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GOAT HUNTING |
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The rugged mountains in Southeast Alaska provide excellent habitat for the Rocky Mountain goat. The Ketchikan area boasts a healthy population of Mountain Goats and is known to produce trophy class animals. I consider Mountain Goat hunting to be my specialty. If you take a tour through the photo album you may note that my goat hunters have enjoyed fantastic success, several of which have killed goats qualifying for the Boone & Crockett record book. Goat hunts may range from relatively easy "day hunts" from a base camp in a high lake to multi-day backpacking treks setting up spike camps along the way. For the most part, a goat hunt requires that a hunter be in good physical condition and utilize the best equipment he or she can afford.
10 DAY Mountain Goat Hunt
If your billy is nearby, we may settle into base camp and glass or inflate my Zodiak to cruise the lake to glass for goats from other vantage points. A pair of Record Book Billies in early August On Day 2 of the hunt, we'll shoulder our packs and commence upon the climbing part of this expedition. Often times the goat is within a few hours hike from the lake. Even though it may be possible to climb the mountain, harvest the goat and make it back down to base camp in one day; I typically carry spike camp equipment (tent, stove, food, etc…) in the event we get "pinned down" or something happens to impend our stalk. This also gives us the luxury of taking our time to really enjoy the fantastic mountain scenery and pleasure of ridge running in alpine country.
If our goat is playing hide and seek or we're not able to get on him the that first day of hunting, we'll set up spike camp in the high country and spend the evening calculating our moves for the following day. Sometimes it's a waiting game, if the billy has decided to take up residence or bed down in an inaccessible piece of ground or has disappeared in a chasm that we're unable to view. If this is the case we'll take up vantage position and glass the neighboring ridges while waiting for him to move. It's fairly common to see goats on many of the surrounding mountains. Sometimes these goats are within our range, but often times they are better approached from a different lake. A 10 and 1/4 inch Billy in early October It's rare that we'd have to wait for more than a day, unless a severe weather front has moved in, obscuring the visibility.
In the event that our quarry has "left the country" or moved to a completely inaccessible location, there are generally alternative goats to stalk. If we're lucky, they are on the same mountain and it's merely a matter of going over the ridge to find them. In some cases it's necessary to return to base camp, regroup and climb another nearby mountain. There have been very few times that we've had to call a plane and relocate to new lake. This is an option though, and having several alternative plans allows me to keep a high success ratio. Primo Expeditions utilizes top quality equipment and ranks safety with the highest priority. Enjoyment ranks No. 2, if you count carrying heavy packs up steep mountains and weathering a hurricane force storm on a high ridge as enjoyable.
Of course there's the celebratory campfire feasting on fresh goat tenderloin. Harvesting the goat is ranks 3rd on the scale, but doesn't mean that we don't do everything possible to "get your goat". You may read more of the details in the hunting stories page to get a better feel for how these hunts play out. Check out the photo album, to see some of the goats we've taken.
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Bob Sydnor's Goat |
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Goldstine's November 2003 Goat
Story of this hunt coming soon. |
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Shane Jones Glassing for Goat |
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Mark with Billy over Punch Bowl Lake |
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Shane Jones and Assistant Guide Mark Chambers ESPN 2 Hunt |
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