Mt. St. Helens Goat

[hunterednate]

How’s the hiker traffic around there?

Tons of people hiking, trail running, and mountain biking.


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Yes, this is one of the reasons they go with the late start date for those tags (Oct. 1). That hiker/backpacker traffic should decrease significantly during your hunt window.

[CNELK]

Made my fifth trip up the mountain and hiked 12 1/4 miles. I have covered the mountain now, learned all the trails, where to camp, and mostly know where water is for camping. Goats pretty much cover the entire mountain. I have seen quite a few Billy’s but glassing conditions have been harsh. Between smoke, moving cloud cover, the sun in your face, or heat waves. Goats are incredibly difficult to judge for size. I have been mainly looking at body size and the face for maturity. I have narrowed down where I want to focus the rest of my time for scouting, and have spent a couple of days now on this particular part of the mountain. I’m always anticipating my next scouting trip and can’t wait to get back on the trail.


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[Jpmiller]

Are you trying to wait for longer hair, or get a goat early before conditions might make it even more difficult?

[CNELK]

Are you trying to wait for longer hair, or get a goat early before conditions might make it even more difficult?

Their coats are already decent in October. I want to hunt earlier to avoid the terrible fall weather—at least, I hope I avoid bad weather. I am taking two weeks off to hunt and have a fantastic group of guys willing to tag along.


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[Widgeondeke]

Their coats are already decent in October. I want to hunt earlier to avoid the terrible fall weather—at least, I hope I avoid bad weather. I am taking two weeks off to hunt and have a fantastic group of guys willing to tag along.


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[Jpmiller]

I’ve wondered how I’d handle it myself if I was in your shoes. My understanding is their coats just keep getting better but I think your plan sounds the smartest. Be such a shame to wait and not be able to do the hunt at all if weather turns sour.

[jackelope]

You gotta worry about weather snowing you out later in the season.  It snows, you can’t get to where the goats are because the snow doesn’t phase them and suddenly your OIL permit is down the tubes.

Hair is good but not great usually in October.

Ears are 6”ish long on a mature billy for reference. Bases need to be bigger than their eye balls.
If you need help judging mature billies, this video is great. I watched it a bunch.

https://www.utahwildlife.net/threads/mnt-goat-identifying-billies-vs-nannies-video.188417/


Sounds like you’ve got telling Nannies from Billies dialed in but I watched this about 40 times.

[time2hunt]

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[CNELK]

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You gotta worry about weather snowing you out later in the season.  It snows, you can’t get to where the goats are because the snow doesn’t phase them and suddenly your OIL permit is down the tubes.

Hair is good but not great usually in October.

Ears are 6”ish long on a mature billy for reference. Bases need to be bigger than their eye balls.
If you need help judging mature billies, this video is great. I watched it a bunch.

https://www.utahwildlife.net/threads/mnt-goat-identifying-billies-vs-nannies-video.188417/


Sounds like you’ve got telling Nannies from Billies dialed in but I watched this about 40 times.

Thank you for sharing, I appreciate it.


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