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+--- Thread: First Time Hunting (/showthread.php?tid=1178)
First Time Hunting - Mountain_girl - 10-22-2015
Hi guys,
I guess I would like to share my first hunt experience with y'all!
We had an amazing time and a few weird things happen that I was hoping for some insight from more experienced hunters with goats. I'll apologize in advance for the length of my post! I just took hunters safety last year and then drew out for a general buck tag. My brother-in-law (an experienced hunter) cancelled on us at the last minute so we headed out to the mountains with as much input and advice as we could gather from friends and family. We took our two 18 month old Alpines with us (they accompany us every weekend backpacking, are very comfortable with gunshots, and were decked out in their hunter orange).Over the last year we have had many, many does walk into our camps to check out our goats. Less fun, we also have had about a dozen calf moose bring their moms near our camp to see the boys. One of our goats is the most alert, watchful, instinctual animal I have ever been around. He is on constant alert every minute of the day.
Opening morning at daybreak, we are sitting in a high country meadow. The goats are milling around us, eating. Then Summit, our sensitive, sentry goat, alerts to the treeline. We watch and soon enough a doe and fawn come out to stare at the goats for a few minutes then walk off. A few minutes later, Summit starts making the weirdest, quietest bleat I've ever heard. He's staring across the meadow at a huge doe that is walking right toward us. She stands about 20 feet away as they stare into each others eyes. Then when other hunters across the valley start to whistle, she walks past us and into the quaking aspen. I'm pretty sure Summit somehow called her to him with his sweet cooing....
We hiked miles and miles in the mornings and evenings for 3 days seeing only does. We tried hunting with the goats with us (they are really chill and just stand nearby eating or lay at our feet chewing cud) and we tried without them because the cud chewing is really loud when you are trying to be silent!! Then the last morning, we are sitting on a ridge looking down into an aspen grove. The boys are playing on a downed log next to us. Then Summit stiffens and alerts to the top of the ridge behind us. I turned around to see what he was watching (he alerts to both large game and squirrels with the same intensity). Out of the bushes about 10-15 yards from where we are sitting, come 2 bucks!! The first one steps all the way out of the brush and I was able to get a good, clean shot.
When we got over to his body, Summit wasn't even interested but our other goat, Switchback, started sniffing and poking the buck with his nose. Then he bit his fur and pulled a mouthful of fur out! I've seen him do that to Summit a couple of times (Switch is by far the more dominant goat). Is that a normal goat thing? They are our first goats. As we cleaned the buck and had to drag him back to camp, Switch complained and bleated the whole time. He never makes noise. We are still confused by the difference in their behaviors. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
RE: First Time Hunting - Nanno - 10-22-2015
Interesting story! I wonder if Switch pulled the deer's hair to see if it was truly dead, and then got upset when he discovered it was.
I'd be a little nervous about moose coming in to check out my goats too! Those critters are big, and they can sure get aggressive if the mood strikes them. I wonder if putting bells on your goats in camp would help deter wildlife.
RE: First Time Hunting - Dave-Trinity-Farms - 10-22-2015
Dominance issue. Deer (bucks) produce their own unique smell but easily picked up by a goat. Might of just been close enough that if the buck woulda been alive, he woulda started a fight. Hair pulling with goats is usually a way to say "your mama was a sheep"
RE: First Time Hunting - nebs - 10-22-2015
I don't have the answers for you, but congrats on your buck and sharing the adventure with us. Did you take any pics?
RE: First Time Hunting - IdahoNancy - 10-22-2015
Great story, thanks for sharing.
Maybe Switchback is a carnivore.
RE: First Time Hunting - Mountain_girl - 10-23-2015
Thanks everybody! We do usually have bells on the goats and a dog that plays Frisbee almost nonstop and that still doesn't always deter the does from visiting!
We sort of joked that maybe Switch was upset that he didn't have an opportunity to challenge the buck and put him in his place.
Here's a couple pics (Taken seconds before the fur biting!)
RE: First Time Hunting - nebs - 10-23-2015
That is so cool! I can't wait to hunt with my goats! As a taxidermist, I hope mine don't bite and pull hair!
RE: First Time Hunting - Taffy - 10-24-2015
Congratulations! Next year your goats can pack out light loads for you!
RE: First Time Hunting - idahogoatpacker - 10-26-2015
That gets me excited to get out with my goats on a hunt.