Goat Hunter falls

[45ACPKING]

There have been many people die over the years hunting goats. It is usually very steep and treacherous terrain to navigate. And all it takes is one wrong step...at any time, or place. This shouldn't deter people, as there have been many more successful and uneventful hunts too, by those well prepared.
One must always be careful wherever they are and be prepared for the "What if"; both physically and mentally.
Wear good boots, and maintain 3 point contact in steep terrain. If you cannot, perhaps, don't go there...there will be other opportunities.

I have taken 3 goats, and they came at 15 yards, 110 yards, and 30 yards over many hunts. Guess I have been lucky...but I have also been within 40 yards of goats on many more occasions, so it can be done. I have learned about it over a few hunts before becoming successful.

Pick your spot, and timing. Most hunters that get into trouble are not patient enough when hunting goats, and rush in when they shouldn't as the goat is in the wrong place for a good approach, shot and recovery. This gets them into trouble.

Duncan Gilchrist's book Hunt High is good reference material.

you can be the most skilled goat hunter on the planet and still slip and fall to your death.
Heck if I fell the 18 feet out of my treestand in one of my deer spots I would likely not survive the landing or the very least need immediate medical assistance. One good thing about the digital age is offgrid communication devices. 20 years ago the guy this thread is about would have probably died on the mountain before his partner could have even alerted anyone.
A good friend of mine who became a fairly well known taxidermist has been an avid goat hunter for as long as I've know him. I can recall some stories he's told me of close calls on some of those hunts.
No different the free climbing mountain faces or jumping out of perfectly good airplanes...... some pursuits have that element of inherent danger to them and goat hunting would certainly be on that list. I remember some sketchy times on steep terrain hunting sheep above the thompson river but not sure i would compare that to goat country hehe

 

[boxhitch]

We climbed uphill for a few hundred feet until we decided the hit might not have been fatal and we were not dying trying to find it.

happens more often than is known publicly , trackers have their limits all of a sudden
catch and release
like fish, with mortality too

 

[hoytcanon]

Absolutely.
I went along on my brother's first goat hunt. ( i had never hunted them either). We spotted some goats and got into position. At his shot, the goats ran over the curve and out of sight. We followed and found some blood, so we started tracking. There was about 12 inches of snow.
A little blood but easy to follow tracks. We climbed uphill for a few hundred feet until we decided the hit might not have been fatal and we were not dying trying to find it. With a foot of snow and very steep terrain at this point, it was very treacherous climbing.

Not a fan... don't think goat hunting is for you, and perhaps hunting in general.

 

[DFarmer]

Not a fan... don't think goat hunting is for you, and perhaps hunting in general.

We were not pleased that we didn't catch up to the goat, but climbing a very steep slope with a foot of snow on top of rocks with little to no brush for handholds was not safe. We never did see the goat after it first got out of sight and it kept going up. Uphill is not something badly injured animals generally do. IMHO anyway. My bother did harvest a goat on that same hill a year or two later . I was also along for a friend's successful goat hunt a couple years after that. I shot my own a couple years later.

 

[hoytcanon]

We were not pleased that we didn't catch up to the goat, but climbing a very steep slope with a foot of snow on top of rocks with little to no brush for handholds was not safe. We never did see the goat after it first got out of sight and it kept going up. Uphill is not something badly injured animals generally do. IMHO anyway. My bother did harvest a goat on that same hill a year or two later . I was also along for a friend's successful goat hunt a couple years after that. I shot my own a couple years later.

It is just that, IMO, if you make a decision to be on that mountain, and make the decision to take the shot, then you have a responsibility to follow up on the animal... from your description, it seems like you bailed early without due effort... younhad blood and tracks... granted, I wasn't there, so I can only judge by the way you presented it... I have gone to crazy extremes and effort to recover wounded game for myself, friends and clients... I feel that is our responsibility as sportsmen.

 

[Joel]

Happy they made it out. Demanding and difficult hunt, hats off to them and everyone else chasing goats in similar situations

DFarmer, hey if it was a first time effort and you found that it was legitimately possible you were gonna be severely hurt or die pursuing the animal...that sucks man but you made the call you had to. I am sure you did not make that decision lightly....no matter who flexes on you.

 

[Evanguy]

That's good to know. I'll be getting a new phone in a few months, and this sort of tech is the #1 thing I'm looking for in a new phone. Knowing this tech is out there is the only reason I haven't bought a zoleo or inreach.

I know you can call 911 with a cell phone with no sim card or service. my daughter (12 at the time) was playing with an old phone she would listen to music on it and she called 911, they answered and she said she made a mistake and didn't need help and they asked to talk to an adult.

 

[Ungrateful]

I know you can call 911 with a cell phone with no sim card or service. my daughter (12 at the time) was playing with an old phone she would listen to music on it and she called 911, they answered and she said she made a mistake and didn't need help and they asked to talk to an adult.

It still needs signal from a nearby tower unless it’s one of the new phones that has satellite capability. A lot of people online have said that isn’t very reliable either.

I went with the SPOT messenger a while ago because it works stand alone (still use it if your phone is broken) and it has it’s own number so people can save it as a contact and text you directly. Nice to have on the boat. I use it for non-emergencies all the time. I got looking at backups after I was left with no communication at all during the big Roger’s outage of 2022.

 

[Evanguy]

It still needs signal from a nearby tower unless it’s one of the new phones that has satellite capability. A lot of people online have said that isn’t very reliable either.

I went with the SPOT messenger a while ago because it works stand alone (still use it if your phone is broken) and it has it’s own number so people can save it as a contact and text you directly. Nice to have on the boat. I use it for non-emergencies all the time. I got looking at backups after I was left with no communication at all during the big Roger’s outage of 2022.

Oh, interesting. You very well may be correct. We don't have much service here but just enough to send texts so that may have been happening.

I have an in reach mini 2 for my adventures

 

[FannyBayR1]

The new Cormorant (the 615) we are getting next year has active cell phone tracking outside of any network and all you have to do is turn your phone on and we can find you immediately!!