Tips on field judging goats

[Naches Sportsman]

How do you guys get efficient at field judging goats? To me, they all look the same and I want to work on my field judging when I am looking at them on hikes and etc.  Do you judge them on how long their horns and and how big they are at the bases? Any tips would be helpful.

I can find goats no problem, but before I draw a tag or physically help someone on a hunt rather than telling them gps coordinates, I want to become a good field judge.

Thought I add some cell phone pics of some "bumping river" unit goats I saw yesterday. Saw 16 in the drainage I was in.

Thanks for any information.

[Jingles]

nice pic's but have to admit the first picture that popped into my mind was a line of muzzies standing behind a goat with the caption the longer then line the better the goat

[caribou creek]

First off nannies tend to be thinner horned and go more straight up then curve at the top, this makes them look longer than they really are, I know several guys who have made that mistake and tagged a nannie by mistake,

Billies are heavier horned , have the black scent pad behind the horns and start curving back from the base up. Their ears are around 4 inches long so that is a start for measurement.

Billies have a bigger body and a more pronounced hump on their back.

Many guys make the mistake of seeing a single goat on a hill with nothing else to judge it's size by so they talk themselves into thinking it's a huge mature billy, only to find out it's a 4 inch horned yearling after they shoot it.

My best advise is to spend as much time scouting as you can and look at a lot of goats with good glass.           

[Okanagan]

An ordinary goat is a white shaggy beast with black spike horns.  A record book goat is a white shaggy beast with black spike horns.   

Differences are subtle. As said in the post above, billies have continuously curved horns with larger bases and mass. Nannies generally have straighter horns, narrower from base to tip, and the tips often hook back in a distinct kink/bend within one to three inches of the tip.  With practice you can tell them apart, sometimes at first glimpse.   

Some comparison pics below filched from Wikipedia for clarity of pose.

Two that I will call billies first, then two nannies.









Scoring is on length, circumferences and asymmetry deductions as you expected from B&C. A rule of thumb is length of horn compared to length of the goat's face. Fully as long as the goat's face is close to ten inches, a very good goat.  Anything over nine inches is a good one.  Most have to be at least ten inches long to make B&C.

B&C web site has some field judging guides, and they say horn length from nostril to eye is between 8 and 9 inches.  At cursory glance would indicate that the bottom nanny has the longest horns of the four above, but the second billy has lots of mass.

 http://www.boone-crockett.org/bgRecords/records_fieldjudging_goat.asp?area=bgRecords&ID=05EC63E2&se=1&te=1

[actionshooter]

First off nannies tend to be thinner horned and go more straight up then curve at the top, this makes them look longer than they really are, I know several guys who have made that mistake and tagged a nannie by mistake,

Billies are heavier horned , have the black scent pad behind the horns and start curving back from the base up. Their ears are around 4 inches long so that is a start for measurement.

Billies have a bigger body and a more pronounced hump on their back.

Many guys make the mistake of seeing a single goat on a hill with nothing else to judge it's size by so they talk themselves into thinking it's a huge mature billy, only to find out it's a 4 inch horned yearling after they shoot it.

My best advise is to spend as much time scouting as you can and look at a lot of goats with good glass.           

An ordinary goat is a white shaggy beast with black spike horns.  A record book goat is a white shaggy beast with black spike horns.   

Differences are subtle. As said in the post above, billies have continuously curved horns with larger bases and mass. Nannies generally have straighter horns, narrower from base to tip, and the tips often hook back in a distinct kink/bend within one to three inches of the tip.  With practice you can tell them apart, sometimes at first glimpse.   

Some comparison pics below filched from Wikipedia for clarity of pose.

Two that I will call billies first, then two nannies.









Scoring is on length, circumferences and asymmetry deductions as you expected from B&C. A rule of thumb is length of horn compared to length of the goat's face. Fully as long as the goat's face is close to ten inches, a very good goat.  Anything over nine inches is a good one.  Most have to be at least ten inches long to make B&C.

B&C web site has some field judging guides, and they say horn length from nostril to eye is between 8 and 9 inches.

 http://www.boone-crockett.org/bgRecords/records_fieldjudging_goat.asp?area=bgRecords&ID=05EC63E2&se=1&te=1

These guys are right on, good advice. Older billies will often be off by themselves, I look for shape and body size before even trying to look at horns

[jackelope]

Sounds sort of silly maybe, but if you're on Facebook, subscribe to the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance page. They regularly post photos with guess the score and ID nanny or billy photos. Pretty educational.

[wildweeds]

The billy I shot 22 years ago this fall in the Ruth Creek area looked like Billy picture #2.I had a field judging book of big game published by the North American Hunting club.As mentioned earlier the 10 inch dimension for length of face and several other things to look for were outlined.I just took a tape to my dead one,9 inches from tip of nose to bases and 8 inches from nose to center of eye.If I  recall  correctly from the field book that antelope have the same dimensions as mountain goats.

[time2hunt]

Goats in my mind are the hardest animal to judge I looked over 20 billies in a two month period I never saw what I believe was a true 10 inch billy with 6inch bases. But at 100-200 yard your trying to distinguish a half inch in length is tough deal


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[Gringo31]

I didn't spend the time looking for the link but I think Alaska F&G website has a ID quiz that you can look at and then take the test for practice. 

[Naches Sportsman]

Thanks for all the advice you all . I hope to get close to quite a few goats today where I am headed in a few minutes. I think it just comes down to practice and more practice.