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After drawing a Mountain Goat permit in 1977 at age 19, another one finally showed up in the mailbox after 39 years. The Billy I took in 77' was early September, and actually my first taste of true mountain hunting....I've been hooked ever since. Early September goat hair is pretty thin, so this go around I was determined to wait for better hair. My September was shot anyway, spending 17 days trying to bow kill a big bull elk, and four days spent chasing moose.

I'd set aside 10 days in October for my goat hunt in the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness. I've hunted this country for elk, mule deer, and bighorn sheep since the early eighties and know the country well. My long time hunting pal, Alan Brown had drawn this same permit and took an outstanding goat with incredible hair in October 2015, and was chomping at the bit to get back in there. Alan is a fellow Government Trapper from Miles City, and is one of the finest outdoorsman I know, he's also a hell of a camp cook. My own outdoor cooking abilities end at dumping boiling water into a pouch of freeze dried food...:) We have a very good friend who agreed to take us in on horseback, complete with four of the finest mules I've ever seen, drop us off, and pick us up in ten days. Wall tent, wood stove and real food....we were set.


After a 17 mile ride, and several hours getting camp set up, wood cut, water stocked, and a little glassing from camp, we were anticipating the next nine days like kids waiting for Christmas morning to arrive. This camp was at 9600' elevation, so a little acclimation is always a part of finding the groove. Typically I have a headache and some fatigue for a couple days before being able to really get after it. It's a great spot, and a lot of good glassing is close by camp. There were two goats on the mountain right above us as we unloaded the mules.



When you wait until October to go goat hunting, you risk having to hunt in the snow, and that adds a challenge to finding snow white goats. It's still doable though, and I've learned to glass for tracks on the snow and that will take you to the quarry. After a heavy snowfall, they will usually move a little lower on the mountain until the wind and sun start to bare up the higher ridges. Within 15 minutes after climbing to this lookout point, I had 18 goats located. They were a bout a mile away on the other side of the basin, and about halfway up. Mostly nannies and kids. I kept scanning with the Zeiss, and soon enough I found a lone Billy about a half mile west of the other ones. This time of year the older males will be solitary and pretty stationary. They are also bigger bodied, have a slight yellow tint to them, and will have heavier, longer hair than the females. Another trait is heavier horns with more curve to them. Also, the mature males have a scent gland that protrudes behind their horns at the base. It's black in color, and will give the impression of more mass on the bases.



After several tries, I ended up getting a picture of him through the scope. From over 1 1/2 miles out I could tell he was just what I was looking for, a mature Billy with great hair.

By now it was late afternoon, so I decided to try for him with an early start the next morning, and was content to sit it out the rest of the day and just watch. About an hour before dark I saw the 18 nannies and kids bunch up and start across the mountain towards the opposite side of the basin....something had buggered them, but I couldn't see what it was. The lone Billy also started climbing towards the top of the basin at a good clip....Grizzly? I'd find out the next day.



This is where the nannies and kids ended up. Only 700 meters from where I was glassing from. They kept looking back, and I did too, but never could locate what had spooked them.

The next morning, Alan and I climbed back up to the lookout point to try to locate the Billy again. After glassing for about an hour, I picked him up bedded on a spine ridge that separated the two basins, all alone again with no other goats in view. I've learned over the years, that old Billies will lay in one spot for hours on end, sometimes all day if they are undisturbed and feel secure. It was a perfect opportunity for a solo stalk. I had Alan stay on our vantage point to keep tabs on him, while I made a long, elaborate stalk that took over three hours to complete. We had planned a set of hand signals for Alan to give me in case he got up and moved off to feed, or to find another bed out of the wind. The wind was steady out of the southwest at about 20 mph when I started to close the gap. At one point, I was within 525 meters of him, still bedded in the same place. I decided I didn't want to chance a poor hit in the wind, and crept in closer, and closer. The only problem was, as I was closing the distance, I was also losing elevation, and a good view of him. I decided to get under 300 meters, set up, and wait for him to stand up, then take him. I knew exactly where he was, even though he was out of view. There was no chance he could get up and leave without me seeing him, so the wait began...the rifle was set up perfect, the range was 277 meters(.4 on the turret). Two hours later, I was still waiting him out, when I glanced down behind me to right and saw movement out of the corner of my eye. There stood one of the largest boar grizzlies I've ever seen at 200 meters. He was feeding on roots, unearthing them with his claws. The wind was good, and in my favor, but bears feeding on steep ground usually work their way up the slope, so I knew I could be in a bind if he ended up getting too close. The other factor with a grizzly between me and the goat was the whole thing could go haywire if he got in view of the goat. Now I knew why all of those goats blew out of there yesterday, and the grizzly was still here! For almost an hour my head was on a swivel going from bear to where the goat was. Back and forth. Finally the bear drifted into a strip of trees directly under me, and I lost track of him for ten minutes or so....It was time to make a move on the goat. I was planning to shorten up the distance, working into the wind as quietly and quickly as possible until the goat came into view, then take my shot. When I was about 60 meters from where he was, I looked down the ridge 25 meters from the bed, and saw the Billy standing broadside through some scrub sub alpine trees. I got down and prone, chambered a round, found him in the scope, expecting him to be looking right at me, but he was pawing the ground, getting ready to lay down again. I waited a few seconds, he bedded facing me, and I settled the reticle on his chest and fired. He never saw me at all. He folded up instantly, and stayed there for a few seconds, then started rolling off the left side of the mountain. Immediately I was looking back for the bear, but never saw or heard him leave. I approached the spot where I last saw the goat, and to my relief he only rolled about 40 meters before hanging up in a patch of stunted trees.....



My perch....277 meters from the goat, and 200 meters from the grizzly...

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Where he was stopped from rolling down the mountain....We shared a long, humble moment here. There was no hooping and hollering, or shaking my fist in the air. and I'm man enough to say my eyes were welled up for quite awhile. For knowing that in the ebb of my mountain hunting career, that this will be the last one. For being thankful of having a great life of freedom in the mountains, with countless great hunting adventures behind me. For amazing people that have supported me, family and friends that words can't describe. For all of the wild country I've had the privilege to be in and share with others.

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I managed to pull him back up, and out in the open for a few self timed pictures, before getting busy breaking him down. Alan had a front row seat to the whole thing and was on his way over to help. He arrived just before dark, and shared the load. We decided to try to get all the way back to camp, and not stay out in the bush. It went well with neither of us taking a tumble in the moonlight. When we topped the summit at 10,800' we sat down for a water and candy bar break. The moon and stars lit up the basin below us. Taking it in, we never said a word....we didn't have to.