Mt Goat hunt rite around the corner

[Ikeepitcold]

One of my hunting partners drew a Nv unit 101 Mountain Goat tag. We will be headed out on the 23rd to start our hunt. I've been in the hills and the gym working my butt off to get ready for this hunt for the last month and a half. I've got my pack loaded to 45 lbs for 8 days of high country hunting. For the next couple weeks I'll be hiking and working out with my pack on to get used to the weight.

Any tips or advise I can get from anyone that has hunted goats before Im All ears.

Thanks all. I'm excited to see some new country. I hope my partner is as ready as I will be.

 

[ElkTrout]

Best of luck! I have never done a goat hunt! Assisted on a sheep hunt once. I know it was the toughest hunt I have done. Just be mentally prepared as well. I found the mental was almost more difficult than the physical. You should have a awesome time. Can't wait to hear all about it.


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[NVBird'n'Big]

Good luck Trent, we look forward to hearing all about it. It's a beautiful time of year to be up in the Ruby's!

 

[6mm Remington]

Best of luck and enjoy the experience and take lots of photo's. With digital cameras and SD cards there is no excuse not to! At the end of the hunt take the best pictures and put them on a slide show on a CD and also make up a really cool photo album. One each for you and for your buddy. He will love you for it and it will be a way to always remember the trip.

Glass and glass some more. Let your optics do the walking.

 

[hoshour]

I went on a goat hunt last September and the article should be in this month's EHJ. When I asked my guide what was the most important thing in goat hunting he had a ready answer - mental toughness. I asked if physical toughness wasn't more important and he said no.

The steady climbs up steep slopes usually 2-3,000 feet maybe a couple times a day with that pack and rifle will make anyone have conversations with themselves, especially when you're trying to keep your footing over boulder fields or when the angle look a lot like a scary 45 degrees and you have to chop your steps into snow fields.

Sometimes I told myself just keep going...just keep going... The fact that my guide set a brutal pace helped because there was always the embarrassment factor to keep my legs pumping - I will not fall too far behind!

It's an incredible feeling to feel like you really earned your goat. You didn't luck into it - you trained, you worked, you pushed yourself, you spotted him and got within range in his territory that is much more suited to him than to you. I'm pretty proud when I look up on my office wall at that magnificent trophy because I know what went into it.

 

[hoshour]

As far as training - stairs, stairs, stairs - as many as you can do. And do them in your goat hunting boots, not your sneakers. Be sure to stretch your calves and keep yourself well hydrated or you will cramp up. Riding a bicycle on the roads, not the gym, can help a lot too. And weight - think of every extra pound you have on your carcass as as extra pound in your pack. If you're 30 lbs overweight, putting 70 lbs in your pack is putting 100 lbs on your legs.

Since my trip, I've said that you don't know sheep shape until you've been sheep hunting (or goat hunting). You can never be in too good shape.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

Thanks guys

I always hike in the hills and in the gym with my hunting boots on.

Mentally I guess I'll deal with that at that time. I've never hunted goats so I don't know what to expect but I hope I will be able to push through. I always feel that being physically fit will improve my mental state. This has proved true on high county Mule deer and elk. But like I said I haven't hunted goats before.

 

[sneakypete]

ICK, Good hunting and shoot straight!

 

[Gr8bawana]

Good luck to you and your buddy. Like was already said, lots of pics so we can live vicariously through you.
A NV mtn goat is #1 on my bucket list. Since I'm 54 now the clock is ticking away pretty fast as far as beiing able to get to where those goats hang out. We see them every year we go hunting in the Ruby's.
With having only 11 pref points the odds aren't good.

 

[nicktrehearne]

Shot my first goat in Northern BC on a DIY hunt this year. My only advice is be very mindful as to where you shoot them. I thought I had lots of room (away from the cliffs), but my goat ended up rolling a long ways and falling off a large cliff which resulted in both horns being smashed off...

I was able to find half of one horn but sure would've liked to have my first goat mounted!

 

[Ikeepitcold]

Good luck to you and your buddy. Like was already said, lots of pics so we can live vicariously through you.
A NV mtn goat is #1 on my bucket list. Since I'm 54 now the clock is ticking away pretty fast as far as beiing able to get to where those goats hang out. We see them every year we go hunting in the Ruby's.
With having only 11 pref points the odds aren't good.

My buddy drew with 28 points

 

[sneakypete]

If you see sheep, look higher up the mountain! Did you ever find a packer to pack you in and out?

 

[Ikeepitcold]

If you see sheep, look higher up the mountain! Did you ever find a packer to pack you in and out?

Nope we will be all on foot. No one was willing to only pack us in. They all wanted to guide us.

 

[sneakypete]

That's a bummer, though after drawing with 28 pts. A guide would be very useful.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

If it was me I would have hired a guide.

 

[ivorytip]

good luck, cant wait for pics

 

[hoshour]

When you're looking, they are not hard to see unless there is snow. They are off-white, not snow white, and there is a feeling, right or wrong, that the dingier or more yellow they are, the older they are. They move pretty slowly, often not at all, so you are unlikely to see them by movement, more by color. While they may be in a shadow or blocked by rocks or trees, if you get a direct look, you should be able to see them.

Look high on the mountain, but they can be down a ways too, though I think the lower they are and the more they are in the open, the more likely they are nannies and kids. The billies I've seen have been by themselves and have not been far from rocks and cliffs, and like bucks, like to be up where they can look down on just about everything.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

When you're looking, they are not hard to see unless there is snow. They are off-white, not snow white, and there is a feeling, right or wrong, that the dingier or more yellow they are, the older they are. They move pretty slowly, often not at all, so you are unlikely to see them by movement, more by color. While they may be in a shadow or blocked by rocks or trees, if you get a direct look, you should be able to see them.

Look high on the mountain, but they can be down a ways too, though I think the lower they are and the more they are in the open, the more likely they are nannies and kids. The billies I've seen have been by themselves and have not been far from rocks and cliffs, and like bucks, like to be up where they can look down on just about everything.

Thank you. Great info.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

We are headed out in the morning early. Looks like there is fresh snow on the mountain so it's a bit concerning but we will make the best of it.

Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[sneakypete]

IKC, have a great hunt!