New to goat hunting ... Some helpful tips ?

[Ozzy]

Me and a buddy of mine were going on a goat trip in early September, never been goat hunting before so we could use a lot of pointers and advice for hunting areas in northern bc to gear and what to tell for a legal billy goat not looking for the next world record just a legal goat...thanks for your input

[Slee]

A good spotting scope will save you hours of hiking. Hiking poles will also be helpful while climbing steep areas. And study lots of pictures of goats.... Make sure you can tell the difference between a billy and nanny.

[kennyj]

Do a search on this site. Lots of great info.
kenny

[bozzdrywall]

Goat hunting can be a challange but worth the reward. Lots of spotting with good optics and look the same area over and over. They can hide in the wide open despite the white coats. In a billy you want to look for the black spots/ glands at the base of the horns. There coat will also have an almost yellow tinge to it from pee. The horns also hook hard at the tops and are farther apart that the nannys. Hope this helps a bit. PS good foot were is one of the most important things you can buy and BREAK THEM IN. I recommend at least 100km before going in the mountians. Good luck cant wait for the pics from your trip

[.330 Dakota]

Look up,wwwwaaaaayyy up.

[Ozzy]

Thanks for the info everyone, especially bozzdrywall lots of great info. I didnt cheap out on any of my gear from Swarvoski binos & spotting scope to Kenetrek boots and a Mystery ranch 6500 pack. I guess a guy has to keep in mind that your gear is only as good as the drive in you to get you to the goats but it definitely helps to have quality gear in the backcountry. Have any of you hunted goat in northern BC like Toad river area or Mcdonald creek, kinda pondering where to go for my best odds...?

[shawnwells]

Dont shoot it where it will fall so you can't get it...or you'll be sad...

[kennyj]

I'd hunt the western side of the province, or the East koot. Have you put in for an LEH? Lots of good odds and good goats skeena region.
Also check out this post. Lots of great info on judging goats.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?66283-How-to-tell-if-it-s-a-shooter-Billy&highlight=judging+goats
kenny

[ElectricDyck]

Lots of gear info on here. Train by hiking some steep trails and off trails on slopes. Lots of balance muscles that you don't normally use. Take lots of pictures, goats live in some of the best country with some awesome views.

[Kalum]

Some decent goat's around this area, Skeena region, and easy access so far as goat hunting goes. I'd suggest putting in LEH for any of the zones north or west of Terrace. Spend the time on G-earth scouting access routes and for the love of god DON'T shoot them on the edge of a cliff side like I did last year or you stand a chance of not being able to recover the bugger... They're one of the toughest critters out there and like someone's tag line on here reads "goats die when they want to"

[BCbillies]

Some decent goat's around this area, Skeena region, and easy access so far as goat hunting goes. I'd suggest putting in LEH for any of the zones north or west of Terrace. Spend the time on G-earth scouting access routes and for the love of god DON'T shoot them on the edge of a cliff side like I did last year or you stand a chance of not being able to recover the bugger... They're one of the toughest critters out there and like someone's tag line on here reads "goats die when they want to"

That was my tag line but I switched it up. Caliber of rifle isn't quite as important as shot placement . . . ensure the first shot counts and be ready to follow up. I'd be staying clear of the high risk shots (350 + yards, extreme angles, no chance for follow-up, etc). Know what's between you and the goat before you pull the trigger.
Typically bigger (horn and body) goats and more of them on the coast but weather can be major factor during the hunt.

[Call of the Wild]

Here are some documents to learn the various differences between mountain goat billy and nanny. Also some documents have a quiz and some links are only a quiz. That should prepare you adequately to identify mountain goat sex for your hunt.

You have top gear now train hard, learn about mountain goat and have fun.

Good luck


From Alaska

Mountain Goat Sex Education
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=402&issue_id=67

Selecting Billies Means More Hunting Opportunity
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/hunting/goathunting/pdfs/goat_info.pdf

Info:http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=goathunting.billyid
Quiz: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=quiz.questions&quiz_id=3

Mountain Goat Identification Quiz
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/hunting/goathunting/pdfs/goat_long_quiz_for_web.pdf


From Colorado

Mountain Goat Gender Identification Guide
http://wildlife.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/26ECD266-AA2B-4569-A1A7-06B6A0A51B21/0/MountainGoatGenderIDGuideWEBRev09102010.pdf

Mountain Goat Gender Identification Quiz
http://wildlife.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/0245BEA4-BAB9-4475-93DF-16AC8BBD0433/0/MountainGoatIDQuizWEBRev09102010.pdf


From Utah
Rocky Mountain Goat Hunt Female Only – Orientation
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/docs/goat_orientation_08Utah.pdf

[swampthing]

Goats can easily hide. I hiked up through a fairly small, wide open, or so it seemed basin. I spent an hour glassing over the ridge into a new basin. I got up to walk back into the basin I came up through and ran into a billy at 35 yards walkin right at me. He was obviously in the basin when I hiked up through it but I didnt see him. I shot him. He ran about 40 yards out onto the side of a cliff and died. I was crappin my pants as I went out to retrieve him. It was too steep to even move him. I pushed him off the cliffside and had to hike around to the bottom to get him. Nothin broken. Its this kind of adventure that makes goat huntin a hoot!!. The country is addicting, and dangerous. You said you are takin a buddy with you. Make sure he is a solid dude as there is no room for conflict in goat country.

[fowl language]

your best bet would be to load your lawn mower in your trunk along with some gas and head down to the okanogan and cut goat guys lawn for a couple of weeks and that might get you some valuable inside info....don,t forget your tape recorder....fowl

[325]

Goats are fairly easy to see. Getting within range of goats usually isn't too difficult providing the terrain allows for movement. Always best to approach from above if possible. As has been mentioned before, consider recovery when shooting a goat. They often manage to hurl themselves off of cliffs when shot and recovery can be near impossible in some terrain.

As for judging "trophies", look for a goat that has large bases. If you coudn't fit an imaginary third horn between the bases, they are probably pretty decent. For length, if you can find a goat that has horns twice the length of its ears, it's a shooter.

[uraarchr]

Glass ,glass and glass.looking from down below all you might see is their horns and part of their face if theyre bedded.Their bed is a shallow U shape and from below you dont see much of them. they will get up and stretch their legs.Train your mind to look for little parts and not the classic photo-op broadside shining goat.The goat my buddy shot:all I saw was horns and a little bit of face.My mind told me it was just another rock ,but I have a habit of checking stuff out and it was a billy in the spotting scope.We planned a stalk,and up we went.Its on his wall now(well i dont know if his wife lets him keep it there).If you can; get above them!!

[kgriz]

If they are somewhere that you could get them when you shoot them the first time......keep shooting until they quit moving.
Holes can be sewn......cliffs can kill you.

[Jim Prawn]

Look for the white spots. lol. Check out the video from the ministry of environment - cheesy but useful for first timers. One technique I used to ID one long range once was how they pee; Nannies squat down and Billies just kind of spread there legs and stretch out. Be prepared for rediculously steep country - take some rope, no matter how big or how much it could mean the difference between retrieving your trophy or not. And dont be wastefull of the meat. IMO the flavour is fine although it does need some tenderizing! Good luck and take lots of ammo cause those suckers can soak up some lead if you dont hit 'em just right. One more thing - if you see the one you want late in the day dont panic; be there the same time the next day "he'll be bock".
JP *** Send Pics! - Love Dead Goats.

[6616]

Billy horns are heavier at the base and appear closer together than nanny horns and are continuously curved through their length, while nanny horns are thinner appear to be about 2" apart at the base and have a slight kink in them about 2/3 up their length instead of continuous curvature. Judge a good billy by comparing the horn length to the face length. A mature billy will be about 9" from the eyes to the nostrils.
Some info and pictures here: http://bowsite.com/BOWSITE/features/articles/goats/goatsize/

[Westerner]

" The best way I know of for the beginning goat hunter to guess about goats is to assume that any goat in a herd are females or immature males, and that the old billies are solitary." - Jack O'conner-.