How To Hunt Mountain Goats

Do you want to hunt mountain goats? Would you like to learn how to hunt mountain goats? Hunting mountain goats is one of the most dangerous forms of big game hunting. They reside in rugged terrain, steep cliffs, and along knife-edge ridgelines. In this article, we discuss some major points to increase your chances of a successful mountain goat hunt.

How To Hunt Mountain Goats

1. Scouting

When you scout an area for mountain goats, you want to keep an eye out for tracks, scat and shed wool that can be found on shrubs near trails and bedding areas. Since they are often found around steep cliffs and knife-edge ridgelines, it can be easy to spot them.

2. Tough Hunt

Hunting mountain goats is physically and mentally challenging. There is an old saying that “mountain goat country begins where sheep country ends”. They live in rugged terrains that are far away from the reach of vehicles and pack animals. To get to them, you have to work the rough and dangerous terrain only on foot. There are times when you will have to sleep on the mountains in wet, cold, and often icy conditions.

Hunting mountain goats is physically imposing and you have to be in good physical condition. Many mountain goat hunters die from slips, falls, hypothermia, and exposure. You will hunt better if you put some time into your physical conditioning.

3. Hire An Outfitter

If you don’t have a lot of experience hunting mountain goats, you may want to consider hiring an outfitter if you intend to hunt mountain goats regularly. An outfitter will bring experience, knowledge of the animal’s habits, and knowledge of the terrain. Additionally, if things don’t go as planned, the outfitter has the experience in many situations to provide a solution. However, they are expensive and there are many outfitter scams available; therefore be very careful when hiring one.

4. Spot & Stalk

One of the best methods on how to hunt mountain goats is the spot and stalk method. You can easily spot them as they tend to frequent steep cliffs and knife-edge ridgelines. However, because of the steepness of the terrain, you will often glass them from below the cliffs and ridgelines. It will be challenging to get to a high point to glass for mountain goats as the terrain is rugged, steep, and often very dangerous to climb.

5. High-Quality Optics

For a successful hunt of mountain goats, you need high-quality optics to glass the terrain and locate mountain goats. High-quality binoculars or spotting scope will be an important factor in a successful mountain goat hunt. You can read reviews of the best hunting binoculars and best spotting scopes on the market today.

6. Gear Selection

The gear you choose to hunt mountain goats is very important for your comfort and success. Depending on the time of the year that you hunt, you want to remain warm and dry. Being wet and cold in far away rugged terrain can quickly end your hunt.

7. Mountain Goat’s Weakness

A mountain goat’s major weakness is its comfort in its habitat. Since they hang around steep cliffs and knife-edge ridgelines with their escape cover always close by, they feel safe on the cliffs and have a high tolerance to hunting pressure. This confidence puts them inside the average rifle range most of the time.

This is a weakness that you can take advantage of when you are learning how to hunt mountain goats. They don’t expect you to come from their escape cover and if you can navigate to it undetected, the mountain goats will be very exposed and vulnerable. They will be baffled as to how you cornered them from their escape cover without them spotting you.

8. Get Above Them

Mountain goats always expect danger from below them as they move along steep cliffs and knife-edge ridgelines. They don’t expect danger to come from above them. if you can get above them without them spotting you, they tend to panic when they finally see you above them. This gives you a good opportunity to take a shot when they are in a place where they can easily be retrieved.

9. Wind Direction

Mountain goats have a very good sense of smell. Always work downwind of the area you want to hunt them. If they pick up your scent, they will move away. How to hunt mountain goats involve some subtle tactics and strategies that will make your mountain goat hunt successful.

Mountain Goat Hunting Tips

1. Mountain goats live in areas beyond the reach of vehicles and pack animals.

2. When planning a mountain goat hunt, allocate adequate time for the hunt.

3. When scouting for mountain goats, look for tracks, scat, and shed wool on shrubs near trails and bedding areas. How to hunt for mountain goats involves careful and meticulous scouting.

4. You can hire a guide if you don’t have a lot of experience on how to hunt mountain goats.

5. The common hunting method for mountain goats is spot and stalk.

6. Get high-quality optics to glass for mountain goats.

7. Retrieving a mountain goat is even more challenging than finding one and taking it down. Learning how to hunt mountain goats is one aspect of mountain goat hunting, retrieving it is another major aspect of hunting them.

8. Mountain goats are very tough animals. If you shot it, be prepared to take another shot to drop it in its tracks. You don’t want it taking steps and falling over to a place that is very difficult to retrieve it.

9. Learn the difference between a billy and a nanny mountain goat.

10. During the off-season, get physically fit for the mountain goat hunting season. Getting in shape will improve your chances of success. How to hunt mountain goats involves a lot of walking over steep hills, rocky slopes, and tough and dry terrain.

11. How to hunt mountain goats will not only challenge you physically, but it will also test you mentally. Be mentally prepared that mountain goat hunting is a grind.

12. The gear you choose for the hunt is just as important as being physically and mentally fit. You don’t want to be wet and cold in the middle of nowhere. It can result in a premature end of the hunt.

13. Mature males are often found alone or in a small group. When learning how to hunt mountain goats, remember most of the time when you spot one alone, it is most likely a mature male.

14. Mountain goats always expect danger from below. If you can get above them, they panic as they don’t ever expect you to be above them.

15. If you found travel routes, bedding, and feeding areas from scouting, be patient and wait for them as you can pattern their movements and set up ambush points or stalking routes. How to hunt mountain goats involves finding these routes and using them to surprise and ambush the goats.

16. Mountain goats have a very good sense of smell. Always work downwind of them to avoid your scent reaching them. When learning to hunt mountain goats always be aware of the direction of the wind with respect to your position and where you think they are located.

The Bottom Line

Mountain goats are one of the toughest big game animals. They live in rugged terrain and often hang around steep cliffs and knife-edge ridgelines. How to hunt mountain goats is not an easy venture, it requires physical and mental toughness.

In this article, we discussed how to hunt mountain goats to increase your chances of successfully hunting mountain goats. If you are interested in hunting hogs, you can read how to hunt hogs from this link. You can also read how to hunt bison, how to hunt wild sheep, how to hunt dall sheep, how to hunt aoudad, and how to hunt hogs.