Going Goat Crazy; A DIY Mountain Goat Hunt

After planning a 2017 Montana elk hunt, I drew the tag of a lifetime. A mountain goat tag in unit 313, Montana's Crazy Mountains. With less than a 1% chance of drawing the tag as a non-resident, I decided to apply for a less sought after nanny tag. In my second year of applying for a nanny tag, I drew, with 12 points. My elk hunting plans went on the back burner, as filling the goat tag became the priority.

After a summer of preparation, I arrived in Montana for a family vacation two weeks before the hunt, only to see a large plume of smoke rising from my unit. While visiting friends at the Musselshell Ranger District, I obtained information that the fire was consuming a large portion of BlackTail Creek, and causing a closure to the only area I was able to scout leading up to my hunt.

My hunting plan was to pack into the high country on September 20th, setup a small camp around 9,000 feet, and find my goat. But Mother Nature had another plan. Over the next two weeks, an over active fire season gave way to a series of early winter storms. I continually checked localized weather stations for snow depths and temps in my unit. Upon the conclusion of my family vacation, I began chasing elk while waiting for snow to melt in the higher elevations.

Having first hand knowledge of fall in Montana, I knew it was only a matter of time until I would get weathered out of the high country in the Crazy's. On September 23rd I made my first trip into unit 313. However the early winter weather kept our camps around 6,000 feet, forcing a long climb into goat country every day.

The most difficult challenge of the hunt was identifying a nanny. While I could have taken a goat most day in the field, being certain a goat was a nanny proved to be extremely difficult. Even after watching one goat urinate, we still couldn't be certain of it's sex, and no kids were seen in the first five days of hunting. Our optics, which were very high quality, simply weren't powerful enough from only 400-500 yards away.

I have to credit my family and friends with providing me with the support to help me fulfill the dream that this tag provided. Despite having the drive to pursue an animal on a once in a lifetime hunt, the days afield without success, combating the weather, the terrain, and the mental obstacles, takes its toll. I began to dread the weekly call to my brother, telling him I wouldn't be at work for yet another week, as I had not yet filled my tag.

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