2012 Wyoming Speed Goat

[eleaf]

This was my second hunt with the very excellent G-Man Outdoor Adventures, hunting in Northeastern Wyoming, both in the Black Hills and the open plains, for pronghorn. But this trip was different than last year. Being that I put my buck on the ground before 10am on the first day of a 3 day hunt, this year turned in to the perfect trifecta hunt of happy fun time.

Two days before my hunt started, my guide (also the outfitter), John Geiman, took a client out to his secret hidey hole: a new lease he procured this season on a multi-thousand acre ranch south of Newcastle, WY. There they saw a nice buck for this region, but, for one reason or another, the hunter simply wouldn't take a shot. They watched that goat for nearly three hours where he wouldn't get any closer than 300 yards, and the hunter wouldn't pull the trigger at that distance (despite having a 300 Win Mag). His timidness turned in to my gain. I won't claim to be an expert shot (though I am more than competent), but if I get a shot at a nice goat standing 300 yards away, I WILL pull the trigger (whether I hit him or not is a completely different story - more on that later).

When we arrived at the ranch gate, John gave me the word: "time to get serious." I loaded my rifle and got ready to rock. After another 10 or so minutes of driving on the ranch road to the far corner of the property, I threw up my trusty Vortex 8x binoculars to start what I thought would be a long day of glassing the open plains for a good looking goat. That long day was all of 10 seconds. As if he were let loose in a staged act, a shooter ran across the ranch road about 350 yards in front of us. I wasn't even out of the truck, and we had our goat picked out; it was the same one our hunter wouldn't shoot at just 2 days prior. And knowing that John had seen every goat on this ranch multiple times (as well as dozens of other goats elsewhere on his leases), I trusted him when he said this was the one. Never for a second did I think we should keep looking. My only goal this year was to improve on Jackson, last year's goat, and this one was MUCH bigger.

He was headed in to a draw and as soon as he was out of sight below the ridge, we were out of the truck and running. He continued on in the draw and we headed straight for the ridge overlooking it. As we were running, John said in hushed tones, "he should be about 250 or 300 yards off when we reach the ridge top." He was right on as the range finder read 300 on the nose. I settled in a bit in a kneeling position with my Rem 700 LSS Mountain Rifle in 7mm-08 with a Bell and Carlson Alaskan stock and my trusty Hunter's Specialty Quik-Shot shooting sticks, but it just wasn't right. I was a bit wobbly and winded, and kneeling just isn't a comfortable shooting position for me. I just don't feel all that stable. But our goat was sitting pretty 300 yards off, chewing on some grass and though he knew we were there, he didn't seem concerned. So I breathed for a few seconds, placed the reticle of my Trijicon Accupoint 3-9x with Amber Triangle reticle just behind his shoulder and pulled the trigger. But I missed. Despite knowing that my reticle placement was about perfect, I shanked it a bit. It missed him by a hair. Call it buck fever, or fat guy who needs to be in better shape, or rushing the trigger, or whatever you want, I plain missed. I shouldn't have missed, but being the first shot of the season, I won't be too hard on myself.

But rather than bolting off in a cloud of dust only to be seen again 3 ridges and 2 miles away by the time he stopped, he started trotting. Right towards us. "300; 287;265;240;215;195;181;165" called out John as he watched our goat through the range finder. He stopped at 165, clearly knowing we were there, he was looking right at us, and I didn't want that shot. I didn't want to risk hitting him in the head, so I decided to hold off and see what he'd do. He started trotting again, from our left to right, then turned around and sat pretty for me. "265" said John. "BLAM!" rang out the shot. But, having been affected by the recoil some, all I saw was the dirt splash behind the goat which was followed very quickly by a "f@#k, I missed him again" which was itself followed very quickly by John with a very confident "nooope, nope." Then I saw him start to wobble.

He walked 10 yards further and piled up. By the time we walked the short distance between us and him, he was dead. Quick and clean. A lung shot. We filled out my tag and moved him a few yards so we could get some good pictures. This hunt was less than 8 minutes from the time we spotted him until the time he was on the ground. I generally like to work a bit during my hunts (last season I walked nearly 25 miles over 4 days, oftentimes in very inclement weather, to finally get my goat). This year my (new but broken in) boots didn't even have the chance to get scuffed or dirty. They even still smelled new. But I wasn't about to pass up the best goat around just to say I worked some, so it's all good.

[FinsnFur]

10-4 on the new boots
Never hunted Antelope myself but you did make it sound like something I need to do.
Congrats on a nice harvest. Whats your plans for it, eat it?...mount it?...both? I've heard people say they arent fit to eat...but there's people here that eat groundhogs

[Okanagan]

Niiiice antelope and good story!  Thanks.

[eleaf]

10-4 on the new boots
Never hunted Antelope myself but you did make it sound like something I need to do.
Congrats on a nice harvest. Whats your plans for it, eat it?...mount it?...both? I've heard people say they arent fit to eat...but there's people here that eat groundhogs

I took home the "good" parts, am having him mounted to sit on the wall next to Jackson, and donated the rest of the meat to charity.

Antelope meat is okay. It's good enough to eat, but it's not great. The taste is fine, but the aftertaste is pretty gamey; it's like putting a mouthful of pennies in your mouth with a metallic taste. At least last year's goat was like that.  But I got this one in a place that has MUCH less sage and much more grass. Perhaps that will make a difference.

[eleaf]

10-4 on the new boots
Never hunted Antelope myself but you did make it sound like something I need to do.
Congrats on a nice harvest. Whats your plans for it, eat it?...mount it?...both? I've heard people say they arent fit to eat...but there's people here that eat groundhogs

Goat hunting is a blast. It's a true spot and stalk hunt. Most of the time they travel in groups (indeed this one was headed back to his harem after chasing off a rival male (this goat is all scarred up on his neck from fighting off lesser males), and they have evolved to be able to spot danger from 2000 or more yards away. And some groups during October can be 25 or more strong; that's 50 MASSIVE eyes looking for a reason to bolt. They're fast (they don't call 'em speed goats for nothing), and they can run forever. If you spook them, you're liable to not see them again until they stop 2 miles away, and, with average luck, just on the wrong side of the fence.

Belly crawls and long, round-about hikes to get in shooting position are the norm for a goat hunt. And, as you can see from this picture, the landscape is vast, and wide open. There are few things to provide cover, and planning your approach is a must. They can wind you in a second, and spook pretty easily. As I said, last year I walked about 25 miles over 4 days of hunting in order to finally get my shot. A couple of stalks were blown just seconds before a shot could be taken, after hours of work to get in position. It's very different than your average deer hunt where waiting in a blind or stand is normal. It's active, and the action can be quick.

You definitely owe it to yourself to go goat hunting.

[Hawks Feather]

That is one nice looking Pronghorn.  If I could be guaranteed a hunt like this (without the running) I would be signed up and ready to go today.  But I think this is the exception so I will just enjoy reading about your hunt. 

Jerry

[coyote101]

Congratulations,  that is a fine looking pronghorn. 

Pat

[Dave]

Nice write up, eleaf.  Don't know much about goats, but that one sure looks big. 
Also, that's a great looking pic with the sky and terrain. Congrats

[eleaf]

Nice write up, eleaf.  Don't know much about goats, but that one sure looks big. 
Also, that's a great looking pic with the sky and terrain. Congrats

He's pretty big for the region. His horns measure 14.5". The meat processor, who sees hundreds a year, says that you generally don't find many in the region that are bigger than 15", and he's only seen a handful from there that are bigger than 16". The world record is 17.5", taken from Arizona. In fact, 4 of the 5 largest ever taken were from the same county in northern AZ (genetics).

It was a beautiful day. All we did was drag him a few yards to that outcropping, and adjust for the sun.

[eleaf]

That is one nice looking Pronghorn.  If I could be guaranteed a hunt like this (without the running) I would be signed up and ready to go today.  But I think this is the exception so I will just enjoy reading about your hunt. 

Jerry

John is at 100% success rate this year (last year too). If you're interested in a good hunt, give him a call. I linked to him in the OP. He's a great guy and will give you whatever kind of hunt you want. If you want to work hard, he'll walk you mile after mile. If you can't take it, he'll get you close without too much trouble (there was a handicapped guy who hunted with him this year, and tagged out just like everybody else despite barely being mobile).

I hate to sound like a commercial for him, but note that I believe in his services. He's a great guy and  runs a great business.

[Dave]

So what did you do the rest of the time out there?  I'm sure no grass was growing underfoot!

[eleaf]

So what did you do the rest of the time out there?  I'm sure no grass was growing underfoot!

After I shot the goat and got him gutted, we went down to the rancher's house to give him his state coupon (and show off this fine lookin' antelope). After shootin' the shit with him for a bit, he let us go to another section of the ranch and blast at some prairie dogs (it's a good time watching a PDog do back flips at 500 yards). Then after that . . .

http://forum.finsandfur.net/index.php?topic=16422.0

[code]

Cool story. Looks like you had fun.