Post by: nwhunter on April 07, 2016, 09:52:59 PM
Post by: MtnMuley on April 07, 2016, 10:19:40 PM
Post by: PlateauNDN on April 08, 2016, 12:16:10 AM
Look them over good and be patient, you'll know the one you want when you see it. Be mentally prepared as goat country can take its toll physically but the challenge is more mental. If you want read my thread titled "fellowship of the goat" as it will provide a little insight into my adventure. There's other goat stories as good and better so soak it up and prepare as much as possible.
I suggest a stair climber workout of some type with weights to prepare physically and also hiking sticks. I didn't have any but someone else did and I tried them about a bit and there's definitely a big help using them. Best of luck. :tup:
Post by: RadSav on April 08, 2016, 01:38:59 AM
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=goathunting.billyid
http://www.bowhunter.com/feature_articles/feature_articles_bw_goat_1008/
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,172074.msg2275291.html#msg2275291
If you have a goat area like I went to you will have no shortage of goats to look at once you are up there. And since you will have a guide just go ahead and ask a ton of questions. I found that after the first of October it was very easy to judge Nannies from Billies as the billies big shoulders pop with the increased hair growth and the large black glands start to swell.
I am not going to say I can judge score on the hoof at half a mile away. But you get a real good feel for what a good billy is and what a fantastic billy is in a short period of time. It's sort of like seeing a 150 mule deer and trying to decide if he is book quality. Your excitement is quickly overtaken by the reality he is nice but not all that nice. But when you see a 180+ muledeer you instantly know that is a great buck and only a crazy person would pass that up!
I'm not much of a book guy so I go by my gut reaction of what I like and am impressed by. When I hit that threshold between "Oh that's nice" and "Wholly SHOUT!!! Look at that guy!" then I know I have found "The One". My only problem was that I became obsessed with "The One" and chased only him for years. And come to find out he was one heck of a lot better at staying alive than I was at being a bowhunter. :bash: I passed up a lot of very respectable goats that I would tag in a heart beat today. I have a lot of stories to tell, but that's not all that comforting when I realize I have no Rocky Mountain Goat on the wall!
If I had realized how fast age would catch up to me and how difficult financing hunts would become with an active partner I would surely have tagged one of the good ones when Old Pisser had given me another slip. Vengeance is a dangerous thing. :chuckle: :chuckle:
Post by: PlateauNDN on April 08, 2016, 02:22:03 AM
Mine may not be the biggest but it's the adventure that I will remember and its the story I will tell every chance I get. :tup:
You will know the "1" when you see him and don't hesitate, take him. :tup:
Post by: CAMPMEAT on April 08, 2016, 06:50:03 AM
Post by: Katmai Guy on April 08, 2016, 06:59:08 AM
I'm like the OP and would like to know what is big and what is not, just to feel like I am contributing to the hunt instead of just being led around like a little kid.
Also the pessimist in me would like to know that the guide is telling me to shoot a decent animal and not just wanting to get the hunt over and get back to momma and a hot meal.
Post by: RadSav on April 08, 2016, 07:12:45 AM
Isn't a guide supposed to know what a good one is to shoot ?
You need to be able to express to your guide what you want. When guiding bear we had spots with BIG bear and we had spots with lots of nice bear. Depending on the clients goals coming in would delegate how we went about placing them in the right spots to fulfill those goals. The two spots were often a two hour drive apart.
You don't want to be flown or hike vertical miles of rock cliffs only to find out your in an area with a lot of average goats when what you really wanted was only to tag a book goat. Where I hunted most in BC those were many miles apart and the preparation for each was drastically different. Knowing what you are looking for could make a very big difference on your enjoyment and the fulfillment of your expectations.
Post by: nwhunter on April 08, 2016, 08:09:17 AM
Post by: Bushcraft on April 09, 2016, 09:57:28 AM
http://www.amazon.com/Beast-Color-Winter-Mountain-Observed/dp/0803264216
The book doesn't go into it from what I've heard, but scoring is pretty straightforward. 1) Length, 2) Base diameter significantly larger than the eye, 3) mass that carries well into 2/3rds of the horn. Like others have said, a big one will definitely stand out if you are able to compare it to other goats nearby. If its face looks "cute" it is probably a younger billy. The horns will look out of proportion, making them seem bigger than they actually are, whereas a long roman-nosed horse face with a big wide nostrils and mouth (and general body size) is more indicative of a mature billy.
If score really matters to you, length is important, but girth is critical. I suspect there were a preponderance of women on the mountain goat scoring committee to determine which attributes were most desirable. ;) :chuckle:
As an aside, I personally factor in hair length and consider a long-haired chapped-out goat to be highly desirable, at least as much a perhaps more so than just the size of the horns. They make awesome looking life-size mounts. To each their own, but I'm not a fan of the freshly shorn summertime look.
Out of curiosity, which outfitter did you book your hunt with and what time of year are you going?
Good luck!
Regards,
Allen
Post by: RadSav on April 09, 2016, 10:25:44 AM
As an aside, I personally factor in hair length and consider a long-haired chapped-out goat to be highly desirable, at least as much a perhaps more so than just the size of the horns. They make awesome looking life-size mounts. To each their own, but I'm not a fan of the freshly shorn summertime look.
Absolutely! I'd take smaller horns in mid October over big horns in early September. Of course big horns in late October... :tup: :tup:
Post by: Hairhunter on April 09, 2016, 11:01:30 AM
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on April 09, 2016, 11:42:51 AM
Little spendy but their out there. :yike:
Post by: time2hunt on April 09, 2016, 05:44:50 PM
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fuploads.tapatalk-cdn.com%2F20160410%2F4fd46e5b34f565faecc9ef5c8a6d7f7e.jpg&hash=61397990b2bbf1ea7eaf639ed63081bd4bc345e1)(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fuploads.tapatalk-cdn.com%2F20160410%2F03c8a197ffff44cefb4bf5afc4158b79.jpg&hash=b0eb7017eccb8e92ec7251067eee17cf31d585d3)As an aside, I personally factor in hair length and consider a long-haired chapped-out goat to be highly desirable, at least as much a perhaps more so than just the size of the horns. They make awesome looking life-size mounts. To each their own, but I'm not a fan of the freshly shorn summertime look.
Absolutely! I'd take smaller horns in mid October over big horns in early September. Of course big horns in late October... :tup: :tup:
Post by: time2hunt on April 09, 2016, 05:58:20 PM
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Post by: nwhunter on April 10, 2016, 08:59:26 AM
I don't have this book yet, but I've heard it's a good primer goats.I am going first of October with Wildcoast Outfitters. Met him in Portland this spring. Great guy thats getting started after taking over an outfit he guided for. On a side note Allen I think I sat at your table last year at SCI in Seatac I was with Mike C.
http://www.amazon.com/Beast-Color-Winter-Mountain-Observed/dp/0803264216
The book doesn't go into it from what I've heard, but scoring is pretty straightforward. 1) Length, 2) Base diameter significantly larger than the eye, 3) mass that carries well into 2/3rds of the horn. Like others have said, a big one will definitely stand out if you are able to compare it to other goats nearby. If its face looks "cute" it is probably a younger billy. The horns will look out of proportion, making them seem bigger than they actually are, whereas a long roman-nosed horse face with a big wide nostrils and mouth (and general body size) is more indicative of a mature billy.
If score really matters to you, length is important, but girth is critical. I suspect there were a preponderance of women on the mountain goat scoring committee to determine which attributes were most desirable. ;) :chuckle:
As an aside, I personally factor in hair length and consider a long-haired chapped-out goat to be highly desirable, at least as much a perhaps more so than just the size of the horns. They make awesome looking life-size mounts. To each their own, but I'm not a fan of the freshly shorn summertime look.
Out of curiosity, which outfitter did you book your hunt with and what time of year are you going?
Good luck!
Regards,
Allen
Post by: nwhunter on April 10, 2016, 09:43:12 PM
Post by: Bushcraft on April 11, 2016, 10:27:19 AM
I don't have this book yet, but I've heard it's a good primer goats.I am going first of October with Wildcoast Outfitters. Met him in Portland this spring. Great guy thats getting started after taking over an outfit he guided for. On a side note Allen I think I sat at your table last year at SCI in Seatac I was with Mike C.
http://www.amazon.com/Beast-Color-Winter-Mountain-Observed/dp/0803264216
The book doesn't go into it from what I've heard, but scoring is pretty straightforward. 1) Length, 2) Base diameter significantly larger than the eye, 3) mass that carries well into 2/3rds of the horn. Like others have said, a big one will definitely stand out if you are able to compare it to other goats nearby. If its face looks "cute" it is probably a younger billy. The horns will look out of proportion, making them seem bigger than they actually are, whereas a long roman-nosed horse face with a big wide nostrils and mouth (and general body size) is more indicative of a mature billy.
If score really matters to you, length is important, but girth is critical. I suspect there were a preponderance of women on the mountain goat scoring committee to determine which attributes were most desirable. ;) :chuckle:
As an aside, I personally factor in hair length and consider a long-haired chapped-out goat to be highly desirable, at least as much a perhaps more so than just the size of the horns. They make awesome looking life-size mounts. To each their own, but I'm not a fan of the freshly shorn summertime look.
Out of curiosity, which outfitter did you book your hunt with and what time of year are you going?
Good luck!
Regards,
Allen
NWHunter,
Glad to hear you are a fellow supporter of SCI! You are probably thinking of the other guy in the chapter that shares my name, but he spells his A-l-a-i-n. I was the president of the Northwest Chapter at the time and up on stage working hard to get everyone in attendance to empty their pockets for The Cause. ;)
Good luck with your goat hunt! Be sure and take plenty of pictures.
Allen
Post by: USMC86 on April 11, 2016, 02:08:24 PM
If I were to do it again, I'd go where you are going....seems like the average in BC is much bigger than most places. I'd plan the hunt to make sure that the hide is optimal, as mine was "in-between" and not quite the long pelts that make these animals so special. I'd get in much better shape than I am now...seemed like it was all uphill, all day. And finally, I'd rely heavily on my guide- they look at them all the time and will have a good idea of what they are looking at. I don't think they will be able to state with a certainty what the score will be, but they'll be able to ballpark. You'll likely be dealing with wind and distance and animal movement, which will make estimating the size pretty tough through a spotting scope. Good luck to you, have a blast and share some pics when you come back.
Post by: 2MANY on May 18, 2016, 01:07:20 PM