Kauai Hawaii Feral Goats

[shannerdrake]

OYOA Community, heading to Kauai Hawaii in three weeks and my amazing wife encouraged me to pack my bow, rent a Jeep, and set aside time to hunt.

I’ve done the usual e-scouting, spoke to locals, and planned as much as I can. However, I trust the hunters on this forum more than anywhere else, so I was curious if anyone has experience chasing feral goats?

 

[Scott85]

Haven't paid much attention to the season on Kauai, just make sure the area you are hunting is open when you are wanting to hunt, I know place on Oahu are only open to hunting on weekends and holidays.

 

[Oakley388]

I hunted them on Oahu while I was stationed there. They were a blast to chase and were usually found up pretty high. Whenever you see one, take your time and be on the lookout for the others. Normally one is always on guard even when you think you're in the clear. At least that was the case for me. A typical day would give us a few opportunities to get close enough for shots as long as we didn't get busted first.

 

[Kaitum]

I archery hunted feral goats and pigs along the Kalalua Trail on Kauai in 2009 or so. Lots of day hikers the first couple miles of the trail but once you're about 4 miles down the trail the crowds thin out and you get into the area where the goats are. The Napali Coast is pretty amazing. Unlike hunting any other place in the U.S. At the time you were allowed to camp up to three days along the trail, not sure what the regs are now. Take a hammock if you're going to camp.

 

[okie archer]

Maybe Glasseye will chime in.

 

[glass eye]

There's a unit that you can access right from the highway that goes to the summit area and Koke'e state park. The highway starts in Waimea. Plenty of goats but very steep loose terrain. I don't remember what unit letter it is. "J" I think but I'll verify it later when I look at the map.

 

[shannerdrake]

Thanks everyone! Question, from all of your experience, what is the best way to get the head and cape home? Is that something I could just freeze and ship? I have yet to find a taxidermist on Kauai.

 

[shannerdrake]

Glass Eye, any chance it is Unit F? That’s the unit I am looking at the hardest. It is archery only and has Friday-Monday hunting. It is also only about 20 minutes from where I am staying.

https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/recreation/files/2016/07/UnitF_MokihanaRidgeWaimeaCanyon.pdf

 

[glass eye]

Glass Eye, any chance it is Unit F? That’s the unit I am looking at the hardest. It is archery only and has Friday-Monday hunting. It is also only about 20 minutes from where I am staying.

https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/recreation/files/2016/07/UnitF_MokihanaRidgeWaimeaCanyon.pdf

Yes, "F" it is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_A390yMDX0

 

[shannerdrake]

Awesome! Thanks again everyone.

Any tips on the taxidermy aspect? I am going with four others so we will be able to get through a lot of meat while there plus I know a local family who wants some as well.

Am I better off having work done in Hawaii and having it shipped home completed or shipping home to my local taxidermist? Like I said I haven’t found a taxidermist on Kauai so not sure how that works.

 

[glass eye]

Goat horns and a frozen cape don't take up much room in baggage. Shipping from Hawaii is very expensive.

 

[OzzyDave]

Just a general observation on hunting them DownUnder - we have PLENTY of feral goats and they are a bread and butter type species for most hunters. I’ve hunted them in both the arid country and the hills. They can certainly be challenging. Eye sight is incredible and is all other senses. It would be nice if your trip coincides with the nannies come into season - makes the billies as silly as a wheel. From my experience here in hills / steep country, they will bed up high and come down to feed early to mid morning - sort of gentleman’s hours hunting. Glassing works well - those white ones give away the positions of their mates. They young are normally pretty vocal, so the bleats will give them away also. We always take a couple of young ones for meat - taste a bit stronger than lamb.

 

[greerkr]

Hey Oakley388, I am going to be in Hawaii next month and I am trying to squeeze in a couple of mornings hunting pigs and goats. I am looking specifically at unit B Kalpapau Forest Reserve & Hauula Forest Preserve. Have you hunted this area before? Any tips would be great.

I hunted them on Oahu while I was stationed there. They were a blast to chase and were usually found up pretty high. Whenever you see one, take your time and be on the lookout for the others. Normally one is always on guard even when you think you're in the clear. At least that was the case for me. A typical day would give us a few opportunities to get close enough for shots as long as we didn't get busted first.

 

[greerkr]

Goat horns and a frozen cape don't take up much room in baggage. Shipping from Hawaii is very expensive.

Hey Glass Eye! I am going to be on Oahu in just a couple weeks. I want to hunt pigs and goats a couple mornings I am there. Have you ever hunted unit B specifically Kaipapau & Hauula Forest Preserves? I am looking for tips on best ways to locate game. I am taking a rifle so hopefully getting within range wont be an issue.

 

[glass eye]

Oahu is a beautiful island but too populated for me, therefore I have never hunted it.

 

[ashersdad]

Wife and I were on Kauai last week. I didn’t get to do any hunting but we saw quite a few goats when we took a helicopter ride. Looks to be a very fun hunt. Good luck.

 

[Scott85]

Hey Glass Eye! I am going to be on Oahu in just a couple weeks. I want to hunt pigs and goats a couple mornings I am there. Have you ever hunted unit B specifically Kaipapau & Hauula Forest Preserves? I am looking for tips on best ways to locate game. I am taking a rifle so hopefully getting within range wont be an issue.

Goats will be easier due to the terrain on the westside of the Island. It seems most of the descent public land for pig is bow only because its close to hwy, off of Pali Hwy is a good area. The pigs like the rainforest areas and its really steep. Most people use dogs to hunt pigs. Good luck!

 

[Oakley388]

Hey Oakley388, I am going to be in Hawaii next month and I am trying to squeeze in a couple of mornings hunting pigs and goats. I am looking specifically at unit B Kalpapau Forest Reserve & Hauula Forest Preserve. Have you hunted this area before? Any tips would be great.

Hey greerkr, I never hunted on any of the islands besides Oahu. Sorry I can't help with any specifics over there but I'd imagine the hunting is pretty similar. The biggest thing I learned was to move slow and always keep an eye out both close and far. Sometimes I'd walk right up on them without noticing and other times I'd see them far off in the distance. I'm not sure how good their eyesight is but I was busted more than once from goats 100+ yards away.

 

[shannerdrake]

Hey everyone, I wanted to circle back and give an after action report.

I had a good morning of hunting and was into goats and pigs all morning. Unfortunately, I did not ever get a shot at anything I wanted to release an arrow on. I glassed up somewhere around 40-50 goats and a dozen pigs. I passsed a kid goat af 35 yards and hesitated and missed a chance at a nanny at 37. I had three small billies at 70 yards but they were moving away and the terrain didn’t set up for a stalk. I also had a small pig come through at 40 but offer a shot. I did also get to admire a truly big billy at about 300 yards. He just wasn’t in a reachable spot.

That being said, the hunt was an amazing experience. I got to hike and hunt some true trophy country and saw a lot of animals. I also felt like had I been able to get out another morning, I likely would have ended up loosing an arrow. I will add the the Waimea Canyon is some legit terrain. It is very steep and hard to avoid getting cliffed out. It is also very unstable. Even the larger rocks were unstable and I ended up in two mini rock slides and with a few bruises and scrapes.

That being said, particularly with Southwest entering the Hawaii flight market (and their two free checked bags), the affordable license, and lots of game, I will definitely be packing my bow on all future Hawaii trips.

 

[shannerdrake]