New to the idea of Goat hunting (MT - 100)

[big28hunter]

Awesome goat Fidel, congrats! With a bow even more impressive!

 

[Bwana]

Best of luck and looking forward to the upcoming reports.

 

[hk_willow]

Semi live, Visibility was super rough 50 yards max... Snow / Rain... Supposed to be about a foot accumulation by the next time I can get back in there... Lets make this a goat hunt to remember!

 

[----]

Good luck man.

Here's to you being upright at the end of it and a goat not.

 

[CabinFever]

Looks like fun, good luck

 

[hk_willow]

Thanks guys, another pic from last weekend... Come on weather!

 

[Oak]

Doesn't look like good goat hunting weather, but I'll bet you could sit and watch that hair on them growing longer. Good luck!

 

[hk_willow]

Great hair, that's what we're after! Staying positive is key... Some of the most memorable hunts are the hardest!

 

[BigHornRam]

The weather sure has gone to heck on us hk! Longer you wait....the better the hair.

 

[hk_willow]

Where was that one taken BHR? Sure looks like a very nice billy!

 

[Gerald Martin]

Hk willow,
Don't get too antsy. The best is yet to come. You'll have lots more days of good weather. The goat in that video I posted at the start of your thread was killed on Nov. 19 and my friend Rick's goat was killed on Oct. 19.
You'll have to wait till Nov. to find hair like on that billy Bighornram posted.

 

[hk_willow]

Gerald,
I know you know your goats, I've watched your video / read your posts probably 10 - 20 times. Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I don't want to mess with mother nature too much. Good hair will be great, but its a tight balancing act. I'll try to not get too antsy, big billy taken safely.

 

[BigHornRam]

I shot that goat in mid November in the Cooke City area, hk. Caught a break in the weather and made the most of it. The following day, the mountains were socked in with snow again. That year I also had a moose tag in an overlapping unit, and was working out of state until Oct. 1st, and did some unlimited sheep hunting as well. You have plenty of time to have an enjoyable goat hunt, and find a nice one. But with the fickle mountain weather, particularly like we are having this fall, I would not recommend taking it to the limit like I did.

 

[hk_willow]

BHR, Its good to hear. I will be looking for a big one this week, as I'm now on goating furlough. With 2.5 yr old and a 7mo old and home, and a wife who knows this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I've got the next 5 days, and then it'll be later in the season. By chance I walked into a taxidermy shop yesterday and put my hands on a 5 1/2" base, 10" 6yr old billy from the crazies taken 2 days ago. Glands were swollen, and hair was pretty good. I can say, that sure as heck got my blood pumping. With those swollen glands, maybe those goats know something I don't quite know yet weather wise.
Camp trailer is packed, truck is gassed up, i'll be in mobile goat hunting mode headed to where the earth meets the sky!

 

[Baerman]

BHR
did you find your goat hanging with the nanny's that time of year? Im curious if s billy finds nannys and sticks with them or if he bounces around more like a muley buck?

 

[BigHornRam]

All the billies were hanging out by themselves. My billy was on the move, like he had some important business to attend to.

 

[hk_willow]

After 5 days... here's a few updates.. Day 1 had a Griz at 20 yards full draw on the .44, he didn't want anything to do with that led. Chased the following billy for 3 days, and got about 80 yards but he was cliffed out and I couldn't get a shot. I think he's about a 5 yr old billy. Changed spots on day 5, and didn't see a goat at all today. Good trip, quads are killin, but hopefully back before more weather moves in.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Looks like you're getting it figured out! Good luck on your next hunt.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Will, here's what I see. I think you are spot on with him being a 5 year old billy. I would guess his horn length to be right @ 8 3/4" -9". This is all based on my goat having a 4" ear hole. One thing to remember is goat body size can vary greatly from goat to goat. If he has a big body he could be 9 1/2". If he is small, he might be only 8 1/2". That's what makes goats so hard to judge.

The length and guesstimated ages and live weights of the following goats are . 8 1/4" and 3 1/2 years old, 130lbs., for the first goat. 8 1/2" and 3 1/2 years old, 150lbs., for the second goat. 9 1/2" and 6 years old, 150lbs., for the third goat. 9 7/8" and 8-9 years old, 250-275lbs., for the last goat.
I think the goat in your picture would fall right in the middle of those.
I hope this is helpful to you.

One other great tip it to study the facial profile of different age goats. Notice the difference in the faces of the "cute" younger goats and the broad "horse face" of the older billies. That can often be a better indicator of maturity than trying to guess horn length.

 

[hk_willow]

Oh man, Gerald, thanks so much for the re-assurance! That last goat is a great one, I hope I can get one thats somewhere in between the last one and the picture I have. I've been doing some serious research and this forum has been super helpful, and thanks goes out to all the great people out there willing to share knowledge, you all are awesome!