What’s the hardest hunt?

[alexanderg23]

I haven’t had it yet, but I’m looking forward to it.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Mountain goat hunting is the blue balls of the hunting world. All that effort and you get two little pointed horns smaller than your pecker. If I had to sum up mountain goat hunting with one word it would be “meh”.

Hard is sitting in one spot for 10 days hunting moose. Blow your brains out hard because of boredom. Rest the hunts in AK get easier after that...

Wow, really! It’s all about the size of the horn for you eh? How many goat hunts you been on Nug? You’re going to compare goat hunting to moose hunting and come up with moose hunting being harder/more difficult? You must be going on some of those winter Kodiak beach hunts, and shooting them from the boat. If that’s the case, then yeah, I guess moose hunting is a tad bit more difficult.


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[NUGGET]

Wow, really! It’s all about the size of the horn for you eh? How many goat hunts you been on Nug? You’re going to compare goat hunting to moose hunting and come up with moose hunting being harder/more difficult? You must be going on some of those winter Kodiak beach hunts, and shooting them from the boat. If that’s the case, then yeah, I guess moose hunting is a tad bit more difficult.


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Calm down. It’s only my opinion. And we all already know your thoughts on the winter goat hunt. Geez.

But yes it is all about the size of the animal. Don’t kid yourself. If I’m going to be gone for a week plus I want something bigger than my pecker to look at. And to add further insult you gotta eat the mountain goat.

Their horns are small, they are rarely spooky, they taste the worst on average of any animal in Alaska. Add that all up and you got a hunt full of MEH. Id rather let mountain goats live than shoot them. They are so docile it’s like killing your pet goat. Only difference is it’s up on a mountain.

I respect mountain goats so much that I refuse to hunt them anymore. #conservation

 

[ericthered]

I'd say Sasquatch. He's been hunted by thousands for hundreds of years - only barely seen and never collected. For sure my dream hunt. A close second would be hunting down the wife at the local mall on Black Friday. Damn near impossible to find her. And, the long she goes the worse it ends up for me $$.

 

[MTGunner]

Long time since my last post. Spotted this post and thought I would chime in. All mountain hunts can be difficult and arduous. Conditioning, gear weight, attitude go along way in the mix. Have hunted mountain goat at age 64 in 2011. Tough hunt, worth every minute of pain. I believe all mountain hunts can be difficult if the person has not prepared.
Having said this, planning a bighorn sheep hunt in Sept. Yep, older now and body less forgiving. But, I seek and crave adventure. Is it worth the pain. Emphatically YES! Gotta go for it. This ain’t no dress rehearsal. MTG

 

[Tanner]

Tonsina walk in area in the Chugach would be my pick. The Tonsina has similar success rates as the MT Unlimiteds, but the weather sucks more often than not with alders for days.

Oh heck...

 

[Onstep]

I’ve hunted mountain goats in the Eagle Cap Wilderness in OR and it was no joke at 28 years old. Probably, the most dangerous and risky endeavor terrain wise via backpack.
For the toughest though backpack sheep hunting the Frank took the cake simply due to the combination of distance, vertical gains/loss, and footing. Chewed my ass up everyday!

 

[psinclair]

Montana's unlimited big horn....hands down

 

[wildwilderness]

Hunting for a Needle in a Haystack might be easier than the MT unlimited since you know it’s there! No guarantee there is even a legal sheep in the hunt area on the MT unlimiteds.

 

[USMC-40]

Done the MT UL hunt a few times, no doubt its ridiculous. Ive been in the Frank Church (Unit 27) in Idaho, and I think that area is harder, especially due to no water up high (none that we could find, at least). However, game is definitely more plentiful in Idaho than in the 'tooths.

 

[Appalaskan]

Thank God I see a few guys mention Dall Sheep hunting the Chugach! That was my toughest hunt by far. Got a nice sheep, but it kicked my a__.

Did you fly in and hike somewhere or how did you access the Chugach?

 

[Bear_Hunter]

I've had harder caribou hunts than goat hunts. But also very "easy" caribou hunts. And easy and brutal sheep hunts. You really want a tough hunt? Shoot a big bull moose 10 miles back in the swamps by yourself, I don't care what shape you're in...that will suck. There's no species or hunt that's necessarily harder to do than another. Remember, the easy part is pulling the trigger, the real work begins after.

 

[farmer14]

While the Florida Mountains in SW NM are close to a populated town and there is cell service, ibex hunting on the rock is the most physical hunt I’ve ever been on. I work in some of the most rugged terrain the US has to offer (current hotshot, former smokejumper) and I cringe when I think about going back to the Florida’s....snakes everywhere, EVERYTHING wants to poke, impale, prick or sting you and I for one was constantly falling. Oh and did I mention snakes?!

 

[jmgraham1986]

Question for you Chugach guys: I was under the impression that the Wrengalls were even worse than the Chugach. Fact or Fiction?

 

[Homer]

Question for you Chugach guys: I was under the impression that the Wrengalls were even worse than the Chugach. Fact or Fiction?

I would say both areas can be rough in places but the Chugach generally gets the nod for having rougher terrain and the potential for rainier weather. With that being said the southern Wrangells are no joke. One of the reasons for the claim that the Chugach is a more difficult hunt is that the only over the counter unit in the range has a very low sheep density.

 

[Northpark]

Never have drawn a sheep or goat tag. Only “sheep” I’ve ever shot was a west Texas Aoudad. And while I worked for that ram and had a few oh $?!& moments involving cliffs I wouldn’t say it was particularly hard compared to some of my public land elk hunts. I would say it was one of the funnest hunt I’ve done. With work I’ve had the joy of working in a lot of crappy (beautiful but crappy) places on fire assignments and just day to day stuff and I’ve been around plenty of sheep and goats. I would vote your average goat hunt is physically harder and more dangerous than sheep. But results vary on any individual day.

 

[AK Troutbum]

To date, my hardest hunt was a goat hunt on Kodiak last week. I've hunted goats on Kodiak many times, but never this late in the season, so the conditions (snow, temps in the teens, trying to keep water in the liquid state, etc.), was one factor that made this hunt a little more difficult. The other factor was going with my 17 year old son who has some rock climbing experience, and allowing him to coerce me into getting into areas that were not only extremely difficult to access, but were also beyond my skill level. In the end, everything turned out fine, but I swore that I'll never allow that to happen again. I've never been on what I could consider an easy goat hunt, but until now, I had also never been on a goat hunt where I felt my life was put into jeopardy.

 

[Appalaskan]

To date, my hardest hunt was a goat hunt on Kodiak last week. I've hunted goats on Kodiak many times, but never this late in the season, so the conditions (snow, temps in the teens, trying to keep water in the liquid state, etc.), was one factor that made this hunt a little more difficult. The other factor was going with my 17 year old son who has some rock climbing experience, and allowing him to coerce me into getting into areas that were not only extremely difficult to access, but were also beyond my skill level. In the end, everything turned out fine, but I swore that I'll never allow that to happen again. I've never been on what I could consider an easy goat hunt, but until now, I had also never been on a goat hunt where I felt my life was put into jeopardy.

Hoping to get on my first goat hunt in the next year. In the conditions you’re describing here, what boots and rain gear do you think are most appropriate? Thanks.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Hoping to get on my first goat hunt in the next year. In the conditions you’re describing here, what boots and rain gear do you think are most appropriate? Thanks.

We both used Kuiu Chugach NX rain gear and Scarpa Mont Blanc GTX boots. I have 4 sets of Kuiu rain gear, but use the Chugach line for about 90% of my hunting, and I've been using the Mont Blanc's for 10 years now, with the only exception being 2018 and '19, I used La Sportiva Nepal EVO GTX's. Both the Scarpa and La Sportiva's are very similar, and they both have worked very well for me, but of course, the boots that work for me, may not work for you.

 

[Appalaskan]

We both used Kuiu Chugach NX rain gear and Scarpa Mont Blanc GTX boots. I have 4 sets of Kuiu rain gear, but use the Chugach line for about 90% of my hunting, and I've been using the Mont Blanc's for 10 years now, with the only exception being 2018 and '19, I used La Sportiva Nepal EVO GTX's. Both the Scarpa and La Sportiva's are very similar, and they both have worked very well for me, but of course, the boots that work for me, may not work for you.

Thanks. I recently picked up the Kuiu Katana shell. Looking forward to trying it. I have an older pair of Montbell rain pants that have never failed me. Did you need crampons on your Kodiak hunt? I do some land management work and have used Grivel Rans for that. Not a crampon, but certainly extra traction working on steep, muddy slopes. https://grivel.com/products/ran