2014 Idaho Goat
These OIL Goat hunts are a well balanced trifecta of fun, stress, and gratification. This is one the apex hunts for a Backpack hunter, it will take you to a new level of fitness, both mentally and physically.
The first evening I relocated a nice Billy I had seen the week before about a mile from camp. He was now a ways up a side canyon. I had about an hour of daylight left so I opted to wait until the next morning.
The next morning, I had a little trouble finding him. These Billy Goats always seem to be on the move like a Buck. Finally at about 9:30 Am I spotted him bedded even farther up the canyon.
I started the climb, got above him, and made my way down. He must have moved or detected me because I never saw him again. The country was really broken, with lots of trees and I could have been 50 feet from him and not knew it. This was really humbling and I started to get concerned. I only knew of 1 more Goat in that canyon and it was twice as far up the mountain.
I got back to camp around 1 PM, ate, refiled on water, glassed the canyon below camp and then headed out again for the evening. I decided to hike up the main trail even farther which would take me to the unit boundary after about 2 miles. By the time I got to the top of the drainage, I had completely re-evaluated my hunt. I thought I would need 2 days to get everything out, so that left me with 1 more day to hunt. I had previously used half my hunt/scout time to try taking a Goat with a longbow. I didn't regret this, but I was now getting down to the wire. The season was open for another month, but it was time to get back to being a father and husband in 3 days. It takes a day to get in and at least a day to get out, so weekend hunts are out of the question. If I didn't fill the tag, I would have to wait 2 years to start applying again. I would be 40 by then, but more importantly my twins are currently 8 months old and the next decade will be more about family and less about hunting. Taking a bunch of time to Goat hunt in the future would not be as easy. So I swallowed my pride and decided the first decent lone Goat I see, nanny or billy, I'm happily taking.
About half a mile from the unit boundary, I looked up the slope and saw a lone Goat standing out in a scree slope. I didn't look at it through the spotter as I could tell it was a Billy through the binoculars. He bedded down out in the sun as I watched him. His hump was not as pronounced as the one from that morning, but he was mature and in a good location for a shot. I had 3 hours of daylight left when I started the climb. When I got into position, he had got up and moved. I looked around and didn't see him anywhere on the slope. I moved a little closer and continued scanning the slope. Then I saw him about 200 yards away at the edge of the scree slope. One shot with my 270 and he collapsed where he stood. All was well until he went completely limp, then he started to roll. He rolled about 20 feet and stopped, then another 50 feet and got hung up on some stunted pines. then he rolled another 20 feet and got hung up in a thick patch of stunted pines again.
With about an hour and a half of daylight left the real challenge begins.
I tied his foot off to the tree and did my best with pictures. His horns seemed small when I walked up to him, maybe around 7 inches for the long one. The tip of the other one looked like it had broke off during the roll. Overall he was a nice Billy Goat.
It was dark by the time I got him caped and boned out, and there was not as much meat as I expected. I loaded everything up and started the hike off that slope via headlamp. It was slow going, but I made it all the way back to camp without any mishaps.
The next morning I was refreshed and decided to load everything up and try to make it out in one trip. I took a few more pics first.
The EMR2 expands nicely and swallows up camp, goat cape, and meat. There is no way I would have been able to do this with a smaller pack, and I would not have been disappointed with the even bigger prototype EMR2.
The load was manageable, it felt like between 80-100 pounds, and it took me about 5.5 hours to make the 7.5 mile hike out. The Goat got bigger and bigger with every mile. By the time I got back to the trail head he had grown to just over 8".....
