Here is the short summary of my Mountain Goat in Montana.
I spent 7 days hunting Mountain Goats in the Highwood Mountains of Montana.
I thought the hardest part of this hunt was getting the tag, 1300 applicants for 7 tags a year. I had 8 bonus points in Montana's system since they started the bonus draw system. The elevation of the Highwood Mountains is not that high with the highest peak around 7500 ft, but boy is that deceiving.
The rock outcropping that these goat hang out on are tough to climb and even tougher to spot goats in and on.
The first 3 days were spent glassing the rocks with no goats to be seen. I did manage to take a couple of pictures of deer that were hanging out on our travels.
Day 4. I decided to walk to the top of the mountain we have been concentrating on as the MT FWP provided a list of all the kill sites for this area for the last 6 years. I specifically asked the wildlife biologist assigned to that area. I reached the top in about 2 hours of climbing to find windblown peaks with about 24 inches of snow, a few older tracks but still no goats.
Day 5, I am sore and tired as 2 feet of crusty snow can really be a pain on the knees when I was not prepared as I went up without snow shoes. So I spent the day glassing the peaks and rock outcrops looking for moving off white objects in the spotting snow. We found a set of 3 goats in an area that access to the forest service is limited. But I saw goats. I could not tell what they were but they were goats. I am feeling better.
Day 6, the morning was spent glassing and still no goats in the area I was in. At around 3:45 p.m. I spied a goat, it’s a billie! He’s half way up on a small plateau moving right to left.
I watched him for a few minutes trying to figure what his path or plan was. I guessed that he would continue to the left on the plateau and work his way up the mountain. I was off climbing as fast as I could so that I could get into a position to cut him off at the end of the plateau. I made it to a rock outcrop across from him and waited. Since I did not start climbing until around 4:00 in the afternoon the amount of daylight that is left is short and time runs out as darkness falls and I did not get on the goat that night.
Day 7, up early as I think that the goat is still on that plateau and I need to be ready. I get to the spot to glass the rocks (boy, I am getting tired of look at these rocks) 30 minutes of glassing nothing. Then all of a sudden towards the top there he is. He is probably 1000 yards away and working his way up the mountain. Man the things that run through your head when you need to make a decision. How big is he? Where is he going? Can I get there fast enough? Well this goat answered my questions as he walked up the mountain stood on almost the very peak of it and then disappeared off the other side.
Now what? I decide to go back down to the county road and use the spotting scope, maybe see where he went to on the backside. I would drive the road a few miles and stop and spot. On about the third stop I find a lone goat on an out crop fairly low but in area that has limited access. As I am parked there a local drives up and asks what I am doing I tell him I have a goat tag and I am looking at a goat but do not know how to get there. He say o that’s easy! After a short explanation that I am sure I only got bits and pieces of I am off. This area has rock out crops that come out of side of the mountain reaching up several hundred yards up. I walk along the base of the mountain glassing as I go. How can they hide in these rocks I am thinking these are white animals. At about 3:45 I decided to head back, I did not go 30 yards when out on the end of a rock ledge outcrop is goat. It’s a Billie and my guess is around 450 yards away. I get set up and squeeze the trigger and my mountain goat in on the ground .
I have an appointment with the local game warden to check him in tonight. I will post the measurements when he does his thing.
Happy hunting.
I spent 7 days hunting Mountain Goats in the Highwood Mountains of Montana.
I thought the hardest part of this hunt was getting the tag, 1300 applicants for 7 tags a year. I had 8 bonus points in Montana's system since they started the bonus draw system. The elevation of the Highwood Mountains is not that high with the highest peak around 7500 ft, but boy is that deceiving.
The rock outcropping that these goat hang out on are tough to climb and even tougher to spot goats in and on.
The first 3 days were spent glassing the rocks with no goats to be seen. I did manage to take a couple of pictures of deer that were hanging out on our travels.
Day 4. I decided to walk to the top of the mountain we have been concentrating on as the MT FWP provided a list of all the kill sites for this area for the last 6 years. I specifically asked the wildlife biologist assigned to that area. I reached the top in about 2 hours of climbing to find windblown peaks with about 24 inches of snow, a few older tracks but still no goats.
Day 5, I am sore and tired as 2 feet of crusty snow can really be a pain on the knees when I was not prepared as I went up without snow shoes. So I spent the day glassing the peaks and rock outcrops looking for moving off white objects in the spotting snow. We found a set of 3 goats in an area that access to the forest service is limited. But I saw goats. I could not tell what they were but they were goats. I am feeling better.
Day 6, the morning was spent glassing and still no goats in the area I was in. At around 3:45 p.m. I spied a goat, it’s a billie! He’s half way up on a small plateau moving right to left.
I watched him for a few minutes trying to figure what his path or plan was. I guessed that he would continue to the left on the plateau and work his way up the mountain. I was off climbing as fast as I could so that I could get into a position to cut him off at the end of the plateau. I made it to a rock outcrop across from him and waited. Since I did not start climbing until around 4:00 in the afternoon the amount of daylight that is left is short and time runs out as darkness falls and I did not get on the goat that night.
Day 7, up early as I think that the goat is still on that plateau and I need to be ready. I get to the spot to glass the rocks (boy, I am getting tired of look at these rocks) 30 minutes of glassing nothing. Then all of a sudden towards the top there he is. He is probably 1000 yards away and working his way up the mountain. Man the things that run through your head when you need to make a decision. How big is he? Where is he going? Can I get there fast enough? Well this goat answered my questions as he walked up the mountain stood on almost the very peak of it and then disappeared off the other side.
Now what? I decide to go back down to the county road and use the spotting scope, maybe see where he went to on the backside. I would drive the road a few miles and stop and spot. On about the third stop I find a lone goat on an out crop fairly low but in area that has limited access. As I am parked there a local drives up and asks what I am doing I tell him I have a goat tag and I am looking at a goat but do not know how to get there. He say o that’s easy! After a short explanation that I am sure I only got bits and pieces of I am off. This area has rock out crops that come out of side of the mountain reaching up several hundred yards up. I walk along the base of the mountain glassing as I go. How can they hide in these rocks I am thinking these are white animals. At about 3:45 I decided to head back, I did not go 30 yards when out on the end of a rock ledge outcrop is goat. It’s a Billie and my guess is around 450 yards away. I get set up and squeeze the trigger and my mountain goat in on the ground .
I have an appointment with the local game warden to check him in tonight. I will post the measurements when he does his thing.
Happy hunting.
