HuntMT16
Active member
So, I'm super delayed in writing about my Mountain Goat hunt, but here it is, with a few thoughts on mountain goat hunts before the details. Sorry for the long read, but it's between seasons so we have time. LOL
Mountain Goat hunting is unlike any other hunt I've been on. I thought to myself several times during the hunt, that it would be nice if you did not fill your tag the year you draw you automatically get a tag the following year, just because of the learning curve for the hunt. I thought I had my plans dialed in before the start of the season just to realize by late season I did so many things wrong. My second thought is people are way more willing to help with information on a mountain goat hunt than any others, which is nice a greatly appreciated. I know EyeJonas and MTBackpacker, along with others, gave me some great info, so I wanted to take a second to say thank you, it is appreciated. Last thought, this is the type of hunt that will absolutely test your mental fortitude. I am no stranger to putting in the work to fill a tag for something, and have carried many critters out on my back. I've lived in the mountains and hunted the mountains my whole life, so I am used to the burning legs and lungs during a hut. However this is on a different level completely. I asked myself a few times if the hunt was worth what I was putting myself through. The answer is yes, absolutely it's worth it, but it does make you question your decision making at times.
I started my hunt in September thinking I would be snowed out by November, turns out I was wrong. I did a couple different multi-day/night trips in over the course of the first few weeks of the season with a hunting buddy. There was not a day we hunted that we did not see a goat. The first trip, every time we saw a goat, they were cliffed out and in-accessible. Everything we saw was also well below us in elevation, which I thought was weird but I think the early snow storm played a part in that. The second trip we saw several goats, to include a good Billy on our way in. In hindsight, I should have made a play on him but I did not want to get into too big of a hurry to fill my tag. Other goats we saw during the trip were well above us in elevation this time. After a few days of looking at goats, I tried to make a play on the first goat I saw (which we seen a few different days in a row.) The Billy was in a big bowl, so well before sunrise we climbed up into the bowl and was in what I felt like a really good position to put a final stalk on him once we found him. Turns out, this was the only day we never saw the Billy. This was also the day I decided to cut the trip short because of weather. It was so hot, probably pushing low 90s, that I didn't want to shoot a goat knowing it would all spoil before I could get him home. The bowl was probably 7 miles, just from the truck. Lots of miles with heavy packs, days of rationing water because there was not water up where we were hunting (we had water down lower through near camp) and A LOT of time looking through glass ultimately led to no close encounters, but we saw goats and saw a ton of beautiful views, and had some memorable experiences.
After the first few weeks of the season turned up nothing, I planned to be hunting nearly every weekend, but life sure got in the way. I found myself tied up with so many things that I struggled to make it out, in fact I did not even get a chance to hunt again until November. I missed the first two weeks of general season for deer and elk, a first since I moved to Montana because there was so much going on. My wife really wanted to fill her deer tags so the first weekend I could actually hunt was spent with her. After she filled her tags, my attention was back on goats again because I was finally able to get out again. There was snow on the ground and limited how high I could get, which concerned me but turned out it wasn't the deal breaker I thought it would be.
A different buddy and I were able to glass up a really big Billy, which I think was in the 10" range. We came up with a plan to put a stalk on him and set out to close some distance. Initially he was about 950 yards away, well above us in elevation. After over an hour of hiking, I thought we would be within about 300 yards of the Billy as I crested the rise in elevation. Turns out, he was 650 yards away still. The wind was blowing hard all day and I did not want to try that far of a shot. We spent all day trying to close the distance but never could get any closer because the goats kept climbing slowly up the mountain, until we eventually lost them.
Mountain Goat hunting is unlike any other hunt I've been on. I thought to myself several times during the hunt, that it would be nice if you did not fill your tag the year you draw you automatically get a tag the following year, just because of the learning curve for the hunt. I thought I had my plans dialed in before the start of the season just to realize by late season I did so many things wrong. My second thought is people are way more willing to help with information on a mountain goat hunt than any others, which is nice a greatly appreciated. I know EyeJonas and MTBackpacker, along with others, gave me some great info, so I wanted to take a second to say thank you, it is appreciated. Last thought, this is the type of hunt that will absolutely test your mental fortitude. I am no stranger to putting in the work to fill a tag for something, and have carried many critters out on my back. I've lived in the mountains and hunted the mountains my whole life, so I am used to the burning legs and lungs during a hut. However this is on a different level completely. I asked myself a few times if the hunt was worth what I was putting myself through. The answer is yes, absolutely it's worth it, but it does make you question your decision making at times.
I started my hunt in September thinking I would be snowed out by November, turns out I was wrong. I did a couple different multi-day/night trips in over the course of the first few weeks of the season with a hunting buddy. There was not a day we hunted that we did not see a goat. The first trip, every time we saw a goat, they were cliffed out and in-accessible. Everything we saw was also well below us in elevation, which I thought was weird but I think the early snow storm played a part in that. The second trip we saw several goats, to include a good Billy on our way in. In hindsight, I should have made a play on him but I did not want to get into too big of a hurry to fill my tag. Other goats we saw during the trip were well above us in elevation this time. After a few days of looking at goats, I tried to make a play on the first goat I saw (which we seen a few different days in a row.) The Billy was in a big bowl, so well before sunrise we climbed up into the bowl and was in what I felt like a really good position to put a final stalk on him once we found him. Turns out, this was the only day we never saw the Billy. This was also the day I decided to cut the trip short because of weather. It was so hot, probably pushing low 90s, that I didn't want to shoot a goat knowing it would all spoil before I could get him home. The bowl was probably 7 miles, just from the truck. Lots of miles with heavy packs, days of rationing water because there was not water up where we were hunting (we had water down lower through near camp) and A LOT of time looking through glass ultimately led to no close encounters, but we saw goats and saw a ton of beautiful views, and had some memorable experiences.
After the first few weeks of the season turned up nothing, I planned to be hunting nearly every weekend, but life sure got in the way. I found myself tied up with so many things that I struggled to make it out, in fact I did not even get a chance to hunt again until November. I missed the first two weeks of general season for deer and elk, a first since I moved to Montana because there was so much going on. My wife really wanted to fill her deer tags so the first weekend I could actually hunt was spent with her. After she filled her tags, my attention was back on goats again because I was finally able to get out again. There was snow on the ground and limited how high I could get, which concerned me but turned out it wasn't the deal breaker I thought it would be.
A different buddy and I were able to glass up a really big Billy, which I think was in the 10" range. We came up with a plan to put a stalk on him and set out to close some distance. Initially he was about 950 yards away, well above us in elevation. After over an hour of hiking, I thought we would be within about 300 yards of the Billy as I crested the rise in elevation. Turns out, he was 650 yards away still. The wind was blowing hard all day and I did not want to try that far of a shot. We spent all day trying to close the distance but never could get any closer because the goats kept climbing slowly up the mountain, until we eventually lost them.
