Mountain Goats- The Hunt of a Lifetime

[Gerald Martin]

Once on top we picked up the billys tracks. Apprehension turned into grim reality as we followed them over the top until they dissapeared into the cliffs. He wasn't lying dead on top.

We back tracked down and around the mountain to a spot where we could glass the cliffs where the goat dissapeared. Sure enough there he was bedded about 50 ft down off the top. He may as well been 5000 feet from the top, there was no way we were going to get to him. I was sure that it was my goat, and I could also tell he was still alive since his head was up. He only stayed bedded for several minutes and then he got back up. I watched him through my binoculars for nearly ten minutes. From my angle I couldn't see any blood and I didn't want to shoot a different goat by mistake. Kenneth decided to stay and video the goat from there while Jr. and I went back up the ridge to try and get another angle on the billy.

Once back on top I was able to see the other side of the goat and confirm that there was indeed blood on his off side. Now what to do???? The goat was in a spot where he couldn't go any further and if he died where he was we wouldn't be able to recover him. If I shot him off of where he was, he would fall 350 ft to the bottom. I didn't like my options but the choice was clear in my mind. I needed to finish what I had started and deal with whatever followed.

The goat was standing with his rump toward me all this time. I did't want to put the Texas heart shot on him, but I wasn't sure if I was going to get another shot. Finally he turned enough that I was able to get a quartering away shot. This time the bullet took him through both shoulders and he collapsed like a rag doll. In what seemed like slow motion he rolled over the edge and fell and bounced and fell and bounced. Forever. Well for seconds anyway. We were all sick to our stomachs. On the video Jr. and I can both be heard saying "No!" "STOP!" No!" "Stop!"

"He's down...." I turned towards Jr. "He's Waaayy down!" was his reply. Before I shot the goat I ranged him at 85 yards. He was about 30 feet lower in elevation than we were. When he stopped rolling, I ranged him again. He was 158 yards below us.

This time the congratulations and elation were a bit muted. My goat was down but the chances of him not being broken up were very slim.

It was now about 6 p.m. We had another decision to make. We were only half a mile from camp. If we recovered the goat that night we'd have to back track around the basin another half mile. That would leave us at least a mile and one major ridge from camp. We hadn't eaten what I would call real food all day. Each of us had probably gotten 4 hours of sleep the night before. It was cold and would be below freezing that night. By this time my optimism had been tempered by reality a bit. I made the call that we were going back to camp. The meat would not spoil overnight. The goat wasn't going anywhere and I wasn't worried about predators finding him.

Tomorrow morning would be soon enough to see what he looked like.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Should I write about what we had for supper that night? Sorry for dragging this out so long.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Big Fin what's your policy on showing gruesome pics? Can you delete it if I post something you don't approve of ? I don't want to upset anybody.

 

[Big Fin]

Big Fin what's your policy on showing gruesome pics? Can you delete it if I post something you don't approve of ? I don't want to upset anybody.

If it is part of the hunt, post 'em. Probably not something we haven't all seen at some time during a hunt.

 

[Gerald Martin]

The next morning we headed out to recover the goat. It was as bad as I had feared. One horn was completely missing, the other one was like a joystick in his skull, although the horn wasn't broken.
One ear was sheared off two inches from his head. I could literally have put my fist in the hole where his mouth used to be. 3/4 of his nose was gone.

I was sick. The rest of his hide was fine. Amazingly there weren't any bare spots where the hair was totally missing.

I knew then that my hoped for life size mount was out of the question. My brother urged me not to give up that easily. He said who knows what the taxidermist can fix. I told him the missing horn wasn'the problem, it was the ears and the nose. You can't cast fake ears and noses.

Junior calmly stated that he was going to go look for the missing horn. I didn't try to stop him, but I knew there was no way he was going to find an eight inch horn on that mountain. Not the way that goat fell.

Dave, Kenneth and I were trying to get the goat into a spot where we could take some decent pictures when I heard Junior yell. " Hey! You might want this for the pictures." Wonder of wonders he found the undamaged horn. It had popped off the billy's skull after the first major impact. It didn't even have a major scratch on it!

Here's some of the trophy shots of my goat.

 

[Gerald Martin]

I'll put the pretty ones first.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Here's what we had to work with.

 

[Gerald Martin]

There's not a lot to the rest of the story. I went ahead and caped him out for a lifesize. I figured I'd only be able to do a rug, but like everyone else I expected my taxidermist to do miracles.

The meat was fine after laying all night. It was chilled throughout and in surprisingly good shape for coming down over the cliffs. The billy must have led with his chin all the way down.

On our way out we paused for a triumphant group picture.

 

[Gerald Martin]

This is how the billy looks now. I'll let you decide if my taxidermist can work miracles.

 

[Gerald Martin]

And they all live happily ever after....... The End.

 

[Big Fin]

Very cool Gerald. The final mount is amazing. I would have bagged the idea, after seeing the damage. Congrats!

 

[Gerald Martin]

I should have included the caption that was on the picture my taxidermist sent me. "Three goats in one."

 

[mtmiller]

Awesome hunt and story. congrats.....

 

[T Bone]

Great hunt! Extra good with the good documentation.

My Idaho goat from the Frank Church Wilderness is one of my treasures. Mercy, that was a long pull getting him out.

 

[elk_hunter]

Wow, congrats on a fantastic goat!!! Your taxi did an outstanding job too! Thanks for the story and pics. And no, they weren't gruesome.

 

[ashersdad]

Awesome story and even better pictures. You did the right thing putting him down when you did even with the consequences. The mount turned out amazing! Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[----]

That was a really awesome write up, and great pictures too. Really awesome that you were still able to get your full body mount done, not being able to do it would be a tough pill to swallow.
You probably know this, but you've got some awesome buddies to follow you on a hunt like that and help out so much.

 

[LILIDAHO]

You say your not a writer but I would say ya did a fine job telling a great story. Looks like a great hunt and it is amazing what a good taxidermist can do! LIL

 

[The Hedgehog]

Wow! Great story, goat, photos, and miracle work by your taxidermist!

 

[Missoulaz28]

Great write up. That will be a hunt that you will remember until your last minutes. Like mentioned below you have some great friends to help you out like that.

The mount looks great also considering what it went through.