Do you remember how you felt when you drew the tag you always wanted? I’ll never forget the excitement of that moment. It was the night before Thanksgiving 2015, and I was mounting a bull elk with my brother, Jason. I then remembered that the 2016 Sportsman Tag results were available that day.
As I looked at my dirty hands, I said, “I better check my results online because I haven’t seen an email yet.”
My brother said, “Good luck,” and looked at me like dream on.
I logged in with my pinky fingers because all the other ones were messy. As I squinted my eyes and looked past several unsuccessfuls, I saw “PERMIT” and started to freak out. I didn’t even know what tag I had drawn; I just knew I had drawn a coveted Sportsman Tag. I scrolled over and saw Sportsman Mountain Goat. I showed my brother, and we both started cheering. That was the beginning of The Year of the Goat.
I’m always thinking about my next hunt. That’s what I love. That’s why I’m a hunting guide for High Top Outfitters and a taxidermist for Mountain Memories Taxidermy. However, after that moment, all I could think about were mountain goats. Everything in my life seemed to remind me of them. I even named my new truck “The GOAT.”
As I thought about all the fun but hard work I had ahead of me, I knew I wanted to take full advantage of what I had drawn. I made it a goal to scout every area of each unit to determine where I wanted to hunt. I was out for a 10" billy with great mass. I started scouting immediately, but winter and snow-covered mountains kept me out of the high country. I scouted every chance I could, and I started reading books and talking with people, learning about goats, their habitat, their behavior, and I studied all the units. I spoke with the goat biologist for each unit in the state and even went scouting with several of them. They were very helpful and willing to help me achieve my goal. On paper, there were 10 units, but my goal was to cover every area in that unit until I found the goats in each place. I decided November would be the month of harvest. I wanted a goat with very long hair.
I saw hundreds of goats throughout the state, but I couldn’t stop thinking about two giant billies I had seen on the Beaver unit. I decided to focus there. I chose this unit because I wanted to harvest my once-in-a-lifetime goat on the same unit where my dad got his goat.
While hunting with my dad on the Beaver unit on November 3rd, I spotted what I thought to be two goats. We got closer, and I realized it was actually one giant goat. It was the largest goat I had seen all year, and not only because his hair was long, but also because his body was enormous. This made it extremely hard to judge the size of his horns. I decided I needed a much closer look.
After climbing the steep, treacherous mountain and hiking closer, we popped up behind the giant billy goat. He was all alone, lying on a shale rock-covered saddle, keeping an eye on his herd that was on the adjacent face about 500 yards away. My dad and I watched from 70 yards as I sized him up without him knowing we were there. He was facing away from us with wind blowing through his beard. Every so often, he would turn his head and stretch his neck to get a bite of grass and it gave me time to see the full size of his horns. I guessed him to be a 10" billy with extremely large mass. I thought he would make the magical 50" mark, but none of that mattered to me when I felt what happened next.
I had passed on several goats this hunting season because it didn’t feel right. As my dad and I watched this goat, time seemed to freeze. I had visions of the past year rolling through my mind with the many scouting trips made, the countless goats I had seen, the miles hiked, the preparation, the time in the gym, the people I had met, and the nights I had spent awake dreaming of this moment. After realizing that all of my hard work was coming to an end, I burst into tears. Those same goosebumps I had felt the night I drew my tag covered my body and I began to shake. I was crying uncontrollably because I knew what was about to happen and I knew how hard I had worked and planned to get to this moment in time. I looked at my dad, and he too was crying. At this point, I knew it was time. It felt extremely right.
The goat stood up after 13 minutes of us being there and took a few steps. I quickly dried my eyes and got control of my emotions as I adjusted my Phone Skope to ensure I got the shot on video. I cocked back the hammer on my TC Triumph 50 Cal muzzleloader and took aim. Bam! I fired and hit him in the vitals. The goat ran 77 yards by the time I got loaded again. I aimed and shot again, hitting him in the same spot on the same side. I reloaded again, and my emotions heightened. The goat spun around and headed towards the saddle where he had first come from. I moved towards him and got a third shot off at 109 yards, hitting him again near the same area. Just then, he jumped off the cliff and disappeared.
The cliff was too steep to go down, so I hiked clear across the basin and glassed him up, lying 70 yards below where I had last seen him. In order to get to him before dark, we had to hustle back to the bike, drive down the road a few miles, and hike up another huge basin. This was very hard, hiking away from where we had to go. Many thoughts rushed through my mind, and it fueled my body into super speed mode.
Finally, I got less than 200 yards away below my billy and was getting ready for a fourth shot. Just then, he climbed out of a crack in the cliff where he was hiding. At this point, he was 180 yards away but on a super steep angle. I aimed three inches above him, thinking my bullet would drop, but I hit the cliff above him. This scared him, and the chase was on. I reloaded while my dad filmed all the action from about 100 yards below me. It was perfect as he could see all angles when my billy went over ridges. I chased and shot again. Bam! Shot five was a perfect hit near the same spot as the first three. I could tell he was slowing down, and this made it much harder to load my gun as I didn’t dare take my eyes off him. I was so excited that I was almost laughing with joy. Shot six was about 170 yards away and brought the big old billy down. My voice echoed throughout the basin as I cheered. Then the billy started to tumble and roll and flip. My cheers soon turned to echoes of “No!” and “Yes!” combined. He rolled down the mountainside about 200 yards and then came to rest.
As I walked up on the goat, I was in awe. His size and beauty blew me away. He was a strong, old billy, and I couldn’t be happier with him. The best part was that my dad was with me to experience this moment and help make this memory last forever. It was an experience I will hold dear to my heart forever.
As I look back, I feel very blessed that it worked out the way it did. Ten days later, in one storm it snowed 58" on the mountain I got the billy on. I think about everything that went into making this a successful hunt, and I am very grateful. Thanks again to everyone who helped make this dream come true. I’m very proud to say my Sportsman goat ended up being the 10" billy I wanted and placed very high in all of the record books. It’s the new SCI #3 in the world with a muzzleloader. I’ll never spend as much time on any other hunt as I did on this one unless I’m lucky 70 enough to draw another Sportsman Tag.
Utah Mountain Goat Hunting
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