MT Goat size?

[Irrelevant]

Help me out on sizes this guy (?) up. This is a buddy's tag. We leave next week for a week. WA OIL - low goat density area.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Very small- maybe young billy but likely a nanny. Hard to tell from these pics but based on body size unlikely over 3 year old if billy. So maybe in the 120-lb range.

 

[LopeHunter]

Been on three goat hunts and am far from an expert. If the bases are close together then should be a great goat. As for length, growth rapidly slows to around 1/4" per year so most of the billies you see will be over 5" and below 9" so unless you see several together is hard to know if are looking at a 6" or a 7", especially when are 100s of yards away with some fog or heat waves messing with the view as try to dial in the horns. Long hair is more impressive to a mounted trophy so my personal opinion is I would take a slightly shorter set of horns to get another 4" of chin hair length.

AK goat on left, CO on right. Both are billies. AK goat was not quite 9" and CO was just over 6". CO has better chin hair. Both killed first week of October. The CO goat had the best hair length by far of over 15 billies that were glassed as scouted. Over half of each horn was the first year or two of growth. Genetics matter since an 8 year old billies gets less horn growth in last 6 years than the first two. Maybe true for a 12 year old goat as well and that is an old goat. The bases do get larger each subsequent year.

 

[muskeg]

I would, in a low density area, take the first available shot. But probably not a Nanny with a Kid.

And fog & clouds do make smaller Goats look bigger.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Regarding horns, don’t even look at those. Look at the body size and build. There’s a good chance that goat is under 100lbs, so keep that in mind before pulling trigger, regardless of low density area.

 

[Irrelevant]

Thanks @Greenhorn

I thought that too, though I leaned small billy. Then the more I looked and watched videos the more I decided I don't know jack about them. Especially without actually putting my eyes on it.

 

[mtmiller]

IMO, small face and thin horns, nanny. That being said, could be a young billy. If it is a debate between a nanny and a billy, probably not one to take home.

 

[mevertsen]

I see nanny in the horn shape. Straight up then points back in the tip 3rd.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Small goat. I agree with Greenhorn’s assessment.

 

[Irrelevant]

I see nanny in the horn shape. Straight up then points back in the tip 3rd.

See and I was like that has a smooth slope all the way back. But now that you said it, now I can see a nanny.

I think the goal on this one is just to ensure we shoot a billy. There's almost no pressure in the unit, just 2 tags per year, and most everyone shoots them lower down, later in the fall. But the herd is dwindling and we don't want to be part of that problem.

 

[Irrelevant]

Just to follow up. We found a decent billy this last week. My buddy decided it was good enough and the location was perfect. Definitely easier to sex in person for me. For some reason I thought the quarters would be bigger. I'm certainly no expert measurer but this one was between 8.5-9". We didn't take any mass measurements.

 

[geetar]

Very nice!

 

[Straight Arrow]

Just to follow up. We found a decent billy this last week. My buddy decided it was good enough and the location was perfect. Definitely easier to sex in person for me. For some reason I thought the quarters would be bigger. I'm certainly no expert measurer but this one was between 8.5-9". We didn't take any mass measurements.
View attachment 197351

Finally an interesting goat thread actually about goats ... instead of pronghorn antelope the nimrods call "goats".

 

[BradA]

Congratulations looks to be a beautiful goat, looking forward to other pictures

 

[Doublegunner]

Lucky to draw that tag. Congrats.

 

[Irrelevant]

Congratulations looks to be a beautiful goat, looking forward to other pictures

Not my tag so that's it. Unless he feels like sharing more

 

[muskeg]

nice

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Finally an interesting goat thread actually about goats ... instead of pronghorn antelope the nimrods call "goats".

Why the hate on the prairie goat nickname for an Antelope?

 

[Deleted member 16014]

Well this is awkward.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Why the hate on the prairie goat nickname for an Antelope?

More of an irritating PITA; no hate or disrespect for the nickname nor for those who express pronghorns as prairie goats or speed goats, nor for those who refer to deer as hogs or elk as studs. For some strange reason it merely seems tritely juvenile to me. On this forum when I see a "goat" thread title it infers a story about mountain goats, so disappointment when it's about pronghorn antelope, a much more common and easily hunted game.

BTW, the pronghorn antelope is not related to the goat, but much more closely to the species, giraffe.