OH YES!!! I drew a goat tag in CO!!
- Thread starter H&Hhunter
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Readyrod
Member
Good luck!!!!!
BK
Member
Congrats! I spoke to a fellow from Colorado Springs last summer who finally drew his moose tag. He told me that he'd been putting in for a tag since Colorado first offered them, some 30 years ago. I don't know if he tagged one, but I'd bet money that he did. I think the average expectation for Colorado moose tags are 10-15 years? But I know of a few ladies that drew their first year. Affirmative action type tactics maybe?
The only mountain goat hunting stories I've ever heard were outfitter provided successes. Is it possible, for the experienced deer/elk/pronghorn/etc. hunter to hunt these things on your own? Can you give us some info on hunting this animal and maybe how you are planning to do it?
The only mountain goat hunting stories I've ever heard were outfitter provided successes. Is it possible, for the experienced deer/elk/pronghorn/etc. hunter to hunt these things on your own? Can you give us some info on hunting this animal and maybe how you are planning to do it?
OP
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BK,
I've been putting in for moose for 12 years and sheep for 15 in CO and 25+years in NM, no luck on these yet.
As far as goat hunting goes once you find them the actual hunting/stalking of goats is no major trick. Getting to them is the problem. As they say when you get to where the sheep live you then start your climb into goat country. I'll be hunting unguided in unit 15 which has several very good access points Loveland Pass and Berthoud pass.
My plan is to access from Loveland Pass and hike in a spike camp for about 2,000 plus or minus vertical feet climb and hunt from there. Once you find the goats getting in rifle range is not that tough of a trick. The trick can be finding them where you can get close enough due to terrain and then not shooting one unless you are sure you can retrieve it.
There are plenty of horror stories of guys shooting them on ledges then find there is no way to get to them or shooting them on high cliff and having them take a death run over the side and falling/sliding hundreds or thousands of feet into an inaccessible area.
So my plan is to hike into my area several times a month this summer for both scouting and physical training purposes. I'd like to be familiar enough with the goats and the terrain so that I will place my solo camp several days before opening in an area that allows me to be in goats from first legal light. I'd like to have them patterned so that I am hunting for a particular goat in the bunch not trying to find them for the first week and then pick one out.
We'll see how that all works out! Best laid plans and all..
I've been putting in for moose for 12 years and sheep for 15 in CO and 25+years in NM, no luck on these yet.
As far as goat hunting goes once you find them the actual hunting/stalking of goats is no major trick. Getting to them is the problem. As they say when you get to where the sheep live you then start your climb into goat country. I'll be hunting unguided in unit 15 which has several very good access points Loveland Pass and Berthoud pass.
My plan is to access from Loveland Pass and hike in a spike camp for about 2,000 plus or minus vertical feet climb and hunt from there. Once you find the goats getting in rifle range is not that tough of a trick. The trick can be finding them where you can get close enough due to terrain and then not shooting one unless you are sure you can retrieve it.
There are plenty of horror stories of guys shooting them on ledges then find there is no way to get to them or shooting them on high cliff and having them take a death run over the side and falling/sliding hundreds or thousands of feet into an inaccessible area.
So my plan is to hike into my area several times a month this summer for both scouting and physical training purposes. I'd like to be familiar enough with the goats and the terrain so that I will place my solo camp several days before opening in an area that allows me to be in goats from first legal light. I'd like to have them patterned so that I am hunting for a particular goat in the bunch not trying to find them for the first week and then pick one out.
We'll see how that all works out! Best laid plans and all..
NickEllis
Member
Wow, terrific, H&H! Looks like all those 14ers with Timmy might be of some actual hunting use. What an opportunity. Hope to see something new on the wall next time we visit from the UK, eh?
788Ham
Member
Congrats! Have lived here all my life, 60-some, have seen many goats years ago in the Georgetown areas. Good luck and hope you get the trophy of your lifetime! Looooong wait finally pays off.
Resist Evil
Member
Part of the excitement is finally getting the license! I hope you get to fill that tag. Good luck!
OP
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I have spent all day hauling my solo high country back pack and gear out and making sure all of my high altitude and cold weather camping gear is up to snuff. I've got a few things to repair but overall we are going to be ready to rock in the gear department.
exbiologist
Member
My buddy drew unit 15 last year and I hunted with him if you need any pointers.
You need a base camp cook? Congrats man those things are dang hard to come by.
exbiologist
Member
You might also want a sherpa. Here's some pics from last year:
That's 13,000 feet. We didn't know a billy was right below us at the time. Another hunter watching from an adjacent basin told us about it later. Not that we could have retrieved him at that time anyway. I had to go back to work by the time he harvested, so I don't have his goat picture handy, just some other shots of the country you're going to have to fool with.
There are goats on this peak in the picture, and is where we did most of our hunting, aslo where the first picture was taken.
That's 13,000 feet. We didn't know a billy was right below us at the time. Another hunter watching from an adjacent basin told us about it later. Not that we could have retrieved him at that time anyway. I had to go back to work by the time he harvested, so I don't have his goat picture handy, just some other shots of the country you're going to have to fool with.
There are goats on this peak in the picture, and is where we did most of our hunting, aslo where the first picture was taken.
OP
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exbiologist,
Where did you guys go in from? My plan at the moment is to access from the west side of the tunnel up the old jeep trail on foot then proceed into the unit from there.
Of course Berthoud pass is another option.
What are your thoughts?
Where did you guys go in from? My plan at the moment is to access from the west side of the tunnel up the old jeep trail on foot then proceed into the unit from there.
Of course Berthoud pass is another option.
What are your thoughts?
exbiologist
Member
I like the dry and Herman Gulch areas better, but you have a little less elevation to gain by going in from the tunnel. Also, I don't know if anyone ever saw any billies around the tunnel. Just nannies and kids.
Jones Pass is of course easy to access, but I never saw anything there, though I know goats get killed there. Vazquez Peak, Iron Creek and some of that country is pretty tough to get to. You can glass the Herman and Dry Gulches from a pullout on Loveland Pass if you have decent optics.
Jones Pass is of course easy to access, but I never saw anything there, though I know goats get killed there. Vazquez Peak, Iron Creek and some of that country is pretty tough to get to. You can glass the Herman and Dry Gulches from a pullout on Loveland Pass if you have decent optics.
KodiakBeer
member
If you don't bag one, then try to draw on Kodiak Island. It's the easiest goat hunt in the world since we're over-run with the buggers and the mountains crest at only 5000 feet. Hell, I have them within sight of my house every day, a few hundred feet above sea level. Before long they'll be considered a nuisance animal.
JerryM
Member
Get in top shape or after a couple of days climbing you may be so tired you do not care if you get one or not and just want to go home. I have seen that happen in the case of sheep.
Regards,
Jerry
Regards,
Jerry
ArfinGreebly
Moderator Emeritus
Top Shape?
I'm Sorry.
I just gotta chuckle there.
H&H, man, we just gotta get you into a few marathons down in Peru before the hunt.
I mean, what with yer bein' all flabby and stuff.
I'm Sorry.
I just gotta chuckle there.
H&H, man, we just gotta get you into a few marathons down in Peru before the hunt.
I mean, what with yer bein' all flabby and stuff.
OP
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KB,
Thanks for the heads up. I'd LOVE to hunt goats in Kodiak!! That whole non resident guided thing on goats is kind of a barrier for me though. Most of the goat hunts I see advertised in AK are bit brain damaged on the asking price IMHO
When I look back there are several critters that I wish I'd hunted while I was a resident of AK goats being one of them the other is sheep. I don't know what the heck I was thinking back then!!
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Jerry,
Thanks for the heads up, I'll do my best to cut down on the Twinkies and Budweiser between now and then. Do you think the Jane Fonda workout or maybe Zumba dance would be a good program to start with?
Cob
Member
Good luck with the Hunt!
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