I took this photo of a mountain goat that I passed on in typical goat country.
The other morning, I was awakened from what I consider a nightmare. I was dreaming that I was mountain goat hunting and was climbing up a chute to get above the cliffs and rocks were falling all around me. I felt like I was going to die any moment. To protect my head, I had the top of my pack pressed hard against the rocks of the chute that I was climbing in. In real life this has happened to me more than once while hunting both sheep and goat. I have had D rings knocked off of my pack frame from fast moving rocks. I still have a small rock fragment imbedded in the handgrip of my little Bear Kodiak Magnum recurve bow that was knocked out of my hand by a wild spinning rock in one of those rock slides. In the areas where I have hunted, this has happened to me more times while hunting goats. That brings up a good question, which is the most dangerous hunting sheep or mountain goats? In my personal experience mountain goat hunting wins hands down!
More typical goat country. There are two goats in the lower grass. Getting to them wouldn’t be too hard but where they are located they are more than likely going to roll over the cliffs below.
During some of my talks that I have given or discussions with other mountain hunters, I have always said, “If someone gave me a TOPO map of an area that had goats in it, I could show them where they would be, even if I hadn’t been in that area.” All you have to do is look where the contour lines are the closest and they will be somewhere in that area. That of course is where the cliffs and craigs are or the most rugged areas on that mountain. Goats seem to love that type of terrain. Sheep use it for a getaway or protection whereas goats simply live there. That’s what makes it so dangerous hunting them especially recovering them after a fall and, goats always seem to fall in the bad areas. Recovery sometimes seems impossible and I have heard many stories where hunters didn’t recover them. I have been in on 40+ goat kills and have recovered every one of them even though there were times I wished I hadn’t.
The country that I hunted in the Kenai Mountains. Once you got on top of the ridge all the goats were below you. All you had to do was keep them from rolling into one of the chutes.
I’m on the ridge from the above photo (the blue circle). I passed on this “Billy” because of his size and location. He would more than likely roll because it gets steeper below him.
My largest goat a 9 1/8” “Billy” scoring 46 0/8 P&Y points. When I entered it in the Pope and Young Record Book it was in 12th place.
I spent most of my resident goat hunting time in the Kenai mountains. I hunted them in three different locations and all of those areas were in the most rugged parts of the mountains. While hunting sheep in the Kenai, Chugach or the Wrangell mountains, if I spotted a goat, it was always near or on a cliff.
My first goat with a bow, an 8 1/2” “Billy.” I shot it with my Bear Kodiak Magnum recurve bow. He is wedged between the old snow slide and the rocks. Notice my wooden arrows that I used in the late 60’s. You can read about this hunt in the post, “Bow Hunting Mountain Goats.”
My friend, Dick Cleveland, recovering his “Billy” that took a bad fall down one of the numerous chutes.
Looking back up one of the chutes where my friend’s goat had fallen down.
When I started guiding in AAA Alaskan Outfitters’ Wrangell Mountain area, the goats were only in a couple areas and those had the most rugged terrain of our area. Even worse than the areas I hunted in the Kenai mountains. About twelve years after we started guiding goat hunters in our area, we stopped doing those hunts because it was just too dangerous for both the guides and the hunters, especially recovering the goat after it fell. We also had to pass on many goats because more than likely we couldn’t recover them and I felt that was unfair to the hunter who had paid big bucks for a goat. He would see goats but couldn’t harvest them.
Phil Alward, our first mountain goat hunter in our Wrangell Mountain area. His 9 6/8” “Billy” fell down a 600 foot cliff and broke 3” off one of the horns and still scored 49 B&C points.
Remember, what makes it so dangerous is it's always about the type of terrain, rugged and steep with cliffs and craigs. During the times I spent hunting brown bear and deer on Kodiak I spotted goats in some pretty easy country relatively speaking! I have also seen quite a few YouTube videos of goats being taken on Kodiak and some in the coastal areas of the lower Kenai Mountains in what I would call easy terrain. My grandson Nathan took his goat on the Kenai in an area right below the cliffs. It really wasn’t that dangerous. Nothing like the areas that I have hunted in the past. If that has been your experience you more than likely would say sheep hunting is more dangerous.
Bryan Cooper, age 16 at the time, when his dad asked me to take him goat hunting. We are climbing one of the chutes that I used to access the goats on this mountain. Bryan harvested a beautiful 9 1/4” “Billy,” his first big game animal.
Caleb Martin, Executive Director for the Alaska Outdoor Council, one of his many titles, posted on Facebook a blow-by-blow report this past fall of how difficult it can be goat hunting in the cliffs of the Chugach Mountains. He did a great job on a super tough hunt! If you can find it you will really appreciate his experience. It remined me of many of my back-in-the day goat hunts.
A truly rugged area but a good one to hunt goats. Trail Glacier is in the background.
I will always believe goat hunts are more dangerous and I don’t miss climbing around those cliffs, but each year the family always puts in for goat permits. Nathan is the only one of my grandkids that has taken a goat so far. You can read his story on the blog, “A Goat for Nathan!” Goat hunting is quite an experience. I hope more of my grandchildren get to try it and that God blesses me with the ability to be right by their side. However, the older I get the harder it gets. I have posted two different stories about how hard it is for us old guys. “Getting Too Old for Backpacks,” and The Old Gray Mule Ain’t What He Used To Be!”
If you are lucky enough to get to do some mountain goat hunting remember, be careful out there.