2012 Solo Goat Hunt

Joined
Sep 15, 2012
Messages
24
Location
British Columbia
Here's a bunch of photos from my recent solo goat hunt in the Northern BC coastal mountains. I was blessed with epic weather this year, which made the eight day hunt a *tad* more comfortable than it was last year.

Here is a video of my 2011 hunt, which occured during the same time of year:

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/showthread.php?3669-2011-Northern-BC-solo-goat-hunt

There was hardly a cloud in the sky the whole time this year - a little different to say the least.

The plan was to take another goat with my bow, but just like last year, Murphy f*cked me over: despite transporting my bow in a hard case, at some point during the long drive North, the windage post on my Tommy Hogg was damaged, resulting in the sight box breaking off.

Hence I resorted to Plan B, which was to use my 300 winmag (kind of a bummer).

The other two rifles in the picture below are a Rossi Ranchand (shortest legal firearm we are allowed to pack around in Canada, which I keep handy for protection from g-bears) and a 338 Lapua Mag (which I considered using if the perfect situation presented itself for a very, very long shot...Ethics Police please spare me the ear-ache).

Grizzly bears proved to be a serious pain in the *ss, and after three days of attempting to get on the billy that I wanted, I had to give up as there was a sow and cub hanging around the lower benches on one face, and a juevenile a little higher on another face.

I moved to a different location where I eventually bagged the goat below, however the one that I had to pass on was definitely a candidate for the 10"+ club...

In the end, I couldn't have been happier with the stalk, and I closed to well within bow distance before anchoring the billy to the spot with three shots through the shoulders and one through the hips...overkill but I didn't want him going nowhere. The billy turned out to be seven years old and 9&5/8th's.

To go on about the bears, the worst incident was when I was skinning and dressing my goat and caught a glimpse of a grizz walking the bench below me, about 350 yards away.

Instead of caping for a full mount as intended, I changed gears and quickly caped for a half-mount (would have been nice to have the Elk Reaper along so that he could just stuff the whole goat into his pack and ski-daddle). Thinking I was crafty, I then hiked straight up towards the glacier, presuming that the bears have no interest in being up there.

I pretty much sh*t a grand piano when I ended up crossing very fresh grizzly tracks up near the top, which lead me to believe that the bear had circled up and around and was working his way down while I was getting out of the area. Even if that wasn't the case, it certainly gave me the pep-in-my-step that I needed to get moving.

In total, I saw five different g-bears during the trip, which was five too many...they scare me.

I had one moment of stupidity which cost me greatly, and I mention it because you can never be too careful in goat country, and being lazy/sloppy will almost always make you pay.

After shooting the goat, I was pumped and instead of taking the long and slow route, I chose the quicker route to get down to the billy. To make matters worse, I was too lazy to put on my crampons before crossing a steep patch of hard-packed snow.

Needless to say I lost my footing just before making it across and had a bad fall which ended up breaking my left ring finger at the first knuckle, as well as ruining my favorite hunting rifle (broke the scope mount, cracked the stock, and bent the barrel). I was extremely lucky at that, and will never be lazy/sloppy/careless again.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

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Joined
Apr 9, 2012
Messages
1,848
Location
Fishhook, Alaska
Solo goat = awesome. Goats are on my bucket list for sure. Just need to live closer to the coast! The wreck looks like a serious bummer.

Buts what's up with this?


I thought KUIU fabric was such total awesomeness that it made all others obsolete? Are you somehow suggesting with this picture that it is mortal after all?

:)

Yk
 

ScottR_EHJ

WKR
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Mar 8, 2012
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Wyoming
Thats not the first picture of destroyed Kuiu I have seen, but mine has held up well.

Great hunt it looks like, and great pictures!
 

Bighorse

WKR
Joined
Mar 15, 2012
Messages
539
Location
SE Alaska
Nice dude

I had a pair of Chugach pants do just that on my Solo goat hunt this year. Slides are the end of many an abitious goat hunter. Also decending into unknown country.

Sorry about your gear loss. That sucks!

I was impressed by the amount of brush photos you took. I can hear myself yelling at you....hurry up the goats are waiting and the weather is good!

Nice dude!
 
Joined
Apr 9, 2012
Messages
1,848
Location
Fishhook, Alaska
So are you going to rebuild the rifle or is it a wall hanger now? I assume that the action is still good and parts must be available somewhere, right?

Assuming those brush pictures are as steep as they look, I'd call that Class V brush busting for sure.

Yk
 

shanevg

WKR
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
Messages
456
Location
Lynden, WA
Dude - that looks like pure bliss! I couldn't be more jealous of BC resident's and their OTC goat hunting than I am right now!

Great job doing a photo journal of the hunt and thank you so much for sharing with it with us! Congrats on the absolutely beautiful goat. You might need to start taking someone with you just so you can have a g bear watchout while you cape for your full body mount.

Glad you're OK after a fall like that. Whenever I am out in the backcountry solo, I try to keep in the front of my mind the need to be conservative. If something goes wrong and you're by yourself there is no one there to help you. Glad it turned out OK for you and I'm sure you won't hesitate to put on your crampons again in the future! Sorry about the ruined gear but it's meant to be used right?

Thanks again for sharing - looks like an awesome, awesome hunt!
 

Becca

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Feb 26, 2012
Messages
2,043
Location
Wasilla, Alaska
Great photos and awesome goat rubberfist!! Thanks again for the reminder about taking extra care in goat country, particularly solo. Crampons are a must in a lot of places, but they only work if you wear them! So glad that you came home in one piece, even if some of your gear wasn't as lucky!
 

Ross

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Feb 24, 2012
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Liberty Lake, WA
Rubberfist, that is a hunt to remember and a beautiful goat on top of it!!!!!!!! Way to make it happen.........
 
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
Messages
865
Location
Wa
Awesome goat!
Looked like a great trip EXCEPT for destroying a Blaser.................thats gotta hurt the pocketbook!
 
OP
rubberfist
Joined
Sep 15, 2012
Messages
24
Location
British Columbia
Thanks for the comments.

I tend to glissade when the terrain permits it, especially if coming out heavy. Thusfar nothing has survived more than one season, and the Chugach have done quite well as this is their second season...albeit with the aid of duct tape. Apparently Kuiu/Jason is developing a really tough pant, which could be interesting.

Regarding the rifle, it is a modular gun so I managed to salvage the bolt and trigger assembly. The barrel could be worked on, however there would be no guarantee on the accuracy. The stock could be pinned and repaired as well. However a friend suggested incorporating the barrel and stock into the mount and that seems pretty cool to me.

The cost of replacing the stock and barrel are a kick in the pants, but I was lazy and deserved it.
 
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