Mt Goat Winter Coat's

[Baerman]

Anybody know when:
1) Winter coats are mostly grown in?
2) When is the rut?

I drew an Idaho goat tag and already know the unit pretty well but would like to harvest a goat with a nice coat, 2nd to having 9" min horns. The problem is if I have a good goat located but the rut kicks in and he wonders off then I have to try to relocate him while he is prowling for nannies.

This brings up another question. Do the billy's generally hang above the nannies or are they typically in another drainage being solitary outside of the rut?

 

[T Bone]

Congrats on the tag.

I killed my Idaho Billy on Oct 2, 2007 at about 8000 feet. Not in full winter hair yet, but enough to make him look good.

Most billies I saw while sheep and goat hunting are solo, but this one was with a nanny.

 

[IdahoRob]

The Billys i have confirmed to be Billys have been solo or with another Billy. I know they must pair up to breed and have see goats together, but couldn't confirm sex. I find the highest points in the drainage that you are hunting and glass the overlooks during morning and evening unless the weather is cool and overcast. If hot and sunny, look in the shaded overhangs and caves during the heat of the day.

My goat had a nice coat in mid October, i killed him at 10,000' and the weather was moving in. The hunt would of been impossible after as the snow fell hard. I guided on a great Billy in mid Sept. and he still had a good coat. I'd say later the better for the coat, but if shoulder mounting, then not as important.

 

[1_pointer]

This one was taken about a month after T-bones and at a bit higher elevation. It was with a nanny, but I have no idea if they were rutting. It was her tracks and movement that led us to spot him.

 

[Baerman]

Thanks for the info. When glassing the goats, we seem to see mostly nannies with a billy or two but I'm assuming those are the two and three year old billys, have not been close enough to get a great look at the horns and have also learned a little from hunts like Greenhorns on the threads since the last time I've really paid much attention. Seems when we do see a solo goat, he looked to be pretty good size. I just hope that if I can find one this summer that is solo that I don't wait too long to harvest waiting for the coat to grow. I'm thinking full mount.

 

[CabinFever]

Congrats on the tag, I'm sure you'll do it justice. Good luck on the hunt.

 

[T Bone]

Sounds like you already are pretty good at the field judging. Gilchrist published a video on field judging goats that helped me.

My friend drew goat in the Whiteclouds and found a solo billy perched on a wall. All the proportions showed a mature billy. From 80 yards and a spotter they counted rings. He killed it the second it stepped to a recoverable position.

It was a 7 1/2 year old midget. Horns were only 5 1/2 inches long and on the hoof, it maybe broke 100 pounds.

Avoid midgets.

 

[fowladdict]

Sounds like you already are pretty good at the field judging. Gilchrist published a video on field judging goats that helped me.

My friend drew goat in the Whiteclouds and found a solo billy perched on a wall. All the proportions showed a mature billy. From 80 yards and a spotter they counted rings. He killed it the second it stepped to a recoverable position.

It was a 7 1/2 year old midget. Horns were only 5 1/2 inches long and on the hoof, it maybe broke 100 pounds.

Avoid midgets.

Too funny, but not for your friend of course!

 

[Baerman]

It was a 7 1/2 year old midget. Horns were only 5 1/2 inches long and on the hoof, it maybe broke 100 pounds.

Avoid midgets.

That's a major bummer! What are the odds?!

 

[havgunwilltravel]

Sounds like you already are pretty good at the field judging. Gilchrist published a video on field judging goats that helped me.

My friend drew goat in the Whiteclouds and found a solo billy perched on a wall. All the proportions showed a mature billy. From 80 yards and a spotter they counted rings. He killed it the second it stepped to a recoverable position.

It was a 7 1/2 year old midget. Horns were only 5 1/2 inches long and on the hoof, it maybe broke 100 pounds.

Avoid midgets.

That's something you don't hear about too much with goats!
Got any pictures of the billy? It does seem to happen
occassionaly with all species.

 

[muleguy]

Goat test

This test helped me more than anything from Alaska fish and game=

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=quiz.questions&quiz_id=3

It would be nice if all western states adopted this test

 

[Baerman]

that's pretty handy! I went through quickly and got 16 of 20 not horrible but I do not want a Nannie. Although, the one's I missed were difficult to judge based on the angle. I have to assume in the real world I will have multiple angles of the horns before shooting to make a good judgement. I hope I am able to locate a good billy like Greenhorn did prior to the season and am not making split second decisions late in the hunt.

 

[muleguy]

When they start to rut they will usually have a very dirty dark hind quarter along with the black gland hair around the horns. It would be good idea to visit taxi shops to get a good luck at the differences in the horns of nannies.

 

[Baerman]

Great info Muleguy. Thanks for the help. Sounds like early late October to mid November is when they rut in Idaho.

That test was helpful that it mentioned different things to look for such as the dark spot below the anus if they are looking away, wider beards and longer hair down their legs, larger based horns and horn width. After looking at multiple goats the last few days it seems body mass can be a good indicator of a mature billy too.

Thanks again for the tips and resources!