being hunter myself I didn't want to see this guy lose his goat and I didn't want to see the animal wasted, So I talked my clibing partner into goiing and having a look, the goat was about 200 feet over a cliff and it was getting late so we told guy we would come back in the morning.
To make along story short we got on to the ledge at 8 the next morning and lowered the goat another 150 feet or so. where the hunter who came back with two friends were able to pack the animal out.
This is why I say be careful where you shoot!!!


Good luck and have fun.



Good luck

[srupp]

7mmWSM..which area in region 5???I have some info on goats for different areas... Paul,hope you are feeling "less down"?

Cheers

Steven

[BCbillies]

A few things I have learnt:

the fog can be your best friend or your worst enemy. As long as you know where the goats are it should be your friend.
Although long shots may be expected they are not the norm. I average 64 yards on eight goats.
Generally mature billies do not hang out with groups of nannies and kids. Billies typically go solo or with one or two other billies, unless your hunting in Nov/Dec.
Use a high quality bulllet and a decent calibre. We were on four mature billies last year at 40 yards and it took three well placed shots with my 270 to bring mine down. My partner has a 300 and his goat went down with one well placed shot. Personally I prefer the larger calibre.
In early September the goats should be on the top 1/3rd of the mountain or just below the snowline. Feeding in morning and evening and napping in the afternoon on the south facing slopes. If hot (20 or 25 +) then they will be harder to find generally on the north facing slopes or tucked away somewhere.
If possible stalk from above.
Camp in the alpine.
Good boots, good pack, hiking sticks, GPS, and debone the meat and hike a few mountains before you hunt!Enjoy! Look forward to the photos.

[lapadat]

Here are some pics of some local goats and our camping spot. Hopefully this year all the tough scouting work from last year will pay off.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/Picture_532.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=4022&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=847)

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/234.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=4883&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=847)

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/Picture_778.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=3329&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=847)

[horshur]

Billy is a loner. They fall a very long way when shot. A mature billy is big as a shetland pony. Loaded pack on wet scree is a good way to bust a leg.

[Jagermeister]

Harvesting nannies is detrimental to healthy goat populations and the Wildlife Branch will put an end to goat hunting if nanny levels decrease. This is not only a BC problem, so with this in mind, here is a link to an Alaska Department of Fish and Game that will shed some light on the subject. May your LEH draw be filled.
http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/magazine/goats.htm

[7mmWSM]

Gamebuster....region 5-04e
Srupp...thanks, yes the feelings of dissapointment are being replaced for carefully laid plans for the following years, providing of course that we get lucky with the tags.Any info you have on the Yohetta area is of course much appreciated.
Lap...thats a sweet looking camp.

Thanks for the help so far guys. Anyone have info on what food sources I am looking for?

[Kirby]

Scout the area before season. Knowing the area is invaluable. Good topos, ariel photos, and time on the ground behind GOOD glass, nothing else beats it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_goat

Kirby

[GoatGuy]

Scout ahead of time as much as possible - in the least get the topos and figure out how you're going to get yourself into the alpine. Lots of hunters will put in, show up and realize that it's 8 hours of devil's club to get into goat country and simply pack up and head home.

I'd also reccomend getting a good grasp on IDing goats. The ministry has a video which will be somewhat helpful.

Their habits are as above mentioned but there have been lone nannies with longgggggg pencils that get guys excited. Depends on the weather - they can be tough to find when it's hot, wet, cool weather helps the program so long as there isn't too much fog. Take a good tent - spending 2-3 days in the tent can be expected of goat hunting especially on the coast. I've seen groups of 5 billies together before but goatzilla normally hangs by himself and limps around the mountain. Tail the size of a hardball and bases that touch.

If you've done plenty of mountain stuff you're in good shape. Glass, glass, glass and as horshur said a mature billly is a big animal!

Don't stop shooting until they stop movin' - they can suck up the lead and are infamous for diving. I haven't had the experience of it but a couple buddies have, not a good scene especially if you can't get at 'em.

Have fun and be safe.

[Chuck]

I went goat hunting (?) once with an experienced guy back in the 70's in area 5-5. Beautiful country, lots and lots of climbing. We put a stalk on a billie we spotted from a long way off. Many hours later, when we got within range and were certain we had his number, we crept out of the cover to check him out and he wasn't even there. While we were climbing through the timber, he clued in on us and crossed a gorge to another, even more difficult area and was looking back at us. He definitely had more experience on us. That's my one and only time goat hunting. Really enjoyed the camping in the alpine though and scenery. I think a whitetail buck is stupid compared to that sly old billie. How he knew we were coming is beyond me! Ha ha on us. Should have taken a slingshot for Blue grouse though.

[rollingrock]

A guy in Portuguese Society hunts billie a lot with his trusty dog. He'll be off with his dog for a couple of days and come back home with a nice goat, sometimes at night. He doesn't even need a compass or GPS, cuz his dog will lead him back along the same route they go. He never exercises, but he climbs as if he takes a walk. Another Portuguese guy once went with him. To keep himself in shape that guy went to gym every day and went hiking with bricks in his backpack. But when they were on trail he still wasn't able to keep up. :D

[slyfox]

Take it easy that walk was nuts and we did it in 2 days when it should have taken 4 and that guy your talking about is an animal in the bush and he is a sheep hunter more then a goat guy.

[Orangethunder]

I would have to say that goat hunting is one of my favorite pastimes. All of the above advice is great and here are my pointers. Gear up the best you can, boots, pack, optics and maps. A GPS is also a great tool if you are familiar with its use. A water purifier is also a must along with enough water bottles/hydration system. I think that you mentioned your geared up pretty well so thats good. Glassing is the crucial, especially at first and last light. Get to know the area and if possible scout as much as you can. Weather, hunting pressure and other industrial activities tend to dictate where you can find them. 99% of the time they will have a vertical or near vertical escape route very near by. Tallus slopes between cliff bands, slide paths between or beside cliff bands, steep timbered ridges near cliffs or small hanging bowls are great spots to look. Patches of green, lush growth in those areas helps too.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e122/Orangethunder/100_0970.jpg



Dont assume they will only be in the alpine. I got suprised last year and jumped one well below the treeline, only to find out that some very nasty ground gave him an escape route. I have also seen lots of goats that live very near the valley bottom all year. In September there tends to be more seperation between the nannies and billies and as you approach November the boys show more interest in the ladies as with most species in the rut.

These last pics are a close up of the first(above). We spotted a good billy from the valley bottom and then got close only to find he left the women and children to fend for themselves with the grizzly bear.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e122/Orangethunder/100_0966.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e122/Orangethunder/100_0988.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e122/Orangethunder/BearPic.jpg

Good luck!!

[rollingrock]

Take it easy that walk was nuts and we did it in 2 days when it should have taken 4 and that guy your talking about is an animal in the bush and he is a sheep hunter more then a goat guy.

:mrgreen::-Dsmall world! My bad, yeah he's a sheep hunter.

[Jagermeister]

Those are great visual aids (pics) OrangeThunder.

[Orangethunder]

Those are great visual aids (pics) OrangeThunder.


Thanks, we had a good day that day.

[Elkhound]

I would like to try for a goat one day. Keep up the info guys. I am sponging it up

[hunter1947]

I think i will put in for 1-5 and if i win ,we can both go together on this hunt ,i will be retired then.:mrgreen:

[ribber]

:)The only goat I've shot took 2 hits from a .340 Weatherby at about 125 yards the first hit the lungs and did'n fully penetrate the goat. He walked off a ways, came around a big rock and I shot again, this time through the front shoulders as he was heading for the cliff, he stood for about 30 seconds folded up his legs and laid down like he was taking a nap. I recovered both bullets.[ 225 grain Hornadies at around 3000 fps] I was in Albert Canyon , near the Alberta border.

[Chuck]

Hey Orangethunder nice photos - looks like a place I know in 4-30.