Hunting and eating Goat - questions.

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triplepete

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So I won LEH for Moose and Goat. Had moose meat and I love it. Goat, never tried it and I don't know many hunters that frequent goat hunting. I started hunting late last year and lost my virginity to a small white tail doe... thats all the time I had for hunting last year.

What's your suggestions for hunting and eating Goat? Recommended caliber? My LEH is from Sep 10 - Nov 30 for region 4-23. What is the best time to go? If I am successful, what is the best way to eat goat?... is it worth eating? Any internal parts worth keeping and eating? I am not into trophy hunting so I am really interested in post hunt preparation of the meat. Please share your experience and expertise.

Thanks in advance!
 
Cook it long and slow and then be prepared to exercise your jaws lots! Goat hunting is awesome, we leave in four weeks, but it's definitely not what I'd consider a meat hunt.
 
A buddy gave me some fresh goat burger once.

Had one hand on the frying pan and one hand on the door ready to turf it when it started to smell.;)

Tasted surprisingly delicious!
 
Mountain goat is cheewy as an old boot. They can taste good but I find they need to be marinated and cooked slow.

Enjoy the hunt and be prepared to see some steep rugged country.
 
Goat can be tough, but it tastes a lot better than deer as far as I'm concerned. Not that that takes much. I'm cooking mine off as stew, where it seems to taste like anything else and melts in your mouth. There's bound to be other moist cooking techniques that work just as well.

There's not much on a goat, which is a good thing on the way down, not as good once you're home. A few guys could take a pretty good stab at eating one in camp.
 
At a project above the arctic circle there were hundreds of game trails on the river bank across from our camp but we saw no snow goats.

The Russians had worked there for almost a decade so I asked my drill foreman how the goats were. He just smiled and said "Delicious.".
 
One experience at a game dinner and it was done in a curry dish with vegies and sauce. Slow cooked in 1/2" steak thickness until it fell apart.
Good enough that I went back for seconds.
 
geologist said:
At a project above the arctic circle there were hundreds of game trails on the river bank across from our camp but we saw no snow goats.

The Russians had worked there for almost a decade so I asked my drill foreman how the goats were. He just smiled and said "Delicious.".
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Where were you that there were goats above the arctic circle?
 
Mtn goat oven roasted using the normally unused roasting tray is delish medium rare. Remember..any game over cooked is like cooking rock soup and throwing away the water;). Like sheep the meat has fat in it so it tallows up when cool. So eat hot and enjoy. I horded every piece in my experiences. Remember to hang a bit longer as you will likely be packing out deboned. I think it takes longer because the meat does not stretch and pull on the fibers as it hangs. (hanging meat 14 days or more is simply allowing it to rot a bit within reason:evil:)

Any big game rifle will do as long as you have practiced at the ranges you limit yourself to. My personal fave is the 270 win and 130gr combo. Have shot goats with 300 mag, 06 and even a 243 win. So pick your calibre of choice and keep the rifle/pack weight down because you will be climbing the mountains in that quest. Oh yes....forgot to mention, the anatomy of the goat offers a compact boiler room. Keep the shots tight to the crease in the forleg. And for goodness sakes look online for identifying billies. Shooting nanies is a serious problem and can dramatically impact goat numbers. So learn to ID goats. Good sources online from Montana and Utah. Sadly our game branch offers little help in goat ID.

Me jealous a bit......well....rather very:cheers:
Elky
 
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geologist said:
Chukotka Oblast - Russian Far East.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kupol_Gold_Mine

The mine was just south of 67 degrees N so I was surprised that the Russians said that there were goats. Maybe it was a translation thing but I doubt that the caribou could have made those game trails on so steep of a river valley.
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I suspect something was lost in the translation. It's amazing where caribou will go.
 
elkhuntr said:
Mtn goat oven roasted using the normally unused roasting tray is delish medium rare. Remember..any game over cooked is like cooking rock soup and throwing away the water;). Like sheep the meat has fat in it so it tallows up when cool. So eat hot and enjoy. I horded every piece in my experiences. Remember to hang a bit longer as you will likely be packing out deboned. I think it takes longer because the meat does not stretch and pull on the fibers as it hangs. (hanging meat 14 days or more is simply allowing it to rot a bit within reason:evil:)

Any big game rifle will do as long as you have practiced at the ranges you limit yourself to. My personal fave is the 270 win and 130gr combo. Have shot goats with 300 mag, 06 and even a 243 win. So pick your calibre of choice and keep the rifle/pack weight down because you will be climbing the mountains in that quest. Oh yes....forgot to mention, the anatomy of the goat offers a compact boiler room. Keep the shots tight to the crease in the forleg. And for goodness sakes look online for identifying billies. Shooting nanies is a serious problem and can dramatically impact goat numbers. So learn to ID goats. Good sources online from Montana and Utah. Sadly our game branch offers little help in goat ID.

Me jealous a bit......well....rather very:cheers:
Elky
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Great advice, good points! I have a 30.06 currently dialed in with 165 gr Partitions I believe. Father in law has and older Rem 700 300 Win Mag with 180 Partitions. My X-bolt is quite a bit lighter to carry. Guess I better find some good meat bags to carry it down if we are lucky. How much do Billies weigh typically? I will study up on the identification for sure!
 
A good Billy will fill your pack and the stuff you bring up will go with your buddy. Yes...be sure to bring a buddy if not for only that reason. Try to even the load like Cape and gear with one and meat with the other. A mature billy can be 150lbs on the hoof so one pack will be 60 or so pounds deboned without entrails (somethin up there has to eat too.) So you will be packing heavy going down. I would advise to go with which ever rifle is lighter, the two you have are good options. A spotting scope is a must. Take your time with the ID because they aren't going anywere. Remember you are the intruder. Elky...
 
Depends on the region but a big mature billy can approach 200 pounds so ya, 60 pounds of meat is reasonable. Add to that a full body cape and head and you are packing close to 90 pounds off the mountain.
 
I have hunted that 4-23 area quite a bit in the past, mostly for Elk, but also for Sheep.

I saw goats on numerous occasions in the mountains East/Northeast of Sparwood.
They were in pretty rugged terrain, and shooting one would have definitely meant "work", lol.

I have eaten goat a number of times, and always enjoyed it, but as mentioned, it can be chewy.

Enjoy your hunt! That is beautiful country.

Regards, Eagleye.
 
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