IDBugler and Moosie's 2020 Epic Goat Hunt

Patience is good. But I have good news.

I won't say much in this post except I can say, and it wouldn’t be inaccurate to assume that I couldn’t exactly not say that it is or isn’t almost partially incorrect to the contrary of what I am not saying.

I'm possibly more or less not definitely rejecting the idea that in no way with any amount of uncertainty that I undeniably do or do not know if he didn’t (or did) shoot a Billie today. It shouldn’t probably be, if that indeed didn't know there wasn’t a dead goat....... Even if he did do what I knew he did, that’d mean I’d really have to say nothing till I knew for sure.

.... more tomorrow :)
 
Patience is good. But I have good news.

I won't say much in this post except I can say, and it wouldn’t be inaccurate to assume that I couldn’t exactly not say that it is or isn’t almost partially incorrect to the contrary of what I am not saying.

I'm possibly more or less not definitely rejecting the idea that in no way with any amount of uncertainty that I undeniably do or do not know if he didn’t (or did) shoot a Billie today. It shouldn’t probably be, if that indeed didn't know there wasn’t a dead goat....... Even if he did do what I knew he did, that’d mean I’d really have to say nothing till I knew for sure.

.... more tomorrow :)
You should run for office...
 
My one and only North American Mountain Goat hunt was 40 or 50 years ago In Northern British Columbia. I was Stone Sheep hunting and each morning for 3 weeks as we left base camp by horseback we rode by this Billy. He was perched on his lookout atop a formidable cliff across a scary canyon, he looked down on us daily and he was a great goat. His redoubt was so intimidating we procrastinated until the last day of a successful sheep hunt. We tied our horses on a ridge across from him in care of a wrangler before daylight, returning at 10:00 at night with the goat. Most of that time we we never out of sight of the horses. We struggled downward, then upward hour after hour. When we finally peered around a rock we spied him across a well cropped tiny mountain meadow with an almost dry little pond of water in its center. The entire area covered with goat dung. This was his home. I shot him under 200 yards and he calmly got up walking toward the cliffs edge. Quickly, i fired again, aiming at his backbone which collapsed him before he could step into downward space.67F3FB5A-48E8-4847-887C-05E3D2B2DDDB.jpeg
 
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Problem with Idaho is there isn't much reception when we hunt.

I'm heading up tomorrow for Elk with my boys and Bryce is out looking for a forked horn buck somewhere. All he is finding are these big 4 point bucks. I told him to settle and not spend so much time looking for a forked horn.

Pictures and video to overwhelm you Monday!!! (Campaign promise right there !!)

End of next week we are in Wyoming chasing deer. If I remember right we have a little access to data.
 
I know I suck at this, sorry it has taken me so long. I put everything I had into this goat hunt with a little bit of elk in the middle. :) I will try and update in order of the happenings.

After finding out I drew a once in a lifetime Idaho goat hunt I pretty much knew I had lots to learn. I had experience on one goat hunt and that was Oscars. I was pretty much just going along to help glass and if we got lucky to help packout. I rode coattail on this hunt as Oscar did all the homework this time. Fast forward to my hunt and I looked at more goats and studied harder then I think I ever did in college. :)

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In the search I may have looked for a few mount ideas as well. I really liked this one.
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My first scouting trip happened in August. Oscar was able to make it out with me on this trip.
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We had a great time and found a few goats to look at. 12 to be exact. We were also able to do a little high mountain fishing. The cuts were fun to catch and to eat.
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Just happened to look up behind Oscar and found the first goat of the trip. A single. What do you guys think it is?
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The next morning was a beautiful one.
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The google scouting had paid off. It seemed every canyon I had marked we found goats. Now deciphering billies, nannies and size.
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This guy is a goof ball.
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This goat had me intrigued. I would definitely be looking for him/her later. What do you guys think?
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This time of year is awesome in the highcountry.
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Still smiling after 10 miles and 3500' gains.
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I did see a nanny and kid at 40 yards on this mountain but no pics. We kind of ran into each other.
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All in all a good day but ready for bed early.
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My next trip was a solo trip in the middle of September. Well I did take my little ankle biter dog so not really solo. The hunt was open so I decided to take my bow incase I saw an absolute monster or a deer to chase. Boy would I be tempted on that.

The pack in was a big one. Lots of vert and miles with smoke that covered up any long distance glassing. I made it to a small lake and made camp. It was nice and the lake was loaded with goat tracks so that was encouraging. The next morning I woke and headed high well before dark. By first light I could tell the visibility was going to be bad. I kept grinding and was rewarded with the sighting of a big billy. He was old and very tempting. I was close enough to count his annuli which was 6 or 7. Oscar posted the video with my dog. The pictures came out amazing with the smoke. That was the only goat I was able to find that trip.

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My first sighting of him.
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I was dead right.

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Hard to pass on him because I knew he was a stud but I was hoping for good hair (Which I think was pretty good). This was definitely a big decision on this hunt. It weighted heavy on my mind as the days went by later on the hunt. I will say these pictures turned out amazing with the smoke.
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How's this for a shot for a bow. 46 yards.
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I was able to make it out for a week hunting elk with my bow. I saw this bull the day before and waited until the time was right to get close. Which was not until the next day. I put a perfect arrow into him and was able to take the funkiest bull I have ever shot.
Here he is the first day I found him.
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Moments before I sent my arrow through both lungs.
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He piled up 50 yards later. I'm stoked with this bull. Especially for the short time I had on this hunt. It was now time to focus on my goat.
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During all this, I was able to perform my first "WEDDING". One of my great friends daughters wanted a backyard wedding and since the Internet allowed me to become a wedding officiant and get a license to perform weddings.... who better to do a back yard wedding than me ? No seriously, that list is short.

Sure , this isn't "goat" related, but you don't expect this thread to stay on topic now, right ?

White shirt, Camo tie and Flip Flops........ I'm for hire if anyone is needing a funny redneck officiant at their wedding !!!*smile*

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IDB and I left to go to Wyoming. Instead of finding a camping spot at 1am, we pulled into a hotel to catch some warm and comfortable sleep. Wasn't IDB's idea, I've become lazy. But it was the smart thing ro do with snow starting ro fall.

Notice the orange cap. It's over 10 years old.

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Yah. There is a buck down. I shot one day 1 of 7. Typical me :) I'm happy and no matter what else I see im happy with it..... what I'm not happy with is the weather.

High of 4 deg today, tonight -8 . That's Fahrenheit, not Celsius. The vents that are in the tent don't velcro close. Wind 50 mph ? Felt like 80mph at night and vertical snow up in the vents and in the tent. This is what I woke up to at 3AM20201025_025418.jpg

Later was a little more the same :
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We shoved cloths in the vent holes but slipped out tonight and we are back in a hotel tonight. Tomorrow is another day.

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