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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[CNELK]

I tried changing it in my topic title, but somehow it wouldn’t allow me to. But it was officially announced this morning that I am one of the lucky winners of the Leopold Project Hunt submission! What a crazy, exciting year it has been for me. Drawing my once-in-a-lifetime goat tag and having my hunt professionally filmed by Leupold makes it even more of a dream come true. I have to give a HUGE shout-out to Leopold, in particular Scott and Bruce, for making all of this possible. It is truly a blessing and something I will always be grateful for. I have been diligently scouting, trying to make the most of this opportunity, and soaking it all in. I enjoyed my 6th scouting trip up the mountain with my beautiful wife and daughter again this last weekend. We also shared this trip with one of our close friends and their two kids. Already looking forward to this weekend to spend more time on the mountain.


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[JPhelps]

I tried changing it in my topic title, but somehow it wouldn’t allow me to. But it was officially announced this morning that I am one of the lucky winners of the Leopold Project Hunt submission! What a crazy, exciting year it has been for me. Drawing my once-in-a-lifetime goat tag and having my hunt professionally filmed by Leupold makes it even more of a dream come true. I have to give a HUGE shout-out to Leopold, in particular Scott and Bruce, for making all of this possible. It is truly a blessing and something I will always be grateful for. I have been diligently scouting, trying to make the most of this opportunity, and soaking it all in. I enjoyed my 6th scouting trip up the mountain with my beautiful wife and daughter again this last weekend. We also shared this trip with one of our close friends and their two kids. Already looking forward to this weekend to spend more time on the mountain.


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Scott and Bruce (hunting with him next week) are awesome!!!!  Good luck on your hunt and can't wait to watch it.

[CNELK]

I tried changing it in my topic title, but somehow it wouldn’t allow me to. But it was officially announced this morning that I am one of the lucky winners of the Leopold Project Hunt submission! What a crazy, exciting year it has been for me. Drawing my once-in-a-lifetime goat tag and having my hunt professionally filmed by Leupold makes it even more of a dream come true. I have to give a HUGE shout-out to Leopold, in particular Scott and Bruce, for making all of this possible. It is truly a blessing and something I will always be grateful for. I have been diligently scouting, trying to make the most of this opportunity, and soaking it all in. I enjoyed my 6th scouting trip up the mountain with my beautiful wife and daughter again this last weekend. We also shared this trip with one of our close friends and their two kids. Already looking forward to this weekend to spend more time on the mountain.


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Scott and Bruce (hunting with him next week) are awesome!!!!  Good luck on your hunt and can't wait to watch it.

Thank you for reaching out, Jason, and wish you all the best of luck this hunting season.


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[Pathfinder101]

Tagging along to see how you come out.  Looks like you are putting in the ground work for sure. 

[Caseknife]

I saw Leupold's clip on the hunt winners and saw WA Mtn Goat, wow!  Have fun and enjoy the hunt.  I was in the Goat Rocks last fall after 28 years of applying, very unique animal.

[HikerHunter]

Congrats and best of luck! I want to hear how it turns out for you