2010 Solo Goat

[BlacktailStalker]

With high spirits and a queasy stomache I left my elk haunts with hopes of a goat and a truck frame that would maybe get me there.
Every bump made me wonder, if the crack was travelling...

Fortunately with the loss of a favorite local hunting partner, hunter1947 moving to Cranbrook allows me to have a meat freezer when needed so I dumped my elk, showered up, crashed over night, leaving most of my gear and hit the road with backpack gear and a Region 4 goat LEH.

I was in search of a real sexy bitch of a nanny to post for the critics on HBC.
I think the nannys are nicer and I didnt want a heavy pack out so less meat would be better for me.

Before heading into my zone I stopped for a b.s with CW.
We'd talked through pm several times and I was looking forward to meeting him.
Coincidentally, he is a welder and would later go on to fix my truck for me (the crack) and the bugger wouldnt accept any $ for doing so.
I'm very gratefull of both that and to have made a new friend and likely hunting partner.
I will return the favour.
He also said he'd check on my truck each day as he had to go right by it enroute to work, perfect.

At first light I hit the trail, I knew where I wanted to go, just not the path that would lead me there.
I scoped out a couple canyons before committing to going all the way in one as I like to get a feel for the lay of the land, so I had quite the day under my belt already.
Of course I started up the obvious right side of the river, although had been told to start up the left side and in the end, crossed over, being stubborn as I can be.

Lots of grizzly diggings, maybe a good spring bear hunt, note to self...
Elk and moose tracks were plentiful in the mud and I stumbled across many potential wallows but they didnt seem to be used for as.

The scenery and country immediately became apparent why this area is known as a "locals area" and for such reasons the location will not be disclosed.
I did however, run into a local, of 12 years prior who ironically now lives in the same town I do !
Our intended victims were different though, his an elk or moose, mine a skimpy nanny.
Clint if you are on here, shoot me a p.m...

My first glassing location was about 3 hours in and I saw several nannys and kids on easy to reach knobs at low elevation.
I knew this was my problem soon I went.

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y305/TaylenJames/Sept2010ElkGoat006.jpg

Continuing on I started a good climb, as I had 6 days worth of gear with me and I was already starting my stalk to get a better look at the billy that was hanging with a couple other nannys up top.
This was my first goat hunt but the difference between sexes was quite obvious and with afternoon well underway, I wanted a better look at him.

Three quarters of the way up and about 1200' more to go, I took a breather and glassed what lay further ahead that I could not see from below... and spotted a real billy.

All alone, dirty, yellow and his glands were obvious from well over a km away.
Initial stalk was abandoned and a new gear was found to try and get closer before night fall.
One thing I found in goat country is, you cant "hurry," the odds of falling or making a LOT more noise are greatly increased.
So I went straight down to the valley floor as opposed to sidehilling the whole way, dropped my pack, pocketed my rangefinder, 2 extra bullets and my headlamp and "gunned it" (binos are always on me)

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y305/TaylenJames/Sept2010ElkGoat032.jpg

"585 yds" the Leica said as he hopped off the last ridge into the cliffs.
Goat 1- Me 0.
An hour later I was back at my pack and headed up to look for a "flat spot" to camp.

If you didnt get that, thats a joke, a "flat spot" to pitch a tent in goat country.
The basin I had to climb up to even see the goat again after I dropped my pack was hidden from below so I didnt want to camp on the valley floor and I sure didnt want to climb it again tomorrow or any other day for that matter.

I actually ended up camping much higher than I thought I would, 7000' to be exact (garmin)

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y305/TaylenJames/Sept2010ElkGoat045.jpg

I made my "flat spot" in about 15 mins and popped the Hillberg Allak's cherry right there.

After setting up I poked around and did some glassing across the valleys and was happy with what I saw, the scenery made the fact the goats were or were not there, irrelevant, what a spectacular place.
The goat sign was nice too

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y305/TaylenJames/Sept2010ElkGoat035.jpg

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y305/TaylenJames/Sept2010ElkGoat038.jpg

[BlacktailStalker]

No more goats were glassed up that night.
Winds must have been 60mph and the tent was very quiet as it was completely "taught" and I slept well.
I awoke to pink skies and the forewarned weather promised by them came as surely as each minute following the second hand.

2 hours of glassing and my billy was nowhere to be found.
No biggie, I was fresh and "curious" what was hidding over the 8,500' wall behind me, grabbed a day bag and headed up.
Half way up I was looking at the ice wishing I had crampons and was following it up the mountain with my eyes, looked back and that friggin billy from the day before was bedded 300' above my tent !
The peripheral vision limited by the opening of my tent which I had glassed from, in the comfort of my bag while eating breakfast was "just a wall" that would surely be unnavigational by anything... right ?



So here I was, the 'dumb goat' who was likely watched all a.m by the 'smart goat' and he watched me head back down the mtn towards camp to crawl behind a pinnacle, set up and range find him @ 285yds as he casually walked away.
I was in no hurry nor was he and after several ten mins he turned broadside to overlook his "domain"
As he overlooked his domain I overlooked the ledge he was on and after the 168 gr TSX smashed both shoulders he dropped and lay still.... and slightly twitched once and had a tumble.
I felt sick, I was certain he would be a nanny when he hit the bottom but fortunately he lost aboutan inch on one side and just needs a bit of minor surgery on his chin.

He is a 4.5 year old 9.5" billy and every bit a trophy to me.
In the time it took me to climb down to him, the ravens were already waiting, slim pickin's up there I guess.



http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y305/TaylenJames/Sept2010ElkGoat046.jpg

http://s1024.photobucket.com/albums/y305/TaylenJames/?action=view&current=Sept2010ElkGoat070.mp4

This was a very fullfilling and rewarding hunt.
One thing I do NOT like about the rocks is how hard they are on the horns, even with taking care they got scratched to sh!t.
I hope my next goat falls on a grassy hill!
I do regret having both hunts come to an end so quickly. I really wanted to explore more of my goat zone and had I known I would get a goat so soon, i would have held out for a better bull.
My goat LEH was priority so I told myself, first legal bull.

I then went on to look for something "else" as I finished my hunt with 9 days left but will leave that for another time when I fill "that" quest.
I will now concentrate on blacktails and I'd like to get away for a mulie hunt at some point.

You know, goats are an amazing animal, where they live, the scenery that goes with them and effort required, to make it successful makes this one of the most rewarding hunts I've been on.
I highly recommend a goat hunt to anybody who thinks it wouldnt be for them.

[fester]

good job and story. My only goat hit the rocks hard and fell in a ravine.

[Leaseman]

Great story!!
Felt like being there, congrats on a very nice trophy......:-D

Mike

[shantz]

Great Pics and Story. Sounds like quite the trip.

[TSW]

Well done. Good lookin' billy, and not just for a first goat!!
Solo goat hunt= Grunt of a hunt!
Be patient and maybe next time you can find a nice nanny to take! :mrgreen:

[d6dan]

Very well done Andy. Congrats on a fine Billie..but you were suppose to shoot a nanny :?. Great story and good pics..:-D. Thanks for the adventure..

[rocksteady]

Good read.. Congrats on doing it solo..That's a whole nuther beast when hunting goats:eek::eek:

A nice billy for sure 9.5" is a good one....

Don't worry about the scratches on the horns etc, a good taxi will be able to repair that to the point you won't be able to see where there was damage...

I am assuming a head mount ????

[BlacktailStalker]

Gear review;

I used trekking poles this year for the first time.
They will always accompany me now on sheep/goat hunts, very handy tools and saved my ass more than once.
I was not impressed with the Leica crf1200 in the least bit of fog, it would not read :mad:
The Hillberg tent was as good as expected, on my final leg of my hunt in another area, it was pissing rain and blowing what I figure was 70-80mph all night and it held up great.
Never had a chance to pop up the Sil tarp 2 but will in the near future I am sure.
The sitka stormfront jacket was excellent on the goat pack out, it was raining hard and even in the 'pinch' spots under the backpack straps it did not leak, as many waterproof jackets do (waterproof to a certain lbs per sq inch)
I did forget my pack rain cover and the kifaru was very wet and heavy when I got out lol.
My NEO air isnt holding air like it did last year, but it isnt going totally flat...
Oh yeah, Marmot precip pants, cheap and totally waterproof. I spent an hour trying to get off buckbrush covered ledges that were over my head (I was tangled and getting mad lol) and they kept me dry (aside from sweat climbing up and down) and didnt rip, I figured they were toast before looking at them.

[Amphibious]

Congrats on the goat! solo goat hunt is a real test of your legs.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Congrats BTS!!!
That's a fine billy...made even sweeter by going at it solo!
Great story, as well!:cool:

SSS

[ianwuzhere]

great story and pix- looks like some good times, was prolly a very heavy pack on the way back down!! keep the pix comin!!!

[MB_Boy]

Congrats! Nice looking country.....rugged but nice!

[M.Dean]

If that's where Goats live, there real safe from me! Congrats on a successful hunt, great story and photo's as well!

[shawnwells]

good job thanks for sharing an awesome story

[TSW]

I was not impressed with the Leica crf1200 in the least bit of fog, it would not read :mad:

Don't you know you're not supposed to badmouth Leica?! The lynch mob is imminent!!

[Rattler]

Congrats on your first goat. A well deserved trophy in anyone's books..

[whitetailsheds]

Great thread and photos........congrats on the billy! That hill behind your tent looked like it had a few places you wouldn't want to make any mistakes......

[aliagha]

great story and an amazing animal.
keep it up.

[BimmerBob]

Congrats BTS, hunting goats is not for the guys with bad knees, thanks for sharing your awesome experience with us, nicely done!

[Sitkaspruce]

Congrats on your successful solo goat hunt!!!!

They are, IMO, one of the hardest, mentally and physically, animals to hunt and to do it solo is amazing!!!

Cheers

SS

[guest]

Cool Story and congrats on the Billy !

I agree with you 100% about where they live and the rewards to hunt them ....... I have had a few successful hunts with buddies, they don't always conclude with a harvest, not a hunt I would do alone though. To dangerous at times, some of my best memories have finished with pic's of nice Bill's rather then horns in hand.

Good to see you took a Billy too, rather then a Nanny.

CT

[Brambles]

Now thats a great writeup, Nice work Andy, fantastic billy, you gonna do a half lifesize?

[behemoth]

Great story BTS! Congrats, the mountain goat is one underrated trophy!

[BlacktailStalker]

THis one will just be a head mount, although I took half way back and below the knees.
I would like to get a skeena goat next, real late season and then do a half or full.

[kootenayelkslayer]

Congrats on a nice billy, good on ya!

[Albafly]

Great story and photos. Congrats on a really successful trip!

[nano]

Well done,congrats!

[sawmill]

Good hunt you had,Wayne told me you were a tough S.O.B.!One day when you are old and wrinkeled you will have some stories to tell the grandkids,and the trophies to go with them!

[frenchbar]

Another great hunting story! been some great stories this yr of peoples hunts:-D congratz on what must have been an exciting time!

[tomahawk]

Awesome Andy............

[goathead]

nice job.thats a nice goat and even better story.congrats there never easy.

[2slow]

Great hunt and a great story. Thanks for sharing

[ElectricDyck]

Great hunt and write up, a good year when you regret taking animals early, congrats!

I have the same range finder and love it, I've ranged 1000 yards in the fog, although never done any side by side comparisons with anything comparable, my friends $300 bushnell wouldn't range more than 250 yards in the same fog.

[kennyj]

Great story and great goat. Congratulations.
kenny

[buckguy]

Fantastic story, with great pics. I have never had the itch to hunt goat but sure do appreciate the dedication of goat hunters. It was almost like being up there with you. Congrats on a nice looking goat.

[VINDOG]

Great animal, congrats. great story also. I'm hoping for a little luck myself as I got an LEH and heading out in early Novemeber BRRRRRR it's going to be cold!!

[Farmer]

Great animal, congrats. great story also. I'm hoping for a little luck myself as I got an LEH and heading out in early Novemeber BRRRRRR it's going to be cold!!

Cold may be a bit of a problem, but what is worse is the snow covering those rocks making them slippery. It is easy, relatively speaking, in the heat of the hunt to climb up after a goat and end up much higher in the snow and rocks than you really want to be. Be safe.

[TIKA 300]

Beauty goat,amazing scenery,thanks for the share.

[VINDOG]

Cold may be a bit of a problem, but what is worse is the snow covering those rocks making them slippery. It is easy, relatively speaking, in the heat of the hunt to climb up after a goat and end up much higher in the snow and rocks than you really want to be. Be safe.
Farmer, this will be a first for me going after goats. I have a friend scouting for me who has hunted goats before and he was lucky also to get drawn in the same area. It will be an eye opener for sure. I have hunted Sheep earlier in the season but never in November, especialy in the Rockies, Should be quite the adventure !!!

[ydouask]

Nice Goat BTS. That Billy will make a beautiful mount, and good memories.

[porcupine]

Really nice goat and story. Congratulations on doing it by yourself. You should be proud of your accomplishment. I liked your short video too!

[fozzy]

Right on Andy, that's awesome!! Congratulations :) Sure is nice country up there. Reading that gives me some inspiration for our upcoming reg 4 goat hunt. Thanks for the gear review, I'll be checking out the Marmot pants.
Nice shooting too by the way..

[BCbillies]

You know, goats are an amazing animal, where they live, the scenery that goes with them and effort required, to make it successful makes this one of the most rewarding hunts I've been on.
I highly recommend a goat hunt to anybody who thinks it wouldnt be for them.

Congrats on that billy . . . thanks for sharing the hunt details and the photos. There's something about goat hunting that inspires a guy to go back year after year. Even those guys that have said "this is my first and last goat hunt" have in short order felt the call again! A goat hunt is a "cleansing experience" especially if you didn't quite train enough! :-D

Solo is tough but at least your packing some quality gear (Kifaru, Hilleberg, etc). I will reserve comment on the rangefinder. No chance for a follow-up shot on that billy? :wink:

[303Brit]

Congrats BTS, awesome story, wicked trophy, and went about it solo EPIC. Nice gear review as well.

303

[David Heitsman]

Nice goat and imho North America's most dangerous game. Look at the cliff's in those pics.

[6616]

Way to go BTS, good story and great goat.

[Ambush]

Great job on a tough trophy!!

You have to beat the country as much as the goat, and the weather is seldom your friend either. But you beat them all, so you've earned it.

Lot's of real good hunting reads on HBC this fall and this is sure one of them. Thanks for taking us with you.

[BlacktailStalker]

You know I've read this thread twice now, really appreciate the comments and props.
It seems to have gone by so quickly, it was satisfying from the get go but it is sinking in even more, I feel real good about this hunt, very satisfying.

BCBillies, ironically I was waiting for that :lol: what I should have done is fired a fall protection net ;) :lol:

I first started hunting 10 years ago, I started with a bunch of junk gear and found myself having gear crap out on me or just not perform to the task I set it up for.

Self preparation, research/area knowledge and quality gear are 3 things we CAN control, conditions and game numbers are the only ones we cant control. The odds are in our favour every time.

[BCbillies]

The fall protection net would have been the choice projectile if we managed a second shot three weeks ago. On our video clip you will note that I almost got the "give em another one" out as the goat started to move but only managed the "gi". :wink: In any event the well placed double shoulder is a pretty good anchor shot and sometimes a second isn't necessary.

Been there done that will the cheap gear . . . hard to go back now. BTW - on our last hunt the Leica's worked well although they weren't really put to the test! I did try them out before we headed out and if there were any hesitations the cheapos (Bushnell) were coming along as they always performed well.

I look forward to hearing about the future Skeena goat adventure! :-D

[Ovis17]

Congrats on your goat!! Without a doubt a well earned trophy.

[Skeena Shooter]

Good job on your goat hunt! I really enjoyed reading your story. Goat hunting is hard enough with a couple guys I couldnt imagine doing that by my self! congrats

[stoneslinger]

I must say I was very happy to hear of your success.:-D Believe you me I was with you EVERY step of the way even though I was 500 miles away. I happy it was a billy. Hate to be an armchair critic and get banned. It was my great pleasure to be the armchair guide.:wink: You just couldn't resist sleeping on the rocks with all that fancy gear could you? lol. You were safe from the huge grizz that has lived there for the past 18 years.

Secrets are forever.

[2x4x16]

Nice job Andy
So how do you feel about this season now? That sheep trip is only a distant memory? Since you have so much time left you may as well join us the a Cali hunt. we are headed up in 8 days.
But really an awesome accomplishment a solo goat at the first crack - way to go!

[stoneslinger]

Nice job Andy
So how do you feel about this season now? That sheep trip is only a distant memory? Since you have so much time left you may as well join us the a Cali hunt. we are headed up in 8 days.
But really an awesome accomplishment a solo goat at the first crack - way to go!

Sorry pal. I have no intention of saying where the Cali's are hangin this week. You have the easiest zone of them all.

[gamehunter6o]

Congratulations Andy. Great pix and story, but what I really want to know is what did he taste like or are you too busy chewing to post thread?:lol:

[coach]

Really great story and pictures. I'm getting more excited every day about going after my own goat later this fall. Great info in your gear report too.

[Johnnybear]

Really great thread Andy. That is an accomplishment for sure. Great story, awesome pic's and a gear review. Thanks for sharing.

[Kody94]

Gear review;

I used trekking poles this year for the first time.
They will always accompany me now on sheep/goat hunts, very handy tools and saved my ass more than once.
I was not impressed with the Leica crf1200 in the least bit of fog, it would not read :mad:
The Hillberg tent was as good as expected, on my final leg of my hunt in another area, it was pissing rain and blowing what I figure was 70-80mph all night and it held up great.
Never had a chance to pop up the Sil tarp 2 but will in the near future I am sure.
The sitka stormfront jacket was excellent on the goat pack out, it was raining hard and even in the 'pinch' spots under the backpack straps it did not leak, as many waterproof jackets do (waterproof to a certain lbs per sq inch)
I did forget my pack rain cover and the kifaru was very wet and heavy when I got out lol.
My NEO air isnt holding air like it did last year, but it isnt going totally flat...
Oh yeah, Marmot precip pants, cheap and totally waterproof. I spent an hour trying to get off buckbrush covered ledges that were over my head (I was tangled and getting mad lol) and they kept me dry (aside from sweat climbing up and down) and didnt rip, I figured they were toast before looking at them.


Well done BTS, and thanks for the great report, photos and gear review! Nice billy!

Cheers!

[swampthing]

Great to read your story. I did a solo goat myself this year. I will put a story together for you to read. Congrats. Solo rocks.

http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy342/eberlestock/th_2010toughhuntgoat008.jpg?t=1286034580

http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy342/eberlestock/2010toughhuntgoat008.jpg?t=1286035282

[BlacktailStalker]

Congrats swampthing, looking forward to your story and bigger pics.

[Caveman]

Great to read your story. I did a solo goat myself this year. I will put a story together for you to read. Congrats. Solo rocks.

http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy342/eberlestock/2010toughhuntgoat008.jpg
http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy342/eberlestock/2010toughhuntgoat017.jpg



Hope this works for you Bob! Nice Goat! You and I need to talk buddy

[Caveman]

Great Story and goat BTS Congrats!!!!!

[bruin]

Epic adventure, way to go on the goat!

[riflebuilder]

congrats on the goat mine only fell 10' in the snow i was lucky. I agree they are one of the best hunts very rewarding and a great challenge.

[trigger]

In real Andy. Just absolutely amazing. Great story and pics bud. Congrats. I'm happy for you.

[moose2]

Hi Andy
Missed this one while I was hunting , good story and nice goat. I have said this before but I think goats are highly underated trophies. They are in tough terrain and can be quite smart. Great job on getting one.
MIKE

[Mik]

Huge Congrats on a solo goat hunt! Way ta go! I too have the Lieca brf's and find in the fog/rain they do t work so well :(
I have been on many goat hunts and each n everyone presents a new challenge and that is something every hunter has to overcome! As for the Nanny.... Maybe next year, after all the world record is a nanny and I for one would not hesitate to squeeze the trigger on one!!! As for the arm chair critics, well, suck it up!!!! Congrats

[BlacktailStalker]

Well I'm quite pissed but apparently my goat had more damage than I initially thought :mad:
Maybe it wasnt apparent when 'fresh' but after freezing etc there is obvious skin damage right around the eyelids and the snout area looks worse than I remember from his faceplant on the rocks.
Enough to the point where my taxi is sure it will be visible and for that reason I am not getting him mounted :sad:

I appreciate the honesty instead of getting a bill and seeing it for myself but what an absolute downer, this goat hunt "made" my fall season as good as it had been.
Not sure what the deal is with this black cloud that has been above me this year but it can phuk right off now.
I guess thats goat hunting though and part of the challenge of finding one in a good spot.
I wont lose the experience or the pictures but definitely will miss not looking at him for years to come.

[BimmerBob]

Sorry to hear about the snout and eyelid damage making it a non-workable mount, maybe you can do a European mount with it anyway?

[303Brit]

Chitty deal BTS, least you have the photos and the experience. There is always next year :D

303

[sherpa-Al]

Congrats on the billy!