Trophy Qualities for Mountain Goats

[Wind in His Hair]

In looking at various goat outfitters, some advertise 10" average, some say 9-9.5, some say 8.5-9+. Seems the coastal billies are biggest, and late season gives best odds for a "book billy".

When I ask an outfitter about this they will usually give a range, but many will dismiss the horns and say the coat is more important

And good luck telling between a 9 inch and 10 inch at 300 yards right?

How do you evaluate goats if you dont have multiple billies in the glass to compare? I know for thin horn sheep that 40 inches is kind of the holy grail....but trying to learn about goats

I want to make sure I'm asking the right questions when I talk to an outfitter.

 

[Stone_Ice_1]

At 300 yards or whatever distance it is almost impossible for me to tell between a 8 and 9 or 10 inch goat. One thing I can say is what stick out to me is the diameter. It is usually easier to tell the diameter on a goat. And honestly there are 4 diameter measurements on a goat for measuring and only one for length. Focus on the diameter. You can see it better and it counts 4 times instead of 1.

 

[reallyoldman]

Talk to Sam Dalin in Ketchikan at Dalin Charters & Guiding. He takes some very big goats and is really a straight forward guy. I would ask him how he and his son Devin judge how big a goat really is.