Peaks&Creeks
WKR
I was fortunate enough to draw a Montana mountain goat tag in the Crazy Mountains this year. This has been a dream hunt of mine, especially since the country in that range is so rugged and imposing. A layout for a true adventure. I was able to get one hunting trip in there the 3rd weekend of September. I found a descent billy within shooting distance, but since he wasn’t fully haired up yet, and the fact that I was alone, made me back off. I was starting to regret that move on my drive home, with all the normal doubts and anxiety when you walk away from any descent animal like that.
Due to some work obligations, I wasn’t able to get back out until October 17th, and planned to take the whole week off until I tagged out. Of course, some of my weather fears came true Thursday as the forecast for the higher peaks was 10-15” of snow. As I got closer to Big Timber, the rain was coming down pretty good. My best friend was waiting at the brewery in Big Timber, as he drove all the way from Colorado to help me on this hunt. As we drank a beer and discussed the weather, we decided to get a hotel room and reorganize some gear between the two of us, and have a couple beers to wash down the excitement and lingering anxiety of a tag of this proportion.
Friday morning we got up early and headed to the trailhead. My fears were somewhat relieved as the predicted 15” of snow, was just 4-6”. Leaving the snow shoes behind, we made the trek up the valley to camp. We got there early afternoon and setup camp, ate a quick bite and then headed out looking for goats. To my surprise, the goats were no longer in all the areas I found them 3 weeks ago. In late September they were seeking north facing slopes to avoid the heat of this Indian Summer we were having. But now with daytime temps below freezing and most food supply covered by snow, goats were all over the south facing slopes, literally sunbathing. We headed back to camp after sundown, and met with another friend who hiked in late afternoon to help out until Sunday.
Saturday started off by heading to our glassing spot to find goats and get a feel for their pattern. We immediately found a nice billy high up and me and my friend took off after him, while my other friend stayed behind to keep tabs on the goats. Long story short, it was a lot of vertical gain just to lose the goat in the trees. We moved around a bit to different vantage points to find him, but to no avail. We made our way back down the mountain and reunited with our friend at the glassing spot. That evening as we glassed some other slopes, we found 3 billies had randomly showed up, alongside a couple nannies and kids. There was one billy in particular that was fully haired out and seemed to be the largest overall. He also seemed to intimidate the other two away from his perch, he was the king of that mountain, and I wanted him. We put him to bed that night and I had my plan for the morning.
Sunday morning I headed up the mountain before daybreak and started heading towards the spot he bedded down the night before. Sure enough, as I crossed through the shale and scree and popped through the timber I got a glimpse of two goats. The hunt was on. Being early in the morning, the thermals were in my favor and I moved my way below them to a better position. Once I got to spot to study both goats, I quickly realized a nanny had moved in with the king of the mountain. I was all of a sudden hit with a rush of adrenaline, being only 170 yards from them. The Billy had moved out of sight as the nanny bedded down, but I had an idea of where he was. I moved below the nanny to 90 yards and setup my rifle, having a hunch the billy was gonna work his way back towards her. 10 minutes later, he shows up on the ledge she’s on, gives me a quartering away shot, and I settled in and squeezed off a round. I hit him right behind the left shoulder, and he takes off up the mountain. As he climbs up a steep rock, I sent another one into the right high shoulder, and anchored him in place. I let out a huge breath of relief, and took a couple minutes to collect my composure and start heading towards my goat. Walking up on him was unreal. One of the coolest animals to see and feel up close. I glassed up my friends and saw they were already packing up to head my way. The hard work was about to begin. I shot the goat at 8:30 AM and we were back to the trailhead by 6:30 PM, including camp. Took us two trips to get everything out, and we were pretty dang wiped out. I decided I was not gonna make the 3.5 hour drive back home, and we got a hotel room. We showered, drank beers, celebrated, and ate Town Pump hot case food, all while having the biggest shit eating grins on our faces. This was truly one of the best experiences of my life, besides my daughter being born, and I hope more people get to enjoy such an adventure.
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Due to some work obligations, I wasn’t able to get back out until October 17th, and planned to take the whole week off until I tagged out. Of course, some of my weather fears came true Thursday as the forecast for the higher peaks was 10-15” of snow. As I got closer to Big Timber, the rain was coming down pretty good. My best friend was waiting at the brewery in Big Timber, as he drove all the way from Colorado to help me on this hunt. As we drank a beer and discussed the weather, we decided to get a hotel room and reorganize some gear between the two of us, and have a couple beers to wash down the excitement and lingering anxiety of a tag of this proportion.
Friday morning we got up early and headed to the trailhead. My fears were somewhat relieved as the predicted 15” of snow, was just 4-6”. Leaving the snow shoes behind, we made the trek up the valley to camp. We got there early afternoon and setup camp, ate a quick bite and then headed out looking for goats. To my surprise, the goats were no longer in all the areas I found them 3 weeks ago. In late September they were seeking north facing slopes to avoid the heat of this Indian Summer we were having. But now with daytime temps below freezing and most food supply covered by snow, goats were all over the south facing slopes, literally sunbathing. We headed back to camp after sundown, and met with another friend who hiked in late afternoon to help out until Sunday.
Saturday started off by heading to our glassing spot to find goats and get a feel for their pattern. We immediately found a nice billy high up and me and my friend took off after him, while my other friend stayed behind to keep tabs on the goats. Long story short, it was a lot of vertical gain just to lose the goat in the trees. We moved around a bit to different vantage points to find him, but to no avail. We made our way back down the mountain and reunited with our friend at the glassing spot. That evening as we glassed some other slopes, we found 3 billies had randomly showed up, alongside a couple nannies and kids. There was one billy in particular that was fully haired out and seemed to be the largest overall. He also seemed to intimidate the other two away from his perch, he was the king of that mountain, and I wanted him. We put him to bed that night and I had my plan for the morning.
Sunday morning I headed up the mountain before daybreak and started heading towards the spot he bedded down the night before. Sure enough, as I crossed through the shale and scree and popped through the timber I got a glimpse of two goats. The hunt was on. Being early in the morning, the thermals were in my favor and I moved my way below them to a better position. Once I got to spot to study both goats, I quickly realized a nanny had moved in with the king of the mountain. I was all of a sudden hit with a rush of adrenaline, being only 170 yards from them. The Billy had moved out of sight as the nanny bedded down, but I had an idea of where he was. I moved below the nanny to 90 yards and setup my rifle, having a hunch the billy was gonna work his way back towards her. 10 minutes later, he shows up on the ledge she’s on, gives me a quartering away shot, and I settled in and squeezed off a round. I hit him right behind the left shoulder, and he takes off up the mountain. As he climbs up a steep rock, I sent another one into the right high shoulder, and anchored him in place. I let out a huge breath of relief, and took a couple minutes to collect my composure and start heading towards my goat. Walking up on him was unreal. One of the coolest animals to see and feel up close. I glassed up my friends and saw they were already packing up to head my way. The hard work was about to begin. I shot the goat at 8:30 AM and we were back to the trailhead by 6:30 PM, including camp. Took us two trips to get everything out, and we were pretty dang wiped out. I decided I was not gonna make the 3.5 hour drive back home, and we got a hotel room. We showered, drank beers, celebrated, and ate Town Pump hot case food, all while having the biggest shit eating grins on our faces. This was truly one of the best experiences of my life, besides my daughter being born, and I hope more people get to enjoy such an adventure.
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