Montana Mountain Goat- at wits end

[Marshian]

Now he deleted his post. Must not be going after all!

I don’t know why it deleted, I tried to edit a typo. I am going, and was pretty much always planning to return. Just not camp. Thats just how it is.

 

[Dave N]

I don’t know why it deleted, I tried to edit a typo. I am going, and was pretty much always planning to return. Just not camp. Thats just how it is.

Ok, don't call it camping. Call it sleeping under a tree with a couple of meals for one night to see what happens when you are actually there and not walking.

 

[Dave N]

Being miserable for one night surely has to be worth it if you kill one!

 

[JT88]

What a goat show

 

[Bluffgruff]

I don’t know why it deleted, I tried to edit a typo. I am going, and was pretty much always planning to return. Just not camp. Thats just how it is.

I feel like you just need a buddy. Many people hate the backcountry alone, but it gets much better with someone else to share the misery. I don't really even like car camping alone, but add someone else to the mix, and suddenly I'm having a good time on a 60 mile, week-long slog through grizzly country without even seeing a target animal. Many people local to you would jump at the chance to hunt goats. Try it.

 

[cgasner1]

I might be headed back in there in a couple days to have another look around for sheep. Ill keep an eye out for a road huntable goat

If you do take up theat on this please don’t apply for anymore le tag. One of the GOATS of this place is willing to help you with your goat. Time to quit hiking and start hunting need to slow down man. Actually just had this same conversation with a guy he asked how many miles I put on a day elk hunting. I told him as few as possible I’m hunting not hiking he said he does a minimum of ten every day. You need to slow dow and let things happen when your in the goats would things happen on the goats time

 

[antlerradar]

If you do take up theat on this please don’t apply for anymore le tag. One of the GOATS of this place is willing to help you with your goat. Time to quit hiking and start hunting need to slow down man. Actually just had this same conversation with a guy he asked how many miles I put on a day elk hunting. I told him as few as possible I’m hunting not hiking he said he does a minimum of ten every day. You need to slow dow and let things happen when your in the goats would things happen on the goats time

This is really good advice. Has worked for me. I can remember many times when I hiked more miles in the dark than I did all day hunting.

 

[rjthehunter]

I would love to offer advice, but being as Greenhorn has already given you essentially waypoints, and you've been given a location of a mature Billy there's nothing I can offer that's better than that.

I will however, ship you a tent to use if you need it... It's not as nice as the one you have had, but it works pretty well!

Hike in with camping supplies, then camp where Greenhorn said. Then leave everything there and hunt with a light day pack. Please for the sake of future regret, give it another try. It might feel like no fun in the moment, but I promise it's a type 2 fun. You'll love it and tell the story for the rest of your life if you go back in there and find that billy!

 

[EYJONAS!]

I don't know why this topic is the Achilles heel of this site.

Hunt Talk has worse odds of actually getting a decent goat hunt story from people that have the tag than actually drawing the fkn tag in most cases.

For every 10 threads there maybe 1 good story.
#<than1club

This unit is 2.3% what's the problem here?

 

[406dn]

I'm certain that whatever frustration a hunt was causing, an expensive tent would have survived unscathed. The memories are not as sharp after 36 years, but I do recall the highlights. A friend and I drew goat tags in the adjoining unit to the west.

I'm not sure why he put in for that unit. My reason was that the draw odds were higher than most any unit close to our home. I knew it would be a hard hunt. We scouted in August a couple of times, to get familiar with the lay of the land. We back packed in to a camp the day before the season began. That day was gorgeous, the following night, not so much. It snowed heavily thru out the night. That part was a problem, the low hanging clouds shrouding everything was worse.

We made the decision that given our work constraints, it made more sense to drive from Billings and do day hunts, as work schedules allowed. Since I worked shift work, at the time, our days off, rarely meshed. So, we hunted with other partners, as well.

I totally understand the mental and physical exhaustion. It is a very hard hunt. I no longer remember exactly how many times I went there to hunt, but it was quite a few. Seeing goats, was not a large problem. The two things that were a problem, often the goats were in a spot that killing one meant the goat would fall, hundreds to thousands of feet. The other problem with day hunting is that the walk in, eats up a large amount of your daylight. There were a couple of times, that we either got cliffed out on a stalk, or couldn't get within range before darkness fell.

Ultimately we did kill goats on a bitterly cold day. Mine nearly made it to a ledge that would have dropped it far into the Hellroaring Creek drainage. Nothing about the hunt was easy including getting down off the top, with the goats. I had daily reminders of the physical price with sore achilles tendons for the next several months.

Only the tag owner knows whether it is worth it to him to continue. There are so many variables that are unique to each tag holder. If your life's biggest regret is walking away from a mountain goat tag, I'd take that.

 

[bigsky2]

I don't know why this topic is the Achilles heel of this site.

Hunt Talk has worse odds of actually getting a decent goat hunt story from people that have the tag than actually drawing the fkn tag in most cases.

For every 10 threads there maybe 1 good story.
#<than1club

This unit is 2.3% what's the problem here?

If I ever get the opportunity I’ll do my best to deliver.

 

[EYJONAS!]

If I ever get the opportunity I’ll do my best to deliver.

You will 24 has your name all over it.

 

[MTGomer]

If I ever get a Beartooth goat tag, I’m not posting on here until it is dead. It seems like a curse.

 

[Irrelevant]

Well, based on this thread, I might still take Gomer's advice and not post it, but I damn sure know who I'm reaching out to via pm/txt

 

[The Hedgehog]

If I ever get a Beartooth goat tag, I’m not posting on here until it is dead. It seems like a curse.

We never did hear the final story of the ketchup soaked cotton ball that one guy got. He kinda just vanished.

Into the Beartooth - Goat hunt in HD 316

Hi all! I was soliciting info in an older thread about goat hunting in that area. It seems, like many others, the hunter got a little info and then departed the forum. In response to my inquiry, @EYJONAS! challenged me to finish the thread by substituting my story. I started doing that there but...

www.hunttalk.com

 

[Bambistew]

Giving up on a hunt because a bridge is out is pretty funny.

If goat hunting was as pleasant here in AK as it is in MT, I'd consider going more often. I can't think of a more miserable thing to do here.

Glad you are still trying to make it happen.

 

[Wild Bill]

Just read all 155 posts in one sitting and I still can't get over the tent execution. I'm just trying to imagine the series of events that I would have to encounter to take that route and destroy an $800 tent. Would have loved to witness it somehow.

Anyways, sack up and get back out there. If you have some kind of fear, there is no better way to get over it other than doing it. Grab a buncha melatonin and/or a nice indica for bedtime and chill out.

 

[EYJONAS!]

If I ever get a Beartooth goat tag, I’m not posting on here until it is dead. It seems like a curse.

Oh yes you will......

 

[The Hedgehog]

If goat hunting was as pleasant here in AK as it is in MT, I'd consider going more often. I can't think of a more miserable thing to do here.

Where is it that these guys shoot the massive mountain goats right along the ocean? I thought that was Alaska?

 

[cgasner1]

Boats and goats!