Fat guy archery goat hunt

[Hatchet Jack]

Ok maybe i'm not that fat, but I drive a desk for a living with a 3 month old at home who's still learning how to sleep so my physical conditioning is lacking. Let's just say you won't see me in any mtn ops advertisements or in a Keep Hammering tanktop.

Against the odds I drew a Utah archery mtn goat tag. The good news is the unit is in my back yard and i've got a good idea where some billies are living. I muzzy deer hunted this very mountain last September and marked waypoints of past billy locations and water sources. I did get within bow range of one billy on accident last year by sitting on my butt and glassing for deer, so I figure it's not impossible.

The bad news is i'm not a very good or accomplished bowhunter; the only thing i've killed with my bow is a javelina and some squirrels.

All this aside, I am excited and grateful to get going learning about goats, patterning billies, shooting my bow again, and summer backpacking trips. I'm preparing for a very physical grind, but am focusing my scouting efforts on basins where a guy could get within bow range. Finding goats is pretty easy, finding them where you can kill them seems like a whole 'nother ballgame.

Any words of wisdom or advice you guys have for a rookie archery goat hunter would be welcomed, whether tactics, goat behavior, arrow setup, etc. The mountain goat forum seems little quiet so i'll try and update this thread if I come across anything worthy of posting.

Thanks.

 

[Nickziegler]

Congrats on the goat tag. If you got up there last year and already have a good idea where they hang out you should be in good shape. Take it slow. It's not a race. Having a strong mental game is better than being super fit and a bad mental game. Put the baby in a stroller, throw some weight in the pack and go for some walks. I have a 6 month old so know how it goes. Good luck and keep us updated!

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[hikenhunt]

As mentioned in a recent thread, read A Beast the Color of Winter if you want to learn more about goats. Its a very good resource of first account goat research/observation. Not written from a hunting perspective, but helpful for it.

 

[rickiesrevenge]

Take a tyvek suit. They'll let you get pretty close wearing one. At least thats my experience.

 

[mtnrunner260]

Black ovis put out a goat hunting film you should watch.
Take a target to the mtn and execute 1 shot a day from step angles while out of breath etc. Only 1 shot.
Look up the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance and watch their video. Do what you can to harvest a Billy.
The herd north of you has dramatically declined and one of the major factors has to be excessive nanny harvest. In fact join the RMGA survey up there at the end of July.
Congrats on the tag and have a great hunt.

 

[Dalen88]

congrats on the draw. I got my second goat last year with a bow, nothing i expected to do but i thought i was worth a try. My best advice is to train with a weighted pack, good goat identification, once you glass one up and are pretty sure its a billy keep eyes on him and ensure he pees like a billy, normally after they get up from a nice lay in the sun. After that just watch him till he gets into a stalkable position. I had to wait mine out for a day because of the nasty country he was in, a fall would have put him in a a miserable position! I second the beast the colour of winter, good book about goats, pretty dry but good info. Nothing better than hunting goats!!!

 

[Sourdough]

Take a tyvek suit. They'll let you get pretty close wearing one. At least thats my experience.

Yep........White.......everything white. Military surplus " Over-Whites" are another option.

Also remember they can......and "do" sometime attack. People have been killed by Mountain Goats.......including recently a Rainer Mt. Park Ranger.

 

[rclouse79]

A goat tag seems like fantastic motivation to get in excellent shape and to practice your archery. I am jealous, good luck.

 

[Spoonbill]

Ok maybe i'm not that fat, but I drive a desk for a living with a 3 month old at home who's still learning how to sleep so my physical conditioning is lacking. Let's just say you won't see me in any mtn ops advertisements or in a Keep Hammering tanktop.

Against the odds I drew a Utah archery mtn goat tag. The good news is the unit is in my back yard and i've got a good idea where some billies are living. I muzzy deer hunted this very mountain last September and marked waypoints of past billy locations and water sources. I did get within bow range of one billy on accident last year by sitting on my butt and glassing for deer, so I figure it's not impossible.

The bad news is i'm not a very good or accomplished bowhunter; the only thing i've killed with my bow is a javelina and some squirrels.

All this aside, I am excited and grateful to get going learning about goats, patterning billies, shooting my bow again, and summer backpacking trips. I'm preparing for a very physical grind, but am focusing my scouting efforts on basins where a guy could get within bow range. Finding goats is pretty easy, finding them where you can kill them seems like a whole 'nother ballgame.

Any words of wisdom or advice you guys have for a rookie archery goat hunter would be welcomed, whether tactics, goat behavior, arrow setup, etc. The mountain goat forum seems little quiet so i'll try and update this thread if I come across anything worthy of posting.

Thanks.

Are you working from home? If so you can sneak in 5 minute workouts like air squats, lunges, push ups etc. I did this when Covid lockdowns started, it helped break up the day and I got in decent shape. Congrats on the tag, sounds like you have a good idea of the terrain so you know what to expect.

 

[FLAK]

Climb up on your roof to practice your angled shots.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

Thanks, guys; some great input so far. Got the book in the mail yesterday and just started reading it. I'll put up some scouting pics in the weeks to come.

 

[dtrkyman]

Find a reputable archery coach and get some lessons, well worth the money and will likely short cut many bad habits!

Do what you can as far as activity, lots of wasted time if you really look at it!

Good luck, one of my dream hunts for sure!

 

[Hatchet Jack]

Took the fam out for a hike and some long distance glassing out of the heat. Saw tons of goats, mostly nannies with kids. The wife enjoyed watching the kids scrambling up the cliffs, they didn’t look much older than a few weeks. I did see 1 for sure billy based on the way he took a leak. He was too far away to get any meaningful pics but it was fun just watching him.

 

[Uncle Bill]

That’s beautiful. Wish it were my backyard. All I got is a creek full of mosquitos and snakes.

 

[SHTF]

Took the fam out for a hike and some long distance glassing out of the heat. Saw tons of goats, mostly nannies with kids. The wife enjoyed watching the kids scrambling up the cliffs, they didn’t look much older than a few weeks. I did see 1 for sure billy based on the way he took a leak. He was too far away to get any meaningful pics but it was fun just watching him.

Congrats on your tag.. Great advice. Off topic what Camera are you using? does that have any work done or straight photo. Amazing Picture qaulity

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Shoot often and take the stairs every day. When you can go up 10 flights easily, you're ready for actual training. Good luck. Pack lots of vitamin M.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

Congrats on your tag.. Great advice. Off topic what Camera are you using? does that have any work done or straight photo. Amazing Picture qaulity

iphone 8 haha. no filter

 

[SHTF]

iphone 8 haha. no filter

That is amazing quality for an iphone 8 hehe.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

I was finally able to make it happen on my 2nd to last day to hunt. It took me 9 total days spread throughout 3 different trips. The goats were a little more skittish than I expected, and some of the terrain I thought I could stalk through proved to be impassable. What an unbelievable hunt. I passed up some small billies on opening day at 13 yards. Had a few more close calls but no shot opportunities on some good billies later in the hunt. I missed at 50 on a younger billy on day 8, and had pretty much written that off as my last chance as almost all the goats were currently located in areas I couldn't get within bow range due to all the cliffs in the area. Mid day on day 9 I decided to make my way to an adjacent basin I couldn't glass from camp. On my way over I found this guy bedded in some ledges by himself near the ridge top. Within 30 minutes I was directly above him at 35 yds. It was probably the only stalk i was able to make where I wasn't rolling rocks with every step and i think that made all the difference. He dropped right where i shot him, which caused quite a pain in the ass getting to him. We ended up having to roll him off the ledge with some paracord, which broke and he rolled about 800 feet down a slide. Thankfully no broken horns and the meat was all ok. Definitely a hunt i will always remember.

 

[Nick Muche]

Nice work man!! Great shooting as well, congrats!