Watch out goats, here I come!

[troutseeker]

Leaving Saturday for a week goat hunting at the North end of Kootenay lake. A friend and I both have LEH tags and we'll also be on the lookout for bigf mulies.

I'm looking forward to finally hitting the bush this year!

Troutseeker

[Ramshot]

Good luck Claude! Let me know if ya need the old Ruger 300 Win Mag:wink:. It's a good luck rifle for me, elk & moose with it this fall. Watch those rocks they will be slippery. Lookin forward to some pics. <RAMSHOT

[boxhitch]

Good on you for going ahead with the hunt. I've heard of a couple of quitters this year.
Which area, Duncan, Trout Lake ? Good bears too.

[fozzy]

Right on! Have a good trip there Troutseeker :) Good luck.

[6616]

Way to go Troutseeker, we wish you luck, I'm glad there's still a few residents who are interested in goat hunting.

[hunter1947]

Good luck on your goat hunt ,I hope you guys get something.

[Brambles]

Leaving Saturday for a week goat hunting at the North end of Kootenay lake. A friend and I both have LEH tags and we'll also be on the lookout for bigf mulies.

I'm looking forward to finally hitting the bush this year!

Troutseeker

Good Luck, IIRC you had the 4-30 draw right? Most of the drainages are washed out or VERY narrow, you might be able to squeeze a small quad by, my sportsman 500 would have had half the rear tire hanging over the cliff to get by so I turned around. Bring a chainsaw and a shovel and some cable so you can winch rocks out of the way and dig some spots, these roads arn't maintained even a little because the the ministry can't convince a contractor to go up there and risk loosing their machine.

You can see goats from the Lardeau bluffs alongside the hwy but that slope is VERY hard to climb, the footing is loose and you slide back further then you step forward.

Look forward to seeing some pictures

[shantz]

Good luck on the hunt, I hope you both fill your tags

[bighornbob]

You can see goats from the Lardeau bluffs alongside the hwy but that slope is VERY hard to climb, the footing is loose and you slide back further then you step forward.

Aren't the Lardea bluffs off limits in that zone as the goat numbers just crashed in there.

BHB

[Brambles]

Aren't the Lardea bluffs off limits in that zone as the goat numbers just crashed in there.

BHB


Never heard that, can't see anything in the regs either, unless its some special request that comes with the tag in the mail ?????

Where did you hear or read that? Post er up if you got it somewhere's

[bighornbob]

A friend had the LEH about 5 years ago and we hunted there one day and only saw a few goats. My friend commented on how there used to be way more goats in the area.

Anyway a week after our hunt (we went in late oct-early Nov) he gets a letter from the Ministry explaining the situation and asking him to avoid or telling him (cant remember which) the area.

My friend was kind of choked that he gets the letter that late in the season as we could have gotten a goat there thus contributing to the goats decline.

Not sure whats happended since then though.

Is the goat population doing better? Are guys seeing goats?

BHB

[troutseeker]

Someone has a good memory, we are going to 4-30. My hunting partner was hatched there and knows the area very well. His parents live there and his dad has been spotting goats for us. If all went well he's got them tied to a rock by now:-o, just kidding!

My tag says nothing about not hunting the Lardeau bluffs. I've heard that quite a few goats still lived up there.

We'll be mainly hoofing it, got the packs, tent and all ready to go! I'll be using my Remington model 7 in 7mm SAUM shooting 140 grain Barnes TSX. I may bring the Ruger .338WM as a spare rifle.

If I am extremely lucky my friends dad will take us for a hunt in his old Land Cruiser. I hear that these hunts turn into quite the exploration adventure...

Anyways, I'm stoked and counting the days.

Troutseeker

[boxhitch]

Is there a newer access into that zone, to a newer mine site ? which creek ? Open or locked ?

[Ron.C]

good luck,

hopefully you make out better than I did on goat this year

Ron

[troutseeker]

LAst night before thetrip out. Gear is ready, food is packed, I'm off work in a few hours and will try to get some sleep tonight!

I'll post again when I return.

Ciao, Troutseeker

[BCbillies]

I look forward to hearing a good story upon your return. The goat hunts seem to be a little sparse this year! :icon_frow I hope your weather is a little more cooperative than what some of us are getting right now.

[Chuck]

4-30 for goats could be up Poplar creek and that's a nice area to hunt. Trouble is everyone seems to know it and it does suffer from heavy pressure.

[troutseeker]

Hi there,

just managed to get some computer time at some ol'timers shack. So here goes a short story.

Saturday was drive to the North end of Kootenay lake and set up a very comforable camp in my friends parents house. Great people and a comfy base from which to explore the area.

Up early Sunday morning and as soon as I put my bino' on the hills I spot goats. Lot's of goats... Counted 17 different animals in the span of two hours, going in and out of brush and setting up on the steep cliffs feeding and sunning. Nanny's with kids in tow, some loners Billy's higher as well as lower on the cliffs. My hunting partner is glassing as well and he says that things are looking good!

I'm pretty excited by now and have the spotting scope out and enjoy looking at them and try to determine what is a bigger Billy out there. As some of you may know, I've never hunted Goats and I am learning to judge them. In my favor is that I do some long range shooting and I can gauge distances and sizes pretty accurately. The terrain is very steep and unforgiving, how do they make it look so damn easy???

I scope a fair bit higher than were all the goats are and spot one coming out of the woods onto a ledge. It is a several hundred yards north of the other goats, and has no inclinations to join them. At first site I think it is a big Billy. The scope does not make it diminish in size and my brain starts to formulate a plan...

I watched this goat for an hour and a half. My spotter is not a super duper SwarozZeissPoldy, but I can base my estimate of size based on vegetation, boulders, etc.. It seems BIG, my scope eve allows me glimpses of the horns and my legs get itching to go...

But first a big breakfast! Eggs, Bacon, fesh baked cinnamon buns, tea, juice, fruits, holy crap, too much food!!! We also packed some luch and took some basic overnight stuff. I packed a light down jacket, long johns and spare socks. Weather was good, sunny and cool but not supposed to go much below freezing at night if we got stuck on the mountain.
Partner and I load our packs and rifles in the truck and head off in the direction of the mountain, in a roundabout way to end up on the North side. His father told us he pulled a good Billy out of there years before but the hike in was hell.

We figured once on top of the ridge, 40 minutes should get us to the ledge the Goat was on. Hahaha, at first we had a nice walk in a D9's trail for a hunder yards. Then we had to hit the bush, well, let me tell you that I have never been in anything worse than this bush!

The snags were endless, no trails cut in this wooded area at all. We took a bearing and started fighting bush, jams tripping us, sidehills and downhills covered in blowdowns, trees so thick passing thru with a pack on the back was nearly impossible. I quickly flipped and ankle over, thanks to good boots (Lowa) it was not too bad and I carried on (as if I was normal...).

After 50 minutes of cursing and falling we decided to check the edge of the bluff to see if were near the Goat. Nope, still a long ways to go. Quick stop for some water and a snack and off we go.

Back into the deeper bush to avoid spooking the Goat, another hour of snaglebrush to go through. I can tell I mainly spend time at a desk at work... Even though I workout three times a week and go hiking and biking often, this is HARD EXHAUSTING WORK. I have a hard time lifting my legs over snags by now...

Total time from the truck is 1:50 hours and we get near the spot we think the Goat is and try to be quiet, put our packs down and go look around. I've drawn first shot, the goat is mine if I want it. I approach the edge of the precipice and my toes curl into my boots making sure I dont fall over this cliff. It is straight down! I am now a little scared, really...

Anyways, I keep still hunting North against what my brain tells me (run away! Run away!), and I see the big guy on a ledge below us, about 90 yards away. He is standing and looks like he wants to go down further.

I pull out my Leupold bino's and determine he is a very large and worthy Billy with good horns. Problem is, I am standing on the edge of a cliff, it is windy and I will be shooting freehand, oh yeah and at a steep angle!

I move the Model 7 to my shoulder, he is not giving me a good shot so I stupidly go Bwaaaaah. He turns slightly and looks up, Wow, great goat! I aim and shoot, he jumps up and his whole body quivers and he hops behind bushes and I can't see him anymore.

Partner joins me, I tell him I shot the goat and down we start going. He goes down the next plateau and I keep going North, the way the Goat had moved at the shot. Sure enough, as my buddy goes down I hear the Goat move thru some brush and see the limbs move, no shot though.

We decide to circle the bluff and come from both directions, cornering him. Shoot only at the cliff face or toward the lake at the bottom of the face, make sure you now where the other is at all times. Of course, we loose each other immediately!

I am a very slow still hunter, and I look at everything before I move again. I spot the Goat, it is hobbling along slowly towards my partner. Once it sees him, it turns to go down some other small cliff and I am waiting for him. He is so intent on evading my buddy that he passes with 30 feet of me, crouched behind a bush. It is a magnificent animal, I aim and fire. The second TSX finishes him off.

I watch him fall forward against a buch of small sapplings and get hung up in them. He is immobile for five or so seconds and then gives one last big kick with it's hind legs. That pushes him thru hte sapplings and down a very steep grade, I hear him tumble for some time... Crap!

We go down (I'm quacking in my boots) and find him nestled between some small trees, at the base of a big stump. He is in a depression and we walked down at least one hundred meters, my legs are tired and the work as yet to begin!

We check the beast over, he is in prime shape, the horns are large, the fur is beautiful. I could not have wished for a better Goat for my first! A handshake and some pictures and the work begins.

By 4:30pm we had packed all the meat and the cape between the two of us and started up the steep hill. We made it to the point where I had shot it and agreed we could not take it all out in one trip.

By now the light is fading fast, we repack the meat and get going. We considered spending the night but there was no water on the bluff and we were running dry. Morning would have just made our exit more painful as we would have been more dehidrated...

Thanks to my GPS and our headlamps we managed to stay in a fairly straight line through this hell of snags and deadfalls. At one point we stopped for a fifteen minute break and eat a fruit bar and drank the last of our water. We were both pretty close to calling it our sleeping spot but got up and carried on and suddenly got out of the bush into the clearing. the truck was just around the corner.

We made it to the truck at 10:10 pm, exhausted. We left the cliffs at about 5:45pm, it toook a while to negotiate all the snarles in the dark.
We were black and blue and slept like babies.

Monday we went back up there and recovered the rest of the meat. Nothing had touched it, it spent a nice night at -5 on the mountain side. By now my legs only moved forward because I forced them to. We made good time in daylight and had steak for super!

I'll try posting pictures, if it doesnt work go check my gallery.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=11021&cat=500
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=11022&cat=500

Oh yeah, tonight we put a tape measure to the horns, we don't know what we are doing but without going to the skull plate and not streching the tape they easily go over 10 inches. Is that a good thing?

Troutseeker

[troutseeker]

Double tap...

[6616]

That's a great old billy. Good job guys.
How old is he?

[troutseeker]

triple tap,,, Argh!!!

[troutseeker]

That's a great old billy. Good job guys.
How old is he?

Thanks, my buddy's been on several Billy hunts in the Yukon and the Kootenay's and he say's it's the biggest he's ever seen.

Me it's the biggest I've ever seen, 'cause it's my first one!:D

No idea how to age them, they'll tell me at inspection I guess?

[boxhitch]

Great going guys !! 9" is a good goat, 10" is a great one !! Sounds like an old bugger too.
I was waiting for the part about the inevitable kick-off, but looks like he didn't go too far at all.
Good teamwork.

[boxhitch]

Age him by counting the rings just like sheep. It won't be easy if he is over 10, the rings are about 1 mm. apart.
Nice big feet and a long face I bet.

[troutseeker]

Age him by counting the rings just like sheep. It won't be easy if he is over 10, the rings are about 1 mm. apart.
Nice big feet and a long face I bet.

I'll try that later this week. I was conservative when saying 10", I know it's longer but since I am not sure how they measure lenght... We just put the tape from the top of the hair at the base of the horn and went up to the tip, on hte outside of the horn. Did not measurethe base thickness, but they are thick.

It's got huge feet and a horse's face... I am stoked!

G'night, may go for one for my partner tomorrow nad I want to be fresh to help him as he helped me!

Troutseeker

[hunter1947]

Ts that is one fine billy looks like he has a 10 inch length on its horns.

Very nice wright up as for connecting with this goat ,congrats on a fine animal.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Great looking late season billy!!! Doesn't get much better!

Congrats!!!

SSS

[6616]

No idea how to age them, they'll tell me at inspection I guess?

Yup, they sure will, but aging these old guys is difficult and since age is not regulated data on CI sheets for goats, some inspectors aren't too fussy when aging them. I've shot several and I don't think any one of them was actually aged correctly.

It appears to me there's 6 1/2 years worth of annuli showing above the hair, and I'm betting there's several more below the hair that aren't visible in the photo. I'm guessing he's at least 8 1/2 or 9 1/2 and could be as much as ten+ years old. At the base the annuli almost run right together on these older goats and can be very hard to distinguish.

That's a very old goat and truely a trophy billy.

Congrats again Troutseeker, you should get him scored, he should be close to BC book.

Hope you guys get another one today..!

[BiG Boar]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/goat1.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=11021&size=big&cat=500)

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/goat.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=11022&size=big&cat=500)


Sweet Goat man, sounds like a challanging hunt! You must be stoked! Hows the meat taste?

[BCrams]

Looks to me you shot yourself a great trophy. He's a big billy!!

Worthy of a half body mount similar to Brambles goat with long hair like that.

[BCbillies]

That's a good mature billy...and 10"+ for a first goat is quite a feat! Although you'd be hard pressed to better this one it's always fun trying.

Any guess on his weight?

[dana]

Great Billy! Way to go! Goat hunting is addicting. It'll be a fun ride trying to top that goat.

[fester]

nice good looking goat!
I got my first this year on opening day!
I like your story, hard work sure pays off!!


How are they measured i am curious as well, is it from the skull or the top of the hair?

[guest]

Nice Goat and congrats to you and your buddy.
Sounds like you did have to work for him, especially on the way down.
Feel blessed to only have the 1hr. 50min up, hell some of the areas we've hunted them billys in takes a couple of days of that stuff.
They are a well deserved animal, good to hear you took a billy rather then a nanny,
A 10 incher for your first is a good one, what are the bases?? How old??
Thanks for sharing.
C/T

[boxhitch]

Hook the tape on the bottom edge of the horn, run it along the front edge .

[rocksteady]

Congrats, that's nice lookin goat...Side benefit is it did not fall 1000' and get destroyed or mangled bad, if you wish to have it mounted..

Was going to post a comment that you should of gone the easy route and shot a "dry nanny" but that would just start a major debate on "your" goat success thread....:shock::shock:

Well done, you may have a hard time out doing this one with your next....Should neer shoot a big one for your first...JK

[troutseeker]

Hi again,

thanks for the kind words. I did not plan to shoot one that big, I just really wanted to get a solid billy for my first. The sheer luck of getting a bigger one was a bonus!!!

Yesterday was a rest and cleanup day, today we went back up to take a look at another billy we spotted on a different spot. Tuff going as well, not as rocky, lot's of brush and stand of woods, therefore easier for them to "disappear"... We hiked for 7 hours, I saw that billy for a very short time only, basically his head thru brush staring at me and his ass a few minutes later as he slipped away down a crazy steep wall. My partner was not really hooked on shooting one, we wanted to get close again and take some pictures and if he got the bug, maybe he would have pulled the trigger. He's been on quite a few goat hunts and he is just pleased as punch to have been there for my first! Plus the hike out of there may have been worse, lot's of vertical to begin...

Tomorrow may see us up a mountain top again, although it look's like the weather is turning. Could be a good thing though...

My cape and head are in the freezer, I went and tried to measure again but of course can't hook under the horn base. Anyways, my crude efforts yielded a lenght of 10.25" for the left horn. About the same for the left but it's got a character mark, the tip was broken off, may have been another .25".

[winbuckhunter]

I BET HE STUNK.. enough to make anyone gag!!! beautiful billy tho congrats.. mount for sure!!!

[Brambles]

Good Job, I tried coming up at them from the bottom when I had my draw, that was miserable. At that time I didn't know how to access the top like you guys did, that brush coming in from the top is THICK like doghair.

Congrats, is your buddy going to try and smack one now?

[troutseeker]

I BET HE STUNK.. enough to make anyone gag!!! beautiful billy tho congrats.. mount for sure!!!

Actually, no stink at all! Somehow they are not yet stinking themselves up for courtship... I checked at least four billy beds today and no signs of pissing themselves yet, it should be happening really soon.

Tomorow's plans are finalized, up in the alpine where there is a foot of snow to try and intercept a big mulie prior to it's descent and the start of the rut.

The scenery is great, the weather has been splendid and I got my goat, life is pretty good!

My buddy is not too worried about going up for his goat, we'll go up again at least once, but he's ok with not connecting. He is just really enjoying this part of the world where he grew up! This guy is beating me down, he can hike like a goat, and I drag my ass behind him...:smile: That's ok though, I'm loving it!

Troutseeker

[troutseeker]

SoWednesday we went into the hills in a 1961 Land Rover! Slow and steady got us there. Hunting partner's dad too us up, we all had a great time. Went up to snow, maybe 7 inches down. Saw Elk, few deer, bear and even wolf tracks but not deer that day. Had lunch in hte bush, checked out some old cabins, carried guns like men should!

Glassed alot of sidehills and gullies but theres not much snow and they are still up in the alpine, over the range we were in. A few more weeks will bring them down.

The Land Rover was a blast, this thing will go ANYWHERE on 63hp's... Unreal torque and gears. Not fast, but get's you there!

Troutseeker

Troutseeker

[troutseeker]

We went back up today, up in hunting area at 9:45hrs. Beat it hard to get my buddie's billy. We saw lot's of goats, very healthy number for sure. All of them looking in prime shape, fat and good coats. Not a one limping or appearing injured or sick. This little herd is doing well right now. Lot's of feed on the mountain and the snow seems late coming.

We did encounter two Billies, one we jumped and he ran AT us full tilt for 30 feet before dropping down a face, wow. We got a bead on him at 75 yards, standing broadside. BUT, there was a very long steep drop behind him and we would have likely lost him. So we did not shoot.

Spotted another one at 200 meters on an accessible sidehill, he was smaller than mine, but still a good one. If shot could have slid off the mountain in an inaccessible spot. Plus the shot was iffy, we chose to let it go.

I took lot's of pictures of nannies and kids. I'll post some when I get home.

There may be one more hunt for us tomorrow. I've gotta convince my hunting partner that we may/could/can get that big billy for him. It may not take too much prodding. If we do, it may be another two trip pack, I feel exhausted already!:smile:

By the way, my legs are feeling used... Hours of up and down and sidehills for days in a row kinda get to me. I must be getting better, cause I sure aint getting older (I refuse!!).:shock:

[troutseeker]

Some more goat pics, taken on our last day up the hill.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=11194

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=11196
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=11195

[hunter1947]

Nice pic you took ,I hope you get one before you leave in a few days ,good luck.

[troutseeker]

In case anyone is interested, today I had the compulsory inspection done on my goat. It has been in my freezer for a while now and of course the skin is on until my taxi has time for it next month. So measuring it is pretty difficult...

Anyways, the inspector aged it at 11 years, could be one more year as the horn bases are covered by the hide. He was very impressed by the length and width of the horns, said this was a very big old goat. Should make BC book. He guessed a score of 50 or more, I know nothing about scores so whatever that means? He was very pleased to see a mature goat, commented on the long face (the goat's, not mine...).

Once home I took a better measure. Left side 10" 1/2 long, right side 10" 1/4. Of course I can't get to the actual base so it may be more, or I'm off base and it's less! I could not slide a tape or even floss down to the horns bases. They do measure 5" at about 2" from the base and are significantly wider at the bottom (which I can't reach).

Once the taxi has skinned it I'll have to find an official scorer and find out what his "BC book" is all about!:wink:

Troutseeker