Razkul99
FNG
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2013
- Messages
- 12
Since I was referred to this forum and have been cruising it a bit for the past few weeks I thought I would share the results of my first rocky mountain goat hunt in Utah.
First off, I have a new appreciation for how steep the terrain where these bad boys live can be. In the days spent scouting/hunting somewhere around 60 goats were spotted. The located consisted of one large group of 30+ consisting primarily of nannies and kids and then everything else was groups of 4 or less. Watching these goats through high-powered optics never revealed how vertical the terrain actually was until boots were on the ground in pursuit.
Another thing I noted from my Uinta adventures is how quickly and radically the weather changed. In what seemed like mere moments the conditions frequently changed from relatively warm and sunny to downpour, hail, snow, fog, or lightning storm. While that can play hell on visibility in spotting, it fails in comparison to how slippery the sharp rocks of a given slide can rapidly become.
Despite the terrain and weather, I was actually able to get within 20 yards of a pair of younger, mature billies with bow in hand. However, after overcoming some serious temptation, I elected to go back after a much bigger/older goat that hung out in nothing but vertical rock/cliff faces which meant using my rifle and the longest kill shot I have ever made.
All in all, it was a very exciting hunt in some fantastic country. However, the coolest thing by far was that my father of 63 years was with me throughout and able to climb to my billy for photos and caping. To me, that man is and will always be the definition of tough.
Happy hunting!
First off, I have a new appreciation for how steep the terrain where these bad boys live can be. In the days spent scouting/hunting somewhere around 60 goats were spotted. The located consisted of one large group of 30+ consisting primarily of nannies and kids and then everything else was groups of 4 or less. Watching these goats through high-powered optics never revealed how vertical the terrain actually was until boots were on the ground in pursuit.
Another thing I noted from my Uinta adventures is how quickly and radically the weather changed. In what seemed like mere moments the conditions frequently changed from relatively warm and sunny to downpour, hail, snow, fog, or lightning storm. While that can play hell on visibility in spotting, it fails in comparison to how slippery the sharp rocks of a given slide can rapidly become.
Despite the terrain and weather, I was actually able to get within 20 yards of a pair of younger, mature billies with bow in hand. However, after overcoming some serious temptation, I elected to go back after a much bigger/older goat that hung out in nothing but vertical rock/cliff faces which meant using my rifle and the longest kill shot I have ever made.
All in all, it was a very exciting hunt in some fantastic country. However, the coolest thing by far was that my father of 63 years was with me throughout and able to climb to my billy for photos and caping. To me, that man is and will always be the definition of tough.
Happy hunting!
