A few thoughts on mountain goat permits

[teanawayslayer]

Great Post Josh, Thank you for the great information. I am at max points for goat and not holding my breath for a tag in Washington any time soon. So I put a deposit down to hunt goats in AK. The total cost of the hunt not including gratuities and commercial air line tickets is 4,250.00.  Sorry I cant divulge the name of the outfitter but hunts like these come up from time to time. Good luck to all in their quest for a Mountain Goat.

thats a score!

[j_h_nimrod]

Great Post Josh, Thank you for the great information. I am at max points for goat and not holding my breath for a tag in Washington any time soon. So I put a deposit down to hunt goats in AK. The total cost of the hunt not including gratuities and commercial air line tickets is 4,250.00.  Sorry I cant divulge the name of the outfitter but hunts like these come up from time to time. Good luck to all in their quest for a Mountain Goat.

thats a score!

Sure is, 7 day hunts are generally $7-10k+

Good luck!

[The scout]

that is some good info, I think there are a lot of people applying for goat tags that have never stepped foot and climbed the mountains where they live, and they end up overwhelmed when they draw. I hunt elk every year in and above the goats and I have seen more nanny’s killed than  billys because they can’t hike around enough. But to each there own as long as the hunter is happy that’s all that matters. I would 100% get packed in if I ever draw, but I get why people wouldn’t want to just because you are somewhat limited to that certain area, all you can do is trust that the outfitter is putting you in a good spot. I know exactly where I will be getting packed into if I ever draw. I also am 100% confident that that if you get packed in by white pass outfitters or chinook pass outfitters you will be looking at goats right from camp, that seems like a no brainer if you can afford it.

[jackelope]

I totally understand the desire folks have to get packed in like what WPO would do. I think for some, it would add to the experience immensely. I wanted to do it on my own 2 feet. That was the other thing for me. Big hair and I wanted to hike in on my own.  Kent is a super generous guy whether you're hunting with him or not. We communicated a lot during the season. When I was freaking the hell out and didn't think I would be able to access the area because of the hunt and wouldn't be able to find a billy, he talked me off the ledge. I really appreciate the time he spent talking with me and answering my likely annoyingly large number of questions...If I was in a position to be packed in, I would have zero concerns going with WPO. I saw his success this past year up there.

I'm going to sort of disagree with you regarding folks shooting nannies though. It's a fragile deal, and killing a nanny makes a big dent in the herd, mostly for the future. I firmly believe that people should do whatever possible within their abilities to not shoot a nanny. I know that accidents happen and it is what it is...but I don't agree with shooting a nanny just to notch your tag. In the end if I count up the goats we saw, it was at least 50/50 nanny to billy. I really believe that I saw more Billie's than nannies.

[The scout]

I’m not trying to start an argument, not everyone prepares themselves to get good at identifying them before there hunt, and I am only talking about what I have seen, not speculating on what I think people do. I think most of the time it isn’t intentional.It does ad a bit saying you did it all on your own, I just hope I can draw a tag while I can still hike those hills.

[jackelope]

Oh yeah...no argument...just conversation.

[PlateauNDN]

Where was this when I..................

[Rainier10]

Where was this when I..................

You seriously crack me up Plat.

This thread really is good info that you don’t think about until you have been there and you realize it’s all true.

I’m guessing you agree with most everything Josh said to start this thread. I know I do.

I almost feel like his post should be right on the goat hunt page of the regs.

[Tbar]

I’m not trying to start an argument, not everyone prepares themselves to get good at identifying them before there hunt, and I am only talking about what I have seen, not speculating on what I think people do. I think most of the time it isn’t intentional.It does ad a bit saying you did it all on your own, I just hope I can draw a tag while I can still hike those hills.

I agree that many get overwhelmed and in rare instances there may be an excuse to shoot a nanny.  It literally is as simple as watching them pee. This only requires observation, they will pee. It's inconsiderate and amazing how many nannies are taken.  It has such an adverse impact and is literally unenforceable so managers have to error on the side of caution and hunters (so far) have not done their due diligence. There will hopefully be an improvement when the test is required.

[jackelope]

I’m not trying to start an argument, not everyone prepares themselves to get good at identifying them before there hunt, and I am only talking about what I have seen, not speculating on what I think people do. I think most of the time it isn’t intentional.It does ad a bit saying you did it all on your own, I just hope I can draw a tag while I can still hike those hills.

I agree that many get overwhelmed and in rare instances there may be an excuse to shoot a nanny.  It literally is as simple as watching them pee. This only requires observation, they will pee. It's inconsiderate and amazing how many nannies are taken.  It has such an adverse impact and is literally unenforceable so managers have to error on the side of caution and hunters (so far) have not done their due diligence. There will hopefully be an improvement when the test is required.

I suspect that tag numbers would probably increase if, for no other reason, less nannies got shot. Also hoping that the test helps this situation. I have a friend who feels really, really strongly about this. He says "there's no excuse for killing a nanny". I won't judge that hard, but there are lots of strong feelings on this topic. I was really really confident that mine was a billy, but I still was at least slightly doubtful until I saw his family jewels and I studied my butt off.
 

[Tbar]

I’m not trying to start an argument, not everyone prepares themselves to get good at identifying them before there hunt, and I am only talking about what I have seen, not speculating on what I think people do. I think most of the time it isn’t intentional.It does ad a bit saying you did it all on your own, I just hope I can draw a tag while I can still hike those hills.

I agree that many get overwhelmed and in rare instances there may be an excuse to shoot a nanny.  It literally is as simple as watching them pee. This only requires observation, they will pee. It's inconsiderate and amazing how many nannies are taken.  It has such an adverse impact and is literally unenforceable so managers have to error on the side of caution and hunters (so far) have not done their due diligence. There will hopefully be an improvement when the test is required.

I suspect that tag numbers would probably increase if, for no other reason, less nannies got shot. Also hoping that the test helps this situation. I have a friend who feels really, really strongly about this. He says "there's no excuse for killing a nanny". I won't judge that hard, but there are lots of strong feelings on this topic. I was really really confident that mine was a billy, but I still was at least slightly doubtful until I saw his family jewels and I studied my butt off.

Your friend has a tremendous understanding of mountain goat conservation, it's as simple as that.  The visual aspect of goats is nearly impossible for a novice to comprehend, especially when the hair grows.  An old billy is a big white goat with small horns, a nanny is a big white goat with small horns, a sub adult is a big (in appearance) white goat with small horns.  You MUST pay attention to the nuances.

[PlateauNDN]

  there's a word I bet is killing jackelope in Tbars post.

[Timberstalker]

there's a word I bet is killing jackelope in Tbars post.

The spelling and grammer (lol) nazi is about to strike.

[Tbar]

 autocorrect!+ fat fingers....

[jackelope]

Wow. That was close.